Pests, diseases and weeds
Pests
If root knot nematodes have caused problems with previous crops, do not plant celery in that area.
Lucerne leaf roller caterpillar may be a severe problem in summer and autumn and is difficult to control. Pesticide sprays may be necessary every four to seven days in severe outbreaks.
Other pests that may require control are aphids, caterpillars, cutworms, two-spotted mites, thrips, leaf-hoppers, snails and Rutherglen bugs.
Diseases
The major disease of celery is late blight, Septoria apicola, seen first as small circular spots on the tops of older leaves. Eventually the whole leaf dies. It is worse in cool, moist weather.
Bacterial soft rot may cause severe problems, especially in hot, humid conditions and following excessive applications of nitrogen. Rotting occurs mainly on the stems in the field, in storage or in transit. Infected plants that escape detection during harvest may spread the infection in the packing shed.
Sclerotinia or white mould may occur in cool to warm, moist conditions as a white growth on the stems in the field or in storage.
Other diseases are early blight, Cercospora apii, and grey mould, Botrytis. Celery mosaic virus occurs in WA and severity varies from season to season, but is rarely serious.
Weeds
Weeds can be difficult to control because celery is a long growing crop that takes considerable time to fully cover the ground. During the early period, weeds compete strongly with the crop, but not after full ground cover is reached.
The registration and availability of chemicals for pest, disease and weed control changes regularly. Consult a trained and experienced horticultural agronomist or the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) website for chemicals which are currently registered or have a permit for use on this crop.
The information on the label or permit for a chemical must be followed including the directions for use, critical use comments, withholding period and maximum residue limit. Quality assurance (QA) schemes for horticultural crop production require producers to have current information on chemical registrations and permits readily available.