What are the pollution-free prevention and control methods for orchid pests and diseases?

OrchidsPests and diseasesHow to prevent and control without pollution
Orchids are elegant ornamental plants. They not only serve the purposes of foliage viewing, flower appreciation, fragrance enjoyment, and charm savoring, but also have medicinal and edible value, and have become companions to people. Like edible plants, they likewise need pollution-free pest and disease prevention and control methods. Especially for plants grown for indoor viewing and for medicinal and edible use (stems, leaves, flowers, nectar), pollution-free methods of pest and disease prevention and control are even more necessary. A selection of pollution-free pest and disease prevention and control methods is introduced below: 


    I. Establish a good foundation of plant resistance 

    Improving the orchid plant's own resistance is mainly approached from 3 aspects:

1. Create ecological conditions basically suited to the orchid plant. Supply reasonably according to need, and appropriately increase the amount of light, the amount of ventilation, and the supply of potassium.    
2. Mobilize the plant's growth advantages. Mid-spring, long summer, and cool autumn are the growth periods of orchid plants. They are the times when the functions of all the plant's organs are fully exerted. The roots, hailed as the plant's logistics department, are the organs that must be mobilized first. When temperatures rise in mid-spring, every 7—10 days, apply 1 watering of “Lan Jun Wang” at 500 times dilution or other root-promoting agents, once daily, for 2—3 consecutive applications. At the same time, in mid-spring, long summer, and cool autumn, spray 1 application each of “Plant Power 2003” at 1000 times dilution, to comprehensively mobilize the growth of all organs and cultivate robust plants.

3. Set up a “security department” to strengthen the defense system. In spring, summer, and autumn, spray 1 application each of aspirin at 1500 times dilution. This is like establishing a “security department” for the plant, with killers deployed everywhere to kill the enemy, effectively safeguarding the plant's safe growth.



    II. Choose pollution-free agents    
1. Pollution-free chemical sterilizing agents
(1) Agents for killing bacterial diseases include: streptomycin at 2000—3000 times dilution, or combined with penicillin, but the concentration must not be too high, to prevent phytotoxicity.
(2) Agents for killing fungal diseases: chloramphenicol at 500—2000 times dilution, oxytetracycline, griseofulvin.
(3) Agents for killing Pythium-type fungi: chloramphenicol at 500—2000 times dilution. The ointments “Daktarin” and “Pikangshuang” can be used for local smearing or dissolved in water for watering and spraying.

2. Biological sterilizing agents: garlic, ginger, chili pepper, and tobacco (cigarette butts) infusion at 50—100 times dilution, sprayed on. Scallions and garlic can also be placed around the orchid pots, using their odor to sterilize.

3. Pollution-free chemical insecticides: medical “Fengyoujing” at 10 times dilution, and “Miehailing” used for killing sanitary pests at 10—30 times dilution both have certain insecticidal effects.

4. Biological insecticides: using “rosin mixture” at 8—25 times dilution can kill pests such as scale insects, aphids, whiteflies, red spider mites, and ground moss. “Cottonseed oil sludge soap” at 40—50 times dilution can kill aphids and red spider mites. Tobacco (cigarette butts) contains 2%--3% alkali; the infusion at 10—20 times dilution has the effect of killing aphids and various other pests.