Ongoing unhealthy root zone, soil mites... Fungus? Rot? Wtf? Need advice!

[Holdin']

So here is an issue I'm having.

Recently switched back to organic living soil.... I'm growing in ProMix, added perlite, EWC, amended with kelp, guano, fish bone etc, a standard 100% organic living soil recipe. I have a flower room, and a veg room. More details will be below. This has been on ongoing thing, so it's been various strains and various conditions/adjustments. Any other details needed, I will gladly share.

I'll try to keep this short.

Seems as though for a few months or more now I've had these soil mites (pic below) that I don't THINK are root eaters, but more or less are after some sort of fungus, or there is some sort of pathogen harming my roots, and these little buggers are after the decaying plant matter. So I believe them to be more of an indicator than anything.

I posted about them in the infirmary a few months back, when I noticed my mothers were showing uncalled for deficiencies, were not drying out between waterings, and noticed these little critters. At first assumed that they may be the problem, but long story short, after all the reading and other folks opinions I don't think they are root eaters.

I started out growing using bottled nutes. Then I went from organic amended soil for a couple years, back to bottled nutes for a while, and then after some quirks in my last 4k garden and mothers, I decided to go back to living soil to forget all of the bottles again, and hoping to get back to simplicity.

Anyways, for the last while now, the main thing I notice is that my plants will actually wilt before the pots dry out, always feel like they have a bit of weight to them. Easy to say, overwatering damaging the root zone etc. But, although many others on this board have been growing much longer than me, in my ~8 years of growing experience I have gotten a very good feel for watering, and how heavy pots should be after freshly watered/drying out. Well, you know when your plants dry out so much that they feel feather light? Yeah, I haven't had any of my plants do so for a quite some time it seems.

Whenever I cull any ladies or males, I check the root zone. The obvious thing I've always checked for is root aphids. I had a bit of a scare about a month or more ago, when in my 4k garden another mite showed up, this time being VERY small, white/transparent, and rather abundant. But, I confirmed they were indeed a mite, and after a treatment of Actinovate, under the (apparently correct) assumption they were indeed after a fungus of some sort, they vanished. These other larger, brown/tan/light orange mites still linger. No root aphids. I have searched high and low and honestly HOPED for root aphids to get some fucking answers. Excuse my language.



So, the main problems I've observed have been:

-When I check the root zone, I usually find slightly unhealthy, rather stringy, tan roots. Not the white, pearly, fuzzy roots I'd always seen throughout my growing experience when transplanting/culling.
-The watering quirk. Roots just seem to not absorb water like they should.
-Sensitivity to light. Seems as though more than normal light bleaching occurs under HID no matter what the distance of the bulbs. And to mention, I maintain a very good environment.
-Occassional deficiencies/lockouts. Mostly on the mothers that I mentioned previously, which is when this really seemed to have begun. Looked like a mag, or maybe cal thing. That was while using bottled nutes. Always pH'd nutrient solutions when using bottled nutes. pH of runoff was pretty much always in check. Also had some sort of lockout in veg in my last garden, plants seemed to respond very poorly to feeding, even when feeding very lightly.


All in all, it is obvious my root zone isn't as happy as it should be, and it's as though I have to take extra measures to keep my ladies happy. Right now my veg garden mostly appears to be healthy, but growth seems rather slow.

I will also add that this has been over a period of using various soil/soilless mixes. Tried more perlite. Switched brands. Added even more perlite. Seem to still be getting these unhealthy roots. Thought for a minute that maybe I'd suddenly been struck with amnesia and forgot how to water a fucking cannabis plant after many successful gardens over the years. So I adjusted my watering patterns. Still have unhappy roots.

This is getting to be very frustrating. I really don't want to assume these soil mites are causing a problem, because aside from bulb mites, everyone will say that they are either predators, beneficial, or possibly a clue to a root issue.

Well, I think they are a clue to a root issue. There definitely seems to be more now that I've gone back to organic living soil. If that helps.

Last but not least, I have had a successful harvest in between. Yield is good. Quality is great. But, I feel just a little something is off in my end product. That growers' instinct, if you will. And I KNOW something is off when it comes to my root zone.

I apologize for the long post. Although I feel some background is surely needed to convey what I am experiencing. I know some details may lack, but this is having used a few different soil mixes, while having a basically perfect environment. One garden is in an outbuilding on my property, the other is in a room in my house. Seem to have quirks in both areas regardless of minor environment adjustments. Plenty of air movement, good temps with a/c and dehuey capabilities that let me control the conditions very well.

Just to provide my own theory, I believe it's some sort of fungus lingering around my area/equipment. I keep things pretty clean, and between cycles I give everything a good douching. Aside from making minor adjustments to try to strengthen my roots with environment, soil mix, going from bottled nutes back to organic soil, EWC/kelp teas, I haven't used any fungicide aside from Actinovate (which like I said, did seem to make the OTHER mites I had for a short while disappear). I'm not the type to try various products as a shot in the dark trying to erradicate these soil mites, as not only do I not believe them to be root eaters, from what I understand getting rid of them is impossible. Nor have I tried any other product for fungus/pathogens. Now that I'm back in living soil, I am particularly hesitant to start throwing products at my ladies.

Aside from the threads I've posted for advice about these little issues in the recent past, I've really been trying to figure this out, making all kinds of minor adjustments, but still, unhealthy root zone, and these soil mites (whether they play any role or not). Regardless, I need some assitance from my fellow growing brothers (and sisters ). Now that it is obviously ongoing seemingly no matter what I do, this is the point to where I really have to figure it out. I thank any of you who may reply with some input very much.

 

[ballplayer 2]

These guys are trouble. They may accompany root aphids...feeding on the rotten roots created... or attempting to eat the aphids themselves. Though I have never had a plant finish properly with them around.

Or these are root feeders. Either way I feel these guys are bad news,and it seems more and more people are seeing them. Not sure what they are, but they are no good IMO. I tried tons of perlite, Great White, Roots Excel., and Caps Packs my root health and plant health was never what it should have been. Plus I had all sorts of just really odd symptoms and problems, which makes me think they are present with root aphids. Sorry I cant be of more help, but I have pretty much given up on growing.

BP2

 

[Holdin']

That's very unfortunate to hear you've pretty much given up on growing.

Did you ever actually see any root aphids? Like I said, Ive searched high and low for RAs.

A few things that make me think they aren't root eaters:

- I've not seen a single fungus gnat since their arrival. Previously I'd have some here and there throughout my gardens. Implying that they are predators.
- They move rather quickly. Also implying that they are predators.
- I've seen them lingering moderately abundantly in some unused organic soil that'd been sitting for a couple months. Implying that they break down organic matter.
- They very closely resemble H. Miles except seem to have a more rounded body, and lack of the "V" shape on their rear.

I've used the potato trick to lure FG larvae in the past, and have also heard that sticking a chunk of fresh potato on top of the medium will tell you if a suspected pest is a root eater if they all flock to the potato.

Like I said, I have had a successful harvest with these guys present, but things just seem off.

I'm hoping someone can shed some light here. Some may say I could have RAs, but in a roundabout way I would almost LIKE to see some so I can know what is going on.

Ive started to look online for a professional I could send a sample to for some insight. I know there is still many undocumented mites, but I imagine a pro could at least determine their real motive. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone knows of such an entity, although I'm going to continue looking.

 

[Granger2]

Holdin',
The critter in your pic has 8 legs, so you're right, it is a mite. I can only tell you what I would do.

I would first do soil drenches with something that will kill mites and eggs. I'm an organic grower, so I would probably do 3 root immersions, soaking with root ball below water line for 30 minutes. I would probably start with Cedarcide PCO Choice @2-3 tsp/gal, followed immediately by a thorough flush w/pH'd water or lite nutes. The flush is a MUST with Cedarcide. I would also immerse foliage and spray floors, walls, doors, and entire containers with Cedarcide. In 3 days I would follow with the same kind of soak with Spinosad w/1/2 dose of wetting agent like CocoWet. No flush. I would then soak 3 days later with Azasol, the water soluble, more systemic version of Azadiractin.

After a good drying period, I would water/feed as usual with 2 TBL/gal of 3% Peroxide 3 times. After that I would reinoculate with EWC ACT and a good commercial innoculant like Great White. I'd do that a few times to re-establish the herd the peroxide killed.

Use Hygrozyme or some other zyme product along with a good root stim. like GO BioRoot or Roots Excelurator until you have a good hearty root system. During all this, raise your lights to reduce stress. Good luck. -granger
NOTE: I now [4-10-14] use 2-3 tsp/gal of Cedarcide PCO Choice. Higher concentrations cause root damage. Best to try on expendable plants, flush, wait 7-10 days to see if they pass. Very effective repellant too. Now using OGBioWar foliar and root @4 tsp/gal, every other week. Still with 2 apps of Heterorhabditus and S. carpocapsae mixed during bloom. -granger

 

[bigshrimp]

Do you see the same issues from seed and clone?

Those mites are ubiquitous, don't think they are the problem. Virus or fungus seems right, have you tried salycilic acid?

 

[DabSnob]

that picture is FOR SURE Hypoaspis miles, they are a beneficial soil mite. they eat fungus gnat larvae, thripe pupae, and decaying foliage left on the top inch of soil. my buddy breeds these for his poison dart frogs.

I too have had problems my last 2 crops with unhealthy roots/ root system.... found Root Aphids on top of fungus gnats this round... takes a jewelers loop to find them easily... you might have to tear a rootball apart for inspection.

ive heard/read aspirin is good for fixing diseases in plants (1.5-2 pills crushed) , maybe start their and see where that takes you. at this point my money is on a Virus or fungal issue as Bigshrimp suggested. i would seriously tear apart your worst looking plant and inspect the rootball, mainly in a 2-3 inch diameter under the base of the main stem, thats were Root aphids tend to breed the heaviest.

 

[Holdin']

Do you see the same issues from seed and clone?

Those mites are ubiquitous, don't think they are the problem. Virus or fungus seems right, have you tried salycilic acid?

Yeah it doesn't matter whether seed or clone. Right now I've got 40 plants in my veg space of various strains, most from clone but 12 ladies from seed. No, I haven't. What is its purpose? Thanks for yourhelp.

that picture is FOR SURE Hypoaspis miles, they are a beneficial soil mite. they eat fungus gnat larvae, thripe pupae, and decaying foliage left on the top inch of soil. my buddy breeds these for his poison dart frogs.

I too have had problems my last 2 crops with unhealthy roots/ root system.... found Root Aphids on top of fungus gnats this round... takes a jewelers loop to find them easily... you might have to tear a rootball apart for inspection.

ive heard/read aspirin is good for fixing diseases in plants (1.5-2 pills crushed) , maybe start their and see where that takes you. at this point my money is on a Virus or fungal issue as Bigshrimp suggested. i would seriously tear apart your worst looking plant and inspect the rootball, mainly in a 2-3 inch diameter under the base of the main stem, thats were Root aphids tend to breed the heaviest.

Well if they really are, apparently I am unknowingly breeding them as well haha. There is an abundant amount of them as we speak.

For the longest time now I've thought them to be H. Miles and have read quite a bit about them, so for some time I've just shrugged them off, or viewed them as beneficial. But these continuing problems with my root zone had me thinking otherwise, not to mention like I said; the lack of the "V" shape on the dorsal shield and smoother body also had me thinking otherwise. Either way, like you say, I also believe my problem is viral or a fungus, and the mites (whether they are H. Miles or not) are there because of decaying roots. They've flared up especially lately while back in organic soil. My plants look okay for the most part, just rather slow veg growth.

I culled a mother last night of a strain I decided not to keep, which was more pale green than the rest of the ladies, and ripped apart the football and checked again with a loupe. No RAs or other critters observed. Just unhappy roots. And I don't seem to see these mites in the middle or deep in the root zone. Just unhappy roots. I did also check this area near the base/main roots very well.

I've read your thread about your recent battle with RAs. I hope that works out for you and I appreciate your help man.

 

[DabSnob]

Holdin, gald you took the time to rip that plant apart and do a thorough check on it. Also i appreciate you checkin out my thread, luckily i have a backup plan if i cant get rid of them that wont cause me to loose much $$ or time. Things are lookin up though.

if there not H. Miles, there is a family of mite called oribatidae. they are a smoother bodied mite and come in multiple colors and sizes and are also beneficial.

ALSO, i noticed you are growing Qrazy train. how do you like it? out of all the seed companies ive tried TGA still takes the cake for me as far as quality of smoke goes... and their strains make the BEST hash oil. ive grown Deep Purple, vortex, and agent orange... soon to be growing Jesus OG, Qrazy train, ace of spades.

 

[Holdin']

Holdin, gald you took the time to rip that plant apart and do a thorough check on it. Also i appreciate you checkin out my thread, luckily i have a backup plan if i cant get rid of them that wont cause me to loose much $$ or time. Things are lookin up though.

if there not H. Miles, there is a family of mite called oribatidae. they are a smoother bodied mite and come in multiple colors and sizes and are also beneficial.

ALSO, i noticed you are growing Qrazy train. how do you like it? out of all the seed companies ive tried TGA still takes the cake for me as far as quality of smoke goes... and their strains make the BEST hash oil. ive grown Deep Purple, vortex, and agent orange... soon to be growing Jesus OG, Qrazy train, ace of spades.

Yeah I figured rip that lady up since I was discarding the strain anyways. I also have called a few males recently and checked those rootballs as well.

If they really aren't mites that could be causing damage, then I need to figure out what the fuck is going on. These issues I've had are indeed relatively minor, seeing as how I can pull successful harvests, but in the grand scheme of things I want my ladies as healthy as possible and my grows to go as smooth as possible. I don't want to go shooting in the dark with various insecticides and other products... but im not opposed to a tear down. I can manage another flower cycle, and these plants are close to vegged to my liking. I know it may take some trial and error to figure out what it is, and a tear down without time between may not fix the issue. Either way I need some insight somehow.

Thats good you have a back up plan, switching locations? You can beat them, but it may take a tear down. Best of luck to you there.

I'm split on Sub's gear honestly. I wouldn't say his genetics are in the "best breeder" category BUT there are many gems among his beans. I acquired my QT through a cutting, and its a very nice pheno. Awesome unique aroma, heavy yielder. I'm going to weighing up my QT yield from my chop last weekend in fact. I know another individual with a purple pheno and its just as awesome if not better. I also grew Plushberry and JTR this most recent run, but from seed. Lots of variation in the Plushberry, got a very nice heavy yielding purple pheno, and a lemon/lime cream soda smelling green pheno. 2 other green phenos that were mediocre, still good smoke though and also good yielders. Kind of unimpressed with the JTR, one pheno threw nanners, another very similar to it didn't, and is very frosty, but horrible bud structure. The last pheno is similar to the previous but very large colas, although extremely haze influenced and is surely going to go past 70 days. Funky bud structure with that pheno too. But the JTRs all smell amazing. Very pungent lemon/lime funk. Still have the last 2 phenos going but am not sure if I'm keeping them. I may try JTR again due to all the hype.

I'd definitely like to try the Jesus OG, as well as Chernobyl.

I know there is fire cuts of TGA going around, especially in our area. But the beans have far too much variation IMO, and my opinion of Sub is a high end pollen chucker if that makes sense. But, still good stuff in his gear don't get me wrong.

 

[DabSnob]

i agree on the heavy variations of each strain point that you made... he likes to cross strains that stretch with compact bushy strains, so you get one thats short and bushy and another that is gangly as hell.

as for the root issue, maybe let the pots dry out a day longer then usual... and seriously give the aspirin its suppose to work wonders. as i said earlier im deffinately going to try it when i get back on track.

 

[Granger2]

Dabsnob,
Now that you're virtually certain that there are no RA's, and that the mites are either beneficial or at least benign, skip the insecticide/miticide drenches.

If it is narrowing down to fungal or possibly viral problems, do the Peroxide treatment to kill fungi [along w/ beneficial herd], and re-inoculate. Aspirin gets good word of mouth backed up by scientific study for viral problems. Good luck. -granger

 

[Holdin']

i agree on the heavy variations of each strain point that you made... he likes to cross strains that stretch with compact bushy strains, so you get one thats short and bushy and another that is gangly as hell.

as for the root issue, maybe let the pots dry out a day longer then usual... and seriously give the aspirin its suppose to work wonders. as i said earlier im deffinately going to try it when i get back on track.

Yes indeed... which isnt really a terrible thing. I will surely pop TGA beans again. Wouldnt mind popping some QT beans and going pheno hunting on top of what i have, not to mention further pheno hunting in the JTR. One of the best smelling strains I've grown, just need to find better structure and density. I may take a trip to some clubs so I can just pick up the beans. Probably would get a handful of packs. Oh and did I mention Querkle? Really nice smelling/tasting flowers. So yeah dont get me wrong, there's great stuff to be found.

And see thats the thing.... due to the bummer rootzone, the plants wilt rapidly with quite a bit of water weight and moisture still in the pots. The roots' ability to take in water is very flawed. If I were to try to let the pots dry out completely the plants would probably just die.

Dabsnob,
Now that you're virtually certain that there are no RA's, and that the mites are either beneficial or at least benign, skip the insecticide/miticide drenches.

If it is narrowing down to fungal or possibly viral problems, do the Peroxide treatment to kill fungi [along w/ beneficial herd], and re-inoculate. Aspirin gets good word of mouth backed up by scientific study for viral problems. Good luck. -granger

So, back to my original theory. I will do the aspirin and h2o2 treatments. But, wondering your opinion on how this should go. I have been planning on transplanting soon. So after I kill off my microherd with the h2o2 would it be okay to just transplant into fresh organic soil that's been cooking well over a month? Or should I reinoculate after treatment with EWC and GW and let them recoop for a bit before transplanting? And correct me if I am wrong but, no fresh water flush is required after the h2o2 treatment as it will break down into o2 after it does its work, correct? And does it matter in what order I treat with aspirin and h2o2? And how long between the two? Just a regular watering cycle?

One more. How well does Hygrozyme interact will organic living soil? Completely compatible when using Hygrozyme regularly at a 5-10mg/gal maintenance dose? And how often?

Thanks for your help!

 

[DabSnob]

Holdin, please keep me posted on your findings with the H2O2, and aspirin's affects on your root system... i plan on trying them as well but have to wait for my ladies to bounce back to normal before i start testing anything new. i fear i wouldnt be able to tell if it was working due to the crazy ammounts of new chemicals and shit ive been loading my ladies up with.

 

[Holdin']

Holdin, please keep me posted on your findings with the H2O2, and aspirin's affects on your root system... i plan on trying them as well but have to wait for my ladies to bounce back to normal before i start testing anything new. i fear i wouldnt be able to tell if it was working due to the crazy ammounts of new chemicals and shit ive been loading my ladies up with.

Will do my friend. I actually just found this thread when searching for aspirin doses:

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=178414

Looks like this RetroGrow fella had similar strange frustrations to mine only worse, and his problems where cured by aspirin. What a refreshment. So my plan is to hit them with the aspirin treatment first, and if my problems are solved I may skip the h2o2. Although since I will be transplanting soon anyways maybe I should hit them with it regardless, that way I know I'm not bringing anything into the fresh soil.

Even though you attacked those fuckers with a plethora of chems, I wouldn't think the h2o2 would do any harm, unsure of the aspirin. But in sure those treatments would be beneficial seeing as how the RAs will attract pathogens with those bastards nibbling on your roots. Hope you bounce back either way.


Side note, last night I stuck a couple of sliced potato halves with the cut side down on the soil on a couple ladies. It'll be interesting to see if ANYTHING is nibbling on the spuds. Although I'm not sure how effective of a test this is to identify root munchers....

 

[DabSnob]

Holdin, the sliced potato should attract any root muncher or top soil dweller. maybe i will try the aspirin next watering, hopefully the roots will be back to normal quickly.

 

[medicalmj]

I suggest a healthy dose of Actinovate to kill off any lingering bad fungus/bacteria. Aspirin is a great SAR but doubt it won't help if you have a the above already causing problems.

Also, there are harmful nematodes that'll you'll need a scope to see & ID that cause symptoms that look just like iron chlorosis. Google it. You could then use predatory nematodes that will have some success against. They also cause issues in which mites will arrive to eat up the waste created.

 

[Holdin']

Holdin, the sliced potato should attract any root muncher or top soil dweller. maybe i will try the aspirin next watering, hopefully the roots will be back to normal quickly.

Potato test results after 24 hours: no signs of any critters munching the spud. There were a couple mites crawling on one when I checked it, but the volume of these critters doesn't surprise me. They are all over the place, in vast numbers. So they were likely just there by chance.

I suggest a healthy dose of Actinovate to kill off any lingering bad fungus/bacteria. Aspirin is a great SAR but doubt it won't help if you have a the above already causing problems.

Also, there are harmful nematodes that'll you'll need a scope to see & ID that cause symptoms that look just like iron chlorosis. Google it. You could then use predatory nematodes that will have some success against. They also cause issues in which mites will arrive to eat up the waste created.

I figured you drop in haha

I have been treating with Actinovate, periodically, at 1.5 tsp/gal. I'll give them another next watering if I chose not to go with the h2o2.

Applied the aspirin just a little while ago. We'll see what happens.

How powerful of a scope would I need to spot bad nematodes? I know the vary in size down to the microscopic level. Maybe I should get the beneficial/predatory nematodes, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.

Thanks for your input. How is your garden(s) doing with the issues you were having, similar to mine, if I remember correctly?

 

[medicalmj]

Potato test results after 24 hours: no signs of any critters munching the spud. There were a couple mites crawling on one when I checked it, but the volume of these critters doesn't surprise me. They are all over the place, in vast numbers. So they were likely just there by chance.









I figured you drop in haha

I have been treating with Actinovate, periodically, at 1.5 tsp/gal. I'll give them another next watering if I chose not to go with the h2o2.

Applied the aspirin just a little while ago. We'll see what happens.

How powerful of a scope would I need to spot bad nematodes? I know the vary in size down to the microscopic level. Maybe I should get the beneficial/predatory nematodes, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.

Thanks for your input. How is your garden(s) doing with the issues you were having, similar to mine, if I remember correctly?

Great, thanks. The mites are very low in numbers and nearly impossible to find at times. I have continued to spot nematodes but they must be free living or the predators I used a long time ago (not herbivores). To spot take a root sample under about 100x and add a drop of water. The supposedly harmless will swim into water. The harmful ones will be either attached or in the root/plant. They have a piercing stylet that will require 400x to ascertain harmful or not. Like the mites, a positive ID is difficult at best.

On another note, I just had a deficiency when I put my veg plants, which were under 800w MH total, under 2K HPS total. I also spread em out and super cropped due to the extra space I wanted to fill. I had what appeared to be an Mg def. in about 1/2. I quickly foliar sprayed and switched up on the Mg/Ca additives from a carbonate to a nitrate anion(i.e. CaCO3 to Ca(NO3)2 etc.). They have recovered. Not sure as to the cause. I also used a new supplement that by looking at the time def first appeared. I look at the stem to see when it appeared and when it got better by the texture and color and equate to period of time.

The growth rate was not really slowed during the def and plants have are now growing rapidly and are healthy. I can see the stems have outgrown the purple and are a nice healthy green now.

As far as past problems I am becoming more convinced it was FGs and bad microbes.

 

[jrewq]

Holdin, I'll be interested to hear what you figure out. I appear to by having identical issues - same symptoms, same stringy roots with some fungus, plants not drinking much, same mite present in root zone, no RA that I can find at all. Plants looked great through veg and then started to bleach pretty early in to flower... Just like you, my harvest was solid, but I think it could have been much better.

 

[Holdin']

Great, thanks. The mites are very low in numbers and nearly impossible to find at times. I have continued to spot nematodes but they must be free living or the predators I used a long time ago (not herbivores). To spot take a root sample under about 100x and add a drop of water. The supposedly harmless will swim into water. The harmful ones will be either attached or in the root/plant. They have a piercing stylet that will require 400x to ascertain harmful or not. Like the mites, a positive ID is difficult at best.

On another note, I just had a deficiency when I put my veg plants, which were under 800w MH total, under 2K HPS total. I also spread em out and super cropped due to the extra space I wanted to fill. I had what appeared to be an Mg def. in about 1/2. I quickly foliar sprayed and switched up on the Mg/Ca additives from a carbonate to a nitrate anion(i.e. CaCO3 to Ca(NO3)2 etc.). They have recovered. Not sure as to the cause. I also used a new supplement that by looking at the time def first appeared. I look at the stem to see when it appeared and when it got better by the texture and color and equate to period of time.

The growth rate was not really slowed during the def and plants have are now growing rapidly and are healthy. I can see the stems have outgrown the purple and are a nice healthy green now.

As far as past problems I am becoming more convinced it was FGs and bad microbes.

Well it sounds like you've got things under control. What medium are you growing in? And also, I remember you said you had some pics of your soil mites in an odd format; were you able to convert them? If not I may be able to. I'm curious of what you've been seeing. I'm going to have to get better scope capability, I don't have anything that would give me a true 100x magnification. Interesting about the nematodes though. You think adding predatory/beneficial nematodes would be worth it?

Holdin, I'll be interested to hear what you figure out. I appear to by having identical issues - same symptoms, same stringy roots with some fungus, plants not drinking much, same mite present in root zone, no RA that I can find at all. Plants looked great through veg and then started to bleach pretty early in to flower... Just like you, my harvest was solid, but I think it could have been much better.

That's interesting man... sorry to hear of your woes. Yes I did have a solid harvest recently, but I do feel my yield couldve been improved although I haven't had a final weigh-in. Quality wasnt affected IMO but I did have many new genetics last run. Either way, the problems throughout are very frustrating.

How long have you been dealing with this? Have you tried anything for a resolution?

It seems this same or similar set of problems is getting more common.

I will keep this thread updated with my progress. Thanks for stopping by.