Problems with broccoli
Identify what's wrong by where it appears and what you can see.
Where is the problem?
Start by selecting the part of the plant where you see the problem.
Start with the symptom
Or pick from the symptoms most often seen on broccoli.
Common problems with broccoli
The problems recorded on broccoli, the most common first.
17 problems
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Aphids
Small, soft insects clustered on new growth and under leaves, leaving sticky honeydew. -
Birds
Torn, stripped brassica leaves, pecked fruit, and seeds or seedlings pulled from the soil. -
Bolting (running to seed)
A tall flower stalk from the centre of a leafy crop. The leaves turn bitter and tough. -
Cabbage root fly
Young brassicas wilt and die; white maggots are eating the roots. -
Caterpillars
Holes chewed in leaves, often down to the veins, with green droppings below. -
Clubroot
Brassicas wilt on warm days and stay small; roots are swollen into knobbly clubs. -
Flea beetles
Lots of tiny round holes in young leaves, and small beetles that jump when disturbed. -
Fungal leaf spots
Round brown or grey spots with darker rims on leaves, spreading in wet weather. -
Root damage
Wilting and stalled growth with nothing wrong above ground. Roots have been cut, crushed or disturbed. -
Slugs and snails
Ragged holes in leaves and seedlings gone overnight, with silvery slime trails. -
Bacterial soft rot and blackleg
Stems black and slimy at the base, or tubers and heads rotting into foul-smelling mush. -
Cold and frost damage
Blackened, glassy shoots after a cold night. Tender plants collapse; hardy ones grow out of it.
