Nerine thoughts:

J.E. Shields jshields@indy.net
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:15:44 PDT
Hi Nikko,

Sir Peter and I discussed the "viruses" a couple times.  He thought there 
might be a latent virus, perhaps constitutive, in the broadleaf nerines 
that was activated by nitrogen fertilizers.  Having seen how they reacted 
to high nitrogen feeding, I tend to agree with his notions, even though 
many plant people with whom I've discussed this don't agree with the 
"virus" bit.  So the alternative is that these nerines have a physiological 
quirk that reacts to high nitrogen intake in a way that mimics a virus 
infection.  You pays your  money and your takes your choice!  No one has 
actually looked for a virus, so far as I know (one would need an electron 
microscope.)

Jim Shields


At 06:02 PM 8/25/2010 +0100, Nick wrote:
>.........
>2) we feed with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer- but I will try dropping 
>all the nitrogen this year- I don't think the 'virus' that develops with 
>nitrogen is a virus- though I had noticed this yellow tracery appears on 
>occasion- we thought it was insect induced.
>.........

*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA


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