The above photo was the sight met after those strong winds from the other day – sweetcorn plants snapped off at the base and blown around. At first, you might think the wind was responsible, but closer inspection shows slugs…
The sweetcorn plant below was still standing, just. But you can see that it has been damaged at the base of the stem:
And a closer look at some of the leaves reveals this slime trail:
Slug damage can look a little different on sweetcorn plants than on other vegetable plants. One key difference is in the way the slugs seem to tear strips rather than holes, hollowing out in between the sections of leaf between the ribs.
It’s actually quite common for slugs/snails to damage the base of stems in this way when you plant out plugs – the stems are still very young and tender, and make for an attractive meal. You can see in the photo below a squash plant that has been eaten in much the same way, slime trail as evidence.
There are lots of tactics you can use to protect plants from slug and snail damage – see the articles below for some insporation.
