What's bitten a hole in my French bean seed/
Daisy Jane
Posts: 14
Hi everyone
I've recently put French bean seeds into individual pots to germinate and grow on ready for when the risk of frost has passed. However, a number of them germinated with a hole clearly bitten through the seed - about 1mm in diameter. Some of the affected seeds had lost the 'leader' but had fought back by surviving and had already started to sprout side leaves - sort of naturally stopped if that makes sense.
Searching the web for images has shown that this was caused by Delia Platura, the Seedcorn magot of the Bean seed fly.
Has anyone else had much experience of this pest - I'd never heard of it before and was about ready to send my seeds back to the manufacturer!
Would a broad spectrum nematode work against it as I really dislike the idea of using insecticides but equally don't want to see my crops wiped out?
Thanks!
Daisy Jane
Posts
Hi, Daisy Jane.....think it's probably the bean weevil.
Hi David
thanks - although looking at the web it's definitely Delia Platura that's done this which is a fly. It lays its eggs in the compost and the larvae do the damage. So I'm going to try an all rounder nematode to see whether it sorts the little blighters out. Where's my swatter....
!