How to Identify, Prevent, and Treat Common Beet Diseases
Beets often top lists of “perfect plants for beginners” because they aren’t too much of a challenge to grow.
So it’s extra devastating when you step into your garden to discover that those plants you were counting on have been struck by some mysterious ailment.
Don’t lose heart. Every plant is prone to disease now and then.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place to figure out what’s going on, and what you can do to fix it and prevent the same problems from recurring next year.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
Once you know what challenges your beet plants face, you can take steps to head many of them off before they get a toehold.
Here are some of the most common beet diseases you might encounter:
Some of these diseases can be avoided altogether if you keep pests away, so be sure to check out our guide to dealing with beet pests.
Ready to get started?
1. Alternaria Leaf Spot
Alternaria leaf spot is caused by various species of fungi in the Alternaria genus.
Small, round lesions will appear on the leaves. The lesions may fall out, leaving holes, or they can merge and cause parts of the leaf to turn brown and necrotic.
This disease thrives in humid and hot conditions.
While the damage is mostly cosmetic, it can reduce your leaf harvest.
The best way to avoid this disease in the first place is to rotate your crops, and wait three years before you plant anything in the goosefoot family in the same location again.
You should also be sure to water at the base of the plant and not on the leaves themselves. Keep weeds out of your garden beds as well.
If you are determined to get rid of this garden foe,
The website greengrove.cc is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Fuchsias respond super well to pruning, and unlike roses or lilacs, you don’t run the risk of ruining this year’s display if you mess things up a bit. Phew! Isn’t it nice to work with a plant that is totally low pressure?Having said that, you don’t just w
Finding flowers in your food isn’t as surprising as it used to be. Marigolds and pansies are a pretty common sight in salads, and candied rose petals and violets decorate all kinds of desserts.But I have yet to order a dish at a restaurant and find fuchsia flowers –
I’m a full-grown woman with adult responsibilities and a pretty good head on her shoulders. Most of the time. But when I find powdery mildew on my roses, I just want to lie down, kick my heels in the grass, and throw a certified, grade-A tantrum.I’m sure you already know this, but you don’t w
We all know what makes lilacs fabulous – it’s those spring days when you’re walking outside and you suddenly get a whiff of a heavily floral fragrance.That’s when you look around and, yep, your lila
Mention rose rosette disease or that your prize specimen has an unusual witches’-broom growing on it to another rose lover, and you’ll likely see a look of horror.Just the mere mention of this disease or its common symptoms i
The term “rose mosaic” may sound like a good thing. Maybe you imagine it denoting an artistic way to display particularly pretty blossoms, for example. But boy are you in for a surprise if this sounds like you.Rose mosaic sucks. It does cause some interesting pattern
You head outside to enjoy your garden when you spot it: something has turned your beautiful camellias into a terrible scene straight out of a horror movie.The leaves of your shrub are totally bla
With their delicate flowers and lacy foliage, you might assume that bleeding hearts are super fragile and prone to diseases. But, as the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and these plants are actually surprisingly resilient.In general, they’re just not bothered by insect pests, dis
There are a lot of reasons to love bleeding hearts, but being relatively uninteresting to pests is one of the best.Maybe they taste bad or something? I’ll have to
Swiss chard is exceptionally beautiful on top of being delicious, which makes it doubly frustrating when the leaves turn up with unsightly holes or yellowing leaves.When pests attack, you need to take s
Marigolds are pretty, but part of the reason they’re so popular is because they offer up their sunny blossoms week after week without much – if any – input from you.You can set them in the ground and go about your life, for th