Signs Of Disease

Hi everyone,

This is my 4th year growing and like most new starters I have, over the past few years, purchased bulbs from commercial suppliers, my local society and a few other exhibitors.   Early growth for the large majority of my pots this year look clean however a few are showing yellow marks or damage.  I have separated these pots and was going to dispose of them, better safe than sorry approach, but thought I would share the photos and gets some advice in case I was being hasty.

The weather in Canberra, Australia, has been quite cold in recent weeks with some heavy frosts (-7 Celsius) just as the new growth has been coming through.

Regards.  Andrew

Disease 06 C Disease 06 B Disease 06 A Disease 05 Disease 04 Disease 03 Disease 02 Disease 01

5 comments for “Signs Of Disease

  1. Hi Andrew,

    I wouldn’t be too hasty in condemning these bubs yet. They may be suffering from HWT damage or the yellow growth may be the result of growing too rapidly and will soon right itself in a few days. You could check with the supplier of the bulbs to see if they have had HWT. I agree with you isolating the bulbs but would wait a while before destruction.

    If its anything like New Zealand at the moment they are probably suffering from the very low temperatures. Its supposed to get down to minus 4 in Cambridge tonight which is very low for here.

    Good luck

    Robin

  2. Don’t be too hasty! Appears to me the pots are too small, normally you would want two to tree gallon pot sizes for a couple of bulbs.couple of blooms to the pot. You can grow “diseased” bulbs in pots, in quarantine safely for many years as long as you keep the truly virus-ed bulbs on the other side of the yard from your perceived “healthy” bulbs. Think of daffodil diseases as various human viruses that are spread by blood or fluids. As long as you practice good hygiene between the two groups of possible sick/healthy bulbs the disease will not normally spread or get worse unless you spread the disease between pots yourself.

    Yellow foliage, color breaks often happen as leaves first break through the soils, this color break is more likely when temperatures are other than ideal for growing. There can be problems with heat, cold or poor humidity conditions as various bulbs were in storage and or while they were in soils while they were dormant the year before and the conditions were extreme for the bulbs.

    Remember that black pots, full of soil, sitting in full sunshine can easily heat up to lethal soil temperatures, even when the outside air is “indoor house” comfortable. Plants will show stress when soil temperatures heat up higher than the air temperatures and or when the soils heat up far higher than what is “normal” in a mulched flower bed and or soil temperatures hotter than soil under a green lawn grass.

    Quarantine yes, destroy no. When in doubt quarantine forever, do not sell or trade suspect bulbs, but again most of these will survive, bloom and win at daffodil shows , even if they “might have” a virus.

    Keith Kridler
    Mt. Pleasant, Texas

  3. Thank you Robin and Keith for your advice, it is much appreciated.

    Andrew

  4. Hi Andrew,

    Sorry to be the purveyor of doom but I see the names on the pots are of Voodoo and Abracadabra. I grow both, but in isolation as my stocks of both are virused. I would suggest the same for yours. Sorry also to disagree with Robin and Keith but I can only go on my experience with the cultivars.

    I agree with Keith that grown in isolation and in larger pots the symptoms of virus may be less evident.

    Dave

  5. Hi Dave,

    Thank you for your advise also.  I was disappointed to see both Voodoo and Abracadabra showing signs.  I purchased both 2 years ago, last year was their first season and they appeared clean.  I was actually really pleased to keep Abracadabra over summer as everyone says it is hard to grow in our environment.

    Andrew

     

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