I want to establish, out of humility and full disclosure, that I am a beginner and lack the experience of others here on this forum. I establish this out of respect for that experience and because it is necessary to communicate with clarity and confidence and I want there to be no confusion with regard to my claiming unearned expertise. The point of this forum, at least as I see it, is to have open dialog and cross pollination in hopes of collectively bringing about greater understandings within these endeavors.
I read about Ethan Gouge's dilemma at Roan Highlands Farm and had previously poked around, obviously, in this nook of the forum and have been thinking about Mike Biltonen's description of this pathogen as particularly vexing to holistic methodology. In the interim I've been reading and thinking quite a bit about plant immunity and attempting to comprehend how these processes work because there is a substantial amount of research that seems to indicate that we are capable of interacting with the plant immune system to help it fight against pathogens.
As I've been reading about these functions, we've had a few outbreaks of insect pests in our gardens which are not as susceptible to predation, and have required manual removal into soap emulsion water. These were formerly a type of blister beetle (Meloidae) eating eggplant, and a huge (and now extinct) population of Harlequin bugs (Murgantia histrionica) attacking Daikon. Both of these creatures are impalpable to our healthy population of predators and I have been thinking that perhaps this is due to these insects being able to exploit the plant immune systems by converting repellent phytochemical exudates induced by insect predation into concentrated compounds which deter predation and allow for explosive population growths.
The veracity of that particular supposition is irrelevant however, as the important ideas to me are a hypothesis that the most persistent and destructive pathogens afflicting plants are those which have managed to subvert or alter the ISR and SAR (Induced Systemic Resistance & Systemic Acquired Resistance) mechanisms to their own reproductive advantage. Cedar apple rust would be one excellent example, Erwinia amylovora another.
This is obviously being written in full speculation mode.
With CAR, I am speculating that the fungal organism is able to suppress SAR due to the requirement that the fungi be able to colonize intact leaves in order to produce fruiting bodies on the their underside for sporulation. SAR coincides with Hypersensitive Response (HR) a phase of programmed cell death which would certainly cause leaf abscission and thus prevent sporulation and cause the organism to die out.
The plant immune system is not a cohesive cellular network like that in an animal system, but could perhaps be thought of as a quasi autonomous cellular mosaic, each with it's own immune system detecting attacks through protein receptors protruding from the walls of the cell. When a pathogen attacks and triggers SAR, a concentrated barrier of peroxides form around the afflicted cells and trigger HR while a system wide flush of Salicylic acid (drug comprising aspirin & hormone in willow water) is produced which in turn activates a chain reaction that results in a heightened state of immunity capable of resisting further attack and other stressors. When Hypersensitive Response occurs, it is similar to tales told of Amazonian construction workers hacking off a snake bitten limb with a chainsaw to prevent the venom from entering into their blood stream (W. Herzog, the making of Fitzcarraldo). HR triggers a quarantining programmed cell death. Each of the the cells percepting the pathogen self destruct which cause leaves to detach and limbs to die back, effectively wiping the contagion from the organism and setting a clean slate for a heightened immune state to resist further stress.
Above, in an earlier post, Micheal refers to the Macintosh as being able to induce HR, but it seems that other CAR susceptible varieties are incapable of this defense mechanism (?).
Interestingly enough, it is possible to activate SAR via a foliar application of super diluted Salicylic Acid (1 / 10,000 ratio = 3 aspirin dissolved in 4 gallons of water) and I wonder if this exogenous induction method could override the possible immune suppressive aspects of CAR and open the door to further treatment.
Phases of an Experimental Method:Phase 1:Exogenous induction of SAR through a dilute Salicylic Acid foliar spray in order to elicit HR. If this is successful, one should see afflicted leaves turn brown, shrivel up, and die.
Phase 2:Milk:
There is a growing understanding that the composition of milk (raw, whole, & even skim) creates a greater resistance against fungal attacks. The main research has been focused on powdery mildew infesting cucurbits and there seems to be a consensus that the milk is extremely effective against leaf attacking fungi.
Here is the oft referenced 1999 research paper.Here is a simple & well organized summary of the efficacy of milk as a fungicide from Washington State University.
This is an insightful article about the benefits of milk and blackstrap molasses as a soil drench. There are a number of useful and interesting details worth incorporating into one's understanding therein.
There are
anecdotal accounts (There are other online references to this beyond this link, and I am linking here to the comments, not the initial question) of milk being used to prevent the spread of CAR and black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) on roses. Evidently, it works best as a preventative buttress against initial infection (as do most holistic medicinal regimens) and this quality would be utilized as a post Hypersensitive Response shield in the form of a foliar spray regimen. HR destroys all fungal infiltration and the milk, in theory, aids in the resistance against further spore infiltration of stoma.
There are tons of anecdotal ratios given online ranging from full strength sprays, 60/40, 50/50, however, this useful link to a
posting on a cannabis forum has the best practical information I found regarding formulations and other details to consider.
Phase 3:ISR stimulation
A sub mulch application of fresh fungal dominate compost followed by a rootzone flood of black strap molasses (30-50 grams of black strap per liter of water per square meter of ground beyond the canopy drip line) combined with a
foamed egg. This stage is pretty much simultaneous with the initiation of phase 2 (phase 2 should be ongoing during period of sporulation) and the idea is to supercharge the rhizome biology in order to facilitate optimum ISR (primary immunity) overlap (with SAR) potential.
Phase 4:Continuation of holistic regimen.
Thoughts?
Karn Piana
Zone 7 Semi-Arid Steppe
Northern New Mexico
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2018 08:55AM by Karn Piana.