[APD] Modified blackout method and Nostoc

["Stephan Mifsud" <labmdp at waldonet_net.mt>]

I was worried about going for T Barr's recomendation of using the blackout
method for my problem Nostoc BGA, because I didn't want all the plants to be
affected and the Nostoc was only affecting a small area of Marsilea and wood
anyway. Then it hit me; why not cover just the affected part? With what?
Black plastic? No...would float. Aluminium foil...yes, should work. So I cut
a piece of foil a little larger then the area I was going to cover and
curled it round the wood and over the effected plants. I had to cover an
e.cordifolius and some micranthemum which were not affected but were in the
vicinity. The foil is very easy to work with, does not allow any light
through, and reflects on to the other plants.

After 5 days I removed the foil. The covered Micranthmum and E.cordifolius
did not look good at all but the bad thing about it was that the Nostoc
jelly was still there. Even if the cells inside the jelly had been affected
the matrix still held them together.

The local-blackout method would probably be useful for other algae but this
nostoc is a real bastard.

Never give up - I wonder what eats the stuff in nature?  Guess I'll have to
go and find out.

Merry Christmas

Stephan
Malta



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