D3461: Can high tunnels affect onion maggot infestation of garlic crops in North Carolina?

Onion maggot (Delia antiqua) is one of the most damaging insect pests of garlic (Allium sativum) crops in North Carolina. Maggots can damage or kill young plants and can infest garlic bulbs after harvesting and curing. Cultural controls have been shown to limit infection, but the effects growing in high tunnels has not been explored, nor has garlic varietal preference by or resistance to onion maggot been documented. We investigated differences in infestation rate in 13 varieties of garlic in 2021 and 24 varieties in 2022 and 2023 to identify which might be less susceptible to infestation. Variety production was replicated inside and outside of a high tunnel to compare garlic production and maggot infestation rates under different growing conditions.