Onion Root Maggot Target Crops: Onions & Garlic. Damage When young onion plants wilt for no apparent reason, pull up a sample plant to check for legless worms (maggots) feeding on it roots. Plant may break off as you pull it from the ground. Prevention Floating row covers (fleece) are

Soft Rot Target Crops: Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Lettuce, Beans & Peas. Damage The fungi invade the plant’s circulatory system, causing it to rot from within. As the disease progresses, plants flop over and die. Infected plants are cannot be consumed. Prevention Insect barrier fabrics effectively protect plants from caterpillars. The

Wilt Virus Target Crops: Tomatoes Damage Tomato Spotted Wilt strikes much more suddenly and forcefully than other plant viruses. Infected plants rarely recover. Prevention Avoid planting near crops infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus. Monitor for thrips and tomato spotted wilt symptoms. If thrips are present and symptoms are observed,

Maize Smut Target Crops: Maize. Damage Infected plants are often distorted in appearance. The early signs of an attack are whitish galls that later rupture to release dark spores capable of infecting other corn plants. Prevention Rotate maize as smut can persist in soil for upto 3 Years. Pest &

Bean Rust Target Crops: Beans, Potatoes, Vegetables & Flowers. Damage Badly affected leaves turn brown and drop off. Sometimes pods develop patches of rust, too. Plants that lose leaves to rust are weakened and will not produce as well as healthy plants. Prevention Proper spacing, so sunlight reaches all the

Bean Root Rot Target Crops: Beans, Potatoes, Vegetables & Flowers. Damage When you pull up an infected bean plant, it will have a skimpy root system with most small roots missing. A dark area of decay may be present on the main stem near the soil line. Prevention Plant beans

Maize Rust Target Crops: Maize. Damage Badly affected leaves turn brown early and drop off. Plants that lose leaves to rust are weakened and will not produce as well as healthy plants. Prevention Avoid planting maize near trees, fences, or low pockets where dew is always heavy, and grow corn

Spinach Downey Mildew Target Crops: Spinach. Damage Spinach leaves with black patches and mold are not appealing to eat. Sometimes the inner leaves of infected plants escape damage. Prevention Choose resistant varieties, which are widely available. Make sure plants get good air circulation and plenty of sun. Rotate spinach to

Leaf Spots Target Crops:Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale & Cauliflower Challenges Leaf spot can weaken plants, but it will not kill them. However, when already infected plants receive more than twelve hours of constant warm rain, spores can be distributed so extensively that the plants cannot recover. Prevention Make sure plants get

Late Blight Target Crops: Potatoes & Tomatoes. Challenges Tomato or potato plants that have lost their leaves to late blight are poor producers. When tomato plants survive and go on to produce fruits, the fruits often have leathery patches that do not ripen properly. If not dug up early, blight