Operation RAD (Root Aphid Death)

[Coconutz]

Sorry, not trying to say you arent gonna smash yields in this room once you have some healthy plants.
Stunted meaning lost time and yield.
Root problems cost yields.
I certainly dont want to see your seedlings suffer from RA's.
You are talking about experimenting with unproven methods and hoping to eliminate them before you start seedlings.
I think thats highly unlikely and was just saying it would be like a life changing swing in finances for me to loose one crop after the other. Id cut my losses and stick to proven methods of eradication and IPMs

 

[sahdgrower]

IPM=integrated pest management?

Please don't worry about offending me. I want your clear unmodified opinion. My feelings are irrelevant when it comes to my plants health. I do hear you saying over and over you think I should kill and start clean but just so I understand you completely. Are you saying that even if I completely neutralize the RA with no further stress/damage to my plants (impossible I know but just for clarity let's pretend) that they are already so damaged/stressed that they will not yield adequately for the time/money spent on them?

Also hot water is not really unproven, it has been tested and documented efficacious on other plants. It is true it is not proven on MJ and that was part of why I didn't kill the plants in the first place, I figured if I could kill RA wiht hot water alone and it didn't hurt my plants more than traditional treatment methods and I could document that it would really help people deal with a nasty pest. I must say I am very encouraged by my results. That being said I still consider your advice very valid.

 

[Snype]

Ive shut down entire grows for 2 months to erradicate mites. If those mites follow you around, more money will be lost in the end as well as time.

 

[Coconutz]

You can kill all of them in the rootzone with hot water and wherever you spray your organic mixes. Its where you dont get 100% coverage with a contact killer that you will leave pregnant bitches behind.
If you were to decide to nuke the room and the plants you might stand a higher chance of success of getting rid of them, but that would come at a cost. Plants dont do well with heavy toxins and can be set back even further. Not to mention you have to worry about the actual INDOOR half life of the chemicals.
If I just built a room(and I just dropped major $ on a new room) then I would not leave anything living behind and start over.
Now... Thats just what I would do, but Im not you or anyone else.
I cant afford to run my room a single day if its not 100% dialed.

 

[sahdgrower]

I will not use toxins on my plants. Nothing I don't want to smoke anyway. I value your advice. I fought and lost to RA. Not the first not the last.

He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.


Thanks for your advices

 

[Granger2]

Sahd,
If your plants are improving, I'd say go ahead and take them to harvest. Early in this fight, I brought an RA infested crop back and took them to maturity, getting a good crop of tasty buds organically. You will need to treat preventively throughout. This will also be a good way to learn for future crop success.

Remember, roots will grow back if you can keep the RA's at bay, and you can. Get some Nematodes online, use go Gnats. Frequent area sprays including entire containers help a lot. The seeds you just cracked are at least 3 months from harvest. You can be done with the current crop before then. You'll be smoking fresh bud a lot sooner than if you throw the crop out and start over. And you will be armed with knowledge and the confidence it gives for the next crop. Report back with your results. 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

 

[sahdgrower]

Thanks Granger2,

While my heart agrees with you, I know the best thing for me to do is start over. I am only just starting what I aim to be a lifelong hobby/ambition. I am not so invested in time or money at this point that it is critical mass for me to continue with this crop. I think I would like to chalk it up to a learning experience. Clean the crap out of the room and set up some better preventative measures and restart. I really wish I could grow those babies out because I really like Blackberry Kush and they are really starting to grow well now. These are just sentiments though. Reality is my plants are badly damaged and set back significantly as a result.

Thanks for helping out though. All of you contributors thanks!