Evaluation of Cabbage- and Broccoli-genetic Resources for Resistance to Clubroot and Fusarium Wilt

Abstract

Clubroot and Fusarium wilt of cole crops (Brassica oleracea L.) are destructive diseases which for many years has brought a decline in quality and large losses in yields all over the world. The breeding of resistant cultivars is an effective approach to reduce the use of chemical fungicides and minimize crop losses. This study was conducted to evaluate the resistance of 60 cabbage (B. oleracea var. capitata) and 6 broccoli (B. oleracea var. italica) lines provided by The RDA-Genebank Information Center to clubroot and Fusarium wilt. To investigate resistance to clubroot, seedlings of the genetic resources were inoculated with Plasmodiophora brassicae by drenching the roots with a mixed spore suspension (1 : 1) of two isolates. Of the tested genetic resources, four cabbage lines were moderately resistant and 'K166220' represented the highest resistance to P. brassicae. The others were susceptible to clubroot. On the other hand, to select resistant plants to Fusarium wilt, the genetic resources were inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans by dipping the roots in spore suspension of the fungus. Among them, 17 cabbage and 5 broccoli lines were resistant, 16 cabbage lines were moderately resistant, and the others were susceptible to Fusarium wilt. Especially, three cabbage ('IT227115', 'K161791', 'K173350') and two broccoli ('IT227100', 'IT227099') lines were highly resistant to the fungus. We suggest that the resistant genetic resources can be used as a basic material for resistant B. oleracea breeding system against clubroot and Fusarium wilt.