Pest or Disease?

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Fredkarno
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Pest or Disease?

Post by Fredkarno »

Good evening,

I wonder if anyone can identify and suggest a fix for the pest or disease on this Aylostera perplexa please. The photo has been blown up loads to try to show it. When seen through a loupe it is like a white powdery substance.
Many thanks in advance.
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ralphrmartin
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by ralphrmartin »

Bit hard to see from that picture, due to the zooming in. Any chance of a sharper close up (e.g. taken with a macro lens or phone with close-up ability)?
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by rodsmith »

It looks suspiciously like a mealy bug infestation but as Ralph has suggested, a clearer, sharper, photo would be useful.
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by Davey246 »

White and powdery does not sound like mealies.
Use a cocktail stick to carefully dislodge whatever it is and you should get a far better idea what is going on. If it is mealies, you should see some pinkinsh blood as you are bound to break some open. The texture should be waxy and fibrous at the same time, and they should come away as clumps, even if (very) small clumps.

Just try blowing, HARD, if it is mealies, essentially nothing should come away.

Possibly a consequence of photo' quality and the mag', but the gingery speckled effect on the skin looks like RSM damage.

Mealies are extremely difficult to control if that is the problem. The species that I have had problems with on houseplants are not at all well controlled, if at all, by systemic insecticide. Apart from physically removing/crushing them, I found a conventional insecticide with a genreous squirt of washing-up liquid was more effective.
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by Fredkarno »

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. Another better photo attached (marginally better!)
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by ralphrmartin »

It is a better picture. but still a bit tricky to see. If there are mealy bug there, they should be visible to the naked eye looking like little woodlice. The easiest way to despatch them is with a fine paint brush dipped in methylated spirit, and touch it to them. However, there may be eggs, so keep watching the plant and be ready to repeat the treatment.

Another possibility is mildew, although Aylosteras (Rebutias) rarely suffer from it.
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Fredkarno
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by Fredkarno »

Thanks for the reply Ralph. I can't see Mealy bug, so could be mildew? What's the best way to treat that please?
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by Davey246 »

It doesn't look like mildew at all to me.
Mildew is a fungus disease - not sure what is legal these days in terms of fungicide.

I would also disagree that mealies are always visible as individual animals. Many times I have seen them as small inanimate amorphous masses. Given that I have encountred mealies from fluffy to ones with just a short "fur", from small to large, from motionless to positively active, I would suggest that quite a few species are "available". (If you want to see really large and extremely active, very fluffy mealies - make your way to greenhouse citrus that get little or no attention bar watering.)

That said, the white stuff does not look especially like mealies to me either.

Investigate using a loupe and/or cocktail stick and/or artist's brush.
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by habanerocat »

I'd say it's fresh spider mite scaring Get the X10 loop out.
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Fredkarno
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Re: Pest or Disease?

Post by Fredkarno »

Thanks again to all who replied, much appreciated. Is it terminal or are there signs of life still? trying to flower so that's a bonus I suppose?
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