Cicada pest posing “serious threat” to German vegetable crops

Farmers and agricultural authorities in Germany are sounding the alarm about a plant disease posing a “serious threat” to the country’s crops, including potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, sugar beet and celery.

German farmers worried about cicada pest spreading

A plant disease is threatening vegetable crops in an increasing number of German federal states. First discovered in Baden-Württemberg, where it is considered a “serious threat”, the phytoplasma solani disease has spread to crops in Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

Phytoplasma solani (known as Stolbur in German) is carried by an insect belonging to the cicada family. The insects’ sting infects crops, causing them to wilt, while tubers and roots become soft and gummy. 

Long known to affect beet plants, the disease is now spreading to other vegetables. According to the Ministry of Agriculture in Stuttgart, as the insects “benefit from climate change [conditions]”, farmers are reporting a yield and quality loss in beetroot, celery, cabbage, onion, and carrot crops.

Speaking to SWR Kultur, President of the German Farmers’ Association, Joachim Rukwied, said he was “very worried” about the spread of infected cicadas.

Farmers need long-term solution to stop plant disease spreading

According to Isabell Pergner from the Farmers’ Association in Baden-Württemberg, in 2024, sugar beet farmers’ yield dropped by 25 percent, and the sugar content of the beet plant fell significantly. In potato farming, yield losses of up to 70 percent were recorded.

“For some farmers, the ability to continue production hangs in the balance,” Pergner told SWR. With the disease posing an economic threat to agriculture in the region, farmers urgently need access to effective plant-protecting repellants, and further research is needed to find sustainable resistance strategies.