Special Issue: Clubroot disease on Brassica crops in India

In India, clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin has been present on cabbage and cauliflower crops (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata and botrytis) for nearly 80 years in the Eastern Himalayan Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal and South Indian Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu. Since the early 1980s, P. brassicae has spread rapidly on the most popular cultivars of cultivated yellow sarson (Brassica rapa L. var. trilocularis (Roxb.) Kitam.) and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) grown in the red and lateritic soils (Alfisols) and the Terai regions situated in the Himalayan foothills of the northern part of West Bengal State. Soils of both regions are acidic in nature (pH 5.3-6.7). Clubroot on tori sarson (B. rapa L. ssp. toria) is reported from the neighbouring Odisha State. The sporadic occurrence of the disease on cole vegetables is also reported from northeast Himalayan states such as Manipur Nagaland Sikkim and Mizoram. At present, clubroot disease is endemic only in West Bengal State. The present report summarizes the research conducted on clubroot disease in India, especially in the brassica oilseed and cole vegetables of West Bengal. Specifically, this review summarizes work to: (i) develop and assess new and existing clubroot management strategies; (ii) monitor clubroot occurrence and spread; (iii) identify and characterize sources of resistance; and (iv) evaluate variability of the pathogen in populations in different agro-climatic regions of West Bengal.