Toxic1979
Senior Member
Posts: 148
Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 4:23 pm
Location: Labrador City, NL, Canada

Broccoli Yellow Leaves

The lower leaves on one of my broccoli plants are turning purple and yellow, and wilting. Any ideas?

I'm not sure if its a a deficiency in a nutrient, or if its a climate issue....Its seems to be only one of the broccoli plants.

Climate has been fairly consistent. Ive got over 24 broccoli plants. This is the only one showing these symptoms. And it seems to be getting worse each day. Is this a nitrogen and/ or phosphorus deficiency?

The variety of broccoli is Green Magic.

Thanks in advance.
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applestar
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Maybe just the heat? My remaining broccoli -which have already produced main heads- have been doing that for a while. I just remove them as they yellow. (In my garden) If I leave them, these will just "survive" for the rest of the summer, then might produce more small shoots in the fall. I'm probably going to cut down all but the biggest/healthiest of the OP varieties for producing seeds though, so I can re-allocate the beds and prep the beds for fall crop.

Toxic1979
Senior Member
Posts: 148
Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 4:23 pm
Location: Labrador City, NL, Canada

Its only been recently, and we have had some good 25 celsius days in a row.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Since only one plant is affected, I would look for mites. Mites could cause the leaves to bronze like that. Mites are hard to see and hard to control. Remove the leaves and make sure you bag them. Try to look under the leaf with a microscope and see if you see any mites. Mites are tiny spiders that may be smaller than a pinhead.

https://extension.missouri.edu/p/g7274

Removing the damaged leaves and good sanitation helps. As well as using a bug blaster shot of water under the leaves daily to knock them off. Keeping the plants healthy, fed and watered will make them more resilient to survive the attacks. There are miticides that work like pyrethrins and sulfur but sulfur can burn plants if it is not applied properly and pyrethrins are harmful to bees and kills beneficial insects including the insects that eat the mites. A diverse landscape and providing habitat for beneficial insects helps. Fennel, marigolds, achillea, lemon gem marigolds, cosmos, coriander (in bloom), and dill (in bloom) are good plants to have around to attract beneficial insects. For a strong garden patrol, chemicals must be kept to a minimum, rogue out weak plants, keep plants as healthy and well fed as possible, and tolerate some damage.

Toxic1979
Senior Member
Posts: 148
Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 4:23 pm
Location: Labrador City, NL, Canada

I'm not sure if we actually get mites in my area? And I don't mean that to say we don't, but just to say I'm unsure. Ive never heard of it here. Ill check the plant to see. Today after examining the garden again, I'm noticing a few more broccoli having the lower leaves turning yellow. In different beds as well. Not the same bed as the first one I showed.

Could it just be that we had a 3-4 days of fairly warm weather? Or would some think its a fertilizer requirement? Id rather it not be a fertilizer requirement. I don't like adding too much to the garden. Only when needed.



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