Root issues after treatment - Orchid Board

pale blue · #1 03-25-2009, 03:32 PM

So a couple of months ago I encountered some mealybugs on a couple of plants and basically treated my whole collection with a Bayer pesticide because I got paranoid. Since then two of my phals had some issues with the roots.

The first photo shows an aerial root that got all wrinkly after the treatment, but the root itself is still actively growing. The second photo is what concerns me the most, two of the roots on this particular phal look like they've been chopped off and it's sort of black inside. it's not scale, I already tried scraping it off. Think it's some sort of fungus? The roots are still very firm, and it's grown another healthy normal root since then which is in the picture. Maybe just dab those with Physan? Is this normal after a pesticide treatment? It was my first time using it, and other than that my collection is doing ok.

SP2340 · #2 03-25-2009, 04:58 PM

It might have been a bit harsh, I used one by Ortho and it almost killed a couple of mine, they've recovered now. I've started using Insecticidal Soap cause apparently it's less harmful to the plant... or not harmful at all.

pale blue · #3 03-25-2009, 05:12 PM

I did try alcohol and insecticidal soap, but I noticed they kept returning; not in droves but I would see one on a couple of plants.

I guess it really did a number on the roots, and I'm just thankful the plants aren't dead!

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #4 03-30-2009, 12:22 AM

Alcohol treatments work against mealies, but you can't expect one treatment to wipe them out completely. I had to apply alcohol multiple times to plants that had massive infections. I took a break between treatments and checked to see if there were more. I would also check neighboring plants for those pests.

I generally don't like using pesticides. For one, I'm not a chemist and I don't know what the properties of the chemicals they use to create the pesticide are. Even if I had a basic understanding of them, I don't know what kinds of effects they have on living organisms and the environment are in the short or long run. Then there's the question of whether the product was marketed without research or whether the research and the reading of the data of the research on the product was botched and haphazardly done. In other words, sounds like too more risks than necessary to get the job done.

Just my two cents.

pale blue · #5 03-30-2009, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Alcohol treatments work against mealies, but you can't expect one treatment to wipe them out completely. I had to apply alcohol multiple times to plants that had massive infections. I took a break between treatments and checked to see if there were more. I would also check neighboring plants for those pests.

I generally don't like using pesticides. For one, I'm not a chemist and I don't know what the properties of the chemicals they use to create the pesticide are. Even if I had a basic understanding of them, I don't know what kinds of effects they have on living organisms and the environment are in the short or long run. Then there's the question of whether the product was marketed without research or whether the research and the reading of the data of the research on the product was botched and haphazardly done. In other words, sounds like too more risks than necessary to get the job done.

Just my two cents.

I appreciate your comments but believe me, it was much more than one treatment. Even after multiple treatments over a month to the quarantined plants I noticed they had spread and infected a couple of other other plants. So it's obvious I didn't stop the life cycle of the bugs with rubbing alcohol and medium changes.

Sure there are risks with everything, but I didn't kill my plants with the pesticide and took all the proper precautions, I think it just stunted the growth on some of the aerial roots. I've invested too much money to let the mealybugs get the best of my plants

Bloomin_Aussie · #6 03-30-2009, 10:47 AM

I'm not sure if it is relevant but you need to be careful using aerosol sprays on your plants because the contents come out very cold and can cause frost-bite. Was the Bayer stuff in a spray can?

pale blue · #7 03-30-2009, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bloomin_Aussie

I'm not sure if it is relevant but you need to be careful using aerosol sprays on your plants because the contents come out very cold and can cause frost-bite. Was the Bayer stuff in a spray can?

Nope it was a concentrate that I mixed with water and used as a drench.