HELP! Neps blackening rapidly, sudden

[wezx]

Hi guys,

Im having a huge problem with my neps right now. They seemed to be growing OK for the first half of the year and now they look very very bad. I've already lost N. sanguinea and fusca (baby) to the same symptoms.

I live in Singapore, which should be OK for neps, however, today i got a hygrometer and things didn;t look good.

Temperature: 30 degrees celcuis +- day and night
relative humidity: 55% !!! This is unexpected, could this be the problem?
Light: artificial fluorescent lights, 4 tubes
soil mix: 1:1:1 peat, perlite, hydroton (1cm balls)
water: plants kept moist. When i put my finger in, the peat sticks to it. Some plants are kept in a tray of water.
Circulation: live in apartment, windows open, should be ok


clip x eymae

bical, was growing and pitchering and increasing in size until now

sibuyanensis, produced 2-3 ok leaves, 1 had forming pitcher until now.

Truncata,
produced a 3 inch pitcher, that continued like that.

The problem: A reduction in leaf size or blackeing of leaves from the bottom (oldest leaf) up, until the last, growing tip.

The 'easier' plants like hookeriania, rafflesiana, max x vent are fine.

please give me your thoughts/experiences!?

thanks,
wezx

 

[dgower82]

i wanna say that the enviroment changed to rapidly for them, or herbicide drifted onto them

had both of those happen to me

 

[ludwig777]

wezx, I am sorry your plants are doing this, it is unfortunate...
I'm not sure what hydroton (1cm balls) is, but the truncata definitely looks like a fungal infection.  I have had seriously ill plants recover quickly after treating with Orthenex.  This is the only product I have experience with but it has removed red-spot fungus, and scale (mites) as well.  I swear by this product...I have not seen any side effects; I was cautious at first, thinking it would definitely burn off new tendrils, but I have not even seen this happen with it  I don't know if it is available in Singapore but you could buy online.  

Orthenex is a combination of 2 products, Orthene for insects and mites, and Funginex for most fungal infections.

I treat with a 75% strength solution for seriously ill plants, and always do 2-3 applications, 2-3 days apart.  It is a systemic so treating in this way will cause subsequent new growth to be disease-free for quite some time.  Then, I treat my whole growing area, including all plants, with a 50% solution 2-3 times a year as a preventative.  I have seen a lot of this red-spot in people's pictures lately, and i get it too from time to time, and this product has always worked for me.

Your sibuyanensis looks to me like it went from a shaded, humid environment to a bright, drier setting.  Is this the case?  If not, i would say the roots got attacked by mites and caused this.

 

[SydneyNeps]

I agree that it looks like a fungal infection. Some are fairly innocuous, but even those can have a devastating effect on certain species, or any species when the plant is not 100% healthy or in the right conditions. Fungicides can be used, with caution, although they generally have a negative effect on growth, normally slight, but some species like rigidifolia will have an extreme reaction.

 

[agustinfranco]

Hi all:


Wezx, Considering that you are growing highland plants under lowland conditions (no temperature drop whatsoever), low humidity, and a water tray underneath the pots, IMO, a recipe for disaster.
Increased temperatures with low humidity will cook almost any nep and the water tray underneath the pot is a recipe for a major fungal infection not to mention root rot.

I would suggest you to remove the water trays, use a systemic fungicide, and use plastic bags with a large hole on one corner as to increase the humidity without cooking the plant and hope for the best.

Gus

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Some of my Neps are having the same problem!

Ludwig: Where do you buy your Orthenex? Home Depot? And is it something you have to mix together or does it come as a spray?

 

[wezx]

Thanks alot guys, i will get fungicide, change my mix to 1:1 LFS and perlite, get 'egg crate' drainage and have a layer of water below the neps to increase humidity (without them touching the water).

ludwid: about the sibu, it has been in the same environment all the time. Whats wierd is that the stem is still green.

 

[LobsterX]

Wezx: They sure look like a bad case of fungal infection. Do U have Captan50? use it. I applied it to my affected N. tobaica from MT, spraying till it was dripping. Then i left it in a very well ventilated place with bright shade. it's recovering now. I bet it's the weird weather we are getting this month. hot then Rain, hot then cold again... my my other plants are suffering too.

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

I'd say too much moisture and it looks like they were cooked, causing massive cell damage and loss, and then the fungus hit.

 

[ludwig777]

Quote[/b] (LLeopardGGecko @ April 23 2006,12:35)]Ludwig: Where do you buy your Orthenex? Home Depot? And is it something you have to mix together or does it come as a spray?

Home Depot.
Buy a common spray bottle and mix it with plastic measuring spoons.

 

[srduggins]

Any reason for using plastic spoons instead of metal?

 

[ludwig777]

no, just have to devote the set to pesticides once you use them, and these are cheaper.

 

[ludwig777]

Here's a comparison...I have a truncata that was badly infected with a fungal attack (possibly more than one), and then after treating with Orthenex. The clean leaf you see was produced immediately after treatment, showing not a trace of red spotting:

Notice even the underside of the leaf is clean:

 

[tonyc]

I'm impressed.
T.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

So is there a good way to tell the difference between the symptoms of overwatering and the symptoms of a fungus attack? I honestly can't tell which one my Neps are suffering from.

 

[MrAga73]

LLeopardGGecko,
people also told me that nepenthes could suffer from over watering...could you tell me something more to me too,please?
Look at the past my truncata how it was...after giving her more light and more lower temperatures the spots disappered quickly!

Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Basically, I have a N. copelandii and a N. ramispina that were growing fine for a while until I added two more cool white tubes to my 20 gallon tank, bringing the total up to 4. On both plants, the growing points became just plain odd looking, putting out small deformed leaves, many of which are blackened and have rust spots on them.

Do you think this is from the addition of more light? Perhaps they just need more time to adjust.

 

[Jason Wong]

Yeah, after I moved them closer to the lights I got those symptoms as well.

Mr. Aga, your truncata looks exactly like ours. Is ur humidity also 50%?

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Hey Jason, thanks for the reply. Did your Neps eventually recover? If so, how long did it take?

 

[MrAga73]

Jason Wong,

You have read fine, but since my terrarium was open the humidity dropped a bit in that past moment.
My terrarium humidity is 65% during neon light and 80 % during night!
Bye!

Mr_Aga
Milan - ITALY