Club root, also known as finger & toe, is a soil-borne disease of brassica plants which is a problem to control and, once it is in the soil, almost impossible to eradicate.

Club root is caused by a fungus, Latin name Plasmodiophora brassicae. It attacks brassicas, including cabbages, cauliflowers, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohl rabi, swedes, turnips and wallflowers and many common weeds such as Willow Herb, shepherds purse and fat hen.

Signs of Club Root:

• yellowing of the leaves, often with a purple tinge.

• stunted plants with poor growth.

• wilting particularly in warm weather.

• roots swollen, stubby and deformed which start to rot.

Factors controlling club root include:

• long rotations
• liming - to raise the pH
• free draining soil
• removing weeds, particularly Willow Herb, shepherds purse and fat hen, which harbour the fungus
• autumn sowing when the soil is cooler reduces the risk of attack
• growing own plants from seed. Bringing in bare-rooted plants from a friend’s garden is a classic way to introduce clubroot
• buy in plants grown in peat modules - the peat will be club-root free
• dip transplants in a fungicide like flowers of sulphur
• plants with a strong root system may survive & grow away from a clubroot attack

Infected plants should not be put on the compost heap, but should be burnt.

Understanding Club Root:

• The Club Root fungus enters the plant through fine hairs on the young roots or through wounds in secondary roots.
• The fungus grows into “clubs” which produce masses of spores which are released into the soil.
• These spores, in the soil, are spread on shoes, equipment or on bare rooted plants which are transplanted. The spores are also carried in soil water.
• The club root spores can survive in the soil for many years. So a 4 year rotation will not avoid the problem.
• Moist, warm, acid soils are ideal conditions for the clubroot fungus.

Strict procedures are necessary in the vegetable garden to avoid Club Root. They include having long rotations for brassicas, liming the soil before brassicas, and politely refusing offers of bare rooted plants from neighbours!

Click here for information on growing club root resistant varieties.

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