I read somewhere that Botryospaeria, Cercospora, white pine blister rust and Phytophthora Cinnamoni are all caused by a combination of global warming and the spread of conifer cultivars.
The only remedy known is panic, hysteria and posting on this forum 72 times each day.
Keep up the good work Little Stiffy. The fate of the world is in your hands.

Jim

Another one of my small-time admirers...

hey stiff .. that second answer was funny .... lol .. and your deadpan reply .. what a hoot ...

as i have told you before.. prevention is easier than cure ...

sterilize all water .... meaning boil it in advance ...

sterilize all tools.. including watering can ...

and start thinking preventative sprays .... chemical or holistic ...

i am not able to define what need be done in re any specific problem ... i tend to be of the mind .. that if i have to go through this much to prevent a problem.. maybe the best prevention is to just not have the plant .... mother nature will take what she wants.. and i am not going to try to fight her ...

good luck

ken

Geez, given the requirements of a mild, yet damp climate, the Pacific Northwest should be awash in various conifer pathogens! And it's not :-)

Ken has a pretty realistic approach. Naturally occurring disease pathogens are always going to be difficult to control, more so when there are no known remedies. That's why resistant strains or cultivars are continually being tested and/or developed or why grafting on to resistant species is becoming more popular. But common sense needs to be applied as well. Attempting to grow something out of its comfort zone or under other unfavorable conditions may be an entertaining gardening challenge, but don't be surprised if it doesn't make it - unnecessary cultural stress is very conducive to promoting or encouraging disease and pest problems. Avoiding host plants, monocultures and practicing proper garden sanitation can go a long way as well.

btw, that's "fy-toff-ther-uh" :-)

"Geez, given the requirements of a mild, yet damp climate, the Pacific Northwest should be awash in various conifer pathogens! And it's not :-)"

There's a whole book full of them in Diseases of Pacific Coast Conifers (USDA Forest Service Agric. Handbook 521) . . . reading that, it's amazing there's any trees alive at all over your way!

Though there are some that the wild populations are seriously on the way out, such as Lawson's Cypress (with Phytophthora lateralis) and Monterey Pine (with Pine Pitch Canker). And worst of all, Cuyamaca Cypress (only about 30 mature trees left, due to increased fire frequency exceeding their reproductive capacity).

Resin

"hey stiff .. that second answer was funny .... lol .. and your deadpan reply .. what a hoot ... "

Yeah, well it's similar to dealing with an obnoxious seven year old - I don't want to encourage him, and he doesn't really offend me enough to warrant a response. He seems to have some sort of weird fetish with this "little stiffy" thing, it's kind of creepy. Not sure if he's the type to do a lot of hanging out in airport bathrooms or what (it's always the right-wingers), but as I've always said, repression is never the answer!

Anyway, as for the Pacific Northwest, it does seem to be a pretty hospitable environment for fungus and water molds, so I'm not sure what you're talking about there. I'm guessing that Port Orford Cedar will be extinct in the wild within fifty years. As any mushroom cultivator knows, the PNW with it's high rainfall and generally "mild" temps is a perfect environment for many fungus species.

Yes, I've always considered the PNW to be the fungal disease capital of the US :-) In fact, ANY disease that is encouraged by mild, damp weather. However, despite the inclination of this area to encourage the development of diseases and the propensity for root rot fungi in particular, it doesn't appear that the situation is getting substantially worse. There IS a higher incidence in native forests but that is suspected to be caused in large part by increasing human activity in these areas - WE tend to be the carriers.

In home gardens, the problems tend to occur when plants are ill-selected or ill-suited to the growing environment.

Found some armillaria mushrooms, a.k.a. "oak root fungus", today while on a walk through the park, on a stump of something whose identity I didn't pay any attention to at the time (from the picture it looks like a coast live oak). Reportedly and beside the point, they are edible. I'll stick with my shiitake patch, though.

Anyway, photo here.

{{gwi:637139}}

Also saw a haggard looking giant sequoia with oozing cankers and die back. Shame, because it's been one of my favorite trees in the park for a few years...

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Maybe Botryosphaeria, Cercospora, or some sort of Phtyophthora species?

Armillaria mellea is very dangerous for the trees,
I do not know whether you know it is edible and very tasty - sliced and pan-fried with onion mniam mniam

in revenge for the destruction of trees ;)

Grzegorz

Man, too bad this thread never took a good hold (I wish that cultivars and genetics one would've taken hold, as well).

Anyway, I've been reading a book called "THE FIFTH KINGDOM", which is a GREAT, in-depth book about all aspects of Fungi - evolution, reproduction, biology, taxonomy, etc...

It has a good number of articles in it on plant pathogens (since most of them are fungal) as well as some articles on fungicide. Whoever wrote this book (Bryce Kendrick) really put a lot of time and effort and consideration into it.

Anyway, the pathogens I've been reading about mostly are the OOmycota - "water molds" and "downy mildew" - and their classification is somewhat confusing to me. They're technically not fungi (I believe this is a recent notion), where as Dutch Elm Disease and Chestnut Blight are Fungi and are in the same general Division of Fungi as are the common morel mushroom - the ascomycetes.

Phytophthora and pythium (one of the main damping off culprits) are in the Oomycota, and the havok they can wreak is amazing. Zoospores of many species can lay dormant in the soil for upwards of forty years. It's awful. Not to mention what can happen when these organisms cross oceanic boundaries with the help of human beings (as in many phytophthora species) and are introduced to highly vulnerable new botanic victims. Amazing what microscopic things are constantly around you, invisible to your eyes, and what power (both to destroy and aid) they have.

Anyway, I recommend the book, if only for the plant pathogens chapter. I bought it used for 9 dollars, you can probably find it on amazon for cheaper.

Another good one is "TRIUMPH OF THE FUNGI - A ROTTEN HISTORY" by Nicholas P. Money . Good coverage of all the serious plant pathogens that have put a damper on human history in the past two hundred years.

Hey stiffy...sorry to change the subject but I've been meaning to ask a question about mychorizzae.
Want to give it a try, adding it to my soilless mixes. What brand do you recommend?
Would it work to grow my own mychorizzae by inoculating a tub of media, feeding it, use only a partial amount then replenishing media and food each time. Like a sourdough starter.
Does that make sense?
Not sure what growing media to use for the mychorizzae, or the nutritional needs...would my organic fertilizer with molasses in it work?
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Barbara

There's a company called "FUNGI PERFECTI" located in Olympia, Washington which offers a powder that is mixed with water to create a gel. It costs about six dollars and the staff at this place is very helpful. They also sell mushroom kits, etc. so they're pretty knowledgeable. The founder of the company wrote a great book called "MYCELIUM RUNNING", his name is Paul Stamets.

Other than that, that gentleman Dax referred me to Tree Haven Nursery in Elma, NY. and they sell a product called "plant success" root dip gel, which I assume is the same product as the one Fungi Perfecti Offers. Treehaven's number is 716-652-4206. Funny, whenever I call and ask about that Mycorrhizae the older fellow who owns the company always tell me, when I ask the best way to store the stuff, that a good place to put it when not in use is "in the refrigerator, right next to the beer". Fungi Perfecti says you can supposedly store the powder, before it's mixed, at room temperature. I guess it doesn't really matter. The fridge makes more sense to me but who knows.

But anyway, I digress. GEt the root-dip gel mix, as opposed to other forms of mycorrhizae (i.e. tabs, dry powder to be thrown directly into planting hole, etc.). From the research I've done on this stuff, the gel works best and is the best way for the spores to bond to the plant roots.

As far as culturing the organisms yourself, I'd assume you could easily do so, once the organism is established. Just keep it alive in the soil in a flower box with a good host plant, and all you have to do is give whatever plant you want to innoculate sufficient time in that soil to become "infected" with it, as well.

You can tell once it's established as when you dig up your plant, the roots will be engulfed with a thick, white mycelial web. It looks pretty cool, I witnessed it for the first time with a cupressus macrocarpa. All the sudden, in the span of a month, the thing had grown a foot and a half. It previously had sat in a bed for a year adding mere inches. SEeing this, I realized I needed to move it, and when I dug it up, the roots were literally ENGULFED in white hyphae.

People in France have been cultivating Mycorrhizae for centuries in order to reap the beneficial fungal "fruit" that it produces : TRUFFLES.

Christ, I'm out of breath. Sorry that was such a long ramble.

Good luck. It's fascinating to learn about.

Thanks stiffy...I'm planning a rootstock order from Treehaven, so will get their mychorizzae too.

When do we get to know your real name...I'll bet the guys are getting funny looks as they walk around muttering about #@!% stiffy!

Barbara

Two things to update on the post that nobody seems interested in...

1. There is a relatively new product called "serenade" that is offered as a non-toxic alternative to damping off diseases and a litany of other fungal villains. Most fungicides, of course, are HIGHLY toxic, where as this one is simply a fungicidal bacteria, a strain of the bacteria Bacillus Subtilis", it smells terrible, but so far has worked relatively well for me since I began using it a week or so ago. I have not lost any of cryptomeria or metasequoia seedlings to damping off since I began using this, however, it is too early to tell whether this is significantly caused by the bacterium.

As for fungicides for damping off, it seems that most damping off diseases are caused by the bastards in the infamous "water mold" (so called because their zoospores possess a flagella, like a sperm, and can only move in wet environments.) family, mentioned above. Namely pythium and phytophthora, mostly damping off seems to be pythium, though. I've heard botrytis species referred to as potential damping-off culprits, as well. Whatever species causes damping off, the fungus literally eats the plant (secretes enzymes that digest the plant tissue) at the soil line, causing the seedling to keel over but for the parts of the plant above the infected spot to still appear healthy for a short time until they die of starvation/desication, etc.

Barbara, here's some pictures again of the mycorrhizae that somehow inoculated that cupressus macrocarpa that I had to dig up because it got too big...

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Hi. Not knowing much at all about mushrooms,fungi and micro-organisms in general,I am nonetheless also a firm believer in trying to work hand in hand with mother nature.
I read somewhere that Pines may need the co-operation of fungi to thrive,so I promptly drove to the forest with my shovel and sought out an old P. sylvestris to see what I could find.A massive,multistemmed specimen,wich looked like it has been there at least a hundred years appeared to be a good candidate for some 'nosing'.Just like the people here use pigs or trained dogs to seek out truffles,I put my nose to the ground and started scratching around in what felt like a giant spungy matress of decomposed pine-needles.Only a couple of inches down,an at least six inches thick layer of white mycelium surrounds this tree.I helped myself to about half a dozen large compost bags of the stuff,carefully putting back the top layer of needles.So that's what I used last year as 'mulch' around my pines.I cannot say whether this was useful or not,at least it doesn't appear to have done any harm.I must admit liking edible mushrooms a lot,and I certainly wouldn't mind the sight of Lactaria deliciosa or L.sanguifluus popping up under the pines toward the end of september after the first rains...hmmmm !!! T.
PS:These last two mentioned are the only edible mushrooms that I know that grow under pines around here.For truffles(Tuber melanosporum)you have to look under oak trees in fall.Small black flies hovering over the ground are a good indicator.Magic mushrooms I wouldn't know...

Just been reading about truffles. Some dude named Hall wrote a book called "taming the truffle" that I ordered from the library. Evidently, they're meant to taste good ("smokey" is what I've heard - I'm not rich so I don't have the seventy dollars to spend for a bite) so they will get eaten and the spores, which stay viable through a mammal's digestive tract, are then deposited back onto the ground to lay in wait until they find a suitable botanic host.

Also, mycorrhizae seem to thrive better on nutrient-poor soil, it is thought, because their plant hosts have an imbalance of sugar to protein, that is, the plants on lousy soil have more sugar (that they created through photosynthesis) in proportion to proteins (i.e. soil nutrition) , so these plants have more sugar to "give" and "exchange" to and with the fungal organism than plants that have good soil and proper nutrition.

So, fertilizer does not necessarily hurt the mycorrhizae, but somewhat negates the ease with which it is attracted to and fed by it's host.

Truffles were going 800 euros (close to 1200$) a POUND this year.You wonder who can still afford to buy them.
Also,when gathering truffles,better find out on who's property you're going.People get really badly treated when caught. T.

Raining here today, giving me time to do some research. I found this article that outlines a mycorrhizal production method on Page 3, where the final product is a "crude inoculum" needing to be stored in a cool, dry place. Looks doable.

Serenade has been available for agricultural use for a while; good to see safe and non-toxic alternatives trickling down to the home gardener. The product I use both in the vineyard for powdery mildew and at home during propagation and transplantation is called Actinovate: same mode of action but different bacteria.
http://www.naturalindustries.com/agtinovateAG.htm
Sprayed compost tea with success in the vineyard for mildew also. That type of compost tea application is no longer allowed because of the potential for BAD microbes, the finding a result of the Spinach debacle.

Barbara

Here is a link that might be useful: Manual on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus

That article is great! You oughta see the number of books I got sitting in a big heaping pile on my kitchen table. Fungus is my next jam. I got into learning about it mainly because 80% of the major plant pathogens are fungi (or related to fungi) but it's all totally fascinating in and of itself. Especially the mycorrhizal information. I intend to finish this bottle of three dollar wine and continue reading up on it tonight. Anybody interested should really check out this guy Nicholas P. Money, he's a British gentleman who writes with a type of sarcastic wit only a smarmy prick like me can enjoy...

On that note, just learned recently that Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (Endo-mycorrhizal) are the mycorrhizae most commonly engaged with sequoia, metasequoia, cupressus and related species. I would assume that's what the white web of mycelium is above. Ectomycorrhizae I've seen in pictures look totally different, similar to nitrogen-fixating nodules.

Here is a link that might be useful: Books by Nick P. Money

A boil is a skin disease which is caused by a bacterium. It is very infectious in nature and very painful too. You should do the boils treatment in the very beginning. For this you can try various home remedies as boiled poultice of crushed fenugreek seeds. You can also use boilx for the treatment of boils.

Here is a link that might be useful: treatment for boils

Above message by emilyroggers on Sat, Jul 4, 09 at 7:25 is spam

The "boils treatment" bit aside, this is a great discussion. Somehow I missed it in its original incarnation.

I second the recommendation of Fungi Perfecti as being an outstanding source of products and info. I read Stamets' "Mushroom Cultivation" and some smaller works years (Decades, actually) ago, and they still set the standard for such readings.

Stiffy, you mentioned a shiitake "patch". As a former grower of same on logs, I find this of interest. Should I take it that you are cultivating this species in an in-ground bed of some sort, or have you found a wild, self-sustaining patch somewhere?

+oM