Woodward should know. She's been tracking the tiny destroyer since graduate school, when she studied its effects on alfalfa in Wyoming. J. Woodward, UGA CAES Download the full-size .jpg here . These tiny worms live in the leaf and eat it. As it dines, it kills that tissue.
Damage appears as red, purple or tan spots in between the leaf veins.
Woodward said many people mistake the damage for sunburn. J. Woodward, UGA CAES Download the full-size .jpg here . The nematode causes leaf decay and discoloration and stunts plants' growth. But it doesn't kill the plants. Infested leaves may have yellow, red, purple or tan spots.