Anyone who plants vegetables in the garden must expect pests. Broccoli, like many other types of cabbage, is particularly affected by some insect pests. To reduce the risks of pest infestation, you should pay attention to mixed crops.
Which pests attack broccoli and how can you combat them?
Broccoli can be attacked by pests such as cabbage white butterflies, cabbage flies, cabbage beetles and cabbage gall midges. Countermeasures include protective netting, plastic or corrugated cardboard collars, rock dust, soil moisture and late planting dates in dry and wind-exposed beds.
cabbage white butterfly
The butterflies lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves so that the larvae that hatch from them have optimal feeding conditions. The affected plants show severe pitting. Fecal contamination is also visible. The caterpillars gnaw off all of the leaf tissue except for the leaf veins. This skeletal feeding is typical of the lesser cabbage white butterfly from June onwards. Its offspring eat into the broccoli heads, causing them to die. The greater cabbage white butterfly causes greater damage in the second generation from July to September.
Take countermeasures
To prevent an infestation, you must act before the butterfly species fly. Protect the young plants with bird protection nets (€27.00 on Amazon) so that the cabbage white butterflies cannot find an opportunity to lay their eggs. If you spot egg packets on the leaves, wipe them off with your finger.
cabbage fly
Adult flying insects lay their eggs on the root collar. The larvae eat into the root tissue, causing the broccoli to exhibit stunted growth and wilting leaves. To identify an infestation, pull the vegetables from the soil. Depending on the stage of development, you can see white maggots, their feeding ducts or the brownish pupae.
What helps against it
Place a collar made of plastic or corrugated cardboard around the root neck. When the cabbage fly lays its eggs on it, they dry out in the sun. Rock dust can help prevent egg laying if you sprinkle it thickly around the root neck or pile soil on the young plants. Close-meshed vegetable protection nets prevent the flies from reaching the substrate.
Carbon beetle beetles
The blue-black colored insects, which are up to four millimeters long, move by jumping. While the larvae cause little damage, adult flea beetles pose a threat to vegetable cultivation. Tender broccoli leaves are on her menu. Feeding damage can be seen on young plants that have developed from direct sowing. A severe infestation can lead to heartlessness. This crop pest prefers drought.
How to protect vegetables:
- Keep soil constantly moist
- Loosen the substrate regularly
- Mulch the beds well
- Attach nets (mesh size: 0.8 x 0.8 mm)
Cabbage gall midge
The tiny larvae can lead to total failures in broccoli cultivation in regions. They eat into the plant tissue and cause stunted growth in the main growing point. Scabby structures in the heart area are typical. If the pest infestation remains untreated, there is a risk of heartlessness.
How to protect culture
Choose planting dates as late as possible for broccoli and plant the vegetables in wind-exposed and dry beds. Stretch cultural protection nets over the plants and make sure that the nets are firmly anchored in the ground at the edges.
