White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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TheBeardking
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Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:29 am

White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Post by TheBeardking »

Hi, Apologies for the poor quality pictures but can anyone tell me what the white stuff growing on the top of these cacti is? Should I treat it with something or just scrape it off?

Thanks very much, Steve

Diseased Cacti 1.jpg
Diseased Cacti 1.jpg (92.88 KiB) Viewed 677 times
disease 2.jpg
disease 2.jpg (38.59 KiB) Viewed 677 times
DSCN0194.jpg
DSCN0194.jpg (223.06 KiB) Viewed 677 times
iann
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Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Post by iann »

#1, burn it! That is not a happy chappy. If you're lucky those are mealybugs and you could conceivably save the plant, but it will be a mess. If you're unlucky then it is already dead.

The second looks OK, at least I don't see anything obviously wrong. The white fluff is perfectly natural and can almost cover the plant in some species and growing conditions. Watch out for mealies hiding in the wool though.
--ian
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Aiko
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Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Post by Aiko »

The yellow graft is almost dead, indeed. I would advice you to cut it off, and at least save the green stock it is grafted on. That could grow on its own without the graft to support.
TheBeardking
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Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:29 am

Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Post by TheBeardking »

Okay, thankyou. How would I go about cutting it off? Should I remove any of the stock cactus or do I just cut off the yellow bit?
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Aiko
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Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?

Post by Aiko »

TheBeardking wrote:Okay, thankyou. How would I go about cutting it off? Should I remove any of the stock cactus or do I just cut off the yellow bit?
Yellow graft, and include a little bit of the stock so you see nice healthy bright green flesh inside. Just allow this to dry out and I am sure some side arms will grow on it during the summer.
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