Dealing with Bacterial diseases

[cdayinflorida]

This is from Martin Motes:

"Removal of
the leaf or stem is a simple but somewhat drastic solution. If one is loath to lose so much of the plant, the most effective
treatment for bacterial infection is treatment with cupric hydroxide (Kocide or Champion) which should if possible
be combined in equal parts with mancozeb(Manzate or Dithane M45).
This combination is packaged, pre-mixed as Junction. By adding a small amount of water to the chemicals in a jam,
one can make a slurry that can be brushed on the lesions. An old toothbrush is efficient in applying this and your
dentist will be happy to have it out of your mouth. Any left over slurry can be placed on a high shelf (brush and all)
and re-hydrated later. This stuff is also the cure for those soft spots that appear on Phal. leaves in summer.
Be cautious when making the slurry not to inhale any of the dust and never, never, dust these chemicals
without wearing a mask.
For large collections, with extensive damage, one tablespoon per gallon of cupric hydroxide and mancozeb can be
sprayed. Mix the two and wait an hour or more before spraying. Do not apply this mixture to dendrobiums or to
bromeliads which are hyper-sensitive to copper."

[opaline]

This is from Martin Motes:

"Removal of
the leaf or stem is a simple but somewhat drastic solution. If one is loath to lose so much of the plant, the most effective
treatment for bacterial infection is treatment with cupric hydroxide (Kocide or Champion) which should if possible
be combined in equal parts with mancozeb(Manzate or Dithane M45).
This combination is packaged, pre-mixed as Junction. By adding a small amount of water to the chemicals in a jam,
one can make a slurry that can be brushed on the lesions. An old toothbrush is efficient in applying this and your
dentist will be happy to have it out of your mouth. Any left over slurry can be placed on a high shelf (brush and all)
and re-hydrated later. This stuff is also the cure for those soft spots that appear on Phal. leaves in summer.
Be cautious when making the slurry not to inhale any of the dust and never, never, dust these chemicals
without wearing a mask.
For large collections, with extensive damage, one tablespoon per gallon of cupric hydroxide and mancozeb can be
sprayed. Mix the two and wait an hour or more before spraying. Do not apply this mixture to dendrobiums or to
bromeliads which are hyper-sensitive to copper."

I managed to salvage a few amputees of vaying species with the aid of monotonous concentration and time with plenty of ruthless decision making and a dose of sterile methods. Dendro canes were easy and as said in a recent post this time of year (uk) triggers response from dends no matter what their class is so their trauma with harsh tissue removal etc proved no problem to them. My perisiteria elata (dove orchid) was the 1st large psbulb ive operated on and careful measures certainly pay off. Off i go again now to get that systemic wonderous fungicide on the war path and observe as i go.

[Lars.Kurth]

I brought back a small bottle of Phyton 27 from the US and did an initial preventative spray on all plants this morning. And a drench with higher concentration on some of the plants which are susceptible to bacterial issues or have had parts removed (i.e. Gongora, Stanhopea). I did loose a few plants, but no plants that took me ages to get. The only one I am quite sorry about is a large Ornithocephalum that basically went glassy over night and could not be salvaged.

It is actually getting colder now (around freezing) and thus the heating has kicked in a lot. As a result, the greenhouse is much drier. Humidity has dropped a lot. Spring should be on its way soon: so I will only need to get through the next six weeks or so.