Fusarium attack?

[elitebettas]

I got rid of a third of my entire collection-mainly cattleyas that were infected with Fusarium (some in bud, some with flowers, some in sheath-it was tough) but i had to discard them. As mentioned earlier, a plant will eventually die from the infection-sometimes it can produce new growth and stay "ahead" of the infection in the rhizome and it's then when you can divide the plant and discard the infected rhizome. The tell tale sign in orchids is if you cut the rhizome and it has a reddish maroon inside or a reddish brown "ring". The fungus works by blocking the vascular uptake of water which will eventually cause the plant to "wilt". Some view it as dehydration but it is actually Fusarium.
NOTE: IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT PLANTS PURCHASED FROM NURSERIES, BIG BOX STORES, EBAY, and even some reputable sellers have fusarium. When I contacted one commerical grower here in Florida and spoke about the problem, i was told "The fungus will always be there". With this information, we need to make informed choices on the types of plants we bring into our collections.