What's up with these Rhizomes?

[ferventbrewer]

I need a little help here. I just received some Chinook Rhizomes I pre-ordered and they have small white spots on them. One has a kind of moldy webbing on it. Are these signs of mildew or some other disease? I'm going to contact the seller but I want some information first. Thanks!

 

[Aonghus]

It does look like a mold. I just checked my own Rhizomes (Northern Brewer) and they lack any sign of mildew or mold.

 

[Zekk]

The spots almost look like insect eggs, maybe spider. I would definitely contact the seller. Maybe look up your county ag commissioner and see if their staff biologist can ID it.

 

[B-Hoppy]

As long as those rhizomes are relatively firm rather than pliable, I think you're good to go. The white dots have happened to me a few times before but only when I made cuttings from crowns that were grown in buckets. For some reason (most likely the fact that they tend to dry out quicker than those grown in the earth), all of those seemed to have the white dots and grew fine once they were planted. As for the moldy webbing, it just looks like an innocuous type of mold that's pretty common when you store rhizomes for a while in the fridge. I've also planted some that looked a lot worse than those and they grew fine. Stick them in the ground, have a beer and don't overwater.

 

[ferventbrewer]

Thanks everyone for replying. These are dry and sprouting so the theory about them being started in water seems spot on. They are also firm not spongy so maybe they're Okay. I just don't want to start out with rhizomes that will be introducing something to my second years already in the ground. That would suck.