University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur

Department of Plant Pathology

College of Agriculture, Raichur

Crucifers diseases and

their management
 Crucifers diseases
1. Club root – Plasmodiophora brassicae
2. Ring spot – Mycosphaerella brassicola
3. Downy mildew – Peronospora parasitica
4. Black rot – Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
5. Leaf spot – Alternaria brassicae, A. brassicola
6. Head rot – Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
7. White rust – Albugo candida (Cystopus candidus)
8. Damping off – Pythium debaryanum
9. Wire stem – Rhizactonia solani
10. Black leg – Phoma lingum
 Club root
 Casual agent ; Plasmodiophora brassicae
 Symptoms :
 Infected roots enlarge relatively rapidly to form
clubs which takes on a variety of shapes
 Wilting of plants during night time
 Gradual stunting
 Low lying areas , ill drained soils with a soil
temperature of 15-25 o c Acidic soil are highly
favourable for the pathogen .
Club root – Plasmodiophora brassicae

Formation of clubs on roots

Hypertrophoid symptoms
Dark decomposed spots on
roots
Mal functioning of Xylem
vessels
Flagging of leaves
Stunting and wilting
Flagging of leaves
Stunting and wilting
 Disease cycle of Club root

Soil pH- Acidic (5), Low lying area, Temp: 17-250C

Life Cycle of Plasmodiophora brassicae, casual agent of club root in crucifers
Survival :
• It persists in the soil and crop derbies
• Mode of Spread : Through farming implements.
Surface flood water. From infected seedlings.
Manure from cattle fed on diseased root crops
• Management:
• Crop rotation
• Improving drainage
• Correction of soil by adding lime
• Seed treatment with Carbendazim 2g / kg
• Drenching with Carbendazim or chlorothalonil
Black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris)

Symptom: Infection occurs through water pores at margins of

leaves

Symptom first appears as V-shaped yellow spots at the

margins of the leaves

These spots progress towards the mid-rib of the leaf while

some of the veins on the affected area turn black

The leaf turns brown and dies and the pathogen spreads to
the rest of the plant
Chlorotic areas may appear anywhere on the leaves which
eventually fall off
 Black Rot (Xanthomonas
campestris pv. campestris)
Black rot – Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris
 Discolored vascular tissue

Extra polysaccharides
Bracoli
Severely affected cabbage
Bacteria oozing
• Mode of Spread
• The bacterium is rod shaped with single polar
flagellum. The chief means of local
dissemination are wind blown rain cultivating
implements and transplants. Widespread
distribution is by seed and transplants.
• Survival:
• The organism overwinters in diseased plant
refuse or in seed.
• Favourable condition
• Optimum temperature 26.5 to 30°C and
frequent rain
Management
1. Hot – Water treatment of seeds at 50 0C for 30
min

2. Drenching the nursery with formalin (5%)

before sowing, followed by
two sprays of Streptocycline (300 ppm) +
copper oxy chloride (0.3%) at 15 days intervals

3. Two to three sprays of Kocide (0.2%) at 15 days

intervals
4. R.V: Cabbage: Cabaret, Defender, Gladiator,
Pusa Muktha
Cauliflower: Pusa ice, Pusa snow ball-K-I-F, Sel-
12
 Downy mildew
• Symptoms
• Production of white flufly growth on the
lower side of the leaves, stem etc.
• Under cool moist condition, leaf spot
enlarges indefinitely to form yellow areas
on the upper side and mildew on lower
side.
• Severe infection at the seedling stage
results in complete death of seedlings.
Infects stem, leaves, and flowers.

White spots develops on the upper

surface of the leaves.

Causal agent :Peronospora parasitica

The pathogen survives on diseased

plant debris .
Downy mildew
 Downy mildew – Peronospora parasitica

Light yellow patch

White fluffy sporangial

growth
Germination of sporangia
 Favourable factors
Optimum temperature for the conidia is 8 to 10°C. For
conidial germination 8 to 12°C and for host penetration 16°C,
rapid development 15 to 20°C.

• Management :
• Avoid planting the crop close to potato fields.
• Spraying of mancozeb (0.2%) or copper
oxychloride (0.2%), fosetyl-AL(0.2%),
metalaxyl- mancozeb (0.2%)
• Kuwari 17-kuwari-8 are moderate resistant
cauliflower varieties.
Resistant varieties:

Cauliflower: PI 208474, 1231210

Cabbage: PI 263056, 263057, 418986
 White rust
Symptoms :
• Prominent, white pustules appear on the surface of leaves stem,
inflorescences.
• Marked swelling and distortion of infected leaves.
• White creamy pustules on the leaves
• The blisters are raised white shiny 1 to 2 mm in diameter
• Merging to form larger patches
• Young stem and inflorescence are infected and cause
deformities
• Hypertrophy and hyperplasia and swelling and
distortions
The petals and sepals are modified into leaf like
structure.
Sterility of the ovary.
The fungus : Obligate parasite, the mycelium in
intercellular and sporangia are produced in chain.

• Causal agent: Albugo candida

• Epidemiology:
• The pathogen survives in infected seeds,
plant derbies and also on other hosts
• Low temperature, high humidity and high
moisture favour the disease.
White rust – Albugo candida (Cystopus candidus)
Weed host
• Management :
• Foliar application of chlorothalonil (0.2%),
mancozeb (0.2%), copper hydroxide (0.2%),
metalaxyl, mancozeb (0.2%)
 Alternaria leaf spot :
• Causal agent :Alternaria brassicae
• Symptoms :
• The disease can be identified by purplish
brown spots on the upper surface of the
leaves with characteristic concentric rings.
• The lesions may enlarge and leaves may gets
dried
Alternaria leaf spot
Leaf spot – Alternaria brassicae, A. brassicola
Alternaria conidia
Management

1.Remove disease – affected leaves

2.Foliar application of Copper hydroxide (0.2%) or
Copper oxychloride (0.2%) or
Mancozeb (0.25%) or
Chlorothalonil (0.25%)
 Ring spot
• Casual agent ; Mycosphaerella brassicola
• Symptoms :
• The lesions apperars all the ground parts
• Small dark spots with enlarged 20mm in
diameter
• The brown centre turn grey
• Often being arranged in concentric rings.
• Drying of entire leaf.
• Mode of spread and survival
• Primary infection by air bome conidia and
ascospores present in the plant debris.
Secondary spread through the conidia.
• Favourable conditions
• Cool moist weather with rain is most
important for dissemination of the ascospores
and penetration.
• Cool moist weather with rain most important
for dissemination
• Management :
• Removal of infected leaves.
• Crop rotation, spraying of chlorothanil 0.1% or
mancozeb 0.1% or copper oxychloride 0.25%
Wirestem – Rhizactonia solani
Mycelium branching at 900
Black leg – Phoma lingum (Leptosphaeria maculans )
Blackleg fungus as it would be seen under a highpower laboratory microscope: (a)
pycnidium of Phoma lingam stage; (b) one-celled conidia that emerges from a
pycnidium in a gelatinous coil in moist weather; (c)
perithecium of the sexual or Leptosphaeria maculans stage. The perithecium is filled
with club-shaped asci; (d) an ascus containing eight multicelled ascospores; (e) three
 Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV)

CaMV induces a variety of

systemic symptoms such as
mosaic, necrotic lesions on leaf
surfaces, or stunting and
deformation of the whole plant,
which vary depending on the
viral strain, host ecotype and
environmental conditions.
dsDNA virus

Vector: Myzus persicae