Spots on leaves. Virus or Not?

[orchidilirious4]

Ok, lets try this again shall we?

[Ross]

Much better image, but those spots are not nice. Not sure what they are, or aren't, but I've not seen anything like these on mine, ever.

This is a typical spotting issue on most Brassias and Brassia Intergenerics It seems to just be a part of raising Brassias and Brassia intergenerics.

Here's an extreme case (resulting from too much misting of the leaves) on a Brassia It's pretty extreme, but new growths are much less prone to this sort of spotting so I am not concerned.

The spotting in your photo is weird. I've never seen this coloration before. I tend to think this isn't normal and maybe needs some sort of treatment. Hopefully others will join in with some help. Just keep bumping this to top if you don't get replies 'cause lots of members are in vastly different time zones.

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[shakkai]

Spider mites???

Q. What are spider mites?

A. The bad thing about these mites is that the damage is usually considerable before they are detected. Most mites are so small they are very hard to see. Some species spin very fine webs that you can see. You can check for mites by rubbing a white cloth over the suspected area. If mites or eggs are present there will be brownish streaks on the cloth. Watch for stippling, blanching, or a silver-like appearance on the foliage. The first signs are the silvery areas that will eventually turn brown and sunken. The leaves will also turn yellow and drop off. Mites damage plants by removing the sap and the chlorophyll from the leaves of the plants.

from: cPanel®

[camille1585]

I agree that something is going on. Have you isolated from the rest as a precaution? My onc hybrids get spots too, but those are black and are probably from the misting. I'm no expert, but the yellow flecks look suspiciously like virus symptoms, like orchid fleck virus. Unless there are other diseases out there that have the same symptoms. But I'm only guessing!!

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[gixrj18]

I'm pretty sure this is Cercospora leaf spot fungus. You can find more about it if you Google "Cercospora on orchids". Brassia's are in the "Oncidium Alliance", so this info should help a little: In Oncidiums,
Tiny, slightly sunken, purple brown spots
with a raised light tan center on the leaf
underside. With age, the entire spot
becomes sunken and may coalesce with
other spots. Upper leaf surface becomes
chlorotic.
Cercospora Leaf Spot caused by
Cercospora species
Sanitize plant, reduce leaf wetness.
Systemic fungicide like thiophanate methyl
(like Cleary's 3336) or protectant fungicides
like mancozeb, copper and ferbam. Alternate
systemic and protectant fungicide use. I copied this from this web site:http://www.staugorchidsociety.com/up...idDiseases.pdf. Hope this helps!

[orchidilirious4]

Ok, I checked out it possibly being Cercospora leaf spot fungus and I don't think that is the problem. Although who knows. It described the symptoms as having purple spots with a raised tan center and then eventually become sunken in but my spots are not or have never been purple tinted that I have observed. The form of the spots has not changed much but just multiplied in number.

Spider mites may be the culprit to this problem but I have not taken a wet cloth to it yet. I will check that out. Would spider mites have anything to do with why my buds wilted and dried up only leaving me with two flowers on the whole spike? There is also a lot of sap coming from the spike.

At any rate, I have isolated the orchid but am not sure at this point if it makes any difference since I just isolated it and it is looking so bad.

[gixrj18]

If spider mites are attacking your roots, they can definitely effect the buds.

[orchidilirious4]

How will I know for sure if spider mites are attacking the roots? And if so, what would you recommend as a pesticide or treatment? I do have an all natural insecticide that I have used on other plants called Bonide but I am not sure if that would be the best for orchids.

[Ross]

While I agree somthing is going on, I doubt it's spider mites or any other mites, for that matter. Perhaps a virus of some sort? Or a fungus? It's not anything I've seen before (and I've seen my share of mites!)

[orchidjunky]

I have somethng similar to this on my brassia... is it really caused by a fungus cause i've seen this problem on some brasssias i've come across at the supermarket and it could be genetic right?