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Vegetable Gardening

What do we have here??

14 years ago

New to me, do you recognize them? Damage is occurring on radish. (click on thumbnail to enlarge)

Leaf damage-chlorosis/necrosis

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At first i thought they were small flies. They are thick on affected leaves.

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Zoomed and cropped.

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This could be unrelated. One of the stems was wilting badly. When i checked i found the several inches of the stalk laid open and rotting inside. i pruned down as far as i could, this was what was left. Terrible smell. Not sure if it's insect or bacterial maybe?

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Thanks for looking.

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Comments (7)

Beeone
14 years ago
Not sure what is going on, but the insects appear to be a member of the Lygus family. They typically pierce the plant, favoring new growth and flower buds, inject some enzymes to digest the area around the puncture, then suck out the juices. The largest damage to the plant is caused by the enzymes.
mauirose
Original Author
14 years ago
Wow that was fast!

i just googled 'lygus' and 'radish' and there seem to be a few articles that cite 'wild radish' as a host plant. Off to read more...
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Got a pic from before you cut it back?
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shirleywny5
14 years ago
Are these Dakon radishes? If not, they appear to be way over mature. All my smaller radishes have been pulled and eaten within 35 days of planting.
mauirose
Original Author
14 years ago
Good guess but no, not daikon. You're right that they are way past the stage radish are usually picked at. They are Rat Tail Radish. I am waiting for them to flower and produce edible pods.

i checked CTAHR and did a few google searches but so far i can't find a match for the insect i'm seeing. The damage does seem consistent with the mechanism that beeone describes.

Perhaps a few judicious squirts of Dr. Bronner's is called for...
haplo_wm
14 years ago
How wet is the surrounding ground? I've had a lot of rain in my area recently and the ground has become saturated. As a result, I've started seeing a lot of gnats around my plants and they have developed a slightly yellowish/wilting look to them. Some research indicates that I might have fungus gnats. The larva harm the roots of young seedlings, causing a wilted look and the increased moisture could lead to a fungal problem.

I'm no expert (first time gardener) but you might want to check your moisture levels and look up fungus gnats.

Jeremie.
dave_f1 SC, USDA Zone 8a
14 years ago
I'd say those are definitely Lygus bugs (seed bugs) on your radish. Very common on wild radish, wild mustard, vetch, etc. They like plants that develop seed pods. Maybe downy mildew on the top pics? Dave
Karen Pease
14 years ago
When i checked i found the several inches of the stalk laid open and rotting inside. i pruned down as far as i could, this was what was left. Terrible smell. Not sure if it's insect or bacterial maybe?

Ack! Could it be the dreaded squash vine borer?!

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