Bok choy is a great vegetable to add to your arsenal of greens. Popular in Asian cooking, it can also be added to most recipes. What do you do though when your bok choy starts to fail? Keep reading to learn more about bok choy problems and how to combat common bok choy diseases and pests.
Common Bok Choy Problems
Bok choy is very attractive to bugs, and some of them can do serious damage. Here are the most prevalent bok choy pests:
- Cabbage maggots
- Flea beetles
- Tarnished plant bugs
- Cutworms
- Leafminers
- Aphids
- Seedcorn maggots
- Slugs
- Whiteflies
- Vegetable weevils
A lot of these pests can be combatted with row covers and crop rotation. Another useful method is growing bok choy as a fall crop, when pests are past their natural growing season lifecycle. This is especially effective when combatting vegetable weevils. If natural methods fail, use insecticides.
Common Bok Choy Diseases
Problems with bok choy that stem from diseases are much less common. As a rule, bok choy is relatively resistant to disease. There are, however, a few possible bok choy diseases. These are:
- Clubroot
- Downy mildew
- Alternaria leaf spot
- Pseudo-cercosporella leaf spot
- Turnip mosaic virus
- Soft rot
Most of these diseases spread through moisture, and the best method of prevention is keeping the leaves dry and well aired. Don’t plant your bok choy too closely together and try not to get water on the leaves.
Additional Bok Choy Problems
Some problems aren’t due to disease or pests, but environment or human error. Here are some common physiological culprits:
These often result in wilted, stunted, or yellowing growth. Luckily, they are usually the most easily corrected. Simply adjust your water or fertilizer amounts and wait to see if your plant begins to recover.
