using antibiotis on orchids?

[johnblagg]

has anyone here ever use any type of antibiotis on orchids for treatment of rot ?

Or antifungal creams even .....

Just wondering if anyone has done this. I know they use several antibiotics for different problems in fruit growing and greenhouses ...I was more curious about maybe using some meomyicin or bactrin ect like you get for skin infections on chids for black rot ect...or powdered forms like you would get from the feed store even for apairy use.

I had some black spots on a couple of chids that I applied triamcinclone acetonide cream to and it seemed to have stopped it almost immeadiatly.

Just found a black spot at the base of another catt today and I have applied this again to see what it does.

[Blueszz]

I asume you mean Triamcinolone acetonide (spelling?). This is not an antibiotic but a corticosteroid.

Keep us updated but I don't see why it would stop any infection in plants. In people it's known to suppress the imune system.

Nicole

[Undergrounder]

What do people use antibiotics for in greenhouses? I'm sure it probably works, but you can use tonnes of fungicides and bactericides on plants that you can't use on humans, so there must be a pretty particular reason for using antibiotics instead of much cheaper and effective alternatives already available.

In fact maybe that's why they use antibiotics in greenhouses and for fruit - its safe for consumption. But unless your growing vanilla i don't see why you'd need to spend up on antibiotics for orchids. Planning on eating your Cattleya?

[johnblagg]

I was just curious as to if anyone had ....and yes the corticosteroid is what I had on hand and used it doesent make sense maybe but hey it seems to have helped....better than doing nothing and having it die....

as to why the others instead of cheaper alternatives .... If you dont have anything on hand and for this then if it would work or if anyone had tried it was the point.Not to replace anything else but if it was in the medicine cabinet and it would work then it would be nice to know.

[Blueszz]

It also reminds me on a huge risk. When you handle antibiotics, even small amounts (for instance counting tablets when they are not in blisters) you get exposed to very low doses antibiotics - and the bacteria on your hands, in your stomach etc. get exposed too. This can cause very resistant strains of bacteria that you don't want in/up your body.
Resistant bacteria are becoming more and more a huge problem. I would stay away from antibiotics that are used in animals/humans for that reason only. One of the reasons we have MRSA is the massive use of antibiotics for raising pigs.

Nicole

[Ross]

Perhaps we can persuade Ray to join in, but I have a couple thoughts. I don't think rot is an organism you can treat. I think the rot we see is just dead plant tissue that results from a variety of environmental causes such as lack of O2. Rot can be treated, but I think we are merely reinforcing the surrounding tissue that has not secummed. I know there are chemicals used to treat decay systemically (Thiomyl is one). I have no thoughts on your original question except that I want to second those who say to be careful what effect you cause by use of drugs meant for something else.

I am a firm believer that when using a chemical for treatment, I want to be sure it's the one registered or designed for the problem I am trying to treat. For mites, I try to use a miticide. For aphids it'll be a chemical meant for sucking insects. For mildew it will be a mildewcide meant for mildew. etc. For decay on plant mounts or for algae build-up it appears Physan 20 works best for me. For stem or leaf rot, I use Thiomyl. Just my 2 cents.

[johnblagg]

I agree with almost everything I have heard in response to my question.

I was looking for information as to if anyone had used a antiobiotic ointment more than a prescription type drug antibiotic ...But that was also in the question on a lesser degree.

But lets say we are taliking neosporin for instance.

The black stuff I had was a bacteria I believed because it made little trails on the leaf and Pb like it was growing in a specific direction not a spreading circular patch.I have not clue really but the corticosteroid did stop it in its tracks.

This could have been due to some other factor besides the corticosteroid content in it I dont make any claims as to why it worked it may well be the differnt types of alcohols in it that did the trick.

at the time I was simply at a loss for treatment options and figured It could not hurt.But I then became curious to see if anyone more experianced had ever tried any thing along this line.

[Undergrounder]

Yeah i think i read about someone putting aspirin in their feed water as a general fungicide/bactericide. I guess that stuff's fairly cheap as well.

What i like about your application though is the fact that its a cream. I wonder whether a simple alcohol, bleach, chlorine, H202, etc (something cheap) in an inert gum/cream would be a useful thing to treat bacterial spots directly. Because its hydrophobic, resist washing off with watering and adhere better to the infection site for a period of time.

[LinhT]

I did see a thread but can't remember which orchid forum, about someone using OTC antibiotic ointments for bacterial infections on orchids. The poster did not specify how effective it was or how long he/ she had tried this, or on how many plants. Since Neosporin is the only topical antibiotic available without a prescription in the U.S., I'm assuming that's the product this individual was suggesting. I'm not familiar with what micro organisms infect orchid plant tissue but I'm pretty sure they are not the same ones that cause problems in humans. Therefore, I can't be certain that the combo of neomycin/bacitracin/polymyxin B is effective for problems on orchids. From what I vaguely remember of pharmacy school 10 years ago, I suspect it's more likely that the components in the cream/ ointment base are maybe providing some kind of effect when applied to the plant.

I try to use what I have around the house for my orchids too, instead of spending more money on another product. However, in this case, I avoid using OTC or Rx products for humans, on my plants because I don't know the long term effects it can cause on the plants. I stick with the Physan 20. I'm not thrilled that it's so expensive though, so instead, I look for a product commonly found in hardware stores that is a more concentrated form of Physan 20. It's something used for cleaning pools and comes in a big gallon jug.

[cb977]

I haven't used any of the creams mentioned but I know I couldn't live without my sprayer of Listerine