Something is Killing my Plants Bugs? Mold?

[Ringodoggie]

I am stumped on this one. I can't see any bugs under my 30x scope. I see what looks like black bug poop everywhere. One pic with the red circle shows the only thing that remotely looks like a bug.

Some leaves are black with dirt or poop or mold or whatever and the leaves get brittle and crack.

Whatever it is seems to kill very quickly.

I never use pesticides but I sprayed these down with Neem oil yesterday and today.

I am open to any input.

Thanks

 

[FletchF.Fletch]

The damage looks like it is being done by beetles or baby grasshoppers. Some bugs are nocturnal and feed at night, so you won't see them during lights on. Move things around, lift the container and you may find something hiding in dark spaces.

Hard to see exactly what's inside the circle. Looks like a bug but it is difficult to see clearly. If you sacrifice that leaf blade to get a clearer picture, someone should know exactly what it is.

Good luck Ringodoggie

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks for the input

Sorry, I should have given more info... this is inside. Soil in #7 pots.

Some of the leaves look a little like leaf miner damage. Or, at least like something is eating it from underneath.

I'll get a couple more pics.

Again, thanks for the input.

 

[moses wellfleet]

pics aren’t great and neither are my eyes, it would have been better to see the damage before the neem oil… but I’m getting a feeling it could be thrips, is it only on the undersurface of the leaf?

 

[Ringodoggie]

Here are a couple more pics.

Do thripes look like little worms? That first post pic with the red circle has a little worm looking thing but it's so blurry I can't tell.

Thanks

 

[Ringodoggie]

Who is this?

 

[FletchF.Fletch]

Thrip damage typically shows as rasps, and they can be seen on top and bottom of leaves. They move like squiggles if that makes sense, like crawling and wrggling at the same time. Their damage looks like someone etched little yellow/white scratches on the leaves. Mites will show as pin-prick yellow mottling.

Could be Flea Beetles since you're finding their droppings. Just saw your most recent pic. That looks like a young Leafhopper.

 

[Creeperpark]

Spray your plants down with plain water with a sprayer and don't let the soil get so dry. Spray your plant leaves on both sides top and bottom on watering day. Gently wash the leaves to kill the adults and wipe off the eggs.

If you use some cold-pressed neem oil mixed with a little dish soap in warm water you will get better results. Since the plants are small all the leaves will be gone by flowering. You have conditions that are conducive to growing bugs and if you change those conditions the bugs will leave or die. Good luck friend.

 

[acespicoli]

Who is this?

Looks like a white fly FletchF.Fletch said neem, and a good oil coat in veg of dilute neem even in undersides should do it. Thing with neem and pimethrins is you have to use caution for toxic effect on leaf.
Better to start weak and reapply to add up to concentration. You can always add more and once its on there if there is leaf damage a pure water shower can help a little. Save the plant / kill the bug hard balance at times
The other thing people sometimes miss is the life cycle of the pest you may kill adults while larva persist in the soil.

https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/bspm/InsectInformation/MasterGardener_Updates/2018/Whiteflies.pdf

The worms you see may be your larva or maggot
Hard to see get a 30x loupe for 10$ im kinda guessing on ID
Study your pest, form a plan. For treatment as well as prevention!

Gotta evacuate for a few hours but...

Cleanroom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Green house bug bombs or house foggers even kill buggers in exhaust ducts

>Best>>>ibes @Ringodoggie

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks, gang.

I went through them all today and trimmed off any affected leaves and gave them another shot of neem oil.

I took the affected leaves and searched and searched for a bug but found nothing. I used my 60x illuminated hand scope that I use to look at trichs with. I could see a ton of that black 'dirt' everywhere but no sign of bugs.

After looking at all those black spots, I am almost leaning toward some kind of mold rather than a bug.

Either way, I am hoping I killed whatever it was. All the new growth looks good but I gave them another shot of neem today, anyway.

This is probably the 3rd time in 50+ years of growing that I have used a pesticide of any kind. I feel violated. LOL

Thanks again.

#6 is lighter green than all the others. The others are the White Widow I seeded and the light green one is a Sour Diesel. I assume it is simply lighter from genetics. Although it really looks underfed to me???

 

[acespicoli]

Neem Oil Fungicides In particular, it is very successful against fungi that cause certain plant diseases. In both laboratory and field trials, neem oil has controlled the diseases known as rust and powdery mildew—and it did so without harming the plants.

atleast you kept it organic

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks.

These are autos in week 3. Hopefully, I didn't stunt them too much.

 

[Rgd]

not in the circled area ..I can see what looks like larvae .. or little longish white insects

 

[buzzmobile]

Who is this?

That looks like a springtail, but it's blurry. Springtails are harmless unless they are in the thousands.

Springtails Management Guidelines--UC IPM

UC home and landscape guidelines for control of Springtails.

ipm.ucanr.edu

I suspect thrips due to the black dots on the leaves. The black stuff is frass (bug poop).

Usually there will be evidence on the leaf surface that looks like patches missing chlorophyll.

Spinosad is the control for thrips and many other insects.

 

[buzzmobile]

Whiteflies will fly up out of the leaves of plants when the canopy is disturbed.

 

[Ringodoggie]

This shit is still with me. It seemed to go away for a while and then started creeping onto the large, older leaves. I let it go and it started spreading fast. I did a mass pruning today, removing most of the affected leaves.

I even bought a new microscope with a digital cam and everything. I looked these leaves over super close with 100x and up to 400x and never saw a single bug or anything that looked close. Just brown decay. I don't see the black 'dirt' any longer that I saw before.

I use a nice Blue Lab combo meter to measure my pH. I got a new probe last year and it works great. I just checked the calibration with 7.0 fluid and it is spot on. I always balance my pH to 6.4 to 6.6 and seldom outside that, shooting for a steady 6.5. Although, even with all that, this looks like pH damage.

I'm lost. Maybe a mold. Maybe a virus.. They are autos in week 5 so I have another 6 weeks to keep these healthy. Overall, the plants look good. Flowers are starting. Color is good. Just can't seem to shake this brown out issue.

 

[VerdantGreen]

the last set of pics look more like some kind of soil problem or deficiency than insect damage. have you checked the roots ? do they look healthy? soil looks really dry in all the pics too. When you water you need to make sure the whole pot is wet... dont just try and water around the little plant.

VG

 

[Rastafarout]

Cold ? I’ve had cold plants that look like pict 4 ..

 

[Ringodoggie]

the last set of pics look more like some kind of soil problem or deficiency than insect damage. have you checked the roots ? do they look healthy? soil looks really dry in all the pics too. When you water you need to make sure the whole pot is wet... dont just try and water around the little plant.

VG

I agree regarding the pics looking more like soil or nute issue.

I can't see the roots so I can't say for sure if they are healthy but the plants look (generally) healthy and the stems are nice and thick. I usually have pretty good root balls when I harvest.

Those pics are literally moments before I watered them so, yeah, the soil looked a little dry, for sure.

I light water autos when they are tiny and in their 'forever' pot. But, after they are big enough (like now), I usually water until it flows out of the bottom a tiny bit.

I use Fox Farms Happy Frog soil right out of the bag with no extras. And, Fox Farms nute trio. Same program I have used for years.

I did notice the bags of Happy Frog I bought in the past 6 months seem to be a little different than before. More loose than before. Seems like it's a little 'lighter and fluffier' than before.

I just can't figure it out on this one.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Cold ? I’ve had cold plants that look like pict 4 ..

I am indoors so it is always around 70F to 80F.