Pink Rot fungus

[quaman58]

Hey all,

I have noted this often as my Kings shed leaves. Looks pink to me. It this where it hides during the summer months, or is this something else? (Note the ring at the leading edge as well as the "smudge" to the right).

Bret

[gavilan1]

That's the right color... gives me a chill.  How long have the old sheaths been showing this?  I'd be getting the Daconil out and prepping the hand-pumped sprayer.  I lost an Archontophoenix cunninghamiana about 10 years ago to pink fungus, and swore that I'd never let it happen again.  It appeared in the sheaths on a young (newly trunking) palm, and lethally worked its way into the growth point.  Whatever this is could be coincidentally pink, but I'd be taking prophylactic measures to play it safe.  Good luck.

[Dypsisdean]

The bad news is, yes that's "The Pink."

The good news is that I have seen that on many of my palms for many years, exactly as yours shows. It is always on the old sheaths, right down there were the dew or other moisture collects before it falls off. I have seen it on my Kings, Queens, Kentias, Foxtails, and Chambeyronias. The only palms it killed were my just trunking Foxtails, but they were in much too much shade anyway. All the other palms are 20-30 ft and look great, despite showing this "Pink" from time to time.

This has just convinced me that this organism is always present. It's only when the palm is young, stressed, injured, or otherwise, that it can get a foothold, get into the inside, and do it's damage.

[MattyB]

Oh yeah, and don't rip off the sheaths because then the Pink enters the trunk at that point.  Let them fall off.

[Matt in SD]

As MattyB and Jeff mentioned in the "Daconil" thread, all commercial fungicides have a certain set of diseases they can control and others where they are ineffective.  Matt said Daconil doesn't work for pink rot...I'm guessing because it's not systemic, as I found some literature suggesting it could inhibit growth of the fungus in culture.

Anyways, the pink stuff is the fruiting body of the fungus so this is how it reproduces.  I think it's at least worth trying to neutralize the spores so it doesn't spread around too much.  I recently found "the pink" under an old leaf sheath on my Clinostigma harlandii.  I had a bottle of 5% bleach (1/20 dilution from the bottle) nearby so I just sprayed the crown with the bleach solution.  While fungicides are selective, bleach will kill pretty much anything it touches (even viruses).  It didn't hurt the palm (although I wouldn't actually pour it down the crown or anything), but it seemed to take care of the pink stuff pretty good.

Matt

[quaman58]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I guess I'll calm down and put away the flame thrower.  

Bret

[eastern.nurseries]

'Diseases and Disorders of Ornamental Palms' by Chase and Broschat is an excellent reference for dealing with these issues

[MattyB]

Matt, I've sprayed 100% bleach onto the palms trunks w/ pink rot.  It dosen't hurt the palm and it dosen't hurt the pink rot either.  I think part of the problem is the systemic issue you mentioned.  The other problem is that the "pink" is moisture resistant.  It's like spraying water onto talc powder, it just bounces off or only gets the surface wet.  I'm trying T-methyl in granule form on a Euterpe to see if it's mildly systemic claims will hold true.  I've been throwing it on the soil.  I did have luck eliminating pink rot from old leafbases by piling T-methyl ganules in the crotch of the leafbases where the petiole meets the crownshaft.  Then periodically water the crown to let the water filter down through the granules and into the crown.  This was on a palm that had it inside the trunk though, so it did not save it.  Give it a try when you first notice it on an old leafbase, it might nip it in the bud (pun intended).

[osideterry]

I don't think I've ever had "the pink rot." I have noticed that on those occasions where I ripped a sheath off prematurely, the crownshaft and ring get an orange/rust stain. This is the first year I've ever just let them all fall off entirely by themselves.

[tropicalb]

I'm with Dean on this one...grow enough king palms and you will see "the pink" more often than you will want to....seems to be most present on king palms where there is too much moisture near the base for long periods of time, but "the pink" has not presented itself to be a significant problem for me...and because it is an airborne disease, people tend to freak out about it.

I have researched pink rot and found that there is no known way to effectively "control" it via fungicides...I try to combat it by growing the kings in full sun, and keeping nitrogen levels up.

[osideterry]

Let me get this straight:

Kings love lots and lots of water, but woe there... pink rot

Kings look so much better in part shade, hey not so fast... pink rot

2 of my kings look lousy in full-sun. I'm taking my chances with lots of water.

[Jim in Los Altos]

The best defense is a thriving lush king palm. The pink rot doesn't have a chance of harming a king palm unless the tree is either badly stessed or very young (pre-trunking). I've seen those pink spores growing on already dead or dying leaf sheaths and that's it. The leaf sheaths, since they're dying, have no defenses against the pink rot fungus. I keep all my kings very well watered. They will grow well even in marshlike conditions.

[Dypsisdean]

(osideterry @ Jun. 01 2007,20:03)

QUOTE

Let me get this straight:

Kings love lots and lots of water, but woe there... pink rot

Kings look so much better in part shade, hey not so fast... pink rot

2 of my kings look lousy in full-sun. I'm taking my chances with lots of water.

Terry,

You're right. Kings love water, and they will grow well in the shade when younger. However, throw in cooler temps for a longer period of time than they would prefer (like a California winter), and you have more of a potential for the pink.

Wet, shady, and warm is OK.

Wet, shady, and cold is not.

[eastern.nurseries]

This is the most common palm in the nursery industry here in Queensland. Gliocladium is rare. The biggest problem with growing this palm is the white tail rats eating the base out of the seedlings, usually a couple of hundred a night.

[MattyB]

I hate White Tail Rats!  I have no clue what they are but they sound nasty and I've decided not to like them.

[wendisplantation]

I'm with Matty on this one-reminds me of the grey squirrels here- nasty little buggers!

[Peter G]

Will Hydrogen Peroxide treat Pink Rot?

[joe_OC]

Will Hydrogen Peroxide treat Pink Rot?

NO. I provided a link in the "shared link" about palm disease/treatment that will provide some options.

[Peter G]

Thanks Joe, I have found a product called BanRot, it contains Thiophanate Methyl.

[Aaron in Fountain Valley]

Would pink rot cause the tip of a new spear to go floppy? The spear belongs to a king palm and is about 2-3 feet long with the top 6 inches flapping around in the breeze. I am hoping the faint pink I think I am seeing is just the product of my over reactive imagination. 

[BayAndroid]

That's just rementa, which are part of the common King Palm. Nothing out of the ordinary there.