Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2012
Root maggots infest radish in Manitoba to a limited extent each year. As early as 1920 Norman Criddle noted damage at Treesbank. In the Brandon area the infestations have usually been less than 10 per cent but have occasionally exceeded 20 per cent. Hylemya planipalpis (Stein) is the principal species.
There is little literature on this pest. Most references to root maggots on radish refer to other species. For example, Matthewman et al. (1950) identified the cabbage maggot, H. brassicae (Bouche), as the predominant species on radish at Ottawa whereas H. cilicrura (Rond.) and H. trichodactyla (Rond.) were given secondary importance. H. brassicae has not yet been reported in AIanitoba. In California Essig (1915) stated that Phorbia planipalpis (= H. planipalpis) was present but not the cabbage maggot. Brooks (1951) reported H. planipalpis to be the major root maggot pest of radish in the Prairie Provinces of Canada.