This article is about disease. For the musician, see Clubroot (musician)

Clubroot (musician)

Clubroot Clubroot Clubroot (born Dan Richmond, ca. 1985 is a dubstep musician located in St Albans, England. Signed to Lo Dubs, he released his eponymous debut album in 2009. The second album, II – MMX, was released in 2010...

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Clubroot is a common disease of cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

s, radish

Radish

The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe, in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time...

es, turnip

Turnip

The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...

s and other plants belonging to the family Cruciferae (mustard

Mustard plant

Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...

 family). It is caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, which was once considered a slime mold but is now put in the group Phytomyxea

Phytomyxea

The Phytomyxea are a group of protists that are parasites of plants. A more common name for them is the plasmodiophorids, but this does not always include Phagomyxa. They typically develop within plant cells, causing the infected tissue to grow into a gall or scab...

. It has as many as nine races. Gall formation or distortion takes place on latent roots and gives the shape of a club or spindle

Spindle (textiles)

A spindle is a wooden spike used for spinning wool, flax, hemp, cotton, and other fibres into thread. It is commonly weighted at either the bottom middle or top, most commonly by a circular or spherical object called a whorl, and may also have a hook, groove or notch, though spindles without...

. In the cabbage such attacks on the roots cause undeveloped heads or a failure to head at all, followed often by decline in vigor or by death. It is an important disease, affecting an estimated 10% of the total cultured area worldwide.

Historical reports of clubroot date back to the 13th century in Europe. In the late 19th century, a severe epidemic of clubroot destroyed large proportions of the cabbage crop in St. Petersburg. The Russian scientist Mikhail Woronin eventually identified the cause of clubroot as a "plasmodiophorous organism" in 1875, and gave it the name Plasmodiophora brassicae.

In 18th, 19th and early 20th century Britain clubroot was sometimes called finger and toe, fingers and toes, anbury, or ambury, these last two also meaning a soft tumor

Tumor

A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

on a horse.

The potential of cultural practices to reduce crop losses due to clubroot are limited, and chemical treatments to control the fungus are either banned due to environmental regulations or are not cost effective. Breeding of resistant cultivars therefore is a promising alternative.

External links

• Cabbage monstrosities (clubroot of cabbage with rotating quicktime image). Cornell Mushroom Blog.