Pests & diseases › Onion Fly
Onion Fly
Maggots tunnel into onion and shallot bulbs. Plants wilt and yellow.
Symptoms
- Wilting yellow foliage
- Loose bulbs with soft rot
- Small white maggots inside bulb base
- Whole row sometimes lost
Lifecycle
Three generations May, July, September. Attracted by the smell of bruised foliage.
What to do
- Pull and bin badly affected plants
- Avoid disturbing soil around plants — releases smell
If it's bad
- None available for home use
Stop it coming back
- Insect-proof mesh from planting
- Grow from sets rather than seed — less attractive
- Don't grow next to recently-disturbed soil
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.