Allotments 4 All

Many of my onions - the ones grown from sets have got badly twisted leaves. When I cut a couple of the bulbs open they was a minute brown area inside. Any suggestions / recommendations?

Will try to get a photo at the w.e.

somebody was also having a simular problem with there mint on A4A was tonybloke

Onion fly.

The very word onion fly makes me flesh creep We have had ours covered with enviromesh since we put them at the end of last year and I'm still not convinced that the horrible little blighters aint gonna get em. We are watering with nettle brew hoping to deter anything. keeping me fingers crossed

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on May 28, 2009, 19:20:32
Onion fly.

Onion fly! is there nothing that doesn't have a fly?
lbb

Well LBB you should know ;D ;D ;D

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techniques/pests/onion_fly.htm see if this might help you never had the problem myself

this was a bit better  http://www.which.co.uk/documents/pdf/onion-fly-153657.pdf

No maggots and no yellowing or rotting so none of the main symptoms of onion fly - perhaps early days and worse will follow.  :'(

That's a really bad infestation on the link. I just had twisted leaves, no yellowing or rotting, and when I cut them open I found the odd maggot in each one rather than lots.

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on May 29, 2009, 10:59:16
That's a really bad infestation on the link. I just had twisted leaves, no yellowing or rotting, and when I cut them open I found the odd maggot in each one rather than lots.

Will keep checking but from the foregoing it looks as if the crop has had it. Have a few seedlings and sets left I might throw in elsewhere.

Its eelworm I think at least the symptoms are right for it!

see here; http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/techniques/pests/onion_eelworm.htm

 Think it could be the Leek Moth causing the trouble

www.allotments.fsnet.co.uk/leekmoth

Couple of years ago, we had the Council telling  us we had eelworm, and other people saying it was leek moth. What I had in mine was definitely fly maggots!

It's leek moth. We have had a circular from Birmingham City Council. Apparently it's rife here in the Midlands. Everyone on our site has it except my daughter Bunjy and ourselves. Cos ours have been covered. We have to drive past all the plots cos ours is at the end of the road..It's a crying shame to see all the twisted leaves but they know as much as we do but dont bother covering.

That's interesting because the circular we got from them said it was eelworm!

Robert the actual wording they used was Alium Moth. Will get you a copy tomorrow.

Quote from: shirlton on May 30, 2009, 18:13:56
Robert the actual wording they used was Alium Moth. Will get you a copy tomorrow.

I'd be interested to see it! What I had can't have been eelworm, since there was a maggot in every affected bulb, and I don't think it was leek moth since they attack the leaves not the bulbs, and look like caterpillars not maggots.

I posted pics of mineon here 2 years ago. I had small brown casters in leeks onions and garlic and the leaves were curled

I must apologise Richard. I asked about the leaflet today and apparently it didn't come from the Council. One of the commitee took a sample to the Nec garden show and they inspected it and confirmed that it was the alium leaf miner. He then copied a page from the internet and put it in the notice board. The allotment news letter that we received last year warned us about the spread of alium Moth or leaf miner and stated that all affected plants should be destroyed.