Swiss Chard infected with Flea Beetles?

[ShelbyRolla]

Hi Friends

Went out to our garden to harvest some chard & found a few leaves in a somewhat sorry state. This is a pretty new development; the plants were looking robust otherwise. I did some searching online & "flea beetles" kept coming up. I'm wondering what you all think. - is this the culprit?

I cut off the infected looking leaves & sprayed the rest of the plant with a Neem oil solution. I looked but didn't see any insects moving about.

Thank you in advance for your feedback & experience!

 

[ShelbyRolla]

 

[Marck]

This mostly looks like a fungal leaf spot disease, likely Beet Cercospora (Cercospora beticola). Damage from Flea Beetles (Chrysomelidae, Alticini) looks different, with many small holes like the leaf was peppered by a shotgun. Some fungal ailments like this become almost inevitable on Chard (Beta vulgaris Cicla Group) as the weather cools in the Fall.

Removing the damaged leaves was a good idea. You may also apply a layer of fresh bark or woodchip mulch underneath the plants to reduce the possibility of new spores drifting or splashing up from the soil. Neem oil may help in this situation, but I wouldn't count on it.

Update: I just read your other thread about Beets (Beta vulgaris Conditiva Group). That is the same problem and the same solutions apply.

 

[ShelbyRolla]

This mostly looks like a fungal leaf spot disease. I'm not sure which one. The damage from Flea Beetles (Chrysomelidae, Alticini) usually makes small holes, like the leaf was peppered by a shotgun. Some fungal ailments like this become almost inevitable on Chard (Beta vulgaris Cicla Group) as the weather cools in the Fall.

Removing the damaged leaves was a good idea. You may also apply a layer of fresh bark or woodchip mulch underneath the plants to reduce the possibilty of new spores drifting or splashing up from the soil. Neem oil may help in this situation, but I wouldn't count on it

Excellent, thank you @Marck! The woodchips is a good tip. I appreciate it