A Detailed Explanation of the Two Manifestations of Soft Rot

　　Soft rotWhen the disease strikes, it does not necessarily start from the new shoots; the two plants I threw out this year both started from the old plants.Soft rotThe symptoms mainly begin at the bulb with water-soaked patches, but because part of it is buried in the potting medium, it is not easy to notice without careful observation. By the time we see it, it generally shows as the orchid leaves of the old plant slowly turning yellow upward from the bulb, then turning brown, and then, with a light touch of the hand, breaking off at the pseudobulb ring, while at this point the middle to the tip of the leaf may still be green. Looking at the bulb now, it has turned completely black. If the old plant is affected, the pseudobulb is not necessarily soft. If the new plant is affected, the symptoms also begin with yellowing at the leaf base, but once the yellowing reaches a certain point, a gentle lift with the hand will pull the leaf out, and the pseudobulb will become soft; a squeeze with the hand will release dark brown liquid with a foul odor. Sometimes a rotted heart in a new shoot is notsoft rotdisease. A rotted heart in a new shoot will also pull out the leaf, but there is no foul odor, and this kind of heart rot only affects the new shoot and has little effect on the old plant. As long as medication is applied in time, it can be controlled. I once had a pot of orchids with this kind of heart rot; at first I thought it was soft rot and got quite a fright, but later, when I smelled no foul odor, I felt half relieved and did not even apply medication, yet it recovered. True soft rot, however, is extremely difficult to control once it breaks out. If it starts from the old plant, it is even harder to control than when it starts from the new plant, because the old plant's resistance is somewhat stronger than that of the new shoot. If even the old plant cannot resist the pathogen, the situation is already quite serious, and the destructive power of a pathogen outbreak is truly frightening. Within a very short few days, a whole pot of orchids will collapse. By then, taking the orchids out to soak in medication is already rather late, and the chance of saving them is not great. Soft rot is still best dealt with by prevention: pay attention to the cleanliness of the potting medium, ensure ventilation and air permeability in the orchid pot, and as soon as diseased plants are found, isolate them promptly so that when watering, the pathogen is not carried to other pots. Excerpted from "OrchidTreasure Book" Author: Qinghong, Chongqing