Leaves and Heads

Whole Plant





LETTUCE - Lactuca sativa


AFFECTING LEAVES AND HEADS:

CONDITION
CAUSE
Bleached center leaves are dwarfed, curled or twisted
Aster yellows (Phytoplasma)
Yellow or pale leaves, stunted plants
Leaf hoppers
Yellow, distorted new growth
Tarnished plant bug (Lygus pratensis)
Yellow leaves, slow growth, bitter taste
Nitrogen deficiency
Yellow, curled leaves
Aphids
Light green or yellow crinkled leaves with enlarged veins
Big vein: caused by a virus-like organism
Dull gray-green to brown leaves
Thrips
Mottled, ruffled leaves; stunted plants
Mosaic viruses
Leaf margins turn brown and die
Tipburn, prevalent in hot weather
Browning and dwarfing of plant; Velvety, white growth on leaves
Downy Mildew
Powdery dust on upper leaf surfaces
Powdery mildew
Outer leaf margins tan, blistering of leaves
Freezing injury
Wilting, sudden collapse of outer leaves on mature plants
Sclerotinia drop
Lower leaves and midribs rot near the base of the plant first
Bottom rot or Rhizoctonia (Rhizoctonia spp.)
Slimy, rotted heads
Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea)
Midrib discolored
High temperatures (> 80° F.)
Lettuce malformed
Boron or phosphorus deficiency
Brown center and rosetting
Calcium deficiency
Small holes in leaves, shot-hole injury
Flea beetles (Phyllotreta spp.)
Large hole in leaves; excrement found at base of head
Cabbage looper, Imported cabbage worm (Pieris rapae) , Beet armyworm, and Corn earworms (Heliothis zea)
Large holes in leaves with slimy trails
Slugs and snails
White or translucent, irregular tunnels in leaves
Leafminers

AFFECTING WHOLE PLANT:

CONDITION
CAUSE
Seed doesn’t germinate
High soil and/or air temperatures
Seedlings clipped off at soil line
Cutworms (Noctuidae spp.)


Missoula County Extension Office; Missoula, Montana 59808 - Updated for 2006