PlantPal

Winding pale trails inside leaves

A trail inside the leaf can be a leaf mine. Check whether fresh trails are still forming.

Leaf-miner damage on a chard leaf.
Leaf-miner damage on a chard leaf. Photo: Babahu · CC0 · Resized and converted for display.

What to check first

Hold a leaf up to the light. Look for a winding tunnel or pale blotch within the leaf, sometimes with a dark line of waste. An old, dry trail may already be empty.

What to do now

A few old trails can be left alone. If only a few leaves have fresh mines and the plant has plenty of healthy foliage, remove those leaves and dispose of them away from the plant.

What to watch next

Check for fresh trails on new leaves. Old tracks will not fade, so use new damage to decide whether more action is needed.

Sources