Mag def? what do you think?

[blahman]

Strain: Northern Lights
Medium: Soil
Temp: 75
RH: 50%

A few of my plants are showing a mild deficiency. It looks like calcium or magnesium to me. The yellowing is mild and on the outside edges of the leaves in the bud thats forming. The plants are 22 days in flower and I do not normally get any yellowing this early on. So I've been adding extra calmag this week. But its continuing to get a little worse.

Recently the ph of my RO water has dropped from 6.0 to 5.5 with nothing added. All filters have been changed and its still at 5.5. A couple times it has been 5.3. So i've had to add much more ph up lately.

I checked the soil run off of the worst plant today for the heck of it. Going in was ph6.3, 900ppm. Out ph5.6 and 1600 ppm.

It seems to me that my soil is waay to acidic, too much food it looks like. But i've fed this strain the same way the last few grows without issues. I'm wondering if the ph up i'm using isn't buffering my lower ph water properly? maybe the up is only temporary once it hits the soil.

I'm planning to flush them with some water ph'd to 6.5 to 7.0 within the next couple days to try and raise the ph a bit and get some of that extra food out of there.

I just thought I'd post and get some opinions on this.

 

[grapeman]

Do us a favor and take a picture with a flash with lights off so everything isn't yellow. that would give us a better idea of the true color of the leave.

 

[puffin fresh]

I am running a ph of 5.3 at the moment in hydro with excellent results, I wouldnt try to raise your ph any higher than 6.5 even when flushing. Whenever I have had mag def there was definite interveinal chlorosis which I cant see in your photos. I would flush really well until my runoff is exactly where I want it, and then allow the soil a chance to dry out before re-watering again. I would also check for any fungus gnats and other soil born pathogens which could be affecting your root system.

Good luck

 

[DocLeaf]

They look ok,, but it's hard to tell under such bright light

 

[blahman]

Heres a pic with the lights off. Like I said its just mild at the moment.

Also I do have some fungus knats flying around, I have used the yellow fly paper to catch most of them. But there's still some buzzing around. But I always seem to have a few flying around, and in the past they havent' done any damage. I supose i could dose them to be safe.

 

[Tr33]

those gnats flying around that you think you have, most likely are Root Aphids, the damage they do looks like Cal Mag def.
go read this thread on Root Aphids
By the time you see the bugs flying around, the damage has been done and the plants look like they are nute def.

thats what the first sign of RA looks like, first shows up about day 20, then it hits hard at day 25-30, bugs outta control.

 

[blahman]

those gnats flying around that you think you have, most likely are Root Aphids, the damage they do looks like Cal Mag def.
go read this thread on Root Aphids
By the time you see the bugs flying around, the damage has been done and the plants look like they are nute def.

thats what the first sign of RA looks like, first shows up about day 20, then it hits hard at day 25-30, bugs outta control.

Well i'm 23 days in now, I first noticed about a week ago. I certainly know I have fugus gnats because i've seen some in rock wool as a black headed larvae. I also noticed a bug that looked like a flying ant or small wasp. Would that be a root aphid? if so I have both.

 

[blahman]

Well I have a bunch of little critters. I lifted up a pot and they were underneath. A couple hundred ranging in size from microscopic to 1-2 mm. I managed to snap a pic.

It doesn't really look like a root aphid from the other pictures i've looked at. Also the flying insects are definately fungus gnats, they are drawn to the yellow stickies and they look just like the pictures.

 

[blahman]

I can't find anything that looks like root aphids. I've looked very closely at the soil to see if anything is moving. I've taken a nice handfull of roots and picked through them and I don't see anything moving even with a magnifying glass. Could fungus gnats cause similar damage?

Going to pickup a microscope to see if i can identify anything in the soil just to be safe.

 

[cyberwax]

daring to state the obvious i would have to agree with myself with that your plants look healthy and well, if your think they look a little pale try adding alittle cal/mag(it wont hurt either way) but first i would make sure that ph is correct, ur using drops or meter? Either way, double check!

But again; they look healthy enough to me.

 

[blahman]

daring to state the obvious i would have to agree with myself with that your plants look healthy and well, if your think they look a little pale try adding alittle cal/mag(it wont hurt either way) but first i would make sure that ph is correct, ur using drops or meter? Either way, double check!

But again; they look healthy enough to me.

Oh overall they don't look bad, its just I haven't had yellowing this early on. I may be too picky, but I like being safe then sorry. But they are growing more aggressive then any other grow i've done with this strain. I'm thinking it has something to do with bud blood. When I compare to previous grows it seems i'm a week ahead or so.

I'm going to dose for the fungus gnats and try and balance my ph. I've been adding lots of cal/mag from the beginning.

 

[blahman]

I flushed a few plants with 6.5 water until the runoff was around 6.0-6.1 and the ppm 300. I will see if this helps. Pretty much every plant is showing some mild yellowing on new leaf growth. But I want to make sure thats the problem before I do them all. Too much to risk.

 

[Tr33]

yep, that's root aphids my friend, the devil bug incarnate, the little minions are doing their job well.
Believe me, you are in denial about these so called fungas gnats, they are root aphids and when you see them flying, they are out to lay eggs on every spot they land on a plant, it is an easy fix.
The more cal mag you add the worse you make the problem, You see the RA secrete a slime that prevents plants from taking up nutes.
don't believe me, in 2-3 more grows you willbelieve when your whole grow op is swarming with RA, treat for gnats waste your $$$.
This is a huge outbreak happening, read the thread I pointed out and go from there,
You can not see the bugger on your roots unless with 100x mag
The cure is cheap, denial is expensive and you can loose 50% of your crop.

seeing this everywhere, and yes I had RA's once myself and was in DENIAL, I kept saying" yep I have fungus gnats, and cal mag def..."

oh well I tried to point you to a cure.
ask FoCO...

 

[areUkind]

just had a case of mg def and didnt know what to do but spraying Epsom salt really helped and almost over night. i had been seeing the def for about 3 weeks and didnt think much of it as it need seemed to get worse but now its almost gone!

 

[blahman]

yep, that's root aphids my friend, the devil bug incarnate, the little minions are doing their job well.
Believe me, you are in denial about these so called fungas gnats, they are root aphids and when you see them flying, they are out to lay eggs on every spot they land on a plant, it is an easy fix.
The more cal mag you add the worse you make the problem, You see the RA secrete a slime that prevents plants from taking up nutes.
don't believe me, in 2-3 more grows you willbelieve when your whole grow op is swarming with RA, treat for gnats waste your $$$.
This is a huge outbreak happening, read the thread I pointed out and go from there,
You can not see the bugger on your roots unless with 100x mag
The cure is cheap, denial is expensive and you can loose 50% of your crop.

seeing this everywhere, and yes I had RA's once myself and was in DENIAL, I kept saying" yep I have fungus gnats, and cal mag def..."

oh well I tried to point you to a cure.
ask FoCO...

Well from what i've read the flying root aphids are not attracted to yellow sticky traps. The flyers I have are certainly attracted to them. I'm trying to pickup a microscope, but i'm having a hard job finding one local.

Is 100x definately needed? if so how else can you identify them?

 

[blahman]

I pulled one of my worst plants out of the pot and checked the roots in various spots with a 150x microscope. I spent a couple hours and didn't see anything. Unless the little buggers are deep in the soil, I only checked around the outside. Where the roots are touching the pot.

I'm going to do one final test, i'll dunk a plant in water pot and all and watch and see if any crawl up the side of the pot.

 

[sgtpepper12880]

Dude, your plant looks awesome. During flowering, yellowing of the leaves is to be expected in most strains. Its a natural part of the growth process due to reduced nitrogen consumption. Take my advice: let it ride and don't over-do it on the nutrients.

 

[blahman]

I'm still not 100% sure whats causing the yellowing, but its not that bad. So i'll dose with some vectobac for my fungus gnats and tweak the ph. But the yellowing doesn't usually happen with this strain especially at 3 weeks in.