Clubroot in canola and cabbage in relation to soil temperature, plant growth and host resistance

• Main Author: Gludovacz, Thomas
• Other Authors: McDonald, Mary Ruth
• Language: en
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Clubroot; cabbage; canola; Plasmodiophora brassicae; temperature; resistance; Quantitative PCR (qPCR); Forecasting disease
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/6660

The effects of diurnal temperature fluctuation and the utility of degree days for modeling clubroot on canola (Brassica napus L.) caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin were assessed using microscopy and qPCR, and in field trials. Temperature fluctuation had little effect on pathogen development. The optimal temperature for root hair infection was 25° C. Air and soil degree days and rainfall were used as metrics for estimating clubroot development, with only limited success. Several cultivars of cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) with unknown clubroot resistance mechanism(s) were assessed using staining and microscopy, and qPCR. In field trials, ‘Bronco’ was susceptible to clubroot (100 DSI), ‘Kilaherb’ was resistant (0 DSI), and ‘B-2819’ was intermediate (53 DSI). Plasmodiophora brassicae was present in cortical tissue of all cultivars. A delayed disease phenotype in ‘B-2819’ may indicate a quantitative resistance genotype that could be exploited in research on resistance genes and breeding.