Help please: Bridgesii - Corking, sunburn or disease?

[Dasein]

Hi,

 

These spots turned up over the past week or so.

Prior to this they have had healthy growth throughout the summer.

- They have received a lot of rain recently.

- It may be they had a lot of heat reflected off the metal fence.

- They may also have had Seasol on the flesh, prior to the sun coming out.

Thanks for your advice!
 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Dasein
upload photos

[fyzygy]

Doesn't look like corking or sunburn to me. 

The photo's file size is too large for this site, try reducing. 

[Dasein]

29 minutes ago, fyzygy said:

Doesn't look like corking or sunburn to me. 

The photo's file size is too large for this site, try reducing. 

 

Done, thanks for the tip.

 

I scratched at one of the black/brown marks.

- it doesn't seem like scale.

- it seems a bit rotten near the black spots

[Halcyon Daze]

One of the various rusts/rots caused by fungi or bacteria. They are fairly ubiquitous in the environment and within collections.  They seem to spread among the wild prickly pears too, so it's just everywhere and the hope of a collection free of it is pretty much unrealistic unless you live very remote and follow strict quarantine protocols.  Even healthy looking cuts can be harbouring them and by the time you notice it's pretty much too late. 

 

So the best approach is through ongoing management rather than permanent eradication. Use of systemic fungicides seems to work well. Mancozeb is pretty good. Also environment plays a big role. fungi and bacteria explode when conditions are right, which seems to be hot/stagnant/sweltering conditions for going ballistic in trichos. Try to keep them shaded from the afternoon sun in an area that always gets good airflow.

 

Really bad cases will often require some surgery and/or amputation. There's a facebook member named Gee Bee who's a bit of an expert on the matter.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Halcyon Daze

[Dasein]

@Geebus is this an area you are familiar with?

Halcyon Daze stated Gee Bee could offer help, but there is no member I could find with that name, so perhaps they referred to yourself?

 

Cheers!

[fyzygy]

In a pinch, grab some cinnamon (or cassia, the more common 'false cinnamon' found in home kitchens). Either powdered or in aqueous solution, has been shown to work as fungicide. But surgery may be required in extreme cases. 

[Wood Chuck]

What Halcyon Daze said, plus try spaying whole cactus with Yates Zaleton (Bunnings) twice in a week. Look in that week for any increase in spots or yellowing, if so surgery may be required, no matter how much it hurts. Their wasn`t any spots on the crown that I could see, this is to be avoided and will eventually turn yellow and can cause the cactuses demise. Bridgesii seem to be  more prone to this problem, where as some other tricho`s manage to fight it off without the need of a fungicide.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Wood Chuck
spelling

[Strontium Dawg]

On 30/01/2022 at 10:02 AM, fyzygy said:

In a pinch, grab some cinnamon (or cassia, the more common 'false cinnamon' found in home kitchens). Either powdered or in aqueous solution, has been shown to work as fungicide. But surgery may be required in extreme cases. 

Cinnamon is the worst thing you can put on. It has zero antifungal effect, in fact, mould will grow preferentially on it!

Zaleton and other systemics are nasty toxic chemicals. Please don't ever use them on anything that might be considered for consumption.

If you need an effective fungicide, Yates anti-rot (phosphorus acid) is the only systemic I'd use.

 

[fyzygy]

12 hours ago, Glaukus said:

Cinnamon is the worst thing you can put on. It has zero antifungal effect, in fact, mould will grow preferentially on it!

 

 

Cinnamon bark oil is a powerful fungicide, germicide, insecticide and also inhibits aflatoxin production. Cinnamaldehyde, the major constituent of cinnamon and cassia barks, possesses antibacterial and antifungal activities. At 0.33 mm concentration it causes complete inhibition of Candida albicans, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Pencillium frequentans, P. decumbens and Cladosporium bantiannum. [...] 

 

Cinnamon is a potent antifungal substance. It is fungistatic or fungicidal against many species of pathogenic fungi (Table 11.2). The preservative action of cinnamon in food and food products is partially due to the fungitoxic effect. The growth of all Aspergillus species of fungi and aflatoxin production by them are inhibited by cinnamon bark or cinnamon oil. Studies carried out in recent years have proved the advantages of using cinnamon as a fungistatic agent in stored cereals, pulses and other type of food articles including processed foods (see 13.2). It can be used as a preservative in fruit juice and fruit products at a wide range of pH conditions. Masimango et al. (1978) reported that cinnamon inhibited Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production. Aspergillus species of fungi are usually grown on storage cereals and pulses and produces toxins like aflatoxin, which are highly poisonous and carcinogenic. Valearcel et al. (1986) in an in vitro study observed that cinnamon inhibited the growth of A. parasiticus at 1 mg/ml concentration. Misra et al. (1987) observed that cinnamon leaf oil exerted the fungitoxic effect on A. flavus and A. parasiticus at 3000 ppm and 1000 ppm, respectively, and was not affected by temperature, auto- claving or storage. They attributed this activity to euginol, a minor constituent of cinnamon. Mishra et al. (1991) reported that the mycostatic effect was produced at a concentration of 4000 ppm and was as effective as many synthetic antifungal agents commonly employed, such as dithane M-45, thiovic, etc. Tiwari and Dixit (1994) studied the effect of cinnamon bark oil on the storage fungi A. flavus and A. niger and found that it was effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth at a MIC of 400 ppm. Tiwari et al. (1994) found that at the concentration of 400 ppm, cinnamon oil completely inhibited the mycelial growth of Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Bipolaris oryzae, Chaetomium hispanicum, Cladosporium spp., Curvularia spp., Fusarium spp., Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., Phoma spp., Rhizopus arrhizus., Thelavia terricola, and Trichoderma spp. Mukherjee and Nandi (1994) investigated the fungistatic effect of cinnamon oil on poultry feed. Poultry feed starter mash was treated with 0.1 and 0.2% w/v of cinnamon oil and stored for 30 days. In treated feeds the fungal population decreased with the length of storage compared to untreated feeds. The fungal contamination was due mainly to A. flavus, A. niger, A. candidus, A. fumigatus and Rhizopus nigricans. The optimal quality of cinnamon oil to protect stored maize from fungal growth was assessed by Montes-Belmont and Carvajal (1998) who found that 3 to 8% of the oil gave protection. No phytotoxic effect on germination and corn growth was observed. 

 

Studies on the wood-destroying fungi Gloeophyllum trabeum, Coriolus versicolor, and Botryodiploidea theobromeae by agar diffusion technique by Jantan et al. (1994) indicated that cinnamon was very effective, exhibiting an ED50 of 60.3 µg/ml for C. versicolor, 58.8 µg/ml for G. trabeum and 48.0 µg/ml for B. theobromeae. Baruah et al. (1996) investigated the antifungal action against Fusarium moniliforme, a post- harvest fungal pathogen of cereal crops, and observed that it completely inhibited the fungal growth. Wilson et al. (1997) tested cinnamon on Botrytis cinerea and observed that cinnamon oil was very effective against this plant pathogen. The bark extract of C. loureirii was investigated for antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata, a plant pathogen. The ether fraction of the extract was found to be highly active. A visible inhibition zone was caused by a 1000-fold dilution of the extract and the activity was comparable to polyoxin. Further investigation revealed that cinnamaldehyde was the most active component (Ho et al., 1996). Cinnamon bark oil is a potent fungitoxicant against fungi causing respiratory tract mycoses. Singh et al. (1995) studied in vitro the effect of the oil on A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, A. flavus, Candida albicans, C. tropicalis, C. pseudotropicalis and Histoplasma capsulatum and determined the minimal inhibiting concentration (MIC), minimal lethal concentration (MLC), and exposure duration for fungicidal action at MIC and higher doses. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most susceptible and the H. capsulatum and Candida species were most resistant. The MIC varied from 16–40 ppm. They have suggested that vapour inhalation of cinnamon oil could be useful in the treatment of respiratory tract mycosis. Inoneye et al. (2000) studied the inhibitory effect of essential oil on apical growth of A. fumigatus by vapour contact. The results showed that the growth of the fungus was retarded at 63 µg oil/ml of air concentration. 

 

Source: Cinnamon and Cassia: The Genus Cinnamomum. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants -- Industrial Profiles (CRC Press, 2004).

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by fyzygy

[Strontium Dawg]

You can quote as many scientific extracts as you like, but i guarantee you that if you sprinkle cinnamon powder on a cactus, it will be covered in mould before you know it.

It's one of the biggest myths that goes around cactus noob circles that cinnamon has antifungal properties. Cinnamon oil may be a different story but that will likely burn the shit out of a cactus.

Go on, I encourage you to try it for yourself!

[fyzygy]

Cinnamon bark is 85% cinnamaldehyde, a proven fungistatic and/or fungicidal agent. Either the dry powdered bark, or suspended in aqueous solution, causes no ill effects -- whatsoever -- when applied directly to trichocereus cactus wounds. That's just my experience, independent of any scientific literature on the subject. An emulsification of cinnamon oil may also work, but I have never tried.

 

Never once have I observed the growth of fungus or mould as a consequence of liberally applying cinnamon powder (or cassia powder, as is typically sold as cinnamon in Australia) to the inner/outer flesh of any Trichocereus spp. It is extremely well tolerated, and perfectly safe, in my experience. 

 

* There are, of course, pathogens that feed on cinnamon bark itself. So, depending on the fungus in question, your mileage may vary ...

Edited February 7, 2022 by fyzygy

[Strontium Dawg]

Do as you please, but don't say nobody warned you. 

 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/Trichocereus.Lophophora.Ariocarpus/permalink/4540502049320752/

 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/Trichocereus.Lophophora.Ariocarpus/permalink/4135755903128704/

 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/Trichocereus.Lophophora.Ariocarpus/permalink/4343310635706562/

 

I can go on...

 

 

 

[fyzygy]

Agreed: whatever works. (Facebook doesn't, for me.)

 

Over the past 5 years or so I must have applied cinnamon dozens of times to various cactus wounds at risk of (or already showing signs of) fungal infection. It's always worked like a charm for me. I think surgical intervention was required maybe once or twice, during some prolonged heavy rainfall on recent wounds. Where possible I always use the cinnamon in conjunction with environmental factors (plenty of ventilation, sunlight, reduced humidity). I can upload pictures of aged cinnamon scabs, on otherwise clean (fungus-free) scars. But I'm not here to win any arguments. Just trying to be helpful. The scientific data is there on cinnamon's potential as a powerful natural fungicide. And a wealth of horticultural anecdotes to boot. Take it or leave it, but there's no harm in trying, to the best of my knowledge and experience. 

 

A few additional thoughts: 

 

Though it does not list cinnamon, this article makes a good case for organic as opposed to synthetic compounds: https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/organic-fungicide/9426514

 

“Fungicides work best as a preventative, not as a cure.” 

 

Consider, by way of analogy, a fungal infection of the human body. In its early stages, natural fungicides might well do the trick and keep the infection at bay. But for a full-blown infection, some form of antibiotics may ultimately be required.

 

Reflecting on my own gardening practices, this is exactly how I deploy cinnamon—largely as a preventative measure. I have never witnessed the growth of mold or mildew etc. on cinnamon (including long-term cinnamon residues) in my garden. 

 

However, in humid and tropical environments favoured by cinnamon species, cinnamon bark itself may be vulnerable to attack by pathogens (listed in the academic source I've quoted from above). I have never grown cactuses in such conditions, so have no direct experience to speak of. 

 

Powdered cinnamon or cassia bark works for me, in my temperate garden, against most fungal (would-be) invaders. 

 

Your mileage may vary. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by fyzygy

[Halcyon Daze]

I'm keen to try

I'll let yez know what happens 

[oncewhywechange]

On 08/02/2022 at 9:11 AM, Glaukus said:

You can quote as many scientific extracts as you like, but i guarantee you that if you sprinkle cinnamon powder on a cactus, it will be covered in mould before you know it.

It's one of the biggest myths that goes around cactus noob circles that cinnamon has antifungal properties. Cinnamon oil may be a different story but that will likely burn the shit out of a cactus.

Go on, I encourage you to try it for yourself!

I do agree, It will only make things worse on trichocereus, Like most oil base products, It will burn cactus in summer. I do use  oil based products in winter though for insect control.

 

The facebook guru , mentioned . lives in a alpine region in the united? states. this guru also grows tricho's mainly in hothouses. Great understanding of disease and book proof backing on the species.  Holds no value in australian conditions . blah blah blah.

 

your plant has two infections, firstly it would of started as a stem spot? [fungal] followed by a bacterial infection, like a canker type thing.  I like to also mention bridgesii act badly to humidity and wet feet. so using a loose soil mix, fert well with a good amount of pot ash. ] will help it get by with no real issues.

 

antirot by yates will help combat rot but will not help with stem spots, a good black spot systemic fungicide will help. but like mentioned is a bad ass chemical so do not use on edible crops, saying this if you eat coles fruit n veg it will defs have been sprayed many times with bad ass systemic sprays. lol

 

backlash welcome, lol. 

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by oncewhywechange

[Humboldt]

Most of the cacti ive had with fungal issues are the ones whose defenses have been lowered with poor care, commonly its a desperate need of repotting.   I seasol and keep out in the breeze till things look up.

[Dasein]

Thanks for the advice (and good natured debate) everyone!

 

I will propogate a cutting from the healthy part on top, then repot with well-draining soil and apply systemic fungicide.

I have others for consumption if need be. I won't be able to consume anything if it rots to death, so best to save it if possible.

Edited February 11, 2022 by Dasein