Do you grow spinach in your garden?  While spinach is often processed and eaten from a can, fresh spinach is also consumed.  Diseases on the leaves of raw spinach make it undesirable and even unhealthy.  Here are a few of the most common diseases affecting spinach in the home garden.

Downy Mildew.  Sometimes referred to as blue mold (see picture above), the downy mildew fungus causes yellow areas on the leaves of spinach just prior to sporulation of the fungus.  It is particularly severe in areas with high humidity.  The best control is the use of resistant varieties.

Fusarium Wilt.  Fusarium wilt is also caused by a fungus.  Symptoms include plants turning pale, discoloration of the leaf veins, and leaf margins that roll inward.  Fusarium wilt is both seed borne and soil borne.  If problems persist in areas of warm soil, crop rotation should be practiced.  Spinach cultivars resistant to fusarium wilt have been slow to develop.

Curly Top.  Symptoms of curly top, a viral disease, begin with veins turning purple on young leaves.  Next follows the curling of leaf margins.  Young spinach plants infected will typically die.  Older plants may survive but will be stunted in growth.  Transmission from infected plants to healthy ones is via the beet leafhopper.  No resistant cultivars exist.

Identification of these and other diseases of spinach can be difficult at times.  It is best to consult your local County Extension Agent for proper diagnosis.  Remember, their services are free because of your tax dollars.  Look for the location of your nearest agent under the “government section” in your phonebook.