What's eating my shallot?

Shallots share the full allium pest range — onion thrips, onion fly, and allium leaf miner — but their small, clustered bulbs make them particularly vulnerable to neck rot following any leaf miner damage. Downy mildew (a disease triggered by pests damaging the waxy leaf coating) follows thrips injury. Physical exclusion with fine mesh is the cornerstone control for all threats.

Silver streaks and small white patches on leaves; damaged leaf surfaces allow fungal spores (botrytis, downy mildew) to penetrate; bulbs are undersized. Insect mesh from planting until late June. Avoid over-crowding; good air circulation reduces thrips build-up. Destroy infested plant material after harvest.

Maggots burrow into the base of each shallot bulb; in a multi-bulb clump, the grub can spread to damage the entire cluster, causing total loss of the set. Plant sets in well-drained soil in early spring. Use fine mesh. Rotate shallots to a fresh bed at least every three years, avoiding ground used for any allium.

Distinctive rows of white puncture marks in spring and autumn followed by larval mines in the bulb; neck rot fungi enter through the wounds. Fine insect netting from February to mid-June and again in September in the UK and northern US growing regions. No insecticides are available for garden use.