Onion eel worms

[ohmeohmy07]

Has anyone written about these nasties. It seems 3/4 of the 250-odd allotments where I am (Walthamstow - NE London) have been pulling out all their onions over the weekend, for burning or chucking in the rubbish bins.

How did they get here? My neighbour says they are not air-borne, so the suspicion is that they all come from the sets sold by our secretary. I cannot see signs of damage in my plants, which fits the theory, as I bought my sets elsewhere. Does anybody know whether I will be alright or will they emerge soon? Is there anything I can do as a preventative?

[ohmeohmy07]

[ed dibbles]

If your onions are alright leave them to grow as no sign of onion eelworm damage means your onions may not be affected.

Not sure how they could get onto your allotment site though infected stock is obviously a possible answer. All I know is that once you have them you will have the potential for an attack.

The bad news is that I don't believe there is a "cure", although the good news is that they are only a problem certain years and much of the time only a few plants will show their presence.

Luckily they only require a two year break in the rotation for their number to be affecetd so a normal 3-4 year rotation will help enormously.

Sowing mustard as a green manure is said to reduce the population as is planting french/african marigolds.

[davyw1]

As Ed says a couple of years break can solve the problem but it also a two year break from any root crop including Sweed Turnip and beetroot