What Is Wrong With My Caraway?

Are the seedlings dying and the stems are girdled or rotted at the soil line?

Are the leaves covered with white powder?

Are there any angular or irregular brown lesions on old leaves, lesions may develop gray centers and dark margins?

Are the flowers discolored and deformed?

Are your caraway roots riddled with randomly patterned tunnels, filled with sawdust-like material?

Have the leaves been devoured?

Are the leaves curled and yellow?

Are there any green worms with a brilliant, yellow-dotted black band across each body segment?

If your seedlings are falling over and the stems are girdled or rotted at the soil line, the most likely cause is a damping-off disease. Remove and destroy all infected plants. To prevent damping-off let the soil surface dry between waterings, thin seedlings to avoid overcrowding, and do not add nitrogen fertilizers until plants have developed leaves.

White, powdery patches on the leaves are caused by a fungal disease Powdery mildew. Powdery mildew usually appears in damp places. Encourage good air circulation around the affected plants by thining them and any surrounding plants. Water plants from below to keep foliage dry. Any affected leaves should be cut off and removed. Any commercial fungicidal spray will protect your plant from further infections.

Phoma blight is a fungal disease that may attack caraway. The disease is favored by warm and moist weather. Your first line of defense is to purchase from reputable purveyors and select disease-resistant plants or seeds when available. There is no cure for this condition, but an application of a fungicide like a neem oil may slow its progression. Be sure to remove all affected plants from the garden.

Discolored and deformed flowers are caused by Aster yellows disease. This disease is transferred by leafhoppers. There is no cure for Aster yellows, so the affected plants should be destroyed. Prevent the disease by controlling leafhoppers. Spray the plants with the insecticidal soap 3 times, once every 3 days.

This type of damage is caused by carrot rust fly and their larvae. You can control larvae by introducing parasitic nematodes to the soil, and adults by covering seedbed with row cover. You can also prevent problems by planting caraways after June 1st to avoid the first carrot rust fly hatching of the season.

Some types of grasshoppers can become a problem for caraway plants. These hungry little pests will devour the leaves of your plant. To control grasshoppers, use a Bacillus thurigiensis (BT) spray or powder.

Distorted, curled leaves are caused by aphids. These insects cluster under leaves and on growing tips where they feed on plant sap. You can control them by washing them off the plant with water spray. Insecticidal soap should be used with severe infestations.

Parsley worms are known to feed on caraway plants. This voracious feeder is the larvae of the black swallowtail butterfly. You can remove them by handpicking or applying an environmentally-friendly Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) product. The adult butterflies are pollinators so if you don't have too much trouble with them you should just let them be. The worms generally prefer parsley over other umbellifers, so plant it as a companion trap crop.

Discolored and distorted leaves are caused by leafhoppers. These small, green, or brown insects feed by sucking juices from the leaves' undersides. Leafhoppers may be the carriers of the Aster yellows disease, so it is important to keep them in control. Insecticidal soap helps with severe infestations.