Thomas Lyons Teagasc tillage specialists have expressed growing concern about the risk of clubroot, a fungal root infection, in oilseed rape crops in Ireland. Clubroot affects all members of the brassica family, including cabbage, swede, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and rape crops. Dr. Steven Kildea, based in Oak-Park, has produced an information video on the subject, highlighting the disease’s impact on the roots of rape plants, causing them to expand and form galls that restrict the uptake of nutrients. Infections can start as soon as the newly germinated plant begins to grow, and visible evidence of crops dying back can be seen as early as the winter months. The disease may not become fully apparent until rape crops start to extend in the spring.
Clubroot is a serious disease and a long-lived pathogen that releases more fungal spores into the soil as an infected crop dies back, creating problems for growers over many years. This has implications for the rotations followed with oilseed rape crops, as clubroot spores can live in the soil for up to 10 years. Teagasc advises that oilseed rape should only be grown on the basis of a five-year rotation, as clubroot is one of those diseases that needs a long rotation to take it out of the brassica.
To maintain the threat of clubroot within a specific field, cruciferous weeds such as mustard and Shepherd’s Purse can be included in a cover crop that follows oilseed rape. The same principle applies where volunteer oilseed rape plants from a previous crop start to grow. Reducing the threat posed by fungal spores in the soil requires fields to have a total break from brassica species of all kinds. The Teagasc tillage specialist stressed the importance of maintaining the five-year rule as short rotations of oilseed rape allow for the build-up of inoculum.
The increasing area of oilseed rape grown in Ireland raises the risk of growers encountering clubroot within these crops. The fungal root infection affects all members of the brassica family, including cabbage, swede, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and rape crops. Dr. Steven Kildea, a Teagasc tillage specialist based in Oak-Park, has produced an information video on the subject due to the growing concern amongst the specialists about the threat posed by clubroot to oilseed rape crops.
Clubroot causes the roots of rape plants to expand, forming galls that restrict the uptake of nutrients. Infections can start as soon as the newly germinated plant begins to grow, and visible evidence of crops dying back can be seen as early as the winter months. The disease may not become fully apparent until rape crops start to extend in the spring. Clubroot is a serious disease and a long-lived pathogen that releases more fungal spores into the soil as an infected crop dies back, creating problems for growers over many years.
Teagasc advises that oilseed rape should only be grown on the basis of a five-year rotation, as clubroot spores can live in the soil for up to 10 years. Clubroot is one of those diseases that needs a long rotation to take it out of the brassica. To maintain the threat of clubroot within a specific field, cruciferous weeds such as mustard and Shepherd’s Purse can be included in a cover crop that follows oilseed rape. The same principle applies where volunteer oilseed rape plants from a previous crop start to grow. Reducing the threat posed by fungal spores in the soil requires fields to have a total break from brassica species of all kinds. The Teagasc tillage specialist stressed the importance of maintaining the five-year rule as short rotations of oilseed rape allow for the build-up of inoculum.
