Diseases cacti
That cactus "ill" is not always immediately clear. Sometimes the disease, pests or the result of errors does not care can be seen at once. How to understand that the cactus something "unhealthy" that its something to worry - just be careful. Worry about the cactus is in such cases: |
| External signs | Possible reasons |
| If there is no visible growth cactus (only in spring and summer) | lack of plant growth in spring or summer -- the first sign of some trouble. The reason for this may be absolutely any: and diseases or pests, or error in the care - in primarily the lack of light, moving cactus to a new place not properly carried out by transplanting, watering with cold water, etc. After being vaccinated, because it is a stressful situation. After too long and intense blooms can also occur slowing or stopping the growth due to depletion of a cactus. |
| If there is shrinkage or wrinkling stem | If the stem at the same firm to the touch, then should first delete the lack of moisture in the soil (ie irrigation, the soil is dry at the same time), especially if the cactus is light intensity. If the stem, opposite, with soft, the reason most likely in excess moisture (soil while wet) at this stage can often save the plant, you can try urgent transplantation with removal of all the rotten roots. |
| If there is a change in color stem or leaf | This is a fairly common reaction to changing conditions. When the permutation of a cactus to a new location. When you change the illumination (with very bright light can occur posvetlenie or redness stem and leaves). If you get water on the stem or leaves (if plant does not tolerate). Some cacti genetically inherent Some change color with age. In some diseases, color of the stem and leaves can also vary, most often seen yellow, brown color and a mosaic of color. |
| If there is a dropping of leaves or buds | This may be the first reaction to stressful situation caused by changes in conditions. Shifter a new location or even because the cactus turned the other party the source of light. If suddenly changed lighting, watering or temperature. For example, poured cold water. If the transplant performed wrong time or not correctly. From the discrepancy of micro-and macro - soil. Also this can happen in diseases or injuries pests. |
| If there is a withering away of shoots | This happens most often with damage to the roots during transplantation or watering with cold water. From a sharp drop in temperature or exposure draft. Also this can happen in diseases or pests. |
| If the skin there are various stains or yellowing | This may prevent water from entering at the stem or leaves (if the plant does not tolerate). From the effects of the sun rays, unseasoned cactus can get sunburn. From impact Cold air can form rust spots on the stem. When lack of nutrients in the soil may become yellow, which place after the feeding of mineral fertilizers. Yellowing or spots also appear in various diseases and pests. |
| If cactus lesions appear or fissures | This may howl caused by mechanical trauma. With an excess of organic matter in soil cactus grows strongly and the skin cracks and breaks. |
| If damage is detected or root rot | cause of the decay of the roots should look first all in the over-wetting the soil. Especially with the lack of light and low temperature. Root rot often begins with the fact that damage, cuts or wounds on the roots not treated with sulfur (which needed for drying and disinfecting). Insufficient moisture soil at high temperature and light may lead not to decay, and the withering away of the roots. This is especially overheating pot in the summer in the sun. |
| lack of flowering or short flowering. | frequent cause - lack of sunlight, absence of a cold winter (dormant period), any violation of the watering and temperature. Some cacti, on the contrary, do not bloom because of too intense or prolonged illumination. Wrong or late held transplantation. Inconsistency in soil pH or its composition. Lack of nutrients in the soil or their excess. Rearrange a cactus to a new position or rotation of on-site. Diseases and pests is also a reason for the lack flowering. |
Rot - the most common diseases caused most violations in care (excessive watering, cold, wet winter and so on). Rot caused by a lesion of fungi and bacteria.
Cactus phytophthora (pathogen fungus Phytophtora cactorum), for example, affects all parts of the plant, especially if there are injuries or wounds, but the most susceptible to the root collar. Rot is manifested, as we know it and present it in the form of the decay and transformation of tissues in the muddy mass.
Among rots should be noted NCLB (pathogen fungi Pyrenophora) - a disease of crops - Stalks cactus bend, and shrink, and, in just a few days. Another disease of crops - Rhizoctonia (fungus type pathogen Rhizoctonia) or wet rot manifests itself in the darkening, blackening of the stem of a cactus, extends through the vessels up. Both diseases can be avoided if disinfect the land for crops, pickle seeds, as well as to avoid excessive moisture in teplichke.
It should be mentioned as Fusarium (pathogen fungi Fusarium), who suddenly found - cactus falls, the color of the stem of a cactus changes (becomes reddish brown or purple hue). If you get a plant from the pot, its roots are cut off, can be completely rotted, depending on the stage. Cactus poison toxins mushrooms in the vascular system of plants, which is noticeably on the cut stem - darkened clearly visible brownish ring.
If rot infects the root system, you have two options. First - if the decay of the roots only partially (in the very early stages, is usually found by accident) - removed all the affected parts of the roots, and other well-sprinkled with powdered charcoal or gray and the cactus is planted in fresh soil with a high degree of sand. Watering only after three weeks of very careful. The second case, when the roots have rotted completely - you can still save the upper part of the stem, chiding it as sharing. In this part of the stem is cut so that left only healthy strong tissue. If you started the rot of the stem or root collar, you can save only the crown of the cactus, instilling it into another healthy cactus.
It happens that rot rot starts at the site of lesions in the skin of a cactus. If the place of decay is not large, it can be cut rotten tissue with a sharp knife and place it carefully sprinkle sulfur. If the wound is small, it remains a scar, and the plant will recover. But if the injury significantly, cactus will be devastated.
If the decay occurred at the very top of a cactus, it must be cut down to healthy tissue, and cactus used as rootstock for grafting. Disinfect all wounds on the body of the cactus can be charcoal (you can crush up a tablet of activated charcoal), sulfur, as well as green ".
If you have cuts on top of a cactus rooting from diseased plants, then prepare disinfected substrate, which must be absolutely dry. Sharing cactus dry a little a couple of hours in the air, sprinkle the cut with powdered charcoal, then put it on the substrate, not prikapyvat! Low the top of a globular cactus mono no fix - it will not fall, but if sharing is unstable to secure it with a few sides with large stones. Do not fall asleep the whole substratum of gravel on top, just a few stones. You can pin and different. In a long-lasting stick wand, and sharing tie him woolen thread. After that, no watering a cactus is not less than 2 weeks. If the summer is hot, ie high air temperature, instead of watering the barrel cactus is sprayed with a very fine spray, or pollinate, just moisten the air around the cutting. After 2 weeks, you can slightly moisten the soil in the pot does not splash and spray, so that it remains wet for 2-3 hours, then dried. Neprikopanny sharing is always possible to raise and see if new roots have appeared. If they come, the cactus should be left alone (do not raise), and spraying the ground to increase gradually.
If you are saving pereukoreneniem scion cactus rotten winter, and located in a period of rest, then you were forced to have to put it in terms of growth - the roots are to grow only in warm and with sufficient lighting. Because if you put a cactus in a warm room, consider whether it is enough light, if you want to put it near fluorescent tube. In some apartments, accommodation, even in the south window sill is not enough to ensure full coverage of the winter.
Black rot (pathogen fungus Alternaria radicina) - when on the barrel cactus appear black (dark brown spots) in the form of water stains, wet, shiny and disgustingly frightening. Will spread the disease can quickly. Need to cut all the patches to healthy tissue. Plant spray fundazol, Oksihomom or Homom, and place cut prisushit gray.
Dry rot (pathogen fungus Phoma rostrupin) or Gangrène - in the literal sense of decay is not observed, just decided to call it a disease. It's dangerous because when detected, is usually too late. Externally cactus slightly pale, and begins to quietly shrink. If you cut the stem, the cactus will be dried up inside. Since the disease is transient and methods to combat it have not yet invented, the plant dies. However, the disease can be prevented by making periodic preventive spraying or watering of systemic fungicides.
Spot - the nature of their very diverse, most of them are caused by viruses and bacteria, which contributed to the emergence of conditions. This is primarily the impact of cold drafts, especially in winter or defeat of a cactus in conditions of high humidity and cool air. One variety of spots - rust - the stem is covered with rusty crusts or divorce. The cause of the disease may be a sunburn and the ingress of water (especially cold) on the stem and a sharp decrease in ambient temperature, etc. The bad news is that once they appeared rusty spots begin to appear at other locations and will spread more and more. Sometimes spraying fungicide inhibits the further spread of the disease, and sometimes not, as a means against rust using Topaz. It is useless to try to remove crusts or stains on these sites are ugly scars.
Very often you can see that by purchasing, for example, a patient cactus unidentified spots and putting his house on a well-lit by the sun place in the heat, stains do not rise, the new do not appear. This often happens especially with lesions of fungal diseases. Any mushrooms do not like the combination of heat (dry air) and light, and once on a sunny window-sill with moderate watering a cactus is recovering himself.
But if on a warm sunny position on the stem of a cactus and creeping appear reddish or whitish spots, sometimes similar to mica, here it is in the mites, which are the conditions just for the soul ...
Brown spot, or antroktoz (pathogen fungus genus Gloeosporium) - cacti seen not as the rest of the plants. On the stem of a cactus, in any place, with both sides, and spots appear on top of a light to dark brown. The spots are dry, depressed, forming a dry crust. Spots slowly increasing seizing large areas. Fight the same way - cutting the affected sites and fungicide.
Brown rot (pathogen bacterium Erwinia) - is the darkening of the stem of a cactus, usually from the root collar, or any other place (for example, if there was mechanical damage to the skin of a cactus and hit her in the causative agent). This cactus is very soft to the touch, and gradually changes color to muddy brown. After some time during the breaking of the cactus can be seen Slizkov kiselepodobnuyu mass. Normally you can not save the cactus - bacteria and their toxins quickly poison the entire plant.
Yellowing - the reason may be a lack of nutrients in the soil, and bacterial or viral infection. Yellowing usually starts with the ends of shoots and tops of a cactus. First, we should eliminate the lack of nutrients and feed the cactus fertilizers - if the cause of this yellowing of the pass. General yellowing can be caused by a virus, so-called "jaundice", to fight the disease means no. It may take transiently, and may last for months or even years. And if you take from the infected plants completely healthy for the type of sharing, then after a while and it will be covered by the yellowing.
Viruses are found on cacti are much less than assumed. In fact, as in other plants, viruses have characteristics that allow them to identify, except in cases when the body is densely covered with cactus spines, and it is impossible to see clearly the manifestation of the picture. A picture in viral diseases can be traced always. Typically this concentric rings, various spots with a certain sequence of expression on the stem? example the whole barrel cactus as if spotted - very similar, as if it sprayed acid. Some people think that it is a sunburn after spraying, but it turns out that the plant is not sprayed or it is not standing in the sun. The spots are usually light - this place is not in the cells of chlorophyll. And only pegged to the culture of cacti are infected with the virus have a solid stem of beautiful color - red, yellow, white, etc. - A genetically fixed disease.
Incidentally, it was grafted cacti are affected more often than other viral diseases. If you have a suspicion that the cactus contracted the virus, you can try to use antiviral drugs sold in pharmacies for the people, for example, remantadin (1 tablet per half liter of water).
The case of the life of the forum: "When I saw Gymnocalycium and bought at once (although forswear buying Dutch). Now I do not know Toli plant, Toli throw it away, because there pereukorenyat I think nothing, because they are relatively small. They are at the bottom of the roots of all some shriveled and some some sores. They are in one pot were five pieces of different colors. Maybe there's nothing wrong? "
In fact, these cacti are not increased, although the roots as seen in the photo well. So besides that prikopannogo cactus naturally be the lower part of the stem to lose color (the process of photosynthesis is that it becomes a yellowish-brown), except that for many types of naturally corkiness bottom of the effect of contact with water, land and lack of light, this cactus has the disease of, as evidenced by uneven, sprawling spot yellowing and brown spots, brown. The fact that the roots are healthy, gives hope that the plant can be cured, to await the new growth, then pereukorenit tip to get rid of the ugliness. For the treatment can be used Hom, Oksihom, fundazol or hinozol. Dilute according to instructions and bathe in a solution of a cactus. Then take a new soil mix, sterilize it (for example, stand about 30 minutes in very hot oven, then it must be completely dry, cool). Plant a cactus and put under diffused light. After 3-4 days, depending on the temperature of air to water solution of fungicide (fundazol, hinozol, fitosporin). Processing of the stalk again a week later. If a cactus is in a period of rest, it will have to withdraw from it, ie put in a warm and bright at the same place. Feed fertilizer, sprayed zirconium or Appin - no need! Stimulants do not help, but have enough nutrients in fresh soil. If the light is sufficient, but it should be sufficient for treatment success and growth, then such a cactus all the chances to recover. If you need to put additional artificial lighting.