Agave Plant Dying

[Khalid Abro]

I found my agave plant rotting severly and there are no chances that the plant will survive, interestingly there were no such signs just couple of days ago, Could anyone tell what could be the reason??

There is another thing that I have found in my garden actually there is no grass and I keep my plants in pots except the few that i have planted in the soil. There are lots of larva of some insect, i have also found termite in the soil. Pics are attached for the same.

[Tahir Khan]

The Agave is doomed... that is fungal rot and this plant now should be discarded to avoid disease spread, but i doubt that termite larvae are responsible for the Agave damage.

[M Farooq]

I found my agave plant rotting severly and there are no chances that the plant will survive, interestingly there were no such signs just couple of days ago, Could anyone tell what could be the reason??

There is another thing that I have found in my garden actually there is no grass and I keep my plants in pots except the few that i have planted in the soil. There are lots of larva of some insect, i have also found termite in the soil. Pics are attached for the same.

This is a loathsome root eating larva! Please see the list of pests posted by Farhan some days ago for identification.

I feel that your Agave died from waterlogging followed by root rot or fungus as stated earlier. Does your pot have good drainage ?

[Khalid Abro]

While searching the net i found below write up. Well, it looks like the main reason behind sudden rotting is larvae though waterlogging may have had some impact as well as i recall giving more water to my agave plants in last two weeks.

"Agave Snout Weevil"

Every summer, I get calls from landscapers in Phoenix about agaves suddenly wilting and dying. It has to be a fungus, right? Well, sort of, but it is actually a rot that has been caused by the feeding of an insect called the Agave Snout Weevil. The Agave Snout Weevil enters the plant at the base where the larva eats the tissue, inviting decaying organisms also to start working on the agave.

Once the larva has done its damage, the adult- that’s the one with the ‘snout’, will move on to lay eggs on its next victim. The ASW loves the Agave americana, Agave desmentiana and other larger agave species. Though multiple generations per season can sometimes occur, it is best to treat in the fall and again in the late spring when life stages are most susceptible. Preventative treatments are your best bet. If you see wilting, remove the plant and surrounding soil immediately so they don’t move to other nearby agave.

posted by Horticultural Consultant, Kasey Billingsley

[Tahir Khan]

A very evil weevil