Could someone please tell me what my poor lettuce leaf's problem is? At first it looked like shiny scales but after magnifying the picture, it actually looks like it also has black spots all over. Whatever it is has also affected my sweet basil seedling which was growing close to the loose lettuce plants. Thanks.
https://www.keepandshare.com/photo/45621 ... ?fv=y&ifr=
It could be downy mildew. It looks different on different plant species but has the same name. It is common in cool wet weather when leaves don't have a chance to dry out.
Basil downy mildew can be reported to Cornell's online site. It is a major problem now.
https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell. ... Downy.html
https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r441100411.html
https://metos.at/tiki/tiki-index.php?pag ... wny+Mildew
Basil downy mildew can be reported to Cornell's online site. It is a major problem now.
https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell. ... Downy.html
https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r441100411.html
https://metos.at/tiki/tiki-index.php?pag ... wny+Mildew
Could part of it be sooty mold? If so, here's an info sheet from the University of California at Davis on identification and management.
Given what happened when we grew/tried to grow loose-leaf lettuce in 2008 and 2009, I'd look for ants and aphids, too. The ants "farm" the aphids, and the sooty mold develops where the honeydew secreted by the aphids--which is what the ants are actually after--sticks to the lettuce.
Hope you get to the bottom of the situation soon!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Given what happened when we grew/tried to grow loose-leaf lettuce in 2008 and 2009, I'd look for ants and aphids, too. The ants "farm" the aphids, and the sooty mold develops where the honeydew secreted by the aphids--which is what the ants are actually after--sticks to the lettuce.
Hope you get to the bottom of the situation soon!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
To Cynthia_h,
Thanks for the info. My loose leaf lettuces are growing indoors on one of the aerogardens (https://www.aerogrow.com/) but they are near potted plants so aphids could have come through them. The bugs that I see flying around are fungus gnats. So far, I haven't seen any ants crawling about.
The infected leaves are usually more mature (outer edge). I've decided to cut all the infected ones off and see if the rest of the plants are salvageable. I'll post my progress.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the info. My loose leaf lettuces are growing indoors on one of the aerogardens (https://www.aerogrow.com/) but they are near potted plants so aphids could have come through them. The bugs that I see flying around are fungus gnats. So far, I haven't seen any ants crawling about.
The infected leaves are usually more mature (outer edge). I've decided to cut all the infected ones off and see if the rest of the plants are salvageable. I'll post my progress.
Thanks again.