Is my black pine sick?

[JeffS73]

It doesn't take much copper to disrupt the fungus, it is possible to spray too much. I spray every 6 weeks during growing season, but my climate is different to yours. Perhaps my commercial fungicide has a surfactant, or my spray is too strong! JBP is strong, and with 2 flushes of growth you get lots of opportunity to fix this.

Best of luck

 

[Lannabulls]

Every 6 weeks, ok, take as reference,
Thanks so much!

 

[Lannabulls]

After a few months an update on my BP prebonsai health.
I followed all you growers suggestions and, as you can see in photos, my BP looks recovered, green lush new growth without niddle blight signs.
As Wires_Guy_wires told me I spried copper sulphate solution twice in the first month, waited 30 days and I repeated, than I cut all the needles old growth tips, that was all I did and it worked!!!!
When I visit bonsai nursery or walking on the forest I notice that many BP, in the wild too, are affected by niddle blight, hope I wont ever deal with it anymore.
Thanks so much for all your help, really mean it!!!!!

 

[Lannabulls]

 

[Shibui]

When I visit bonsai nursery or walking on the forest I notice that many BP, in the wild too, are affected by niddle blight, hope I wont ever deal with it anymore.

Needle blight is a fungal infection. Fungal spores float on the wind so if there's any in the trees nearby it will also come to your trees.
In areas where it is nearby growers spray pines every spring to stop it infecting the new shoots.
You can try not treating and see if your trees are OK but I suspect you will need to spray each year to keep it away.

 

[Lannabulls]

Needle blight is a fungal infection. Fungal spores float on the wind so if there's any in the trees nearby it will also come to your trees.
In areas where it is nearby growers spray pines every spring to stop it infecting the new shoots.
You can try not treating and see if your trees are OK but I suspect you will need to spray each year to keep it away.

Thanks Shibui,
I am living in a city, Chiang Mai, in northern thailand, it is a few undread meters above sea level, the city expands in a practically flat area surrounded by mountains. At this level is to hot, the forest is planty of bamboo trees no pines. As soon as you go up in the mountains, passing 800 m level about the forest change her look, one of the main characteristic, no more bamboo, to cold in the winter, there temp drops near zero in some years, bamboo trees are replaced by pines: mostly "pino marittimo" in italian, I cant find proper translation in english and some BP too.
As told I notice that some pines in the wild soffer neddles blight.
So the infected trees are far however I follow your suggestions, let see what happen and next year may spraing mine, I hope, as prevention like you told, thanks!

 

[Shibui]

You may be far enough away from infected trees that the disease won't come back on the wind. That will be one less problem to deal with.
Good luck

 

[bangsaturday]

Congrats on your foliar spray routine/cure.

One thing: I noticed you have spaghum moss covered as a top soil media on your JBP. Your location is wet and humid. Is this a general practice in North East Asia?

Could this be attributed to your JBP's spotting?

 

[Lannabulls]

Thanks so much!
I cover all my bonsai that dont like acidic soil with spaghum moss, the one that like more acidic with cocopit. I do that only between march to june, thai hot season, temp around 40 c on shade, low level of humidity.
.
On june, when rainy season begins I take it out.

 

[bangsaturday]

Cool, I was just curious about your humidity levels in Thailand. Low levels of humidity in the tropics means you are higher up above sea levels? Perhaps near the mid-level mountainous regions....

Reason being sphagum moss do retain water quite a bit.

Are you closer to Bangkok or Chang Mai?

How is your JBP doing now?

I hope she is thriving well after your Copper hydroxide treatment. I came across your thread, and was facing similar with a couple of JBPs, and followed your dosage of 0.15 g / litre, and did a foliar spray a couple of hours ago.

Sawadikap~~

Greetings from Bali, Indonesia

 

[Lannabulls]

I am living in Chiang Mai.

Thanks to the suggestions that I got here I sprayed my BP twice, 2 days in a row, I waited one month and repeted, spried twice again.
As I was told, I covered my soils with cardboard to prevent copper solution to drip into.
Practically all neddles were affected so I remove the ones with multiple strips and cut the tip of all.
As you can see in photos at the beginning of this thread my BP was noticeably affected, after a few months all new growth looks healthy, no more signs of neddle blight.
The cure definitively works! Thanks so much again to all you guys and your help!!!