ABSTRACT
Cabbage is an important component of the human diet and a source of chemoprotective phytochemicals. Six major diseases of cabbage found worldwide are black rot, clubroot, black spot (dark spot), downy mildew, watery soft rot (white mold), and wirestem. The pathogens causing black rot and black spot can be seedborne. The pathogens causing clubroot, watery soft rot, and wirestem are soilborne; the clubroot organism is challenging to eradicate from infested soils. Important disease management strategies include seed treatment with hot water or fungicides, crop rotation to reduce survival of foliar pathogens, scouting to detect disease outbreaks, and application of protectant fungicides. Further research is needed to clarify races of the downy mildew and clubroot pathogens and to find useful host plant resistance to these two diseases.
