Susceptibility of Oilseed Radish (Raphanus sativus subsp. oleiferus) Cultivars and Various Brassica Crops to Plasmodiophora brassicae

Oilseed radish (OR; <i>Raphanus sativus</i> var. <i>oleiferus</i>) is grown as a cover crop and develops a unique taproot, absorbing nitrogen left by the previous crop. The aim of this project was to investigate the resistance of OR cultivars (cvs.) to <i>Plasmodiophora brassicae</i>, the causal agent of clubroot disease. Twelve market cvs. were compared with cvs. of clubroot-resistant (CR) winter oilseed rape (OSR; <i>Brassica napus</i>) and other selected species of the Brassicaceae family. The study was performed as a replicated bioassay in a growth chamber using a specially composed mixture of field soils holding the natural inoculum of <i>P. brassicae</i>. The results show that the OR cultivars were infected, which implies that OR multiplies the pathogen. The susceptibility of the OR cultivars was not significantly different from that of the CR OSR cultivars Alister and Archimedes, but it was significantly different from that of the OSR cv. Mendel. The disease severity index (DSI) for OR cultivars ranged from 2.3 to 9.3, and disease incidence was 3-17%. The best performance was shown by black radish (<i>Raphanus sativus</i> var. <i>niger</i>) with a DSI of 0.3. For sustainable brassica crop production, we suggest avoiding OR as a cover crop in crop rotations, including OSR or other brassica crops, since there is a risk of increasing inoculum in the soil.