Most Common Kale Pests & Diseases

You want to know how to deal with kale pests and diseases in your garden?

Make sure to check out the simple but yet efficient tips and tricks on how to get rid of kale plant diseases and pests in the following chapters.

Kale Pests

Pest	How to control it
Flea beetles	Flea beetles are quite common on kale plants. You can get rid of flea beetles by using insecticidal soap or other pesticides.
Aphids	Aphids may also populate kale plants. Thus, make sure to inform yourself how to get rid of aphids.
Cabbage worms	Cabbage worms may also try to feed on kale. You can control cabbage worms by using insecticidal soap or diatomite.
Harlequin bugs	You may also have to keep away harlequin bugs when growing kale. You can control harlequin bugs by using insecticidal soap or spraying neem oil onto the leaves of your plants.
Caterpillars	Caterpillars are also quite common intruders when growing kale. Hence, make sure to inform yourself on how to treat caterpillars.
Loopers	Similar to caterpillars, loopers can also do great damage to kale plants. Thus, make sure to also get some information on how to control loopers in your garden.
Maggots	Maggots may also try to feed on kale plants. Hence, make sure to also inform yourself on how to get rid of maggots.
Nematodes	Nematodes can also adversely affect the growth of kale. You can get rid of nematodes by spraying neem oil or vinegar onto the leaves of your plants.
Armyworms	Armyworms may also be present when growing kale. You can control armyworms by using insecticidal soap or neem oil.

Kale Diseases

Disease	How to control it
Rust	Rust is a quite common problem on kale plants. Hence, make sure to inform yourself how you can get rid of plant rust.
Mold	Mold may be another issue when growing kale. Thus, make sure to get some information on how to get rid of mold on your plants.
Damping-off	You may also lose kale seedlings due to damping off of your plants. Damping-off often occurs when germination conditions are suboptimal and you should therefore do everything to improve soil and lighting conditions to prevent damping-off as best as possible.
Leaf spot	Leaf spot may be another problem while growing kale. Thus, make sure to get some information on how to get rid of leaf spot.
Anthracnose	Although rare, anthracnose may also occur on kale plants. You should get rid of infested plant material and spray copper-based fungicides on kale plants to control anthracnose as best as possible.
Black rot	Black rot is a disease that cannot be treated easily. Most of the time, it is best to just get rid of infested kale plants to avoid the spread of black rot in your garden.
Downy mildew	Downy mildew is also quite common on kale plants. You can get rid of it by using fungicides that you can get from the garden center.
Powdery mildew	Powdery mildew may occur on kale plants as well. Hence, make sure to inform yourself on how to control powdery mildew in a proper manner.
Mosaic virus	Mosaic virus is a viral plant disease that cannot be treated easily. You should just get rid of infected kale plants to avoid the spread of mosaic virus to other garden plants.

Kale Pests & Diseases – Summary List

Pests	Diseases
Maggots	Anthracnose
Aphids	Black rot
Armyworms	Leaf spot
Harlequin bugs	Rust
Nematodes	Mosaic virus
Loopers	Black rot
Caterpillars	Powdery mildew
Cabbage worms	Downy mildew
Flea beetles	Mold

How to deal with Kale Pests & Diseases?

Now that you got all the information you need to get rid of kale pests and diseases in a proper manner, you may also want to have a look at my kale grower’s guide and my growing kale FAQ section.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale

Own experience.