Your garlic is getting some trouble and needs your help. Don’t worry, you are reading the right post to finding methods. Like other plants, garlic is also susceptible to a variety of pests and diseases that cause growth problems and lead affect yield. Maybe this veggie is struggling with one of the most common garlic plant pests and diseases. And we’ve rounded up 11 Most Common Garlic Pests and Diseases along with some ways to remove them you shouldn’t miss out.
Although garlic is easy to grow, they are also getting easily some problems that affect the yield. All plants are vulnerable to a range of diseases and insects and garlic is no exception. To harvest high production and quality, you should observe the common garlic pests and diseases as soon as possible. And these are common problems that almost every garlic gardener has experienced when growing. We hope that after reading this information, it will be useful for you.
#1. Garlic Mosaic Virus
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Garlic mosaic virus causes mosaic patterns on the leaves, it is mottling or streaks. It causes stunted plant growth and reduced bulb size. Because it is a viral disease, there is no method to treat it, growing healthy garlic and control the aphid population in your garlic is all you can do.
#2. Purple Blotch
Image source: Ag.umass.edu
Purple blotch is a common fungus that infects garlic plants with small, water-soaked lesions on the leaves or stalks. Over time, those lesions enlarge and turn brown or purple, and then kill the tissue. To prevent, crop rotation is a useful way, as well as ensuring that soil has proper drainage.
#3. Botrytis Neck Rot
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Your garlic garden will be a major loss if botrytis neck appears. You might notice water-soaked neck rot at the soil line and, over time, the fungus grows down to the bulb and starts to attack the inner axis. They prefer cool and wet conditions. To deal with this problem, you need to remove the diseased plants or use preventative measures like avoiding too much mulch and irrigation. But, getting rid of the disease is nearly impossible.
#4. Rust
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Rust causes small, white flecks on the leaves and stems, then they will develop into a circular or elongated pustule. For this, you can some appropriate protective fungicides to treat it.
#5. Downy Mildew
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Downy Mildew is one of the common fungal garlic diseases that cause pale spots or elongated patches on the leaves of the plant, and you’ll see gray-purple fuzzy growth over the leaf surface. You can appropriate fungicides can take care of this disease.
#6. White Rot
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White rot is a fungal disease that causes the older leaves on your garlic plants to yellow first, it also leads to stunted growth. Using long-term crop rotation helps, and you can use appropriate fungicides if available.
#7. Leafminers
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Leafminers cause thin, winding trails on the leaves, and heavy damage leaves white blotches behind. The leaves might drop from the plant prematurely.
#8. Onion Maggots
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Onion maggots are a frustrating pest that infests garlic plants, causing stunted or wilting seedlings. To control them, let’s practice good sanitation in your garden, as well as remove all the onion bulbs in your garden at the end of the season due to onion maggots will use them as a food source. Besides, you can put floating row covers to protect your plants by stopping the females from laying eggs on your garlic plants.
#9. Bulb Mites
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Bulb mites are one of the most common garlic plant pests, they cause stunted plant growth, and the bulbs rot. To reduce the mite population, you can try treating garlic seed cloves with hot water before planting.
#10. Lesion Nematode
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Lesion Nematode cause stunted growth and round or irregular lesions on the roots. There aren’t too many ways to get rid of them but you can treat your garlic bulbs in hot water can help to control them. Cook them in 100°F water for 30 minutes, don’t let the water get too hot or the bulbs won’t germinate.
#11. Thrips
Image source: Ag.umass.edu
Thrips cause discolored, distorted tissue and scarring of the leaves. To control them, you can release natural enemies into your gardens such as mites, pirate bugs, or lacewings.
