About the bacterial outbreak in the播种 of succulents and bulbs
Today, the editor elaborates on the knowledge of succulents, specifically about the bacterial outbreak in the播种 of succulents and bulbs, as follows:
I am not boasting by posting this picture; it's just an ordinary variety, in an open environment, not particularly fast-growing, but with a very low mortality rate. I doubt anyone has seen a mold outbreak on the soil surface or a large amount of waterlogging occurring after one year of播种.
This is last year's播种 container, which was 20x35cm. This year, I used a granite frame for播种 that is 60cmx120cm. Even with a larger amount of soil, I only kill insects and not bacteria, and this year everything is still growing well without any malignant incidents.
Regarding the issue of fungal threads, such problems are not少数. I believe that more friends who experience a massive outbreak of fungal threads or a large number of transparent waterlogging need to reflect on the issue of bacteria. Mass waterlogging, the massive outbreak of malignant bacteria, indeed, bacteria are the direct cause, but what we should reflect on is: why do our balcony pots rarely experience a large outbreak of malignant bacteria, even killing plants? Why does a seed sometimes sprout and grow secretly next to a large plant by chance? Why do so many plant seeds in nature germinate without necessarily being disinfected, such as when I播种 flowering herbs in the past, or the播种 in vegetable gardens? Why does disinfection seem necessary when播种 succulents?
For previous播种 in that container, including this year's播种, I usually lay some insecticides in the lower layer of the soil, but for such a large area of播种, I have never killed bacteria. The reason is that since I started using EM bacteria two years ago, I basically stopped doing so. However, those who can't see it, the播种 is very successful, with a low mortality rate and little transparent waterlogging.
When I first started播种, I visited a nursery owned by a Mr. Zheng in the suburbs. I saw them drying cacti fruits in the sun, and they said it was to dry them well for seed extraction. When I asked how they handled the seeds, they said they simply scattered the seeds directly into the sandy soil in the greenhouse without even washing the fruit flesh or sterilizing the soil. I felt at the time that they had so many seeds that they were very careless.
In the initial stage of germination, maintaining a relatively high humidity in the air and soil is indeed beneficial for rapid germination, but what about after that? Continuing to maintain this environment is also a good environment for the rapid reproduction of various microorganisms.
Can sterilization kill all of them, achieving complete sterility?
Can sterilization ensure that there is no subsequent contamination, or ensure that the first to enter your pot without natural enemies is not a malignant bacterium?
If the seedlings you raise with a fungicide are truly resistant to bacteria, can you spray them for a lifetime?
After three years of播种, I got my own answer: sterilization is not necessary, and it is not safe. On the contrary, the surface of the播种 soil should not be overly nutritious, plants should be provided with proper ventilation, a slightly lower air humidity than闷养, appropriate soil moisture, sunlight with ultraviolet rays that can help kill surface bacteria, and a balanced soil microbial community. With these conditions, there won't be a massive outbreak of a single, deadly bacterium on the soil surface. Therefore, the direct killer of mass mortality may be bacteria, but the conditions that create suitable development for them may be your sterilization, moisture retention, high temperatures, or overly nutritious planting materials, which indirectly cause them.
Without water in the roots, wounds left by non-root rot, unharmed bulbs, even flesh bulbs encapsulated in old skin, dry soil, still waterlogging, this problem is called "resistance." This situation often occurs in dicotyledonous plants, and monocotyledonous plants can also experience it, but they have a higher tolerance before dying. For example, some sun-loving or semi-shady plants do not appear in large open areas under the forest, one reason being the lack of sunlight, which causes rapid plant growth, elongated cells, tender skin, and high water content, making them easily invaded by bacteria leading to rot. This invasion can even occur in intact epidermal layers.
Most euphorbias are strong sun-lovers, and many varieties will undergo changes similar to those of plants in semi-shaded forest environments when watered slightly more in a semi-sunlit balcony. Genetic factors determine that although stones also lose wax-like waterproofing, they do not have thick skin layers. Their skin is thinner than that of Euphorbias, Cactaceae, and bulbous plants. When their resistance decreases, bacteria entering through the epidermis can be easily fatal. Their native habitats are very dry, with fewer opportunities for bacterial growth than in artificial cultivation environments, which is one reason why they do not have thick skin defenses.
In the three years I have been growing Aizoaceae, in the first year, my Abutilon in a semi-shaded environment began to rot at the start of summer. The rot came from the above-ground tissue, which collapsed, and when I dug out the roots, they were still intact. This situation can also occur in some Euphorbia species grown in extremely shaded conditions, such as Crystal Cactus, which can easily develop rot in the above-ground tissue if over-fertilized and tender.
One method to improve this is to supplement potassium sources for mature plants, such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate, or add more plant ash, husk carbon, etc., to the soil. Another is to increase sunlight and reduce watering for balcony users to avoid rapid flabbiness in plants. However, this method still requires slightly strong sunlight. Among the species I am more familiar with are Abutilon and Azalea. For example, they are afraid of high temperatures, and it is difficult for them to survive in semi-shade during the summer. Abutilon will shrivel and wrinkle after exposure to the sun, more so than Echeveria, but it won't die. Azalea can even survive with flattened leaves on the soil surface at temperatures above 44 degrees during the day. Conversely, if over-fertilized in the spring, kept at low temperatures and semi-shade, or even water-controlled in the summer, as long as they lose sunlight for a sufficient period, they can still develop above-ground tissue rot, caused by bacteria and a decrease in resistance.
So, the issues mentioned at the beginning of the article also include sunlight. One point that was not emphasized is resistance. In fact, when sunlight keeps seedlings dark green (depending on the species) and not yellow and thin, these seedlings are less affected by environmental changes and bacterial damage. Of course, seedlings can also easily become over-exposed to light, such as becoming purple or red, shrinking, which can lead to僵苗, especially in closed,闷 environments, where excessive light can also bring fatal high temperatures. Therefore, this issue requires experience, using experience to judge the color of the seedlings and feel whether the light is excessive or insufficient.
Seedlings cannot have too strong sunlight or insufficient light. When light is insufficient and seedlings grow tall and flabby, their resistance decreases, and bacteria can easily invade the above-ground tissue, leading to rot, similar to what happens when you don't water and stones develop above-ground tissue rot.
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