Is this stag?

[Diane Clement]

I've never seen stag before, so can someone please confirm my suspicions?  And advice, please, on whether I just need to winkle out the diseased one, or do I need to destroy the potful   ?

[daveyp1970]

Diane that looks quite similar to what i have described on the muscari thread.

[mark smyth]

I would say yes also. Knock out the bulbs and you should see reddish streaks on the bulb.

[Hagen Engelmann]

I think yes, Diane. It is the begin!
Separate the healthy bulbs (one and one and one) and give a fungizid too.

Look to the infectet bulb. Should be a little bit redbrown and glassy with destroyed roots.
If it is not, may be you have good luck.
Fingers crossed!

[Maggi Young]

Diane that looks quite similar to what i have described on the muscari thread.

Oh! I though you meant yellowing tips as in die back... I think that's what Ian thought too 

[Alan_b]

It doesn't look quite like my experience of stag. which gave rise to red blotches on the leaves.  But whatever it is, treat as for stag i.e. follow Hagen's advice.

[johnw]

It doesn't look quite like my experience of stag. which gave rise to red blotches on the leaves.  But whatever it is, treat as for stag i.e. follow Hagen's advice.

Alan  - On Galanthus I have only once seen minor red leaf blotchings.  I have seen some distortion of leaves and 2-3 times reddish blotches on the sheath.  Usually the whole shoot lets go at a basal rotten point - sometimes on a weak plant but also on strong ones.  Quite different with Hippeastrum which show the whole range of symptoms.

johnw - frigid here today, -7.8c and blazing sunshine.

[Diane Clement]

Thanks for all the comments and advice so far.  I have isolated the culprit and put it away from the others.  All have been treated with fungicide.  

I will add that the plant has 3 symptoms which may not be entirely clear from the picture:

• the yellow and brown marks on the leaves
• the leaves are twisted and distorted at the point of the damage
• the leaves are distinctly more green than glaucous compared with the other plants

 

[Alan_b]

Here is a picture from my stag. outbreak of 2008 showing the worst-affected leaves.  By coincidence the photo was taken on Jan 22nd 2008. 

[Gerry Webster]

Alan - that looks rather different to what I thought - perhaps wrongly -  might be stag on narcissus leaves a couple of years ago. It was much more reddish in my case. Are you sure of your diagnosis?

[Alan_b]

No, I am by no means sure of the diagnosis; how can one be?  However I think Stag. manifests a little differently on narcissus.

Here is a picture taken in-situ 6 days before the one I posted earlier.  Poor old "Colossus", how are the mighty fallen.  

[Gerry Webster]

No, I am by no means sure of the diagnosis; how can one be?  However I think Stag. manifests a little differently on narcissus.

Here is a picture taken in-situ 6 days before the one I posted earlier.  Poor old "Colossus", how are the mighty fallen.  

Alan - I presume one could be sure of a diagnosis by sending a sample to the pathology dept. at RHS Wisley. Your second picture looks much more like what I observed on Narcissus.
I wonder which fungicide Diane used? I found carbendazim stopped the spread of the disease, but this is no longer available.

[Diane Clement]

I wonder which fungicide Diane used? I found carbendazim stopped the spread of the disease, but this is no longer available.   

Some products "no longer available" on the shelves of the garden centres may still be available on the shelves of some garden sheds   

[Alan_b]

Alan - I presume one could be sure of a diagnosis by sending a sample to the pathology dept. at RHS Wisley.

No, I sacrificed a bulb of Wendy's Gold that way and after a long interval RHS Wisley came back with a "Don't know".  Admittedly I only sent the bulb and I had previously cleaned my bulbs by removing the decayed outer scales so the one I sent didn't look too bad.  But I don't think Wisley ever do anything more than recognise the disease from the symptoms and my impression is that the forum has more collective knowledge on stag. in snowdrops than RHS Wisley.  

[kentish_lass]

I have been looking on the internet for a product containing carbendazem to treat stag breakouts (hope I don't get one).  I had a little colony of Lapwing with stag this year and have a few sachets of my old fungicide left....but it has nearly all gone.

I found this site

http://www.pitchcare.com/shop/professional-insecticides/ringer-5l-carbendazim.html?telx=01902-440268&gclid=CPHbjpapgK4CFUcTfAodPSwW4g

They say they sell on-line to 'domestic enthusiasts' so it doesn't seem as if they want trade details?  The product is called Ringers and comes in a 5L bottle at £114 with VAT and excluding postage!  If 5 people had a litre each it would make it almost acceptable    If it was just used for soaking infected bulbs once in a while it would last forever.

Just thought I would post the info.

Jennie