speckled dendrobium leaves

[aslesha]

hi guys, im new here, and need some help...one of my dendrobiums, which is otherwise in good condition, and by that i mean has a fresh spray of flowers, has a healthy root system...but the leaves paint a different picture..most of the leaves have a speckled appearance...white speckles along the length of the blade,almost as if embedded in the leaf. im not sure if this is a viral infection, and how to go about treating it.its one of my favorite plants.....and i need help.

ps:this plant was attacked at the root by mealy bugs a few months ago, but i managed to flush them out, and hopefully the bugs havent caused this

[11Orchid126]

Can you possibly post a picture? I fear they may be scale. Are the speckles raised?

[terra_australis]

Sounds like spider mite damage to me. They suck the sap from the surface cells of the leaf leaving tiny white speckles. In bad infestations the leaves will look pale or mottled white with brown scarred patches. Check under the leaves because that's usually where they hide. They will be tiny little bug thins about the size of a pin-head. Often they leave a fine fluff or web where they've been living for a while.

Can be difficult to get rid of. I've usually had to hit them with 3 different sprays to get them to back off. Also depends on environmental conditions. They breed faster in hot wet conditions from memory.

[aslesha]

thanks guys...but i doubt its either...spider mite is not known to exist in bangalore,india (where i live)...and there's no sign of any scale on the plant too. the speckles infact are like depressions...im trying to post pics, but strangely the uploads are not successful..let me try again.

[kmarch]

If they are depressions it might be more than one issue. It could be cell collapse that makes the depression with a secondary fungal infection. The cell collapse is often cultural. It will be easier to advise when you're able to post pics.

[aslesha]

finally i managed to compress the pictures enough to upload them...thanks to shrinkpic

[digitalgate]

you have spider mite problem. (white mite to be precise)

[aslesha]

Originally Posted by digitalgate

you have spider mite problem. (white mite to be precise)

oh no. how do i treat this? and is it contagious? should i isolate the plant? please advise

[Emma Grey]

I would isolate the plant so the problem doesn't spread. I've used the "best stuff ever" to get rid of spider mites. You can find the recipe in a sticky thread in this section. I can't link to it from my Phone.

[aslesha]

Originally Posted by Emma Grey

I would isolate the plant so the problem doesn't spread. I've used the "best stuff ever" to get rid of spider mites. You can find the recipe in a sticky thread in this section. I can't link to it from my Phone.

thanks emma...il find that thread..

[willowbanks]

Aslesha, some little pest has had a nice taste of the leaves but it is not spider mite, if it were, you would have total devistation by now.

Not sure what you can buy in India, if you give all your plants a spray with a horticultural pesticide that would be good.

Bill

[aslesha]

Originally Posted by willowbanks

Aslesha, some little pest has had a nice taste of the leaves but it is not spider mite, if it were, you would have total devistation by now.

Not sure what you can buy in India, if you give all your plants a spray with a horticultural pesticide that would be good.

Bill

thanks bill, for dropping a note here...i jus stripped off the affected leaves this morning....i dint want to ...but thought it was the best thing to do...and i will be spraying the plant at the roots and on the undersides of the leaves with rogor...from the last time i did, the speckling has remained constant.

aslesha

[willowbanks]

Aslesha, I would have left the leaves on but you were too quick for me.

Bill

[terra_australis]

Not sure. It does look somewhat like spider mite damage but usually they will affect the leaf evenly over the surface rather than concentrating in spots like that. The first pic also looks like mechanical damage. Could it be thrip as it only appears to be damaging the surface of the leaves...? I have seen similar damage on other plants (not orchids) caused by small beetles. Their mouthparts are not lare enough to eat out sections of the leaf so they simply chew at the surface causing this sort of scarring.

[aslesha]

Originally Posted by willowbanks

Aslesha, I would have left the leaves on but you were too quick for me.

Bill

heck bill..i panicked..din know how to counter this...im hoping the den recovers soon

aslesha

[aslesha]

Originally Posted by terra_australis

Not sure. It does look somewhat like spider mite damage but usually they will affect the leaf evenly over the surface rather than concentrating in spots like that. The first pic also looks like mechanical damage. Could it be thrip as it only appears to be damaging the surface of the leaves...? I have seen similar damage on other plants (not orchids) caused by small beetles. Their mouthparts are not lare enough to eat out sections of the leaf so they simply chew at the surface causing this sort of scarring.

Hi Dan,
as you can see im quite confused abt wht could have caused this...i just cannot figure it out..

[terra_australis]

Well it doesn't look like disease in my opinion so I would start with an application of insecticide.