Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Vegetable > Swiss Chard > Spots or blotches on leaves
Swiss Chard > Leaves > Spots or blotches on leaves
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Cercospora Leaf Spot
Cercospora beticola
- Leaves develop circular (1/8 – 3/16 inch) brown to gray spots with distinct reddish-purple borders
- Lower leaves are infected first and often most severely affected
- In humid weather, produce silver or steel-gray spores which gives the leaf spot a fuzzy appearance
- Centers of spots may have black dots
- Plants may be stunted
- More information on Cercospora Leaf Spot
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Flea Beetles
Disonycha xanthomelas, Systena blanda, and Phyllotreta spp.
- Adult feeding on leaves creates shallow pits and small, irregular holes giving it a "shot hole" appearance
- Heavy feeding may cause wilting
- Adults are small (1/16 to 1/8 inch long), and vary in color from black, bronze, bluish, or brown to metallic gray, while some species have stripes
- Present throughout the growing season
- More information on Flea Beetles
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Spinach Leafminer
Pegomya hyoscyami
- Larvae tunnel into leaves creating mines that begin long and narrow and eventually becoming an irregularly shaped blotch area
- Mines are opaque at first and then later turn brown.
- Larvae are a carrot-shaped, whitish maggot
- Present throughout the growing season
- More information on Spinach Leafminer
