Reaction to Plasmodiophora brassicae Pathotype 6 in Lines of Brassica Vegetables, Wisconsin Fast Plants, and Canola

Abstract

Field trials were conducted from 2008 to 2010 to assess the disease reaction to clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin, in selected lines of Brassica spp., including short-season vegetable crops [Shanghai pak choy (B. rapa subsp. Chinensis var. communis)], Chinese flowering cabbage (B. rapa subsp. Chinensis var. utilis), and napa cabbage (B. rapa subsp. Pekinensis), the Rapid Cycling Brassica Collection (RCBC), also known as Wisconsin Fast Plants, and spring canola (B. napus). The trials were conducted on naturally infested soil with P. brassicae at the Muck Crops Research Station in Ontario, Canada, where pathotype 6 is predominant. Clubroot incidence and severity were higher in 2008 and 2010 compared with 2009. The lines of Shanghai pak choy and Chinese flowering cabbage were highly susceptible to clubroot, but each of the clubroot-resistant cultivars of napa cabbage, ‘Deneko’, ‘Bilko’, and ‘Yuki’, was highly resistant to pathotype 6. Among the RCBC lines, B. carinata and B. juncea were highly susceptible and could be used as susceptible models for further studies. Two RCBC lines, B. napus and R. sativus, were resistant to pathotype 6. Two of the canola cultivars, 46A76 and 46A65, were susceptible, but two others, ‘45H21’ and ‘Invigor 5020LL’, were highly resistant to pathotype 6. This difference in response can be exploited in future studies of clubroot reaction in canola.