What is this and how do i stop it?

[Nelson Wong]

I honestly hate erwinia. It killed off 60% of my seedlings. Then it killed one of my roth. The issue is that they spread and spread fast and they smell.

Every day I check all my plants crows, leaves and base to make sure therr are no erwinia

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

Did I over do it. Probably yes. The poor thing used to be so beautiful. Also how do you sterilize cut utensil.

 

[Nelson Wong]

I get a blow torch to sterilize my plant cutting utensils. Just light it up. For disinfection - I use just alcohol or soak it in physan 20

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

I get a blow torch to sterilize my plant cutting utensils. Just light it up. For disinfection - I use just alcohol or soak it in physan 20

Will a gas stove top work

 

[BrucherT]

Will a gas stove top work

Yes.

 

[spujr]

Did I over do it. Probably yes. The poor thing used to be so beautiful. Also how do you sterilize cut utensil.View attachment 47844

Sam Tsui told me not to put too much cinnamon because it causes problems after watering.

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

Sam Tsui told me not to put too much cinnamon because it causes problems after watering.

Ok I'll dust some of it off. Do you know what happens. If not that's fine just interested

 

[spujr]

I think it prevents air movement in the media but that is just a theory.

 

[Barnie]

I think it prevents air movement in the media but that is just a theory.

It will also dry out roots I try not to get any on my mix that plant I would take out treat it and repot.

 

[awesomei]

Did I over do it. Probably yes. The poor thing used to be so beautiful. Also how do you sterilize cut utensil.View attachment 47844

100% isopropal alcohol between each cut!

 

[Justin]

100% isopropal alcohol between each cut!

Just a friendly note Isopropyl will not kill virus. You have to use a bleach solution to sterilize cutting tools (or a blowtorch).

 

[Theodoreorchidking]

Ok I'm getting sick and tired of this. At the rate I'm headed my paph collection will be in the negatives. I caught it on my paph julius and I think I stopped it. However today I saw it on my paph philippinense. A complete blood bath within a week. No sign and then the whole dam plant is gone. There were 2 in the pot so I removed one that was not infected and hopefully it will survive. I have lost the paph randy booth too. I have about $300 worth of plants dead. Is there a deadly ass chemical that I can just pore over the dam plant and be done with it? Cinnamon, dragons blood did not do a thing. Thank you for everyone's help. My worst fear is that my sanderianums get it.

 

[NYEric]

Don't cut. Pull off the affected parts. Also, try drier culture and separate from other plants.

 

[spujr]

I sympathize with your frustration as I was having (and to some degree still have) erwinia problems and losing valuable plants.

Some suggestions, we often forget about the disease triangle and focus more on killing the pathogen rather than adjusting the environment. I personally believe erwinia is everywhere and almost impossible to eradicate completely.

So I would review some of your growing conditions. A few things I found helpful:
1. Reduce your fertilizer rate/concentration.
2. Add fans to promote air flow, leaf drying and general cooling. Erwinia likes warm conditions.
3. Double, triple check your pH. Aim for 5.8.
4. Possibly add dolomite on the surface of the media. Not too much and likely dependent on paph species. A lot of the multiflorals seem to like it but it also depends on what media you're using.

During the hot months I've been adding physan to most of my waterings.

Move infected plants away from others. Carefully clean leaf/soil debris.

Take my suggestions with a grain of salt as I don't know the specifics of your growing conditions.

Hope this helps.

 

[Russ1992]

Don't cut. Pull off the affected parts. Also, try drier culture and separate from other plants.

To everyone's point definitely look at your cultural conditions.

If you can show photos of your potting media in the affected plants that would be helpful.

Temps, humidity levels and showcasing the placement of fans can also be useful for the experienced growers on here to give better direction.

A lot of problems seem associated with an imbalance between water rention and root zone breathability. If the roots are too wet for too long without enough air between the media particles one can have issues. This becomes even more problematic with a lack of air around the plant combined with high humidity and temps going too hot or cold.

 

[Linus_Cello]

3. Double, triple check your pH. Aim for 5.8.
4. Possibly add dolomite on the surface of the media. Not too much and likely dependent on paph species. A lot of the multiflorals seem to like it but it also depends on what media you're using.

This seems somewhat contradictory? Item 3 suggests more acidic conditions, but item 4 suggests creating more alkaline conditions?

 

[spujr]

Yes, I asked this myself. I believe the dolomite acts like a buffer to keep the pH from going too low. As it slowly dissolves in the acidic water the plant uptakes the calcium. If I recall my long ago plant classes, calcium uptake is restricted when the pH is too high.

Ultimately it should mimic conditions where some of these multiflorals are found: limestone cliffs growing in pockets of decomposing leaf/plant litter.


As mentioned, it does depend on the species and media being used. I personally would focus on getting the pH right and later try the dolomite (or dolokal) if calcium deficiencies are suspected. Calcium is essential to plant cell walls as one of the first line of defense against pathogens. Often you see erwinia when you have strong vigorous leaf growth (ie too much fertilizer or optimal spring conditions). Since the calcium is less mobile and slower to reach the new parts of the plant, it is more susceptible to pathogens.

Given Theo's infected plants are the more vigorous hybrids so far and not the sanderianums, I suspect this might be why he is seeing the erwinia problems. But just a theory with assumptions.

 

[Djthomp28]

Don't cut. Pull off the affected parts. Also, try drier culture and separate from other plants.

Building on Eric's comment. I recommend splitting the leaf down the center to more easily and completely remove the affected leaves. This approach lessens this likelihood of accidentally breaking the entire growth. Another tip is not remove the leaves near your other plants. Infected plant material can get flung about and spread the infection while working to remove leaves. Of course, hand washing and tool sterilization is important, but you already have that covered.

Once as much as possible of the infected area is removed, treat with dragon's blood. Also consider removing the treated plants from the growing area for a while. Is it possible that the erwinia is spreading as you water? this happened to me a while back. the stuff travels a lot further than I thought it could. I am pretty such it was hitching a ride on the water droplets.

So, I have no idea if this really worked or not, but I will share anyway. When I struggled with erwinia, I dusted the tops of my healthy plants with cinnamon prophylactically. It was truly a dusting over the tops of my healthy plants. At the same time, I was re-evaluating the spacing between plants and air flow through the space and isolating the plats that were being treated. It is hard to tell if the cinnamon was preventative, but I would do it again. Hopefully I don't have to.

I can not speak to the chemical approach. Hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Happypaphy7]

Did I over do it. Probably yes. The poor thing used to be so beautiful. Also how do you sterilize cut utensil.View attachment 47844

You don't need cinnamon when you use Dragon's Blood, which itself dries out very fast and seals the cut wounds effectively in my experience. Also, just thin coat of the affected area is all you need.
It is most effective when applied at the first onset of the rot. Once the rot has progressed quite a bit, it may not be of much help.
So having a bottle of DB comes very handy just in case.

 

[Weaver]

Erwinia, and my keen nose for it, has made me an excellent pumpkin checker at work in the fall…I’m like the Ratatouille of the store….it is an instantly recognizable and unforgettable odor…sometimes I’ll just get a whif in the air in houseplants too, or around a rack that has just come in, and I’ll be like, better check, something’s got erwinia….

That’s a heck of a skill! Ratatouille, indeed!