Help! What causes this damage

[bit]

I have just brought a few of these guys indoors for the winter, and noticed this damage. Hopefully I'm not to late to knock it on the head. This is the worst infection.

Is it spider mites? I unpotted it and hosed it down but I didn't see any vermin at all.

How do I stop it spreading further??

[space cadet swami]

There's more people round here who know way more then me, but I think I'd have to concur with ur diagnosis Dr.

Dust them down with sulphur, that'll wipe the fuckers out.

Good luck Dr.bit.

[Evil Genius]

Hi Bit, looks like a secondary fungal infection because of spidermites. Get yourself a magnifying glass and check for them. Can you scrub it off? Mineral-build-up and calcium from the water looks similar sometimes but i dont think thats the case here. Sulphur reduces spidermite populations but i dont think it wipes em out completely. Would use sulphur and spray it with pure spiritus/ethyl alcohol from the hardware store if you can see a spidermite. I found out its a cheap way to get rid of spidermites without actually killing the sprayed plants. Also you dont have to be concerned about your health when applying it. But make sure to take out the labels first. It washes away the paint from the label.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Evil Genius

[bit]

Hi Bit, looks like a secondary fungal infection because of spidermites. Get yourself a magnifying glass and check for them. Can you scrub it off? Mineral-build-up and calcium from the water looks similar sometimes but i dont think thats the case here. Sulphur reduces spidermite populations but i dont think it wipes em out completely. Would use sulphur and spray it with pure spiritus/ethyl alcohol from the hardware store if you can see a spidermite. I found out its a cheap way to get rid of spidermites without actually killing the sprayed plants. Also you dont have to be concerned about your health when applying it. But make sure to take out the labels first. It washes away the paint from the label.

 

Thanks EG. No, it doesn't rub off. I have unpotted the affected plants and soaked with water for 30 minutes. They are currently drying off.

Is this what you mean by spiruts?

http://en.wikipedia....natured_alcohol

If so it goes by the name methylated spirits over here.

With regard to spraying it - do you spray it on the plant above the soil? The roots? The surface of the soil?

Thanks so much for your help!

Edited April 25, 2012 by bit

[Evil Genius]

Its the pure Ethanol that is being used for all kind of chemical stoves in chemistry. You know, the stuff you can buy cheap in the DIY Store. It has a small percentage of additives in to make it undrinkable but that doesnt hurt the plants. I spray everything with it. The soil and the plant. It does not hurt the plant and kills spidermites like napalm. Im sure you could also add some soap in it but i havent tried that yet because i first wanted to see how the pure spiritus affects the plants. Have sprayed the whole greenhouse like 10times now and had no losses because of it. But make sure you dont do it when the sun is too strong. I always do it in the evening. And only the soil a little bit because it can take quite some time to dry out if temps are low.

Edit: Yes i mean the one in the link.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Evil Genius

[bit]

I've been recommended a product called Verdex which appears to be safe for use on edible fruit.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:QEe7jv3WNIUJ:www.adriacp.co.nz/Technical%2520Brochures/Verdex%252018EC%2520Technical%2520Guide.pdf+verdex&hl=en&gl=nz&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiNgWYlgms9lgW9W73j0R242k9aiakIZQm2xbYe6twVLDsl0R6weiASeOU00SaWGyYy6UwY0yAQCIBhTU631YyCXlThrJC_D-YNyFdjFLhbdvZaNiFPAOrWwIfTyzODhUqYd4zQ&sig=AHIEtbRrnN1Sk0PmrcZ97YymvPs8ii64DQ

might see if I can source that in a small quantity

[bit]

Its the pure Ethanol that is being used for all kind of chemical stoves in chemistry. You know, the stuff you can buy cheap in the DIY Store. It has a small percentage of additives in to make it undrinkable but that doesnt hurt the plants. I spray everything with it. The soil and the plant. It does not hurt the plant and kills spidermites like napalm. Im sure you could also add some soap in it but i havent tried that yet because i first wanted to see how the pure spiritus affects the plants. Have sprayed the whole greenhouse like 10times now and had no losses because of it. But make sure you dont do it when the sun is too strong. I always do it in the evening. And only the soil a little bit because it can take quite some time to dry out if temps are low.

Edit: Yes i mean the one in the link.

 

If you check the wiki link - it has a picture of a product called spiritus, sounds like it must be the same product yes?

[Evil Genius]

Also, it would be worth a try to add sulfur right away to reduce the stress for the plant. Havent tried that yet and im not really good in chemistry so i would be rather careful doing it because i cant say if that would cause some kind of reaction. I tried both things alone so its possible you could combine them. Will try it out sometime in the future with a not so important plant but i would suggest you to wait that long. If thats really spidermite damage (what i think it is), this is quite a big entry hole for infections.

[Evil Genius]

Yes its the same. Verdex sounds good too. Yesterday, i sprayed a Pyrethrum-containing spray called Spruzit. Its Pyrethrum and Oil. Works too. But mites are really hardy and build up resistance pretty fast. So you need to switch pesticides every time. Also you need to spray at least three times because all chemicals dont get the eggs.

Edited April 25, 2012 by Evil Genius

[CβL]

I have been battling spider-mites as well, and I have been spraying on 50/50 meths/water. It seems to have it at least under control, if not totally stopped. I have no idea why it's only these plants that get attacked, because everything else seems fine (Mamms and Astros in the same area).

Have you guys (space cadet and EG) tried sulfur and seen results?

[space cadet swami]

^^^I bought a badly infected willy over the net once (not from here), while infected it stopped growing...it was totally covered. All I did was give it a really good dusting of sulphur...hey presto new growth, up and going again. Has the scars from the battle, but will outgrow them eventually. I was nearly going to cut it's head off & start again...glad I didn't.

I have been told that dusting regularly is not good in the long term, it will alter the ph of the medium you're growing in making it alkaline over a period of time (Could have been acidic, but I think it was alkaline from memory).

Edited April 25, 2012 by space cadet 101

[zelly]

have been told that dusting regularly is not good in the long term, it will alter the ph of the medium you're growing in making it alkaline over a period of time

Broaden your knowledge base with Diatomaceous earth

And be sure to check out Food Grade Diatomaceous earth <-------I've been eating this for several weeks now...

[space cadet swami]

^^^interesting articles...are u saying that u have used this for spider mite on cactus ?

I couldn't c a reference specifically to "spider mite" in the above articles... or to ph adjustment.

I know people who use it as a feed supplement with livestock...for worms. I also used to sell this product for filter use in swimming pool filters.

please tell more "zelly"...I am hesitant 2 use products without people being a bit more specific...

More out of concern for the plant...

Edited April 25, 2012 by space cadet 101

[zelly]

awhile back some of my lophs were showing an orangish-brown crusty scale like substance, starting mostly near the soil line & creeping up.

what to do, what to do........hmmmmm

I dosed them all with pool grade DE & left it in place for a day or two, covering every inch of the plants with a thick layer.

Well lo & behold, on some of them the DE 'dissolved' the crusty crud, such that when I blew off all the DE, the crusty crud went with it.

What is fubar is for the life of me cannot find the pics I took, but they clearly showed the loosened crusty crud mixed in with the DE

Previously, nothing would touch that crusty crud, pool grade DE kicked its ass big time.

As for the food grade, I & my SO consume it daily, as it seems to cleanse the intestines & blood stream of parasitic organisms.

I'll keep looking for those pics, they were eye-opening.

[zelly]

found the pics.....

I think I used an old tooth brush to brush the plants clean & since then have not had a problem. I still dont know if the brown crusty stuff was a fungus, a mineral build up or what, but I'm leaning more towards a fungus. It seemed to creep up the ribs, going after the woolly aeroles as they would turn brownish as well.

All I know is the DE solved the problem.

[space cadet swami]

Will definitely be adding DE to my arsenal....thanks zelly...

[Evil Genius]

lol its funny, my biggest loph is looking exactly like this right now. Just powdered it this week.

[bit]

So, my unpotted plants have dried out now. I'm going to get some meths tomorrow and repot and spray them up!

As we're coming into winter when the plants will be dried off and temps a lot cooler I don't expect much mite activity. I guess I'll know the results next season

[Evil Genius]

Alright, keep us updated. Make sure roots dont take in too much spiritus because it takes some time to dry out. Also, it makes the plants stink like rotten fruit what is kinda annoying. Get yourself a good magnifying lense and check for spidermites and only treat the plants that have them. Also i wanna point out that you need to adress fungal problems as well. If you put alcohol on there without using sulfur for example, you might run into fungal problems in your winter storage. I would spray with a sulfur/spiritus mix. Never tried in a mix and cant guarantee it wont cause scars but thats what makes the most sense to me. And if you want to get them all including eggs, you need to do this every few days for at least three times. If you write your labels with a pencil, you wont end up brushing up the writing with the alc. Good Luck. Go get em Tiger.

[bit]

Thanks. I think I'll dust with sulphur tomorrow before I repot, then use the spray on only the part above soil level.

[M S Smith]

Any easily found pyrethrin based bug spray should kill all those spider mites, and their progeny, with a soaking application every three days for three cycles.

See my post #16...

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=29923&view=findpost&p=335404

~Michael~