Allium leaf miner

[clive f]

Just discoverd ive got allium leaf miner on my leeks,definitely leaf miner and not moth read up on both also googled allium leaf miner very good photo of the culprit, not just me most people that grew leeks have it

[charles]

 Oh dear, I have not suffered this one majorly, what is it doing to your leeks exactly?

I have had more leaf miner damage than usual in the past year, including chard, celeriac and celery, the latter in autumn though, by which time most growth had happened.

[clive f]

Charles the symtoms are very similar to the leek moth. Allium leaf miner is a fly which lays its eggs on allium species, the eggs hatch into maggots which turn into chrysalis which pupate in the stem, roots and soil, it should not be confused with the leek moth whoes larva has a separate head section and les.

[charles]

 What is puzzling me is that miners, I thought, are dormant in winter. If so, your first post was about damage in the autumn? Or are they eating away now? The damage and life cycle sound similar to leek moth but for sure, moths have pupated three months ago and hibernate as dormant moths I believe, in obscure places, not in the soil.

At least I have found that my leeks which were three quarters (by number) damaged last summer and until September, have recovered really well with plenty of healthy growth in late autumn, even a little now. The damaged leaves and stem are still apparent when they are trimmed for eating, but with lots of tasty new stem underneath.

IF the miner damage is historical, your leeks can still grow more, until late April in fact, before flowering time arrives.

[Rocket Science]

Hi clive, got something wrong with my leeks too. Gradually got worst over winter. When first leaf is striped to clean them i can see brown tunnels down to base of plant with hard dark brown grub at the bottom of tunnel. More are leaning over and giving up each week. Has the time come to grow alliums undercover- hope not!?

[Dalesman]

I cannot bear to waste compostable material so am loathe to send our 100+ infected leeks to the council. My proposal is to submerge the lot for a few months and hope the pupae drown. I guess I’ll end up with a very smelly tea and residue that’s safe to process. Would you agree? Thanks.

[charles]

I would compost it. Some larvae are [probably in the soil anyway. When you think, the miner arrives originally without anyone spreading compost containing the larvae. In a similar vein, I had lots of leek moth here last year,in a brand new garden. And even for moth the official advice is to dispose of debris, but I compost it.

As for so many vegetables, good results come from improving their vigour by growing them in well-composted soil. You can’t now be rid of leaf miner but you can help leeks grow well in spite of it. Possibly cover with mesh too.

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