Hi, This really fast glowing fungus or spider nesting has shown up over a 3-4 week period on my cactus. I'm REALLY LAME about succulents, but I want to save my large and well established cactus. I'm in coastal, california. Not sure if weather is a factor. It doesn't look like mold or mildew, but I have NO IDEA what to do. Please provide some input. I touched this white stuff and it's soft and spungy. Not at all what I had expected... Any ideas?
I've always had good luck with Copper Sulfate, or you can look for a broad-spectrum plant fungicide at your local greenhouse.
oh, definitely scale and not a fungus. treat with q-tips dipped in rubbing alcohol - touch the moistened swab to the little buggers and they'll die almost immediately. do this treatment in early, early morning or at dusk - so the sun light doesn't do any damage to the plants before the r-a evaporates. you'll need to treat again in about a week/10 days to catch any newly hatched buggers. and again, same time frame, to catch any stragglers that were missed previously.
Oh snap. I didn't think those little nasties had made it that far North. Forget the q-tip; get a spray bottle and apply the alcohol that way. Then, call your local textile mill and see if they're interested in the corpses - vermillion dye is made from cochineal.
I was just going to mention that this is quite a naturally regular occurance in what we call the Nopal Cactus in Mexico or Prickly Pear Cactus to the Gringos. Mexican Indians have gathered it for centuries to make paints and dies for their pottery and pictures. If I can remember where I last saw an article on it I'll post it. Nath
Nopales and Prickly Pears (Tunas) were two different cacti last time I checked, Nath, but they are both susceptible to cochineal.
Thank you all for your inputs. I am 100% sure now it's Cochineal. I checked it for red dye! It's been quite helpful. I bought some organic oil to spray and it says it's good for scale. So I thought I would use that in combination with alcohol. Any thoughts about mixing the treatment?
Lorax, Tuna comes from the Nopal, i never heard of them being 2 different varieties, we cut the leaves to make a kind of soup called Nopales Navigantes and eat the Tunas as a fruit. My wife goes through Kilo's of them when we are in Mexico. The Leaves are also great when barbecued with Queso Fundido, Limon and Salsa Verde o Rojo. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. In Mexico no distinction is made between the two its just taken as read that Tunas are the fruit of the Nopal. These cactus are so rich in nutrients and goodness that the Japanese now import tons of Nopal Cactus from Mexico to eat over there. I do know that in Spain although the Spanish have the same Nopal Cactus, the Tunas can't be consumed in great numbers as in Mexio or they make people ill in the stomach don't know why unless it isnt the same variety, but our family can go through bags full of them without any problems. Nath
Have a read of this article Lorax just to clarify. http://www.mexconnect.com/en/articles/2163-cooking-with-cactus-nopales-cactus
I found that article i promised on making ink or die from the Nopal. http://www.chapala.com/chapala/ojo2007/bloodgod.html Nath
Nath, The use of the common names in Mexico is very different from Ecuador. Here, what we call Tuna is an extremely prickly cactus that bears red fruits, and what we call Nopal has almost no spines at all and bears green fruits. The fruits of the Nopal are rarely eaten here, as they're not given the chance to bloom very often. I'd be very interested in your recipe for Nopales Navigantes; here we grill the leaves with limon agrio, aji, and queso de hojas. The Spanish variety of Tuna isn't the same one as the Mexican, or even as the Ecuadorean.
Lorax, Its interesting isnt it that there are such variations on a theme or in this case a cactus from country to country in Latin America, i know that Honduras and Guatamala refer to Nopales in the same way as we do in Mexico. For Nopales navigantes you need to clear the spines and the babas off the leaves, then cut them into long thin strips down the length of the leaf. then you cut the strips into lenghs of around 2 cm. You liquidise some red tomatoes with some water and garlic fill a large pan with it, this is the stock you can add some thinly chopped onion and a bit of epazote or hierba buena for the flavour. then boil the nopales that you have chooped ready in this. seperately 3 quarters boils some eggs and remove the shells and then add them to the soup to finish cooking them off. One or two eges per person to serve. Some people once the nopales have been served like to add a little bit of lime juice to give extra sabor. Then enjoy with a few tortillas. Its very nutricious and very good for you. Nath
