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Root maggots
Insect or pest Delia radicum, D. antiqua · also called cabbage maggot, onion maggot
How to spot it
Small white legless maggots, about 1/4 inch long, in roots and bulbs. The adults are gray flies that look like small houseflies.
What it does
They tunnel into radishes and turnips, the roots of cabbage-family plants, and onion bulbs. Plants wilt, yellow, and die, and roots rot.
What to do now
- Pull and throw away infested plants, with the soil around the roots.
Keep it away next time
- Cover beds with row cover right after sowing.
- Grow these crops in a new spot each year.
- Wait for warm soil, or sow a later crop to miss the spring flies.
- Put a square of cardboard or tar paper around the stem of each cabbage transplant.
Helpful supplies
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Plants it affects
Not sure? Your county extension office can identify it from a photo or sample, often for free.