Rhubarb diseases and pests
The database lists 3 problems recorded on this crop. 0 of them can cost the whole harvest, and 1 survive in soil or debris into next season — those are the ones that decide your rotation. The largest number are active in March.
Pressure through the year
The number of problems listed as active in each month. Pick a month to see what to sow, plant and harvest then.
Start from what you can see
What actually prevents them
Give the plants their full spacing 90×120 cm and keep the centre of each one open. Air moving through the planting dries the leaves faster, and leaf wetness duration is what turns a spore landing into an infection.
Applies to: Slugs & Snails
Rotate this bed and everything else in the same family on at least a three-year cycle. 1 of the problems below survive in soil or crop debris between seasons, so returning the same crop to the same ground hands them the host they were waiting for.
Applies to: Crown Gall
Clear and remove the spent crop at the end of the season rather than digging it in. Debris left on the surface is where the persistent problems overwinter, and next spring they start from your own bed rather than from somewhere else.
Applies to: Crown Gall
Work through healthy plants first and disinfect secateurs between plants. These problems travel on tools, stakes and hands, which means a single careless afternoon of pruning can distribute them along the whole row.
Applies to: Crown Gall
Keep watering and feeding even rather than generous. Several problems on this list are not infections at all: they are the plant reacting to a swing in water, temperature or nutrient supply, and consistency prevents them where no spray can.
Applies to: Bolting (Premature Flowering)
Keep affected material out of the compost heap — 1 of these survive a garden heap and come back with the finished compost. Bag it for municipal green waste, which is composted at temperatures a garden heap does not reach.
Applies to: Crown Gall
Every listed problem
Ordered by how much they can cost you.
Bacterial diseases(1)
- Crown GallModerate
Rounded, rough, woody galls at the soil line, on roots, or on stems, starting soft and cream-coloured then hardening and darkening; reduced vigour and stunting.
- How it spreads
- Tools, hands and cuttings
- Compost
- Keep out of the compost
- Conditions
- 20–30°C · humidity ≥60%
- First move
- Treat, then re-check in 5–7 days
Pests(1)
- Slugs & SnailsModerate
Irregular ragged holes with smooth edges in leaves and fruit, seedlings eaten to the ground overnight, and tell-tale silvery slime trails on soil and foliage.
- How it spreads
- Carried by insects
- Compost
- Safe to compost
- Conditions
- 5–22°C · humidity ≥80% · wet leaves / rain
- First move
- Treat, then re-check in 5–7 days
Also at risk: Lettuce, Peas, Celeriac, Swiss chard, Strawberries, Parsley
Physiological disorders(1)
- Bolting (Premature Flowering)Moderate
A tall flowering stem shoots up from the centre of the plant. Lettuce and spinach turn bitter and milky, onions and beetroot form a hard woody core, brassicas produce a thin stalk instead of a head, and coriander and rocket run to seed within days.
- How it spreads
- Not contagious
- Compost
- Safe to compost
- Conditions
- ≥25°C · dry air ≤50%
- First move
- Fix the cause, not the leaf
Also at risk: Lettuce, Onions, Beetroot, Radishes, Spinach, Broccoli
Why rotation matters here
1 of these overwinter in the soil or in crop debris rather than on the plant. Pulling the sick plant does not remove them: they wait for the same host to come back to the same ground.