Black rot on Pleurothallids

Hi Raven,

I always expect some black rot (generally Phytophora) when importing small cool growing Pleurothallids. They generally don't like to be boxed up and travel through warm places before they get to us. Generally, I do a quick soak with dilute Disinfectant (Zerotol, Physan). If I suspect any infection, I quicky hit with Subdue Max which generally stops the rot in its tracks after one treatment. Probably expensive, but it really works. I've also used Daconil and Captan with moderate success in the past.

 

I haven't used either one, but note that the AOS website indicated Truban for early stage infections but pointed to Aliette or Subdue for advanced stage.

 

After the folks at Inocucor gave me a sample of their "Garden Solution" biological product, and I started using it on a regular basis (1.5 oz/gal, once a month), the incidence of rots has plummeted to zero for me, even with overhead watering. It is not sold as a curative, as that would open up all sorts of onerous registration issues, but at double that concentration, I stopped erwinia cold in a phalaenopsis in a matter of a few days.

That's what convinced me to sell the stuff. It is available via Amazon, but shipping is included in the price if it comes from me directly.

 

Hi Ray...I think I'm going to try some. My wife had used something similar in her Nursery for establishing plugs and seedlings and it seemed successful. And...It's a pain to suit up when spraying the highly toxic stuff. If I can incorporate something organic and of low toxicity, it's worth a try. Save the toxic option for last defense.

 

Raven would you mind posting some pictures? I've been growing Pleurothallids for a few years. I'm still a noobie when it comes to fungus, bacteria and pests. I would love to see some reference so I know what to look for.

 

Certainly trichoderma is effective, but is only one species of "critter", so isn't as broad-spectrum as the Inocucor product, with more than a dozen.

 

I'm not sure, but it looks like a physiological stress.

 

Have you taken a look at the roots? When I see something like that I do often find dead roots with fungus. Whether the fungus is the primary cause of the root death or just an opportunist that moved in is sometimes hard to tell unless you can find/remember other factors that may have been involved. Overwatering, too warm at night, stale media...etc.

 

The answer to that is probably "both." I have found that, for the most part, plants don't get fungal or bacterial diseases unless they are put under some sort of stress, with under-watering, root loss due to suffocation, out-of-bounds temperatures being some of the "biggies".

 

As I implied earlier, I would also say "probably both" as Ray did. I see similar looking plants as yours that have been recently imported, typically Masdevallia. Where they have new growth as yours does, they typically survive. I find that putting the plant (talking Masdevallias) in a small net pot with only New Zealand Sphagnum and keeping "slightly" moist will greatly improve chances of survival. Once well rooted, I then repot into the mix of choice or mount. For plants in bad shape, I have also used a systemic fungicide with success, but am going to start experimenting with the Inocucor.