Leafy amaranth, also known as Callaloo, is an edible, heat-tolerant vegetable. Unfortunately, a common pest of this plant is the Pigweed Flea Beetle. The adult beetles chew the leaves, which can cause significant injury to the plants. This damage can be prevented pretty easily by using a row cover fabric or mesh insect netting over the crop to prevent the beetles from accessing the plants.
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3 Comments
My wild amaranth seems to not get much herbivory at all, but cultivated is really hard. Are the wild amaranths you find as a 'weed' a different species, or just less attractive/more resistant to pigweed flea beetles?
Hi John 👋
Thank you for that pointer 😘👍