Pest/disease identification on Epidendrum Leaves

[ChrisK]

Good day

I was gifted a no-ID Epidendrum about a year ago. It has grown beautifully and has shown no signs on disease/pests up until 2 months ago.

I am a bit perplexed by the leaf damage. Does anybody know what causes this type of damage and if it is treatable?







Thanks.
Chris

[Ray]

It looks like mechanical damage to me. Chewed-on by something, maybe.

I have occasionally seen something like that when I have been pressure washing the greenhouse interior and accidentally blast a plant.

[Roberta]

To me, the damage to the top leaves looks mechanical - maybe sunburn or some other insult. Those little pits... could be a pest. It's the sort of thing that bush snails (tiny snails, 1/4 to 1/2 cm) that live in the medium, also chew root tips. They're too tiny to actually bite a leaf, they scrape the cuticle. And they hide, really hard to see. How long has the plant been in that medium? Maybe a repot would be in order, to eliminate (or at least reduce) little beasts that may be living in its depths.

[ChrisK]

Thank you for the feedback!

I agree that the top damage looks 'mechanical', one of the newer growths from the base looks like its end is chewed clean off.

The majority of the damage has only shown up in the last month. It is now early spring (here); insects have resurfaced.

I decided to repot. Epidendrums seem to do really well in fast draining potting soil (in this climate at least). I used a oven-baked potting soil that is then mixed with perlite.

Upon repot, I found a grub larvae the size of my pinky. This may have been part of the problem......

The orchid has also been sprayed with a all-purpose organic insecticide+fungicide that I use/make. (A diluted tea of Cayenne pepper, garlic, bicarb of soda and dish soap). This has acted as a cure-all solution in the past, I am hoping it lives up to its reputation.

I will post update images here once there is something to show. Thank you!