EXPERIMENT: Azoxystrobin enhances VFT growth under strong lighting
Posted: Thu May 12, 2022 8:54 pm
Ok, I've been hearing quite a bit about using the fungicide azoxystrobin to affect venus flytrap growth rates so I've decided to test it. This year I'm going to do a proper experiment and hopefully put this topic to rest.
Thesis
Azoxystrobin can enhance the growth rate of venus flytraps under high lighting levels i.e. DLI > 30.
Experiment Details
I will grow 2 identical pots of venus flytraps using the same pots, media, watering cycle, feeding schedule, and overall growing conditions. I will use exactly the same number of rosettes at the same age and of the same cultivar (Maroon Monster) planted in the same configuration at the same time in all new media.
Both pots are Hydrofarm 12"x12" Square White Pots. Each one has window screening covering the holes in the bottom to help retain the soil and is filled with 1 peat : 1 fine perlite mix.
Each pot is planted with 9 Dionaea muscipula 'Maroon Monster' rosettes of approximately the same age and vigor. They are planted in an evenly spaced 3x3 grid pattern within the pot. Each rosette is planted in a 2" diameter column of 1 sphagnum moss : 1 fine perlite that extends to the bottom of the pot. I dug out the column of soil with a large spoon and replaced it with the sphagnum, which the vfts were then planted in. This is the same planting style that Maggie Chen advocates in her video on how to grow award winning venus flytraps.
One pot will be watered with azoxystrobin at a mixture rate of 1 Tbsp of Scott's DiseaseEX granules dissolved into 1 gallon of rain water. This will be applied to one pot as a soil drench once a month for 3 months. The other pot will have a soil drench of just rain water on the same schedule.
Both pots will be kept indoors under a Mars Hydro T1000 light. Growing conditions will be maintained at standard household levels i.e. temperatures between 73-82F, humidity at whatever our house decides humidity should be at, etc.
The light levels at the surface of the pot range from (according to my cheap smart phone ppfd app) 516 PPFD at the outer edges up to 735 PPFD in the center. I'm running them 16 hours per day which gives me a range of 29.7 - 42.34 DLI. This is at the upper range of reccomended light exposure for venus flytraps.
I will periodically post photos of both pots on this forum in this thread to document the experiment progress. Photo evidence will likely be the only metric used to track the progress of this experiement.
Wish me luck!
Thesis
Azoxystrobin can enhance the growth rate of venus flytraps under high lighting levels i.e. DLI > 30.
Experiment Details
I will grow 2 identical pots of venus flytraps using the same pots, media, watering cycle, feeding schedule, and overall growing conditions. I will use exactly the same number of rosettes at the same age and of the same cultivar (Maroon Monster) planted in the same configuration at the same time in all new media.
Both pots are Hydrofarm 12"x12" Square White Pots. Each one has window screening covering the holes in the bottom to help retain the soil and is filled with 1 peat : 1 fine perlite mix.
Each pot is planted with 9 Dionaea muscipula 'Maroon Monster' rosettes of approximately the same age and vigor. They are planted in an evenly spaced 3x3 grid pattern within the pot. Each rosette is planted in a 2" diameter column of 1 sphagnum moss : 1 fine perlite that extends to the bottom of the pot. I dug out the column of soil with a large spoon and replaced it with the sphagnum, which the vfts were then planted in. This is the same planting style that Maggie Chen advocates in her video on how to grow award winning venus flytraps.
One pot will be watered with azoxystrobin at a mixture rate of 1 Tbsp of Scott's DiseaseEX granules dissolved into 1 gallon of rain water. This will be applied to one pot as a soil drench once a month for 3 months. The other pot will have a soil drench of just rain water on the same schedule.
Both pots will be kept indoors under a Mars Hydro T1000 light. Growing conditions will be maintained at standard household levels i.e. temperatures between 73-82F, humidity at whatever our house decides humidity should be at, etc.
The light levels at the surface of the pot range from (according to my cheap smart phone ppfd app) 516 PPFD at the outer edges up to 735 PPFD in the center. I'm running them 16 hours per day which gives me a range of 29.7 - 42.34 DLI. This is at the upper range of reccomended light exposure for venus flytraps.
I will periodically post photos of both pots on this forum in this thread to document the experiment progress. Photo evidence will likely be the only metric used to track the progress of this experiement.
Wish me luck!