[Mrs Bee]

I was feeling somewhat pleased about the parsnips that were growing.

First time of growing and after a gentle furtle recently I can see that there are some goodly sized ones there.

However when I went today several of the parsnips leaves were going dry and brown.

Any of you seasoned parsnip growers know what it is and what my action plan should be?

I hope the photos of the leaves have worked.

Many thank as always.

[shoozie]

I'm no parsnip expert either MrsB so I'll be interested in what others who know more think. 

Assuming nobody near you has been spraying weed killer, at first I thought you'd accidentally posted blighted tattie leaves, as I does look fungal of some sort.  Are the roots themselves clean?

Sorry I can't help - hope it doesn't become more wide spread

[fatcat1955]

Do snip's get blight? That's what it look's like to me.

[mumofstig]

Mine were like that last year, when lifted they had quite bad canker.

I don't know if the brown leaves were anything to do with it or if it was just a coincidence 

[Growster...]

It may be a little carrot fly has got in, because the foliage goes the same colour on carrots.

I've got the same on a couple at one end of a patch, but the roots seem OK so far. In any event, a carrot fly attack has less impact on a parsnip than a carrot, because the size outweighs the problem somewhat!

[Mrs Bee]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The parsnip bed was next to a potato bed where the desiree has blight and yet the Juliettes in the same bed were untouched.

I did wonder about potato blight spreading.

I also did a bit of googling after I had posted and it would seem that parsnip leaf spot is likely. Pictures were the same as our nips. The info said not to worry as it wouldn't affect the parsnips. SO here's hoping as I haven't done these before and we do like a roast parsnip or three.

[JayG]

On the whole my parsnips look pretty healthy, but there is the odd leaf with quite large brown patches on, and underneath one of them I found rather a lot of white "maggots" - they don't seem to be actually eating the leaves, but are clearly not doing them much good either!

They are about 3mm long, but I have no idea what they are.... 

[Mrs Bee]

Now I didn't see any maggots. WIll have to go and have a look.

[Salmo]

Those maggots have dark heads so they are not maggots but caterpillars. No idea what they could be the caterpillars of but probably a moth. Do parsnips get sawfly? Unless they set about eating all the leaves do not disturb them. They could provide a meal or two for some lucky bird or its babies.

[JayG]

Should have known I wouldn't get away with a vague description with Salmo around! 

Yes, they do appear to have legs, although it's right on the limit of my poor old peepers to see them, so they are no doubt some sort of moth or butterfly caterpillars or some sort of sawfly larvae (possibly laid on the wrong type of plant by mistake?)

Anyhow, the leaf went on the bird feeder after its photo-session and has now blown away along with its mystery guests!

[8doubles]

Those maggots have dark heads so they are not maggots but caterpillars. No idea what they could be the caterpillars of but probably a moth. Do parsnips get sawfly? Unless they set about eating all the leaves do not disturb them. They could provide a meal or two for some lucky bird or its babies.

I would be making sure the birds get to eat them NOW !

The chances of caterpillars being beneficial to the plants they are laid on is very slim !

A plague of parsnip pests has to start somewhere, i think 'nip in the bud' is the way to go.

[JayG]

I would be making sure the birds get to eat them NOW !

The chances of caterpillars being beneficial to the plants they are laid on is very slim !

A plague of parsnip pests has to start somewhere, i think 'nip in the bud' is the way to go.

Oh gosh! I'm now having visions of The Men from Defra arriving here in their white protective suits (as in ET!), taking away my parsnips in sealed bags and declaring my garden a threat to UK parsnip growers (and probably national security too unless I'm very lucky!)   

(Given that they were not eating the leaves I still think that whatever laid the eggs chose the wrong plant so the caterpillars/larvae would probably not have survived - can't find any reference to any known UK pest of this type ont' tinterweb either as far as parsnips are concerned.)