Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 12:02:33 -0400 From: Kirk Martin <kirk_martin@harvard.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1954$foo@default> Subject: Crashing Sarraceniae
At 12:33 AM 6/29/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Topic No. 13
>
>Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 17:28:23 EDT
>From: CALIFCARN@aol.com
>To: cp@opus.labs.agilent.com
>Subject: Re: Strange disease
>Message-ID: <b0.7220be1.268bc7f7@aol.com>
>
>Hey folks, Peter here at California Carnivores.
> Here at our nursery we have gotten several phone calls from people in the
>southeastern United States describing a weird problem with Sarracenia they
>grow outdoors. All claim that the lower stem of the pitcher, where it joins
>the rhizome, or the ala near the bottom of the pitcher tube, begins to turn
>red or brown and rots, causing the pitcher to collapse and wither. Only one
>phone caller noticed webbing inside of the pitcher, which may or may not be
>of the grass-cutting wasp Isodontia. This latter pest usually results in the
>upper part of the pitcher toppling, due to the nest prepared inside of the
>pitcher, so I do not think this pest is responsible. Also, no one reports to
>see the reddish debris chimney coming up from the rhizome as would be the
>case for Sarracenia root borer. All these growers report the same symptom:
>rotting of the pitcher's lower stem, causing the pitcher to fall over and
>die. One claimed the "disease" seems to spread into the rhizome. We have
>gotten about eight phone calls in the past two weeks describing the exact
>same phenomenon, from states like Texas and Georgia and Florida. Anyone have
>any clues?
>
Hi Peter, I had a similar problem and all my Sarraceniae "crashed" after
turning brown near the base while all the foliage still looked great. I
found 1-1.5 inch worms in the compost. It looked like normal purple
earthworms except for size and that they had an orange band 1/3 down the
length of the body and had a orange tip on the anterior end. I lost
multiple plants in the same tray and so believe they can be transferred in
standing water between pots. I rarely saw any evidence that these worms
bored into the rhizome (saw it only once-when I extracted one worm from a
rhizome) but in nearly every case, if a plant died, the worms were
present. I even lost a 18-20" diameter S. purpurea ssp. venosa that Tom
Kahl had given me during a propagation demonstration.
BTW: This happened when I lived in Clarkston Washington and Klamath Falls
Oregon. I haven't seen the same problem out in Massachusetts yet since
I've basically rebuilt my collection from scratch.
Have the people who called check the rootballs, when I noticed the worms
there usually were a fair number 5-8 usually around. I never witnessed the
"chimmney that you describe". I don't have a cure unfortunately as it wiped
me out.
P.s. The S. leucophylla and D. slackii made the flight in great shape and
are perking up. I just carried them on and handed them to security for a
check so they didn't get bashed around going through the x-ray
machine. Also, my wife LOVED her VFT shirt so, Thanks.
Kirk W. Martin R.S.
Associate Biosafety/Sanitation Officer
Harvard University
Environmental Health and Safety
46 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA. 02138
TEL: (617)495-2102
FAX: (617)495-0593
Check out our Web Site -
<http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/>http://www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs/
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