Club root

Just got back into the garden after an 10 year break and a lot of my brassicas have taken club root
What are the current remedies

Plan to add lime next year

Rab

 

Yes, the dreaded Plasmodiophora brassaice.
The fungus persists in the soil as zoospores which can lay there for up to twenty years.
If you plant another suitable host plant (bassica) the spores germinate in response to chemical diffusates and produce swimming swarm spores which invade the root hairs.
Can be difficult to control if you raise the pH to 7.5 can help, but this can encourage Scab on potatoes.
Crop rotation can't really help in this case as the spores are so long lived in the soil.
Plants should be dug up and destroyed.
The only suggestion is to plant seeds in sterilized seed compost, then pricked out into 6-8 inch pots.
When large enough plant out with pot full of compost intact. Although the roots that extend beyond the root ball will be slightly effected this is rarely serious to the overall growth and maturity to the plant.

 

Would go along with the above advice. i always start brassicas off in pots of compost even though i have not got club root and lime well. I think shepherds purse is a carrier so eradicate that weed.

 

I was told a year or 2 ago by a local parks gardener that i needed to avoid planting lupins in my garden if i was going to grow brassicas, as they too can encourage club root.

 

I gave up growing "Greens" about ten yrs ago partly due to club root.
Back then I used to water the plants with jeyes fluid about three times in the growing season.
I also started my plants off in seed trays of compost, just to get a clean start.
I cant remember what the root dip was at planting time, calomel paste comes to mind, along with a dust based on mercury.
Bet you cant get them now. :D

 

No you can't they were banned quite a while ago. I don't think i would want to be putting something based on mercury on my veg though i think I did in the distant past.
Never heard about lupins encouraging club root, they are in the pea and bean family that are always used the year before brassicas in the rotation. Lupins are also used as green manure. Mustard is used as green manure and that is a brassica and will carry club root.

 

Used to dip the roots in "Derris" powder, is that banned as well :confused:

 

If I remember corrctly in the dim and distant past, Wallflowers also encourage it.

 

Wallflowers are the main flowering plants that are usually considered a good one for club root.

 

cajary, snap. :D

 

Hi, Pete. "Great minds _ _ _" and all that. :D :D

 

You can still use Derris as much as you want, it is organic. Won't do anything for clubroot though cause it is an insecticide. It was Calomel powder that was used.
Wallflowers are brassicas, like oil seed rape, radishes etc.

 

Barndym, 2 things, 1/ is it definitely clubroot? what do the roots look like? what do they smell like? what do the plants look like? how old are the plants?. 2/ An old remedy for controlling clubroot is to mix 50 per cent sieved soil with 50 per cent lime, add water and bring to a paste, dip the BARE roots of your brassicas into the paste and plant. David.

 

Not really certain it is club root, the plant is unhealthy looking and when pulled out of the ground there is no real root system, no noticeable smell. I bought plants in mid May
Is my memory correct in thinking club root looks like warts on the root?
I can remember using Derris dust in the past but can't remember what for

Rab

 

Barndym is the root system rotted away? with club root because of the rotted root system the plant smells like what it is, rotting cabbage. What I think is the problem, assuming there is no sign of rot but there are no roots either , is cabbage root fly. David.