Dragon fruit, sunburn or fungus?

[Dankneepowpow]

Hello all,

this is my first post on the forum so Aloha! I have just transplanted a few new dragon fruit cuttings a few days ago and today I noticed that some of them are turning slightly white. I rubbed the white part of the plant and some of this mystery white powdery stuff actually came off! I don’t know if this is a fungus like a powdery mildew, or if this is a natural response the plant has to increase sunlight, or if this is the early stages of sunburn. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Logan]

Hello @Dankneepowpow and welcome to the forums
It sounds like powdery mildew.

 

[Dankneepowpow]

Thanks @Logan I appreciate the feedback

I initially thought powdery mildew as well but I only water my DF twice a week. In addition to that I noticed that a small part of my DF has a shadow casted on it from the tie I used to secure it. The area where the shadow is casted on the plant did not produce this white substance.

My current plan is to expose it to less sunlight and if it still gets worse then treat it with a fungicide.

Powdery mildew is still on the table. Here in Hawai’i the rainy season is starting up and humidity is increasing. I’ll keep the thread updated!

 

[Dankneepowpow]

Quick update: after a few days under a shade cloth and even a treatment of fungicide, the problem area has gotten slightly worse. I believe part of the stem is rotting because it has gotten soft and squishy.

im still debating if I should let it heal on it’s own or if I should try to cut out the problem area. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Logan]

It's not getting better so I'd cut it off.