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Black rot

Hi all,

these are some pics of rokko x stenophylla suffering from the disease. I doubt there is any chance of saving it, but want to find out what the cause is and how to treat if found in early stage.
150246713_8fe94efb9d.jpg

150246712_10aeed87bd_b.jpg

anyway, i only noticed it 2 days ago. so it struck rather quickly.
the growing tip and leaves feel soft and rather weak, near like water-stressed, although the black areas are wet and seem to be 'rotting'
the plant had been received from EP less than a month ago, probably still acclimitizing, although it had made some good growth in a very short period of time. It also has a very healthy root system, as I suspected root rot so transplanted the plant, but everything below soil level seems in good condition.
it has been under 85-90% shade, and high humidity
no stagnant air, no sudden changes. (until yesterday). I dont think this is fungus, (sprayed captan anyway)

please help me and explain what this is, cause, and treatment.
this is not the first time I had plants dyign this way, want to learn more.
if there are any other info about the growing info, please let me know.

thanks
 
Lam wn

It does look like your cutting isn't happy from the color and the way the leaves are drooping. I too had a cutting from EP go south because of transplant shock and stress. It happens. My guess is that your plant stressed from transplant shock and all the other things that were done to it. If you are growing this plant as a windowsill plant or in an environment where the humidity is a lot lower than a greenhouse say, then yeah, you could expect some leaf curl and more stress. This happens to me, but the plants usually pull through.

When my plants rot out it starts from the bottom up. Had a villosa that looked great and then noticed black creeping up near the the growing point and new the end was near. It just fell apart. Same happened with a cutting I was rooting. The black crept up the stalk and then the plant wilted and died. It happens quickly. Now when the growing tip blackens that seems to be different. I've had plants get a black growing tip due to high light levels etc and then send out sideshoots below the growing tip and continue on. So maybe your plant will come back. From the photo it is difficult to tell if it is rotting out, but it does look a little sad.

Good luck,
Joel
Nepenthes Around the House
 
oh... not good.

See this most on cuttings as well. It is a fungus that enters through the roots/cut stem. There is not much you can do. IF there is alot of green healthy tissue and you catch it just as you notice it down at the base of the plant, then you might get a cutting from the tip. Odds are not good though as the disease travels up the stem in the vacular tissue so it has gone way up the stem even before you see the wilting and blackening of the stem and leaf bases.

Tony
 
Hello,
thanks for the replies.
NepsAroundTheHouse: sounds like what you said is true, of the EP plants I ordered, this is the only one which suffered this, and is the only cutting. but it had actually been growing fine for nearly a month, then I found this, and it worsened within 2 day time span.
Humidity is never a problem here. it is no less than 60% even on the hotest of days here, and the plant is acclimitizing in shadier and more humid area so..  
smile_l_32.gif

Tony Paroubek: so you are sure this is a fungal infection? if thats the case, it could be actually combated (I doubt at this stage) with some sort of fungicide? how can it be PREVENTED in the first place?

I am not really counting on saving the plant, but need to know more about whatever is causing this, and how to prevent, etc.
anyway, in case the photos arent clear, the stem and midribs of leaves are blackening (looks like rotting to me). not browning or natural ageing stem.

thanks
 
I am sure it's fungal.  Sorry I can't give you a lot of information as I don't have much.  I find it to be a fairly uncommon problem so don't concern myself too much with it.  I see it most on imported cuttings.  So I have come to expect the occasional loss and try and order 2 or more just in case.  

Preventing it .. hmm probably nothing you could have done in this case.  Sometimes the stress during shipping is too much and a plant succumbs to a pathogen even before it is in your hands.  It is not always evident to us though until after we have the plants in our care for a few days.

I would venture to say that since it originates from the root zone that anything that contributes to unhealthy roots would promote problems with this disease. So avoid wet soggy roots, mix that doesn't drain well or not aerated enough.  It appears from your photos though that these were not contributing factors in this case.

Tony
 
Tony, would a good preventive measure be to simply spread all newly shipped plants with fungicide when they arrive? Or wld this do more harm than good?
 
Hello,
thank you for the replies,
I am quite worried since cant find a good preventive measure, do you think low humidity actually would improved the situation? not low as in 30%, I mean something like 80% lowered to 65% ?
I am concerned about this because I just ordered some more cuttings from EP and the only one I got from the last order wound up as shown...
smile_l_32.gif

and I think I am going to try what ebeyonder said
smile_n_32.gif

thanks
 
Hi Lam_W:

Preventive measures are the best solutions. I don't know whether you live in an area where you can find a vast range of systemic fungicides, but as good practice, at least for neps, always spray them prior potting these, so any fungus lurking around will be inhibited.
If you are getting more plants no matter where they come from, take precautionary measures to minimize heartaches.
Also what is your relative humidity and amount of light your plants get?

Gus
 
Hi Lam_W:

i have one more question for you!. Are you growing your plants under 90% shade?, because if you do, i don't particularly think you'll get good growth. Usually 40-60% shade is what most experienced nepenthes growers recommend

Gus
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (agustinfranco @ May 23 2006,5:42)]Hi Lam_W:

Preventive measures are the best solutions. I don't know whether you live in an area where you can find a vast range of systemic fungicides, but as good practice, at least for neps, always spray them prior potting these, so any fungus lurking around will be inhibited.
If you are getting more plants no matter where they come from, take precautionary measures to minimize heartaches.
Also what is your relative humidity and amount of light your plants get?

Gus
Hi,
I grow most of the neps in 50-70% shade. I dont know if its something I am doing wrong or just the climate, but 50% is already quite taxing on some of my plants, since most of the plants I grow are small/juvenile. But 90% is for acclimitizing or seedlings. (BTW I think BE's lowland greenhouse uses 80-90% dont they?)
I am not too sure about what types of systemic fungicides we have here, but I will try some.
regarding humidity, when my old hygrometer still worked, it usually measured >70%, 60-65% on hot days.
while we are at growing conditions, temps here are lowland 24-33 celcius, which may be why the highlanders are stressed out a little.
thanks
 
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