Following the 2025 aphid surge, English leafy salad growers have again experienced record numbers of aphids in 2026 wholehead lettuce crops. Warm and drier weather over the summer provided ideal conditions for aphids in all the major growing regions; East Anglia, the Midlands, the North West, Central South and South East England
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The aphid bloom is not restricted to the UK. Aphids have made their home in crop across all of Europe's major growing regions in Germany, the Low Countries, France, Italy, Spain and further east.
High levels
A spokesperson for the British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA) says, "2026 proved another very challenging season for growers with extremely high levels of Nasonovia Ribisnigri (Nas) presenting a serious challenge for growers and affecting commercially significant volumes of crop across most varieties of lettuce and baby leaf. The pattern of the aphids' growth was a peak in late June and again in August/September. Record Nas infestations were recorded in all major growing regions in both 2025 and 2026. In August and September 2026, growers reported 300,000 to 400,000 aphids per hectare. In September alone, an estimated 30 million lettuce heads went unharvested, with losses exceeding £10 million and some businesses left with up to 85% of production unmarketable."
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The BLSA continues to coordinate activity, working closely with growers, breeders, researchers and policymakers to accelerate research. To date, growers have invested £200,000, significant time, land area, and growing resources in monitoring, research, field trials, and work with breeders and researchers across 2025 and 2026.
Robust data
The work includes collecting robust data to track aphid development; optimising current tools and crop protection practices; trialling new control methods; working with plant breeders to develop crops better able to withstand pests; and engaging with regulatory authorities and policy makers to ensure that the scale of the challenge is recognised and coordinated support is available to safeguard UK leafy salad production.
