Dr. Phyto

cabbage / broccoli / cauliflower / Brussels sprouts

Brassica oleracea

Diseases & pests on this plant

• diamondback mothPlutella xylostella

  Small green caterpillars 10mm long, irregular window feeding leaving translucent leaf epidermis intact, white silken cocoons on leaf undersides.

• large white butterflyPieris brassicae

  Large yellow + black hairy caterpillars 35mm long, voracious feeding leaving only midribs, egg clusters of 20-100 bright yellow eggs on leaf undersides.

• cabbage aphidBrevicoryne brassicae

  Dense grey-white powdery colonies on leaf undersides + cabbage tips, distorted curled foliage, sticky honeydew + sooty mould below.

• brassica black rotXanthomonas campestris pv. campestris

  V-shaped yellow lesions on leaf margins with darkened veins, blackening of vascular system visible when stem is cut, heads on cauliflower / broccoli turn brown internally.

• bacterial soft rotPectobacterium carotovorum

  Water-soaked dark patches on bulbs/heads/tubers that quickly turn slimy + foul-smelling, complete liquefaction of internal tissue, characteristic strong fishy/sulphur odour from rotting tissue, infections spread rapidly in storage if not separated, conditions of warmth + moisture accelerate rot to whole-bin loss within days.

• clubrootPlasmodiophora brassicae

  Stunted plants wilting on hot afternoons despite adequate moisture, swollen distorted root systems with club-like galls, plant pulls out easily revealing massive root deformation.

• cabbage mothMamestra brassicae

  Brown-green caterpillars 40mm long with pale lateral stripe, deep tunnels into cabbage / cauliflower hearts, dark frass deposits inside head.