# Tough Actin' Tinactin?



## Ernie (Feb 9, 2010)

Just noticed this on Lanmark's signature thingy:

"I was never really able to definitively diagnose the brownish-black spots which appeared on some of my rupicolous Laelias several months ago. I successfully treated the spots with a homemade concoction I made by blending together small amounts of the following ingredients: miconazole foot cream, Bactroban (mupirocin) ointment, powdered sulfur (sublimed/flowers of sulfur) and pure cinnamon bark oil."

Athlete's foot treatment for plant fungal infections. Any elaboration? Discussion? 

-Ernie


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## Lanmark (Feb 9, 2010)

Ernie said:


> Just noticed this on Lanmark's signature thingy:
> 
> "I was never really able to definitively diagnose the brownish-black spots which appeared on some of my rupicolous Laelias several months ago. I successfully treated the spots with a homemade concoction I made by blending together small amounts of the following ingredients: miconazole foot cream, Bactroban (mupirocin) ointment, powdered sulfur (sublimed/flowers of sulfur) and pure cinnamon bark oil."
> 
> ...



Hehehe that's not my signature. I simply reduced the size of the font for that part of my post since I did not want to hijack the thread from its original topic of Dragons Blood. That being said, here is some information about miconazole which I dug up using Google:

h*XX*p://www.springerlink.com/content/xxt82pk651r454q6/

...oh, btw, would it have been ok for me to have inserted a working link here? 

*Edit:* So I have been searching Google for more information about treating fungal and bacterial infections on plants with drugs commonly used on humans and other mammals. After all, what else is there to do on a Snow Day?  There have been other such disccussions online over the past few years. Here's a condensed version of what I have learned so far:

Petrolatum-based ointments are supposed to be bad for plants. (Thank goodness the Bactroban ointment I used has a water soluble base of polyethylene glycol. The miconazole cream seems to be based on mineral oil and I don't know whether or not that is detrimental.)

The Bactroban was probably a useless element in my homemade potion since it kills only gram-positive bacteria. Plants get infected with gram-negative bacteria. Adding oxytetracycline (a common antibiotic for aquarium fish) might have been quite effective against any bacteria which may have been present, although I don't know how deep it penetrates, if at all, nor if it is taken up systemically by the plant

_I wonder if crushing up a Levaquin tablet and mixing some of the powder into my concoction would kill harmful bacteria on an orchid plant..._ :crazy:

And finally, it never fails, someone always comes along and says an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Well duh oke: we all know that. A lot of good that sentiment does someone when their prized orchid plant is already sick.  We all live and learn from our mistakes (or most of us do anyway) but sometimes no matter how careful we are, disease happens, and when it does, it's only natural we seek ways to cure it. Inserting comments about prevention are irrelevant to the topic at hand. :snore: 

I'm still interested to hear if anyone else has successfully used miconazole (or other azole-type anti-fungal agent) on their orchids. I'd love to hear any success stories regarding antibiotics too. Meanwhile, I'm eager to get some of that Dragons Blood. I think it would be worthwhile keeping some of that onhand...just in case. :wink:


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## Ernie (Feb 9, 2010)

http://www.springerlink.com/content/xxt82pk651r454q6/

Sure.  Will read and digest... 

-Ernie


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## kentuckiense (Feb 9, 2010)

Lanmark said:


> Hehehe that's not my signature. I simply reduced the size of the font for that part of my post since I did not want to hijack the thread from its original topic of Dragons Blood. That being said, here is some information about miconazole which I dug up using Google:
> 
> h*XX*p://www.springerlink.com/content/xxt82pk651r454q6/
> 
> ...oh, btw, would it have been ok for me to have inserted a working link here?



Sure.


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## Ernie (Feb 9, 2010)

One quick thing comes to mind: would mycorrhizae be harmed? 

-Ernie


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## Lanmark (Feb 9, 2010)

Ooops, I was updating my first reply when all these others showed up above. I added a bunch of stuff.  



Ernie said:


> One quick thing comes to mind: would mycorrhizae be harmed?
> 
> -Ernie



Good question, Ernie! This would indeed matter with Slippers, but not so much for my rupicolous Laelias and Neofinetias.


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## cnycharles (Feb 9, 2010)

I wouldn't think that the ingredient based on mineral oil would be a problem if used with the same considerations as plain mineral oil (not during hot weather and all that) on plants. mineral oil can be used like olive oil, horticultural oil and related types with basically the same smothering result to bugs.


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## SlipperKing (Feb 9, 2010)

Here's one Lanmark
http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9001


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## Rick (Feb 12, 2010)

Ernie said:


> Just noticed this on Lanmark's signature thingy:
> 
> "I was never really able to definitively diagnose the brownish-black spots which appeared on some of my rupicolous Laelias several months ago. I successfully treated the spots with a homemade concoction I made by blending together small amounts of the following ingredients: miconazole foot cream, Bactroban (mupirocin) ointment, powdered sulfur (sublimed/flowers of sulfur) and pure cinnamon bark oil."
> 
> ...



When you say "successfully treated" do you mean that the spots went away and the spotted areas are now green?


What was your creative juice to add those 3 ingredients together (as opposed to just using one at a time)?


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## Lanmark (Feb 13, 2010)

Rick said:


> When you say "successfully treated" do you mean that the spots went away and the spotted areas are now green?
> 
> 
> What was your creative juice to add those 3 ingredients together (as opposed to just using one at a time)?



"Successfully treated" means the disease stopped in its tracks and progressed no further. The spots did not get any larger nor did they appear in new locations. The black spots are not green again now. They are simply inactive areas of dead tissue on the affected leaves. The remaining portions of the affected leaves are still green and healthy, no new spots have formed, and new healthy growth continues to form on all the treated plants.

I wanted to cover all the bases and kill off as quickly as possible whatever had infected my plants before it was too late. I did not wish to try one thing and then another and then another until I eventually found the cure. Time was of the essence. I did not happen to have any of the usual plant disease-fighting preparations onhand when the spots appeared so I got creative and made my own little concoction. In retrospect I don't think the Bactroban (mupirocin) ointment did a bit of good since it treats only gram-positive bacteria. I'm certain one or more of my ingredients did in fact cure my plants, but whether it was the sulfur, the fresh cinnamon bark oil, or the miconazole, I simply don't know. I am more careful now in my cultivation techniques and hope to avoid further episodes of disease. I'll keep some Dragons Blood onhand, however, "just in case" and would be willing to mix up a new batch of my little potion on a moment's notice if the need arose. I'd substitute some powdered oxytetracycline (pet fish antibiotic) for the mupirocin, however, if I ever made it again.


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## slipperscout (Feb 20, 2010)

*Triazole antifungal drugs-mechanism of theraupetic activity*

The triazole antifungal drugs interfere with carbohydrate metabolism in the fungus cell wall, so the therapeutic ratio (harm the fungus: no harm to the host plant) would need to be established by a fairly involved experiment. I am unaware of reports of such studies and I do not know of a marketed triazole for plant fungal infections. 
I have had some success with Bordeaux powder, a copper sulfate concoction used to treat fungal infections in grapes,in spot treating fungal/bacterial infections in phals and paphs. I apply a very thick paste with a fine tipped watercolor paint brush to the infected plant tissue. Copper sulfate is a kidney toxin, so one needs to handle it with respect. It should never drain into a septic system.


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## Lanmark (Feb 20, 2010)

slipperscout said:


> The triazole antifungal drugs interfere with carbohydrate metabolism in the fungus cell wall, so the therapeutic ratio (harm the fungus: no harm to the host plant) would need to be established by a fairly involved experiment. I am unaware of reports of such studies and I do not know of a marketed triazole for plant fungal infections.
> I have had some success with Bordeaux powder, a copper sulfate concoction used to treat fungal infections in grapes,in spot treating fungal/bacterial infections in phals and paphs. I apply a very thick paste with a fine tipped watercolor paint brush to the infected plant tissue. Copper sulfate is a kidney toxin, so one needs to handle it with respect. It should never drain into a septic system.



http://www.springerlink.com/content/xxt82pk651r454q6/


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