Read in detail about the common Spinach Pests and Diseases for growing the tastiest and healthy spinach year-round.
Spinach is one the easiest and fastest to harvest nutritious vegetables. It prefers the cool season of the year. However, bolt, bolt-resistant varieties can be grown in summer with the little shaded locations. Whether you cook it or consume it raw in salads, spinach is loved by all; even certain pests and diseases like to roam around this veggie. Read in detail about those insects and how to prevent them.
Spinach Pests and Diseases
There are many pests that munch on soft leaves and stems of spinach plants, but the most common insects that harm them are as follows.
1. Flea Beetles
This insect munchs on the young leaves of spinach and creates many small holes. Additionally, the leaves may show bleached and pitted areas. These insects are so tiny that they often go unnoticed.
To get rid of this, apply reflective mulch or put aluminum foil sheets under the spinach plants. Insecticides like carbaryl and pyrethrum can sometimes help reduce severe infestations.
2. Slugs and Snails
Slugs and snails also create holes in spinach leaves, but their holes are much larger. Additionally, they leave behind slime trails. The best way to manage these pests is by taking the help of bait and traps.
3. Leaf Miners
Leaf miners create meandering tan trails on the leaves. As they feed inside the foliage, insecticides that work by contact cannot work. To repel it, remove and destroy infested leaves before the larvae can mature.
4. Cutworms and wireworms
As the name sounds cutworm cut the young seedlings of spinach at ground level. Whereas wireworm munch on the leaves and roots. These pests don’t give attention to old transplants and feed on tender seedlings.
For trapping wireworms, grow mature carrots in the garden every 2 to 3 feet from spinach. Pull out the carrots every 2-4 days, and take off the wireworms on them. After that, replace the carrot in the garden.
You can use Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and spinosad spray to deal with cutworms.
5. Aphids
These pests are possibly the most common type of spinach pests. Natural predators usually keep their populations in check. If additional control is needed, use insecticidal soaps or neem oil.
Common Spinach Diseases
Apart from pests, you can also face another issue, spinach diseases, which are as follows:
Viruses
Viruses in spinach plants are circulated by insects, you can prevent it by preventing insect infestation. This issue cannot be treated so pull and destroy the infected plant.
Damping Off
This disease makes the seedlings fall and die after they develop. To prevent this issue, grow good-quality seeds and do not overwater the spinach. Before adding compost to the soil, treat it properly in a hot pile.
Downy Mildew
Downy mildew manifests as yellow or light green spots on the upper leaf surface, along with white fungal growth on the underside. This problem cannot be cured, so remove infected plants.
To prevent downy mildew, ensure plants are spaced properly for adequate air circulation and water the soil directly to keep the foliage dry. Do not plant spinach next year if you have issues with downy mildew the current year. This causes the spores of the disease to die out.
Handling Spinach Pests and Diseases
Common issues with spinach are the result of how you grow it and the climatic conditions. Spinach likes cool weather and tastes best when it’s cool. In hot weather, seeds take a long time to sprout or might not sprout at all.
Heat also makes spinach plants bolt quickly, which ruins their flavor. For an early crop, plant the seeds in late winter or early spring. For a fall or winter crop, plant in late summer or early fall. If you want to grow spinach in summer, plant it where it will get half a day of shade.
