Is this fusarium?

[Irielicious]

Originally Posted by Lamia189

Hi guys...
So I have just received my order from shwerter this morning. I have ordered 4 orchids and two of them aren't in their best shape. Two miltonias I bought seem to have their pseudo bulbs stretched out from one another, as if they were lacking nutrients to form properly? So when I was reporting the first one, i have decided to cut off a shriveled pseudobulb from which all the other ones were extending. Upon my shock I have noticed a red ring in the cut... Can you guys please tell me if this is an orchid infected with fusarium? If yes, are my other orchids I bought infected now too? I have bought two small oncidiums as well but they were all packed in plastic, so they weren't really touching... I'm not sure how the disease spreads, I have only seen the symptoms and know the results... thanks!

IT is a fungus so it spreads by any little disturbance, but mainly moisture. In my novice opinion it does look like fusarium. If you placed them near one another or even touched one with moist hands then the other it can be enough to spread the fungus. This is why you should always clean instruments (including your hands) between plants and never share water.

This fungus makes the orchids look like they are failing to thrive because they create like a choke point (that purple red ring) where the nutrients of the plant cannot flow. The only real way to know for sure though is to test the plant. I would contact the buyer, send them pictures and explain to them you got a sick orchid and would like a replacement. Sorry you are going through this...hope you kept the new plants away from your collection

[estación seca]

You might be able to take fresh tissue to a university near you and perhaps somebody in the microbiology or agriculture department could look at it for you under a microscope to look for the fungus in the tissue.

[Fernando]

Don't think you can see a benign paranoia under a microscope.

[Lamia189]

Originally Posted by Fernando

Don't think you can see a benign paranoia under a microscope.

It actually was fusarium though

[Sharon's Sheepdogs]

How did you find out?

[Coolbabe]

I have been researching Fusarium for 2 1/2 years now because I have had so many die from this horrible disease. With the mass production of orchids in Hawaii and the Far East fusarium has created a strain that is resistant to fungicides that have been used in the past and spreads through water and bugs. The older strain was passed on with tissue to tissue contact. So it anyone who had the disease in their collection was just sloppy in their disinfecting process. The orchid could be cured by removing any part of the infection. But the mutated version cannot be cured. But with almost every orchid having the disease present how are the plants surviving? If the orchid looks healthy and blooms it can't have the disease can it? The answer is yes they do. The only way to keep your orchid from dying from the disease is to keep the orchid growing faster than the disease. Monthly spraying of systemic fungicides slows down the progression of fusarium. Changing the type of fungicide is important, too. The other defense is keeping the plant healthy.

Fusarium makes orchids more susceptible to other diseases such as phytophthora, erwina, and root diseases. Many deaths of orchids are not diagnosed with fusarium. Part 1. To be continued.

[dolder81]

Originally Posted by Coolbabe

But the mutated version cannot be cured.

Do you have a source for this? Thanks

[estación seca]

I don't believe Fusarium is at all common in collections in the US.

Plants are exposed to pathogens all the time. They don't become infected unless growing conditions are poor.

For most home growers diseases are rare unless temperatures are too high or too low, the humidity is too high or there is not enough air circulation.

[Roberta]

Fusarium got very much over-diagnosed, was "fashionable" on the Web for some time. Lots of orchids that didn't have it died because of aggressive cutting of plant tissue that really was not a problem. Some of the gruesome results of those botched "surgeries" that people showed on this Forum seeking help after they had butchered their plants were enough to make one cry. I think that recently, cooler heads have prevailed. Fusiarium is actually quite rare outside of tropical areas. (I don't think that the UK qualifies as "tropical") There are other types of fungal infections, that can attack orchids due to poor culture (like "cold and wet"), but any treatment needs to be tailored to the cause. Fusarium is not a particularly likely culprit.