Friday 19 April 2013

Bug or no bug, that's the question!!

If you look at the picture above, you will notice white residue on the stems of the plant but there is none evident on the leaves. I have done some research and initially thought it might be the Mealy Bug that is an insect that feeds off the moisture in plants. But after further investigation, I think it might in fact not be Mealy Bugs. The images I have seen of Mealy Bugs show that they are larger than the white residue found on my plant and the bugs move. The residue on my plant is not moving and it an be found on the roots as well. It looks like a powdery substance and comes off easily when scraped with a fingernail. After further research I have found similar situations and many think it might be a fungus that is not particularly harmful to the plant, but indicates that the plant is receiving too much moisture. The blog I read stated that the soil is getting too much water and therefore the fungus is growing. As mentioned, it will not harm the plant but too much moisture can cause root rot. So my question is if this is a fungus and not a Mealy Bug, will it cause root rot to my plant as it is only submerged in water and does not have soil to soak up the water? I surely hope this is not the case. Still the question remains: Bug or no bug?

4 comments:

  1. I am experiencing a similar thing, its just that the residue on my plants roots does not seem to come off easily, however I am seeing some hard white dots starting pop out from the upper part of the root. what can this be?

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  2. Did you find out what is the name of the fungus and did you try to decrease the amount of moisture you plant is getting then?

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  3. Darren, I am still not sure what it can be. I removed it a few days ago and it has not yet returned. Pam, no I do not know what the name is of the fungus because there are so many. I will do some more research.

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  4. A Fungus? I also have the dots that Darren is referring to, It has to be some kind of Fungus. There is also a white powdery substance on some of my leaves but it comes off with just a touch. I have a feeling that the contamination of these plants were from the nursery that we go the plants from.

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