Wooly aphids, wooly scale, something like that.

tj

Could even be mealy bugs. But an insect pest problem, not a fungus or other disease.

Pic #2 is definitely mealy bugs. Hate those #@$@&& bleeeps!

i am just curious .... but why did you jump to fungus??? .. if anything i might have jumped to mold or mildew ... before i ever got to fungus ...

im always curious when peeps ask for help.. but start by suggesting the wrong diagnostic track ,..

ken

ps: anything can be sprayed.. if done properly ... i was not aware AVs were the exception ... also.. the stunted center growth indicates you may have other problems with the AV in the pic ....

CentralValley, welcome to the woeful world of mealybugs.

Get your self a systemic insecticide - I would choose Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub, and use it at the rate of 1 oz. per gal. as a drench. Repeat in one month.

edit: you can't use that stuff on the basil - toss it.

iochroma, systemic insecticide is the solution I chose, but I ran into a dosage problem.

I wanted something specifically design for use in containers, so I chose Bonide Systemic House Plant Insect Control.

I've got it and have read the instructions. They say that for a one-gallon container I should use 2.5 tablespoons (about 37 ml) per application. But in the same table they say that for a 4 inch (~100 mm) flower pot I should use 2.5 teaspoons (about 11 ml).

I read that and thought "that can't be right," so I looked up the volume of a 4 inch pot. It's one pint. A pint is 1/8 gallon, so if I should apply 37 ml of insecticide to a one-gallon container, I should apply about 4.5 ml to a one-pint container, not 11 ml.

I don't see any possibility of misunderstanding here. The instructions are inconsistent by a factor of more than two. How can I figure out how much of this stuff to use?

By the way, I'm trying insecticidal soap on the basil. I'll see if that works. Throwing it out is not a solution -- this plant was grown indoors from seed, so if it got infested somehow, the next one will, too.

Why not use Bayer 3-in-1 for Insects Disease and Mites? It's a spray, so you'd need to move the plants outdoors and spray and wait until they dry. I use it because I got a seriously bad reaction from ALL my plants when I used Marathon, which is Imidacloprid in a granular vehicle. It wasn't the Imidacloprid that caused issues, it was the vehicle - about the consistency of sawdust and it wrecked the aeration built into the gritty mix. I almost lost several valuable bonsai I am quite attached to after having cared for them for 30 or so years. I still have a 5 lb container of the wretched stuff if anyone wants it?

They make 2 versions of this product. The big box stores sell an entirely different product (same name) than the one with Imidacloprid (systemic insecticide), Tebuconazole (systemic fungicide), and Tau-Fluvalinate (miticide). I use it as a fixative and a prophylactic for containerized plants. It works very well. I know they still make it because I just bought a case of 8 quarts in the concentrate form. See it here.

Your other option would be to purchase a soil drench with 1.47% Imidacloprid and mix it 2 tsp/quart of water. Be sure the entire soil mass gets saturated. It should last about 6 months.

Al

I don't want to use a spray for the reason i stated earlier: African violets do not like getting their leaves wet. I looked it up and found that contact with water will not immediately make them die, but it's still not good for the plant.

The active ingredient of the Bonida product is imidacloprid. It consists of granular particles about the size of grains of coarse sand, so I don't think it's likely to affect the consistency of the soil.

You have mealy bugs. Use alcohol and direct contact with the bug. Tedious but it works. Rosie

You need to treat ALL nearby plants For mealy bugs and disinfect the area the plant was in THOROUGHLY

ive used a bonide systemic (pellets) with success

they travel to nearby plants, they live in the soil, they will lay hundreds of eggs at a time in the soil, on your windowsill, under your plant pots etc. male mealies can fly

topical application of alcohol is only treating them…. its not eradicating them you have to change the soil and disinfect everything if you go that route

i had an infestation on my succulents and i dipped them all ..roots and all … in an alcohol bath, changed the soil, disinfected pots etc. but i wouldnt do that with an african violet

keep your plants indoors the systemic will kill beneficial pollinators

quarantine all new plants for this reason mealies are a nightmare

"disinfect the area... THOROUGHLY" sounds ominous. The area is a closet that is full of storage cartons, most of which do not belong to me. If THOROUGHLY involves something more than moving them out and back in... I don't think I can do it. Which means that I no longer have an indoor space to grow plants under lights.

I'm going to start by treating all of the plants that are in there, a couple of times if necessary, and wiping down accessible areas that seem likely to harbor eggs. If the problem persists beyond that, I'll consider what else to do.

I say thorougly because they lay eggs under windowsills and the likes, they arent just in your plants

if its not practical to disinfect these areas then a systemic is the way to go

but i would do repeat applications to ensure future hatchings don’t make their way back

i think bonide systemic granules are good for 8 weeks (?) if memory serves me right … and is not effective until soil is watered and plant uptakes by roots and mealies feed on said plant

so treating all nearby plants is essential

others have used bayer tree systemic, I've not used that on my indoor plants

good luck!