The disease affects the root system of plants in the Brassicaceae family, causing the formation of characteristic swellings and galls of various sizes. As a result of the impaired absorption function of the roots, the aerial part of the plant lags in growth, leaves turn yellow, and the plants lose turgor and wilt during hot weather, often leading to a lack of heads or the formation of small and loose specimens.
The active development of the pathogen depends on environmental conditions, among which high soil moisture, moderately warm temperatures in the range of 18–25°C, and a slightly acidic pH level are critically important. The pathogen can remain viable in the soil as spores for up to 20 years, utilizing both cultivated plants and weeds as infection reservoirs.
Resistance of varieties is provided by genetic mechanisms that restrict the development of the pathogen in the roots, which allows for harvesting on infested sites. The assessment of resistance in variety trials is carried out through the creation of an artificial infection background, molecular tagging of resistance genes, and analysis of the combining ability of hybrid forms, although protection efficiency may vary depending on the presence of rare physiological races of the pathogen in a specific region.