Rokosauros
Edward
Recently, I had four nepenthes down with pests. Poor stenophylla and hamata x platy had mites while truncata x (ventri x aristo) got downed with a huge mealybug attack (the whole rootball was literally covered with white fuzzy guys ). Now, I've got N. truncata x spectabilis EP making me anxious with these funny leaves:-
Newest leaf.
Overall plant, didn't trim off the dead pitchers yet.
AS you can see on the underside of the leaves, they're numerous red spots and some of them leave a mark on the top side of the leaf. What worries me are those scar-like 'cuts' at the lamina of the leaf. You have to look closely. I've been applying Malathion systemic insecticide to my plants (including this guy) following recommended dosage which would be 3 times with a 10 days gap between each spray. Today was the 3rd and final spray, but having looked at my truncata x spectabilis, conditions do not seem to be improving, if any, it's getting worse. I've isolated the plant from my shadehouse and right now, the only other thing I can think of doing is to get a different systemic insecticide to rid the pests since they'd probably be resistant to Malathion already.
One of the reason why I never pay much attention to this guy is because red spots are common for N. truncata and bicalcarata for us grower here. My truncata and bicalcarata went through the same problem before (though less red spots and it didn't have that strange 'cut' on the lamina of the leaf) and they eventually cured. Only recently have I noticed that my truncata x spectabilis had not pitchered 3 times in a row, new tendrils are too thin and short and leaves seemed slightly smaller.
So my main question is:-What is the plant suffering from? How can I cure it besides systemic insecticide? I do believe thrips or scale is the crux of the matter here, but I am not sure as I've never had thrips or scale attack before. Thanks for any help!
Newest leaf.
Overall plant, didn't trim off the dead pitchers yet.
AS you can see on the underside of the leaves, they're numerous red spots and some of them leave a mark on the top side of the leaf. What worries me are those scar-like 'cuts' at the lamina of the leaf. You have to look closely. I've been applying Malathion systemic insecticide to my plants (including this guy) following recommended dosage which would be 3 times with a 10 days gap between each spray. Today was the 3rd and final spray, but having looked at my truncata x spectabilis, conditions do not seem to be improving, if any, it's getting worse. I've isolated the plant from my shadehouse and right now, the only other thing I can think of doing is to get a different systemic insecticide to rid the pests since they'd probably be resistant to Malathion already.
One of the reason why I never pay much attention to this guy is because red spots are common for N. truncata and bicalcarata for us grower here. My truncata and bicalcarata went through the same problem before (though less red spots and it didn't have that strange 'cut' on the lamina of the leaf) and they eventually cured. Only recently have I noticed that my truncata x spectabilis had not pitchered 3 times in a row, new tendrils are too thin and short and leaves seemed slightly smaller.
So my main question is:-What is the plant suffering from? How can I cure it besides systemic insecticide? I do believe thrips or scale is the crux of the matter here, but I am not sure as I've never had thrips or scale attack before. Thanks for any help!