Brussels sprouts could be off the menu this Christmas (Image: Getty)
Brussels sprouts could be off the menu this Christmas after being struck by a plague of flea beetles, a farmer says. George Bennett says this year’s crop of the festive favourite is being decimated by the bugs and hot weather.
George, of Oxfordshire’s organic Sandy Lane Farm, has raised concerns over whether the traditional Christmas vegetable will be ready to eat in time. He said intense summer heatwaves have created the ideal conditions for pests. Flea beetles are tiny bugs which lay eggs in the soil beneath plants before hatching and munching their way through the leaves of brassicas such as kale, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.
George Bennett says his brassicas are all stunted and stressed (Image: SWNS)
They usually appear at the start of summer and remain for about a month, but this year’s extreme heat has led the pests to thrive for almost 12 weeks.
George said: “Because it’s been a very hot, dry summer, our brassica plants have all been stunted and stressed. They haven’t had enough moisture to get going and it’s made them very vulnerable to flea beetle.”
He explained that flea beetles nibble holes in leaves and if they do too much nibbling can kill the plant or limit its ability to photosynthesize, causing it to fail to grow and mature as it should do.
George said that this year the bugs had been “really pervasive”, adding that as much as 70% of the leaves have been eaten.
He added sprouts have been “touch and go,” telling the BBC: “We will still have Brussels sprouts, but they are likely to be quite small, not the big ones that are much easier to peel on your Christmas dinner.”
The farmer said: “Brussels sprouts grow on trees – off buttons on top of a central stalk, and the stalks themselves are about half the size they should be.
This year’s sprouts are ‘likely to be quite small’ (Image: Getty)
“At the moment, the buttons are just starting to emerge, and they really haven’t had enough water and leaf cover to really start to swell up.
“We’re in a situation where the yield is vastly reduced because the length of the stem is so short, but also the size of the individual sprouts are going to be very small.”
The farm has tried to manage by covering the crops – but when the crops are covered, critters such as caterpillars and aphids are protected from pigeons and wasps, meaning they can thrive too.
George said: “We’re definitely thinking about how we’re going to change our practices so that we’re more successful for next year.
“Certain crops will be very difficult – particularly the brassica family, as it needs a long time to mature over the summer months. That’s the critical time for them to really get up to size.”
Despite the problems with this year’s sprouts, the farmer remains hopeful for next year and said this summer’s temperatures led other crops to do “exceedingly well”.
Squash, pumpkins, potatoes, leeks, onions, carrots and beetroots have all done “fantastically well”, according to the farmer.
George said he suspects a lot of farmers will increase the range of produce they grow to be more successful.
