Landshare

i have some turnips and when i planted them all the leaves had been eaten obviously some kind of fly. they have started to recover but id like to know what im up against for next season. any ideas?

Hi, don't know where you are, but you probably had turnip sawfly, an agricultural pest. The fly lays eggs and the caterpillars devastate the crop very quickly - even overnight. Hard to control except by spraying.
Pigeons will nip the leaves off down to the ground but may leave them there.
Yellow eggs are large white butterfly (clusters) or small white (individually) and you would have seen the respectively stripy or green caterpillars.
Best practice is to net or envirofleece your crops next year.
It's the solution to so many pest problems.

By JulesBD on 22 October 09 | Report misuse
As turnips are in the brassica family it could be wood pigeons have devoured your turnip leaves, did you net them?

By CC1508 on 31 July 09 | Report misuse
i grew them im my green house, and i planted them in in june grew them from seed also they are yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves and they seem to be eaten around where the yellow eggs are

By mattjohnson on 30 July 09 | Report misuse
Need more info - did you sow direct? When? What kind of pattern of eating did the leaves show?

By ladybirdathome on 26 July 09 | Report misuse