Are you sure you have INSV ?

Aegis
At first I though it was mites. so I purchased a very high power microscope to check them out. No bugs of any kind.

I have tight centers and curled leaves.
Any other ideas??
Thanks Cork

I would not toss your plants unless you have positive proof they have INSV. I don't believe tight centers & curled leaves are the usual symptoms of INSV.
Those symptoms could be caused by too much light, incorrect temperatures, a PH imbalance or something else in the cultural line. Perhaps something has changed in your water.
I would do some further testing before concluding the plants have INSV.

Terri

Fertilizer imbalance could also be causing your problems in addition to the things Terri listed. It's a mistake to assume you have something. Get proof.

Linda

500 plants ... wow ...

How many are showing the symptoms you describe ... ?

Can you show us a photo ?

Hi Everyone, More Information.

I did not keep very good notes, but this is what I have.

In November 2011, I started fighting this problem. I dipped a tray of AVâÂÂs in warm water (110) for 20 minutes. Then another tray in warm water with bleach added. This did not clear up the problem.

Then for the next 6 months, I sprayed all my AVâÂÂs with several different brands for mites. The problem continued.

The strange thing, some AVâÂÂs in the same tray are not effected. They sit right next to each other and some actually touch leaves.

The leaves are very hard or crisp. They curl down and twist.

I have not changed the water, soil mix or lights.

I will post some pictures as soon as I can.

Thanks

Cork

Cork -

since I went through the toss them all in 2006 - and a friend of mine went through the same experience a year ago - my recommendation is - take the worst looking plant to the county extension office and ask them to run the test. It should be not expensive - and you will know the answer. If it is positive - toss them all, soak all your pots and trays in strong Clorox - and make sure no thrips are left in a house - may be wait for a month?

Irina

I posted two pictures in the gallery. Please check them out. Thanks Cork

After looking over your pictures, my first guess is broad mite. You mentioned not finding any traces of bugs. I had some type of broad mite (not cyclamen as there were no gray centers) & a number of my plants looked similar to yours. Even though I have a pocket scope that can look directly into the center of the crown, I had a difficult time finding them. I understand these mites like to feed at night so I would allow the plants to be in darkness for awhile, then grab them & do a quick look. I finally found them & knew I was looking at mites as I've had the cyclamen type long ago.
You mentioned spraying them with different miticides? I threw out some with really damaged crowns & then treated the rest with Forbid. That was two years ago & I haven't seen any mite damage since.
I'm not saying this is what is happening to your plants but to me mites look more likely than INSV in the plants pictured.

Terri

Looked at your images. Not a virus. More likely are broad mites.

These might prove useful
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/broad_mite.htm
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/greenhs/htms/cyclmites.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: from UFL

Your photos look like cyclamen mite to me.

I believe that I had both Broad Mite and Cyclamen Mite last year.

Plants like this one I was able to save by using a Neem-based product called Azamax, available on Amazon (for around $25.00).

The key is to get spray into all of the niches and crevices of the plant, ... which is some plants (especially tight or large) ... may be impossible to save.

When I concluded that I had Broad/Cyclamen Mites last year, I had 175 plants. I, sorted through my plants and discarded 100 (the worst affected).

I had another 65 plants that looked to be unaffected, and 10 plants which were mildly affected that I tried to save with Azamax.

To my surprise, I was able to save the plants I treated with Azamax (sprayed occasionally as needed). I replaced a number of the plants that I had to discard, ... and I now have a healthy collection again.

I isolated the few plants that I was treating and only moved them back into the collection when there was no more evidence of Mites for some time.

One thing that I learned in the process was the need to limit the number of plants I was caring for ... and that I needed to keep my plants from touching each other ... or sharing water between them.

I also had to be careful about how I handled my plants. Mites can be spread very easily from plant to plant on your hands.

I now know the signs to look for, ... tight centers/ leaves crimping on the edges, and spray the suspect plant when I see anything like this.

But the biggest message is that I took plants like the one in your photo and brought it back to healthy growth using Azamax.

The plant in my photo is a plant that I saved from early Broad Mite symptoms ...

Good luck ...

This post was edited by aegis500 on Thu, Aug 1, 13 at 8:32

Thanks Everyone for your help and comments. I will be trying some of them. I don't give up easy. Thanks AGAIN!
Cork

I had a mite infestation last year I did dipping in 110F and then I cut out the crowns for good measure. after 6mo I had may be 15 plants left from 40 and still suspicious. I dipped them in 114F - the 'palms' were ok, but the younger ones melted away after a week. but after that I was ok and just used 'palms' as breeders. if you want to save certain plants it's worth the trouble. but it takes a long time to grow plants from scratch (mine took a year to bloom).

Cork -

I just looked at ebay - buy Forbid 4F 1/2 oz for $28. It will take care of your mites in one shot.

Plants that are significantly distorted - it is easier to take a leaf to restart them than try to grow them out of it.

Good Luck and do not despair - we all go through bugs every so often.

Irina