Knowledgebase

Help! My cabbage and broccoli are getting eaten! #249630

Asked June 04, 2015, 12:03 PM EDT

Please help asap! all my broccoli and cabbage starts are getting chunks surgically removed off of the leaves. I need to know: a) what is eating the plants b) an organic solution(s) to stop this c) an inorganic solution to stop this it is ridiculous. i have 20 starts and they are all getting destroyed. I have attached pictures.

Benton County Oregon

Expert Response

It is difficult to identify what is damaging your broccoli & cabbage from a photo. There are a couple of things that you can do to identify the culprit - 1) look at the bottom side of the leaves and see if there is an insect (or an egg(s)) there, or, 2) go out to your garden at night with a flashlight and see if there are insect feasting then.  I am providing a photo of the Imported Cabbage Worm (Artogeia rapae[=Pieris rapae) which is the most likely cabbage / broccoli eater.  You should be able to find it easily on your plants.  I am also providing a photo if the White Butterfly, and the White Butterfly egg.  Here is the link to a very good paper about the Imported Cabbage White Butterfly, the parent of the Cabbage Worm.  http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/cabbage-white-butterfly.  Here is the link to the Pacific Northwest Handbook on Insects (on the page for the Imported Cabbage Worm) that will provide ways to control the Worm Biologically, Culturally, and Chemically.  http://insect.pnwhandbooks.org/vegetable/vegetable-pests/hosts-and-pests/broccoli-brussels-sprout-cabbage-cauliflower-imported.  There are numerous Home Use chemicals that can be used safely (if you follow the instructions on the label) to eliminate the worms from your plants.  Most of these chemicals are available at your local nursery.

Don the Gardener Replied June 06, 2015, 2:01 AM EDT

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