Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Vegetable > Garlic > Undersized or no bulb developed
Garlic > Clove/bulb > Undersized or no bulb developed
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Nitrogen deficiency
- Plants may produce small bulbs
- Tips of leaves are yellow
- Entire plant appears pale green to yellow
- Stems are thin
- More information on Nitrogen Deficiency
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Garlic rust
Puccinia alli
- Small bright orange spots on leaves and stems
- Black spots develop on the edge of orange spots
- If many leaf spots occur, leaves wilt, turn yellow, dry out
- Bulbs are small, poor quality, and may lack outer dry skin
- More information on Garlic rust
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Pink root
Phoma terrestris
- Plants are stunted and may produce no to very small bulbs
- Sunken dark pink to maroon areas on roots
- Infected roots break off easily
- Leaves turn yellow with a reddish tinge from the tip down due to root damage
- Commonly occurs mid to late season, in areas with poor soil
- More information on managing garlic diseases
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Onion yellow dwarf virus
Trichoplusia ni
- Bulbs fail to form if plants are infected when young or are firm but small when infected later in the season
- First see yellow streaks at the base of young leaves
- Eventually all leaves show yellow streaking to complete yellowing
- Leaves are crinkled, flattened and fall over
- Disease spread by the green peach aphid
- More information on Onion Yellow Dwarf Virus
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Downy mildew
Peronospora destructor
- Plants may produce small bulbs if leaf infection is severe
- Leaves develop elongated pale green to tan spots
- Purplish gray fuzzy growth develops on leaves
- Severely infected leaves collapse and die
- Disease is most severe in cool wet weather
- More information on Downy Mildew
