Orange fungus on variegated loph, help!

[gr33ntea]

I tried spraying with isopropyl alchol once it didn't work, there is a rust like orange fungus on it and some of the loph heads have dried up.

Does anyone know what i should do? I checked other threads on this before posting this and apparently it is contagious so i have separated it from other plants

[DiscoStu]

orange rot is nasty business ime. you might have to operate (cut) on the affected area and apply liberal fungicide.

[hostilis]

That happened to my variegated loph and it died. You better find a pup that is healthy and graft ASAP. Don't water it and see if you can find a less humid spot if there is one. My 2 cents.

Edited March 1, 2014 by hostilis

[paradox]

looks terminal

[Evil Genius]

Yes this plant is very hard to save. Only chance you have is synthetic fungicides. And in Amounts like other People eat Tic Tacs. And don´t wait for another week. This is serious and your chances are something like 20%.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Evil Genius

[Philocacti]

If you can't find a healthy pup to graft, your best bet is graft as many "healthy" areols as possible

[gr33ntea]

Nooooo, this is sad news

Ok I will try to grow as much of the pups as possible, probably make some deep cuts into the orange rot.

Should i spray with supermarket anti fungal spray?

[Evil Genius]

Well, you can try removing some of the worst parts, but personally, I don't know if cutting will be a good Idea because the wounds will be entry doors for the Infection. So maybe it´s best to treat the hell out of it, using at least one if not two different systemic Fungicides. Besides, you might want to dust it with Sulfur or DE.

If you cut, don´t cut too much and treat the wounds religiously. If it were mine, i probably wouldn´t cut away much. And if so, only the worst Infection Heards. But you never know, maybe the wounds heal instead of getting infected again if you cut most of it away. To cut or not to cut is a decision you have to make.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Evil Genius

[Myeloblast]

I second what EG says about not cutting this plant, except for removing pups for grafting. Too much of the plant is affected to surgically remove it, especially the growing tip. It will dessicate and shrivel to nothing with extensive cutting.

Has this plant grown at all for a while or been in dormancy? I notice with my lophs that when they stall (from nutrient deficiency, colder temps, no water) they get the same appearance as this plant, become soft/dehydrated and eventually become infected with some type of rot. Getting the whole plant in a warm spot with some light would probably be beneficial, perhaps repotting the stock in some fresh soil too.

[ace1928]

Suffocate the fungus if you can.
Not certain if it will work but they NEED oxygen. If you have a way of just keeping the CO2 levels super super high and keep the air really really dry the fungi should die and the cacti will like the CO2 boost.

Bit experimental of an idea though haha

Although if nothing else works I can't see the harm in trying that

Try ^^^^^ their ideas first though haha

[gr33ntea]

You are right it is too far ahead in the mother plant to cut out, and all the pups have the orange rust on it as well. I guess i will just have to vigorously spray it with anti fungal and hope for the best. :|

I am going to try to graft one of the pups anyway, preferably one that doesnt have as much orange rust.

[Hellonasty]

As per other posts the plant is pretty much lost which is a real shame. However for future plants I believe this type of rot is caused by bacteria at the graft union and this is why you don't notice it until it is too late. Make sure you occasionally have a look up underneath where the two plants are joined and look for signs of rust/rot etc if anything at all is present treat it immediately. Additionally if at the time the graft was completed there was bacteria inside the graft union this will also cause this type of damage.

All variegated plants are much much more susceptible to all types of bacterial diseases due to a weakening of the skin, this is also why they are prone to sun damage.

[Philocacti]

Hellonasty, you're one of the wisest gurus when it comes to cacti, but I disagree with. I think he can save it if he grafts as many areols as possible.

But if you mean the whole plant is a goner then you're probably right.

[Hellonasty]

Yeah I mean the whole plant, he can certainly graft 5 to 10 areoles from that plant easy.. Sorry for the confusion.

The areoles at the top of the plant nearest the growing tip are the best and easiest areoles to graft, this area is very young tissue and was actively growing a very short time ago. Additionally the areoles at the top are usually a better shape and easier to handle.

Hope that helps, get grafting.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Hellonasty

[Hellonasty]

I just had a look at the photos again and I think you also have an issue with spider mite... It is difficult to tell with the photographs but I believe the plant has mites and this is making things much worse. The mites damage the skin and make it weaker this compounds the genetic weakness, due to the the variegation, and the problem is much worse.

I would dust the entire plant with a generous amount of Sulphor and Copper powder wait for a day, graft the areoles and hope.

[AndyAmine.]

Just had something similar with my oldest and biggest graft, except it didn't look as bad.
I figured it needed a new stock so when I went to regraft it I found that the whole inside was made of some kind of solid,thick fungus, almost like the insides of a mushroom.

It then prceeded to 'melt' into slush over about a week.

Super devo about that one..

Good luck with yours, try and get onto it ASAP!

[gr33ntea]

Here are some close up pictures of it

I have made 3 grafts of the pups to pc pachanoi's

I have made 3 grafts of the pups pereskiopsis

And another 3 grafts of the pups to monstrose opuntia subulata

All of the pups have a bit of rust on them so i am probably wasting my time, but hey i did it anyway.
Thanks for all the help tommorow i'll get my hands on some sulfur

I wish i had prevented this rust before it spread everywhere, also i doubt it is mites as i have like a blanket of 1cm thick diatomaceous earth on the soil it is potted on
Lets hope it survives

[Evil Genius]

Hi Gr33ntea! Look, generally this might have a chance, but only if you treat the removed pups with something that has antifungal properties like sulfur or a systemic Fungicide. That being said, it´s kinda risky to use solutions on open wounds. So i guess it would have been better to treat them BEFORE cutting. But well, i´ll certainly try to help you if i can. Post updates of this every few days.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Evil Genius

[Hellonasty]

DE on the soil surface will not completely prevent mites getting to your plants. They are so tiny they can travel in the air much the same as bacteria does.

[hostilis]

I wish you luck. I failed to graft with mine and it was toast when this happened too it.

[gr33ntea]

SO i got sulfur powder 6 days ago and applied it to the main plant, i will see if it is effective the red rust is still there and the plant is a bit soft now.

Unsurprisingly only the pc pachonoi grafts survived, the grafts have been successful but as i mention earlier the red rust was on all of the pups, so i applied sulfur anti fungal powder to the grafts as well
The scions are all hard and healthy.

The three surviving grafts

This one i dont think it will survive

Should try an aerole graft that doesnt have rust from the mother loph or something?

[Evil Genius]

Hi Gr33ntea, The One in the middle looks like it might survive. For the other Two, it will be hard. But i´ll pray for them.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Evil Genius