Open Access025 Pea Leafminer, a New Pest of Leafy Vegetables in Ontario, Canada
Author(s) -
Mary Ruth McDonald,
M. K. Sears,
Tom Clarke,
J. P. Chaput,
Sybil Marshall
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
hortscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.518
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2327-9834
pISSN - 0018-5345
DOI - 10.21273/hortsci.35.3.392c
Subject(s) - pest analysis , biology , crucifer , crop , brassica , agronomy , spinach , horticulture , botany , ecology
A new pest of leafy vegetables was responsible for considerable reductions in marketable yield of several late-season crops in the Holland/Bradford Marsh area (44°5'N, 79°35'W) of Ontario in 1999. The pea leafminer, Lyriomyza huidobrensis , was present in high populations (25/sweep) in fields of celery, Asian crucifer crops, and spinach during the months of August and September. The high populations were associated with extensive leaf mining of celery, root parsley, and edible dandelion. On other crops, including spinach and flat-flowering Chinese cabbage ( Brassica chinenesis group var. utilis) damage consisted of stippling of the leaves, as a result of feeding and possibly oviposition, but no leaf mining. The stippling was extensive and rendered these crops unmarketable. An other Asian crucifer, Chinese broccoli ( Brassica alboglabra ) exhibited high numbers of stipples on the leaves, but very low numbers of mines. The leaves of red beets exhibited a low incidence of mines, not enough to affect yield. This is the first report of the pea leafminer affecting field vegetables in this area and causing crop losses. Pictures of the pest and symptoms of damage to the crops will be presented.