What's eating my rainbow chard?

Rainbow Chard's main pest is beet leaf miner, whose larvae tunnel inside the colourful leaves, closely followed by aphids on new growth. Slugs can damage young plants but tend to avoid established chard. Caterpillars of the bright-line brown-eye moth will also shred leaves in summer. It is otherwise a relatively trouble-free crop.

Pale, blotchy, irregular papery mines inside leaves; larvae feed between upper and lower surfaces; leaves become unsightly and lose vigour. Grow under insect-proof mesh; remove and destroy mined leaves immediately; RHS confirms no pesticide is approved against the larvae once inside the leaf.

Black colonies on young stems and the undersides of new leaves; honeydew and sooty mould; stunted growth. Pinch out infested tips; blast with a jet of water; encourage ladybirds; insecticidal soap or neem oil for persistent infestations.

Large, pale green-brown caterpillars eat whole sections of leaf from July to September, sometimes stripping plants. Inspect and hand-pick caterpillars in the evening; Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) spray on young caterpillars; fine mesh cover in summer months.

Irregular holes in younger outer leaves, especially after rain; seedlings most at risk. Apply ferric phosphate pellets around young plants; use slug nematodes in moist conditions; established chard is less palatable to slugs.