Erwinia, Fungus, Sunburn or Mineral Damage?

[orchidjunky]

Hi all,

I have noticed some brown "rot" along the tips and edges of some of my paph Michael Koopowitz and another hybrid I have. The pictures are below..

Pretty much this edge effect has been on these paphs for months.. I think the newest ones developed last summer. This paph has 1 or 2 edges like this that I know have been on it for 2-3 years now. Usually the tip or edge of the paph starts to get brown.. it's soft at first but after a couple of months it gets kinda hard/crispy.. although sometimes it just stays soft and brown too.

Mind you this plant has had this issue for at least 3 years and otherwise the fans look healthy even the ones with this weird brown edge on them My other paph has even flowered last month! At first I thought it could be Erwinia but doesn't Erwinia wipe out the plant or at least the whole leaf within days or at most within 2 weeks? Can Erwinia just be kept at bay if the plant is pretty much healthy?

The other thing I can think of is that it's some kind of mineral buildup issue since this mainly occurs on the edges and on 1-2 leaves its on the tip. The 2 plants that have this problem are in s/h??

I also have them in a window that receives lots of afternoon light so could this also be sun damage??

Any thoughts would be great.

[billc]

I'm not sure what it is but it's not erwina. Erwina usually starts at the base of the plant or in the crown and you're right that if not treated immediately it can wipe out a growth in a few days.
If it was fertilizer burn or sunburn I think it would be affecting more than just the edge of the leaf. As long as the plant is otherwise healthy and growing I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it if it were mine.

Bill

[orchidjunky]

^^ Thanks bill... Believe me I've lost a few paphs to erwinia which usually destroys the plant in a week.. This one not so sure what it is because some of these edges have been like this for a year or more and have not progressed further (knock on wood!!)

[glengary54]

orchidjunky - it looks like a minor fugal infection, you can see a bit of yellow in the second picture which is an indication that the fungus is still alive. I would just cut the leaf off above the damaged area and not wory about it.

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by glengary54

orchidjunky - it looks like a minor fugal infection, you can see a bit of yellow in the second picture which is an indication that the fungus is still alive. I would just cut the leaf off above the damaged area and not wory about it.

Would physan 20 work?

[camille1585]

It looks like the plant got the beginnings of an infection, but either the conditions for further development weren't good, or the plant mounted a semi successful attack against it. To be safe I would excise the affected area, taking a good margin of healthy tissue with it. And that should be the end of it!