Basil being attacked by something

[jacobsdad]

Hi,

I have grown basil from seed indoors. It grew fine, I harvested the first batch of leaves and then they continued to grow.

I have just woken up to find that some of the leaves have gone brown and the tops of the stalks have gone limp. On closer inspection a couple of small *(possibly black) flys flew off and there seem to be lots of little white eggs on the leaves.

At least, I think they are eggs - they might be some sort of larvae - I can't really tell. They are about 1mm in size and a creamy/white colour.

Can anyone advice what this could be? I have sprayed them with a homeade garlic solution that I use for my roses for now but any advice would be appreciated!

Many thanks.

P.S. The basil is still indoors - it has never been outside but I did plant it in compost from outdoors.

[mooochelle72213]

I would say that you did the right thing by spraying it with something organic that isn't going to cause harm to the plant while you=92re trying to treat bug problem.

Here is a website that explains the problems you are having. I would recommend taking wet towel and trying to wipe off the eggs from the plants. I don't think that using soap on the towel would be a best thing, since it might be harmful to the plant.

The flies might have been attracted to the plant if it's rotting anyway from being over watered. Maybe you should try repotting it in case the eggs were also laid in the dirt if it was really moist before you noticed the infestation.

[Billy]

Possibly Fusarium wilt. This basil wilt disease most commonly affects sweet basil varieties, but other basil varieties are still somewhat vulnerable. Symptoms of fusarium wilt include: ? stunted growth ? wilted and yellowing leaves ? brown spots or streaks on the stem ? severely twisted stems ? leaf drop Fusarium wilt is caused by a fungus that can be carried by either the soil that affected basil plants have been growing in or by seeds from infected basil plants.

There is no remedy for fusarium wilt. Destroy infected plants and do not reuse the soil.