- Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:20 am
#319035
During a mid-season transplant from the Fly Trap Store cup into a self watering pot, I overwatered my venus fly trap and induced a fungal infection that looked like white fuzz on the sphagnum and some parts of the plant. Lesson learned on how to properly use a self watering pot.
This presented me with a great opportunity to test fungicides for effectiveness. Fungicides can be graded according to 3 attributes:
1. Phytotoxicity: will the fungicide temporarily burn the plant, stunt growth, cause deformed traps, etc
2. Resistantance: can fungus evolve or gain a resistance to the fungicide over time
3. Systemicity: does the fungicide have the ability to flow through the vascular system of the plant, making the plant gain a fungal resistance throughout the plant (roots and leaves) and not just the top of the plant surfaces that get sprayed?
None of the fungicides I tested get top grades in all attributes. For fungicides that I did not know if they were safe for use on a venus fly trap, I tested them on my $5 Lowes typical... and not on my SD Kronos. Below are the fungicides I tested, their generic name, inexpensive brand product containing the generic fungicide, and their letter grades in each attribute (“A+” is best grade and “F” is the worst grade).
Generic Name: chlorothalonil
Retail: Daconil
Directions: as described on product label for foliar spray
Phytotoxicity: A
Resistantance: A
Systemicity: F
Comments: Kills on contact, but you have to directly hit the fungus for it to work. Infections are often underground on roots and hidden surfaces of leaves and stems. Due to chemical nature, fungus can’t become resistant to this fungicide.
Generic Name: tebuconazole
Retail: Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs
Directions: as described on product label for foliar spray
Phytotoxicity: C
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: C
Comments: Phytotoxicity grade is due to temporary reduction in plant growth rate and temporary smaller trap size. Traps also grow in a curved crescent shape, again, temporarily. These adverse effects last for up to 4 weeks, then everything goes back to normal. If used in a large scale farm or green house, over many repeated uses, it is possible for fungus to develop a resistance. Fungicide is partially systemic, flowing through the plant leaves, but not downward towards unground parts of the plant.
Generic Name: azoxystrobin
Retail: Scotts Disease-Ex Lawn Fungicide
Directions: use as a soil drench, using 1/4 a teaspoon of Scotts granules dissolved in 8 fluid ounces of distilled water
Phytotoxicity: A+
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: B
Comments: Phytotoxicity grade of “A plus” is due to the fact that it does not hurt the plant in any way, and in fact, makes the plant grow faster! More details here. If used in a large scale farm or green house, over many repeated uses, it is possible for fungus to develop a resistance. This fungicide is absorped into the plant roots and flows upward into the rhizome, leafs, traps, and all parts of the plant.
Generic Name: phosphorus acid
Retail: Monterey Garden Phos
Directions: use as a soil drench as described on product label
Phytotoxicity: F
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: A
Comments: The most highly systemic fungicide, flowing both upward and downward in the plant, but this stuff will burn the traps and leafs of your plant. Luckily, I tested this on my Lowes typical. It will survive, but it looks like hell.
Pro-Tip Recommendation
As you can see, no fungicide gets perfect grades in every category. Use growing conditions that make a fungal infection unlikely, but have two fungicides as a plan B in case a fungal outbreak does occur at some point. Quickly treating an infection minimizes the damage. The two fungicides every grower should have on hand are: chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin. Upon first signs of an infection, water the plant with azoxystrobin dissolved in distilled water and spray the visible surfaces of the plant and the surface of the soil/sphagnum with chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil kills fungus on contact and prevents it from growing back on surfaces that it has recently been sprayed on. However, it is not systemic at all and so it won’t kill fungus that is inside plant tissues, roots, or hard to reach leaf surfaces. Azoxystrobin is absorped through the plant’s roots and them pumped up through the vascular system of the plant to all parts of the plant. Azoxystrobin also has a pleasant side effect of acting as an antioxidant and stress reducer for the plant, increasing its photosynthesis and growth rate.
This presented me with a great opportunity to test fungicides for effectiveness. Fungicides can be graded according to 3 attributes:
1. Phytotoxicity: will the fungicide temporarily burn the plant, stunt growth, cause deformed traps, etc
2. Resistantance: can fungus evolve or gain a resistance to the fungicide over time
3. Systemicity: does the fungicide have the ability to flow through the vascular system of the plant, making the plant gain a fungal resistance throughout the plant (roots and leaves) and not just the top of the plant surfaces that get sprayed?
None of the fungicides I tested get top grades in all attributes. For fungicides that I did not know if they were safe for use on a venus fly trap, I tested them on my $5 Lowes typical... and not on my SD Kronos. Below are the fungicides I tested, their generic name, inexpensive brand product containing the generic fungicide, and their letter grades in each attribute (“A+” is best grade and “F” is the worst grade).
Generic Name: chlorothalonil
Retail: Daconil
Directions: as described on product label for foliar spray
Phytotoxicity: A
Resistantance: A
Systemicity: F
Comments: Kills on contact, but you have to directly hit the fungus for it to work. Infections are often underground on roots and hidden surfaces of leaves and stems. Due to chemical nature, fungus can’t become resistant to this fungicide.
Generic Name: tebuconazole
Retail: Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs
Directions: as described on product label for foliar spray
Phytotoxicity: C
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: C
Comments: Phytotoxicity grade is due to temporary reduction in plant growth rate and temporary smaller trap size. Traps also grow in a curved crescent shape, again, temporarily. These adverse effects last for up to 4 weeks, then everything goes back to normal. If used in a large scale farm or green house, over many repeated uses, it is possible for fungus to develop a resistance. Fungicide is partially systemic, flowing through the plant leaves, but not downward towards unground parts of the plant.
Generic Name: azoxystrobin
Retail: Scotts Disease-Ex Lawn Fungicide
Directions: use as a soil drench, using 1/4 a teaspoon of Scotts granules dissolved in 8 fluid ounces of distilled water
Phytotoxicity: A+
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: B
Comments: Phytotoxicity grade of “A plus” is due to the fact that it does not hurt the plant in any way, and in fact, makes the plant grow faster! More details here. If used in a large scale farm or green house, over many repeated uses, it is possible for fungus to develop a resistance. This fungicide is absorped into the plant roots and flows upward into the rhizome, leafs, traps, and all parts of the plant.
Generic Name: phosphorus acid
Retail: Monterey Garden Phos
Directions: use as a soil drench as described on product label
Phytotoxicity: F
Resistantance: C
Systemicity: A
Comments: The most highly systemic fungicide, flowing both upward and downward in the plant, but this stuff will burn the traps and leafs of your plant. Luckily, I tested this on my Lowes typical. It will survive, but it looks like hell.
Pro-Tip Recommendation
As you can see, no fungicide gets perfect grades in every category. Use growing conditions that make a fungal infection unlikely, but have two fungicides as a plan B in case a fungal outbreak does occur at some point. Quickly treating an infection minimizes the damage. The two fungicides every grower should have on hand are: chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin. Upon first signs of an infection, water the plant with azoxystrobin dissolved in distilled water and spray the visible surfaces of the plant and the surface of the soil/sphagnum with chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil kills fungus on contact and prevents it from growing back on surfaces that it has recently been sprayed on. However, it is not systemic at all and so it won’t kill fungus that is inside plant tissues, roots, or hard to reach leaf surfaces. Azoxystrobin is absorped through the plant’s roots and them pumped up through the vascular system of the plant to all parts of the plant. Azoxystrobin also has a pleasant side effect of acting as an antioxidant and stress reducer for the plant, increasing its photosynthesis and growth rate.
- By thepitchergrower
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