Problem with my rainbow chard

[rocket]

Hello,

I've been growing some rainbow chard in a large patio container and the seedlings have been doing really well since March. I thinned them out a few weeks ago and have been watering fairly regularly trying not to overwater. In the last few days i've noticed that some of the leaves have turned pale brown/grey and gone a bit thin and papery. I'll try and attach a couple of photos so you can see what I mean.

The container gets full sun in the morning for a few hours but by mid-day is in shade. Other than that I cant think of anything else that could be causing the problem. I dont seem to be having any problem with pests/slugs.

Any advice gratefully recieved.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Rocket, leaves with grey papery patches that have water sprayed on them and sunshine aswell is usually a sign of scorch which is caused when the sun hits the wet leaves and the droplets of water act like a magnifying glass.

But chard can get leaf miner and infected leaves do look like your chard plants. White eggs would be under the leaves or white bumps which are the empty eggs. The leaf miner maggot bores into the middle of the leaf before dropping onto the ground to pupate. If it is leaf miner and the maggots are still active you should be able to hold a leaf up to the light and see them inside the leaf.

[DavidT]

Sorry Lesley, that`s scorch, not leaf miner.

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by DavidT

Sorry Lesley, that`s scorch, not leaf miner.

David, that is what I said!!!

The damage leaf miner does to chard / leaf beet leaves does looks just like scorch with no wiggly lines from the leaf miner on the leaves at all. So, I gave Rocket the info on both scorch and leaf miner just incase.

[rocket]

Thanks guys,

So, presuming it is leaf scorch (i'll double check tomorrow in the morning light), will the plants get better if I water them properly or is it too late? The damage is quite extensive and actually i've had to remove all of the leaves on a few of the plants leaving nothing but stems.

NB i've had a bit of leaf scorch on some of my other plants and although a similar thing occurs it seemed to be more 'dry' than on the chard. The damage on the chard leaves is very soggy/slimey texture, which made me think it might be a disease or some kind of fungus/mould rather than sunlight damage.

[rocket]

One more question... should I move my tub of chard out of direct sunlight, would that help? As I said in my first post it does get direct sunlight early in the morning. I'm worried if there are showers at night the leaves may get scorched before I have chance to do anything about it. I had a read of my veggie handbooks and they all suggest that chard should pretty much grow itself (which worries me a bit! If I cant even get a veggie growing succesfully that needs very little tending how am I supposed to cope with the more difficult varieties!?!?!). All part of life's rich tapestry I suppose.....!

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by rocket

Thanks guys,

So, presuming it is leaf scorch (i'll double check tomorrow in the morning light), will the plants get better if I water them properly or is it too late? The damage is quite extensive and actually i've had to remove all of the leaves on a few of the plants leaving nothing but stems.

NB i've had a bit of leaf scorch on some of my other plants and although a similar thing occurs it seemed to be more 'dry' than on the chard. The damage on the chard leaves is very soggy/slimey texture, which made me think it might be a disease or some kind of fungus/mould rather than sunlight damage.

Hi Rocket, I would definitely check the leaves - as you say scorch is dry.

[rocket]

Yep - its not scorch. Have just checked this afternoon after getting back from work. There are bugs in there! I would take a close-up photo but the weathers very wet at the moment. It looks like small rice-grain sized worms/maggots kind of embedded in the leaf itself so its hard to see them properly but there's definitely something there. Think its pretty much ruined my entire crop, more or less all the plants have damaged leaves now.

If it is leaf miner should I just ditch the entire crop and chalk it up to experience? I'm a bit concerned that the disease might spread to other nearby crops (the chard is isolated in a container but there are other pots nearby with potatoes, courgettes, tomatoes and various flowers nearby.

Grateful for any advice on what to do or any further info on this problem e.g. how can I stop it spreading? Would some insecticide work (i'm hesitant to start using strong chemicals if I really dont have to but if the rest of my crops are in danger then so be it...!)? How are these pests transmitted? etc...

Help...!!

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Rocket, that is rotten news. The leaf miner's life cycle is - the fly lays eggs on the underside of the leaves, these hatch and the maggots then bore into the centre of the leaves. The maggots then drop on the soil and pupate then hatch out into the flies that then lay another batch of eggs on the leaves followed by the maggots.

Vegetable plants that this leaf miner can attack are swiss chard or leaf beet, spinach and beetroot.

Usually people remove the affected leaves and as the maggots are active you have caught them before they drop to the soil to pupate. Remove the infected leaves and burn them. Chard should regrow without any trouble but keep checking underneath the leaves for tiny white eggs and squash them. As you have caught them in the middle of their life cycle I think your chard will be fine. Good luck!

[airconednightmare]

nasty pasty...i've noticed similar damage on my beets and chard i'll look for bugs in the morning but i am pretty sure the leaves haven't seen a drop of water

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by airconednightmare

nasty pasty...i've noticed similar damage on my beets and chard i'll look for bugs in the morning but i am pretty sure the leaves haven't seen a drop of water

Hi, pinch off some damaged leaves and hold them up to the light. If the leaf miners are active then you will see them inside the leaf. You should be able to see the tunnels that they have created inside the leaf.

[airconednightmare]

aye i found the miners at work...how do i stop them?

i have neem oil, would that help? i've just removed the infected leaves and put them for land fill

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by airconednightmare

aye i found the miners at work...how do i stop them?

i have neem oil, would that help? i've just removed the infected leaves and put them for land fill

Hi, as you have caught the leaf miners active inside the leaves and removed the affected leaves you have disrupted their life cycle. The leaf miner maggots drop onto the soil, then pupate and hatch into the flies that lay another batch of eggs on the leaves which hatch out into the maggots. So keep checking underneath the leaves for tiny white eggs and squash any that you find. I prefer to stop the life cycle to get rid of bugs.

[India Street veggies]

I could not find the solution to my chard's leaves until I read your posts. Lo and behold I have leaf miners. I thought that I either had a soil deficiency or a fungus. I am now on the organic attack to rid myself of those destructive pests. Thank you. All my best from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY David

[Lesley Jay]

Hi David, welcome to our forum - I'm pleased we were able to help with your chard problem!