Club – Root is an infection of the roots of, a soil dwelling micro-organism related to slime moulds, leading to massive swelling, distortion & severely retarded growth. It affects Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflowers, turnips & radishes. Club-root can infect whenever the soil is moist & warm, so most new infections occur from mid-Summer until late Autumn. You may see the following symptoms stunted growth, purplish foliage & wilting in hot weather. Below ground the root system becomes massively swollen & distorted, with a loss of finer roots badly infected plants might die.
Once you have club-root on your plot i am afraid you are stuck with it, Start your brassicas off in modules using bought in composts to which a small amount of lime is added & pot up to 3 inches & then at least 5 inch pots before planting out. This allows the plant to develop a good root system prior to infection. Club-root thrives best in acid wet soils so ensure your brassica bed is well dug, adding grit if needed to keep the soil free draining. Before planting in the ground dig a hole 1 foot deep & in diameter then dust with lime to whiten the soil in the hole. Fill the hole with bought in compost and then plant in this. This method has been proven to work & enable good quality crops to be taken. Obviously this is very time consuming & you may feel that growing in containers is your only option. There are now club-root resistant seed variety’s available but remember this is a resistance not immunity.
Blog & Research – Mark Burton (Allotment Secretary)
