Disinfecting & Pre-treating Orchids

[Leafmite]

For the most part, I do not use any preventative measures except to add Calcium for the orchids and any other tropical plants that are prone to fungus issues. But....

Sometimes, if you know that a certain plant is very, very prone to fungus issues or pests, it is wise to treat it. My fruit trees, for example. I am going to remove the rest of the fruit trees...so tired of spraying them for insects and fungus. I skipped the preventative measures one year and the peaches molded on the tree and the rest of the fruit was attacked with worms and spraying them at that point was pointless (ha ha). Ugh.

Passion fruit are ultra-susceptible to spidermites. It makes sense just to spray them with neem oil every week. Even if you do not see the mites, they are there and the leaves will eventually get those tell-tale yellow specks....

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing

...Most community colleges here in Southern California, (Los Angeles County), do not offer any in depth botanical studies other than the basic introductory course to botany.

What gets studied nowadays is exactly and only what brings in money.

And you should check out the horticulture program, or what's left of it, at Golden West College in Orange County.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by estación seca

What gets studied nowadays is exactly and only what brings in money.

And you should check out the horticulture program, or what's left of it, at Golden West College in Orange County.

That's where genetically modified organisms come in. Genetic modification of organisms had already been researched and studied in the US since the late 1960's to early 1970's. Compare that with plant immunology. No contest.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a brief history.

Gene splicing had been studied in the US since the late 1960's to early 1970's at the university level by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen. At the time, the organism used was the bacteria Escherichia coli, (aka E. coli). They spliced genetic material from one organism and placed it into the E. coli genome. This is how they get this bacteria to produce stuff like insulin.

Fast forward some time, this is the same process that Agrobacterium is used in the genetic modification of plants. The genetic material that is desired is put into the genome of the bacteria, and the plants that are cultured in-vitro are inoculated with the Agrobacterium. When the Agrobacterium infects the host plant cells, it releases the genetic material into the host plant's cells and then the plant incorporates that genetic material into its genome. The new genetic material is usually to build up tolerance to pesticides. This is the quick and dirty of it. If anybody would like to research this stuff on their own time, that's up to you.

Sounds Frankensteinish but its our reality.