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bogfrog

seedlings dying do i need some fungicide?

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i have noticed a few off my seedlings melting away over the last couple days, could this be the start of some sort of infection?

could anyone suggest a safe fungicide/ other method of saving my wee friends?

any suggestions very much appreciated!

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the only thing i can think off is fungus gnats when you say "melting away", however, i don't know how to fight it off.

more experienced grower will help you for sure.

Good luck

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Could be fungal, but I'd hazard a guess that it's bacterial (i.e. rot). Had the same thing happen before. Fungicide didn't seem to do anything. I just kept picking out the rotting plants until it subsided.

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Could be fungal, but I'd hazard a guess that it's bacterial (i.e. rot). Had the same thing happen before. Fungicide didn't seem to do anything. I just kept picking out the rotting plants until it subsided.

 

In case of trouble, i just take new tray with soil and transplant all good seedlings to new substrate.

Just for prevention of molds i use spraying of the seedlings with fungicide solution (maybe it is not nessesary, but does not hurt).

I used fludioxonil (brand name MAXIM).

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Hi bogfrog, melting away sounds like Sunburn/Uv Damage. Did they turn white before melting? bye Eg

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there could be many reasons, there is no bad response in this thread, fungi, bacteria, gnat larva, sunlight, there are many things that can kill plants, however to narrow it down and come up with a good solution it is nice to learn more about it, what it looks like, how it is spreading, what plants it is affecting etc.

You mention that it is a few of them, clearly not all, so are the ones affected here and there in the planting or are they near eachother and being affected in a radial or branching pattern?

Can you see little worms a few mm long in the substrate?

Do you see any discoloration of the media or the seedlings affected? Are they getting lighter in color? Darker in color?

If only a few are dying then how fast are they dying and how long have they been doing it?

How wet is it? is it a highly saturated media or on the dryer side of things?

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there could be many reasons, there is no bad response in this thread, fungi, bacteria, gnat larva, sunlight, there are many things that can kill plants, however to narrow it down and come up with a good solution it is nice to learn more about it, what it looks like, how it is spreading, what plants it is affecting etc.

You mention that it is a few of them, clearly not all, so are the ones affected here and there in the planting or are they near eachother and being affected in a radial or branching pattern?

Can you see little worms a few mm long in the substrate?

Do you see any discoloration of the media or the seedlings affected? Are they getting lighter in color? Darker in color?

If only a few are dying then how fast are they dying and how long have they been doing it?

How wet is it? is it a highly saturated media or on the dryer side of things?

 

it cant be too much light or sunburn as they dont get very much, they sit below the level of the window and are in chambers, also getting into winter now, i thought about maybe its too wet so have been keeping the lid off for a few hours at a time. i saw a few little fly like things hanging around the one tray that i have had things die in. no worms or noticeable mould or fungi.

it has only taken about 5-8 of my seedlings but they just kind of loose their turgidness and then wilt like a minature balloon unitl they are just a wee green speck. but it happens quite fast like, 24-48hrs they are gone, from looking fine.

i will try repotting them all into a clean container with new soil and pumice.

thanks for your suggestions i will keep looking for defining factors.

kea

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How old are they bofrog?

Cheers

Got

 

i got the seeds from zelly, sowed at the start of april. so just over a month old.

had a few albinos, some are still alive now which seems longer than they should survive.

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they sit below the level of the window and are in chambers

this has happened to me recently but i concluded that it happened because of the heat build up, however you say it getting cold so i can't think of anything else (except gnats). Maybe the soil was too wet and the root system of the seedlings couldnt breath so they rotted????

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it does sound like a few gnat larvae might be present and eating the roots, transplanting them to another container may work well if that is the case, insecticide may also be an option, nicotine can be very effective, is water soluble and easy to obtain for small application uses

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i got the seeds from zelly, sowed at the start of april. so just over a month old.

had a few albinos, some are still alive now which seems longer than they should survive.

I have had one or two in each tray that have done the same thing and I have just put it down as an expectable loss as all of the other seedlings are growing fine.

The reason I asked about the age is this only seemed to happen when they were quite young about the same age as yours.

Now most of my seedlings are around 2-3 months olds they are all growing fine with no losses recently.

If you still have albino seedlings graft them even if you haven’t grafted before have ago because they will probably die anyway so you have nothing to lose.

This was my first graft (trich seedling)

post-4489-0-58864300-1305698507_thumb.jp

Two weeks later :)

post-4489-0-59178800-1305698559_thumb.jp

Cheers

Got

post-4489-0-58864300-1305698507_thumb.jpg

post-4489-0-59178800-1305698559_thumb.jpg

post-4489-0-58864300-1305698507_thumb.jpg

post-4489-0-59178800-1305698559_thumb.jpg

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GOT, that amazing, i never succeeded in grafting seedlings this small, great work man ;)

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GOT, that amazing, i never succeeded in grafting seedlings this small, great work man ;)

Might be due to the grafting stock. I was never able to graft on Trichocereus successfully. Some grew on but most grafts i did on Trich dried up...Doesnt mean it isnt a suitable stock as some people seem to have success. But Teo in his grafting guide mentioned the same problems so i´d assume its a little more common that you might think it is. When grafting on Cereus on the other hand, every single seedling graft is a success. You can graft them right after they germinated. I rarely work with peres but i think they are very good for that too. I just sown out a large container Eriocereus jusbertii that might replace cereus as my favorite grafting stock but its still to early to try it.

Edited by Evil Genius

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they sit below the level of the window and are in chambers

If you keep them in closed containers, there really is a chance this is fungal. At that age, i usually start taking of the lid from the containers. If you dont do that, many of them change color and die. Either because of root rot or due to infections. Not sure but it doesnt matter to me as taking of the lid does it for me. :lol: You might also keep em in the containers and use a fungicide but i dont think this would be as successfull as taking em out and spraying them with water on a daily basis. You shouldnt keep em in closed containers that long anyway. It works for some cacti but others are very prone to high humidity. bye Eg

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this has happened to me recently but i concluded that it happened because of the heat build up, however you say it getting cold so i can't think of anything else (except gnats). Maybe the soil was too wet and the root system of the seedlings couldnt breath so they rotted????

 

could very well be heat build up, forgot to mention they are on a heatpad

cheers

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take em off the heat mat and just use the light 2 heat them..i had this happening from a heat mat, and the seeds that wern't on one looked sweet nice plump and green in there high humidity enviroment and alot happy'er then the heat mat ones that were going brown and eventually died...

Edited by applesnail

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real ok thats gud i will do that

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I had fungal infection despite the big qualtity of fungicide.

EG, Harissia jusberti might be better for colder climates as yours. seedlings on big columnars is possbile but not adviseable.

Go for pereskiopsis, selinicereus etc when grafting seedlings

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Personally, I would not take the heat pad away. I know what the weather is like there :rolleyes:, if you take them off while their roots are wet and they're in damp, cold soil then your inviting mold and bacterial contam's to take over. I would exchange the soil and allow more gas exchange, providing it is just rot and theres no gnats or mites making holes in your babies allowing further infection. I have had the same thing happen, I usually eliminate any mites, gnats with pyrethrum insecticide and then allow more fresh air exchange. Good luck and let us know how it goes :) .

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