Knowledgebase

Diseases of Spinach #834292

Asked June 07, 2023, 11:03 AM EDT

Hi! I’m hoping someone can shed some light on what happened to my spinach this spring. Attached is a photo. The leaves are wilted because they’ve been cut and left out. Other than the spots, they’ve looked pretty healthy. Thank you!

Durham County North Carolina

Expert Response

This looks like a leaf spot disease, possibly Stemphylium leaf spot. This problem shows up in Spring and when there is high humidity. Sometimes the pathogen can come with the seeds.

You should remove all affected plants and for the next two years at least plant in a different area.

We would also recommend you have your soil tested because the pH of the soil is important for spinach which does not like acid soil. In North Carolina soil testing is free between April 1 and Thanksgiving.

If there are small holes in the leaves and you notice small black beetles, these beetles can sometimes feed on spinach leaves.

A good article with photographs can be found here:

Leaf Spots | USU

Debby

Durham County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

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Pana Jones, Program Assistant Replied June 08, 2023, 12:09 PM EDT
Hi Debbie,
Thank you so much for your reply. 
As we did have a rainy and cooler spring- mixed with a few days of higher temperatures, it makes sense.

We’ll rotate the plants and get the soil pH tested, also.

We appreciate your help.

Warmly,
Nancy 

On Thu, Jun 8, 2023 at 12:09 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied June 09, 2023, 5:58 PM EDT

Glad to help

Pana Jones, Program Assistant Replied June 15, 2023, 1:08 PM EDT

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