Something is Killing my Plants Bugs? Mold?

[Ringodoggie]

I am still chasing this leaf issue. I can't seem to shake it. It seems to come and go. It never went away completely but it faded. Then, it came back again and now it's getting worse. The overall plant doesn't look all that bad but a lot of leaves are suffering

I thought I might be over feeding so I stopped feeding and only watered for past 10 days. The issue didn't really get better and things are starting to yellow so I am going to fertilize today very lightly.

I'm not sure if I should use CalMag or not. This looks a lot like a CalMag issue but I can't tell if it's too much or not enough. I usually use 3 to 5 ml per gallon.

I looked at the leaves under a 200x and 400x scope and I don't see any bugs at all. I thought it might be a fungus or virus but the microscope shots just look like leaf necrosis. Not fuzz or growth on the affected leaves. I even considered a genetic issue but I am reaching.

It's odd because I have plants outside and in another tent that don't have this issue. And, they all share water, soil, nutes, pH tester, frequency and general care. Only this tent is doing it.

I wonder if the LED lights are too much and it is stressing them. I noticed more leaf issues 2 or 3 years ago when I switched from HID to LED.

I don't know. I am fucking lost. We are in week 8 and I expect harvest at about week 12 so I have a long ways to go. I need these girls to get better.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I may have found a problem....

When I planted these plants and some others, I had about a half bag of soil left over. I tossed it in the garage with my gardening stuff for later use. More on that later.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, I harvested a plant that came from that same batch of soil and when I dumped the rootball out of the pot, I noticed the sides had areas that were covered with this really gross mold. White, wet, creamy mold. I couldn't understand it but it seemed isolated since it was only on one out of 4 of the rootballs from the harvested plants so I let it ride.

Today, I went to use the remaining dirt that was in the bag I had left over and when I opened it I saw that the same mold was growing in the dirt in the bag. I put the bag outside to discard but I took a couple pics first.

This is Fox Farms Happy Frog. Been using the same soil for 15 years.

Could this soil have been contaminated and is now causing the leaf necrosis issue with my current plants?

I did dig down the sides of a couple plants and didn't see any mold. You can see the mold os even growing on the plastic bag.

 

[Boo]

you can bet the mold is your issue...good luck moving on...looks a bit light on the cal-mag as well...

 

[englishrick]

sclerotinia,, aka white mold

I got mine from contaminated root riot cubes

I've had it myself recently,,,causes fan leafs to become crispy,, it causes cankers on the stem too,, it's systemic , so when you take cuts the strike rate is really low,,

Id say spray down your mother's with a systemic fungicide,, eagle 20 potentially,, get rid of contaminated root stock,,, start using rockwool

blast your room with an ozone generator,, hit extreme ppm's when the room is empty,,

Start using hypoclous acid regularly too,,

Once the systemic fungicide is embedded,, take cuts and dump all original mothers,,

Don't use any bio nutes,, use pure chemicals for a while,,

 

[RobFromTX]

Make sure and have a fan going in the growtent at all times. Thrips dont like a strong air flow. It would help with mold issues too

 

[englishrick]

Looks like this on clones,,

Remember it's systemic and every cut has it once it starts traveling up the xylem of mothers,,

 

[Alec_Tricity]

Some thoughts:
I suspect you have more than one issue here. The black poop and the mining deffo look like thrips to me. Spinosad works, I think Neem not so much. The mold might be the root of the problem though - weakening the plants in general.

Another thing: When you spray Neem do you add enough soap? I had an issue a while ago with Neem. It left oily spots on the leaves and afterwards the leaves curled and got yellow spots especially in the top parts closer to the light. Your pics look similar to this. The problem disappeared when I used more soap in the Neem-water-mix.

 

[englishrick]

Monterey Garden Insect Spray, Insecticide & Pesticide with Spinosad Concentrate works best for me when it comes to insects,,​

But I do think you might have sclerotinia,, exactly the same symptoms as me,, crispy brown leaf spots,, similar to a dollar spot,, white mold,, try taking clones and see if you get the fuzz the stem,, clones get mushy stems,,

I'd spray down with eagle 20 before I take cuts,, then I'd soray again on snall cuts,,, then I'd grow them out and clone again,, discard all the original stock and hit the room hard with ozone

 

[TanzanianMagic]

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

Sorry for the delay.

Problem: phophorus lockout.
Reason: low and unstable pH.

Remedy: next time use at least 1 tablespoon of magnesium lime per gallon of medium. And add about 20% worm castings, so the plants have something to eat without too much liquid nutrients.

The low pH is clear from the short plant with twisted leaves.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I may have found a problem....

When I planted these plants and some others, I had about a half bag of soil left over. I tossed it in the garage with my gardening stuff for later use. More on that later.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago, I harvested a plant that came from that same batch of soil and when I dumped the rootball out of the pot, I noticed the sides had areas that were covered with this really gross mold. White, wet, creamy mold. I couldn't understand it but it seemed isolated since it was only on one out of 4 of the rootballs from the harvested plants so I let it ride.

Today, I went to use the remaining dirt that was in the bag I had left over and when I opened it I saw that the same mold was growing in the dirt in the bag. I put the bag outside to discard but I took a couple pics first.

This is Fox Farms Happy Frog. Been using the same soil for 15 years.

Could this soil have been contaminated and is now causing the leaf necrosis issue with my current plants?

I did dig down the sides of a couple plants and didn't see any mold. You can see the mold os even growing on the plastic bag.

I don't know if that's a problem.

That's some kind of fungus that is breaking down the soil and having a good time of it, because it's also fruiting.

If it doesn't smell bad (from a distance), it's good. It is breaking down the organic components of the soil, making them more available for plants.

Green algae on the soil - problem.
Mould on the wallpaper, curtains, floor - problem.
Mould in the soil - not a problem.

 

[Ringodoggie]

Thanks for all the comments, gang. I am going to harvest these very soon so I'll have a chance to examine the root balls.

Just to address a couple of the comments......

I would count out pH related problems. I am anal about pH. I use a nice BlueLab Combo Meter that I bought a new robe for about a year ago. I clean it before and after every use. I store it in the proper KCl and I calibrate it regularly with 7.0 and 4.0. I always pH to 6.4 to 6.6. Not outside that range. I suppose it could still be pH related but I am anal about plain water and nute waterings to be right on 6.5.

I use CalMag every time I fertilize which is about every second or third watering. I use 1 tsp per gallon. Then, the Fox Farms Trio per the mfgr's recommendations.

As for the mold, someone else suggested Mycorrhizal which is in the Happy Frog soil. He suggested it simply had the right environment to fruit so it did.

It does not smell bad. Smells like Happy Frog.

Lots of air flow in my tents since I never close the front flap and I have 2 to 6 fans in each tent.

I don't believe it bugs. I specifically bought a new microscope and looked these babies over like a mama and didn't find a single bug. I think the black stuff was dirt. I do have a few whiteflies now that made their way in from outside.

Since I am harvesting in a few days I'm not going to take any more action. I have been flushing for a couple weeks and bottom growth is green but the damaged stuff definitely never came back.

If I had to take another guess I would say I over fertilized and they got nutrient lock. This entire grow had it written all over it. The only problem with that theory is that I believe I had the problem very early before I even started fertilizing. I'll have to go back and check my logs.

All I know is that I'll be glad when this is over. Can't wait to start fresh.

Thanks again for all the help. I'll let you know what I find out when I examine the root balls after harvest.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Thanks for all the comments, gang. I am going to harvest these very soon so I'll have a chance to examine the root balls.

Just to address a couple of the comments......

I would count out pH related problems. I am anal about pH. I use a nice BlueLab Combo Meter that I bought a new robe for about a year ago. I clean it before and after every use. I store it in the proper KCl and I calibrate it regularly with 7.0 and 4.0. I always pH to 6.4 to 6.6. Not outside that range. I suppose it could still be pH related but I am anal about plain water and nute waterings to be right on 6.5.

I use CalMag every time I fertilize which is about every second or third watering. I use 1 tsp per gallon. Then, the Fox Farms Trio per the mfgr's recommendations.

As for the mold, someone else suggested Mycorrhizal which is in the Happy Frog soil. He suggested it simply had the right environment to fruit so it did.

It does not smell bad. Smells like Happy Frog.

Lots of air flow in my tents since I never close the front flap and I have 2 to 6 fans in each tent.

I don't believe it bugs. I specifically bought a new microscope and looked these babies over like a mama and didn't find a single bug. I think the black stuff was dirt. I do have a few whiteflies now that made their way in from outside.

Since I am harvesting in a few days I'm not going to take any more action. I have been flushing for a couple weeks and bottom growth is green but the damaged stuff definitely never came back.

If I had to take another guess I would say I over fertilized and they got nutrient lock. This entire grow had it written all over it. The only problem with that theory is that I believe I had the problem very early before I even started fertilizing. I'll have to go back and check my logs.

All I know is that I'll be glad when this is over. Can't wait to start fresh.

Thanks again for all the help. I'll let you know what I find out when I examine the root balls after harvest.

"It does not smell bad. Smells like Happy Frog."

Then there's nothing to worry about, and actually is a good sign.

"I always pH to 6.4 to 6.6. Not outside that range."

That's too low for organics, and low pH will lock out phosphorus.

Just keep it at 7.0 throughout the grow.

Also, too much calcium also locks out phosphorus.

Also, if you have water with an EC of over 0.4, there's likely already calcium in the water.

I think you're overfussing an organic grow. Just gently flush the medium, and use a very low concentration of growth nutrient with higher nitrogen.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

"It does not smell bad. Smells like Happy Frog."

Then there's nothing to worry about, and actually is a good sign.

View attachment 18983832

"I always pH to 6.4 to 6.6. Not outside that range."

That's too low for organics, and low pH will lock out phosphorus.

Just keep it at 7.0 throughout the grow.

Also, too much calcium also locks out phosphorus.

Also, if you have water with an EC of over 0.4, there's likely already calcium in the water.

I think you're overfussing an organic grow. Just gently flush the medium, and use a very low concentration of growth nutrient with higher nitrogen.

Actually 6.4-6.6 is perfect for soil. But unless he's testing the soil pH it's hard to tell what the actual pH is. I also wouldn't call the Fox Farm Trio organic. The only one that's organic is Big Bloom. It does look like P deficiency though.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Actually 6.4-6.6 is perfect for soil. But unless he's testing the soil pH it's hard to tell what the actual pH is. I also wouldn't call the Fox Farm Trio organic. The only one that's organic is Big Bloom. It does look like P deficiency though.

"Actually 6.4-6.6 is perfect for soil."

We're not talking about 'soil' which can also be based on synthetic nutrients, but organics specifically.

The higher pH makes macronutrients more available. And aerobic microbes like a pH of 6.0 to 8.0. With 7.0, you have a lot of leeway either way, which means you won't be affected by pH swings.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

"Actually 6.4-6.6 is perfect for soil."

We're not talking about 'soil' which can also be based on synthetic nutrients, but organics specifically.

The higher pH makes macronutrients more available. And aerobic microbes like a pH of 6.0 to 8.0. With 7.0, you have a lot of leeway either way, which means you won't be affected by pH swings.

I am talking about organic soil. My 5 year old no-till soil is usually around 6.4 when I've tested it. And everything I've read about organic soil pH says between 6.2-6.8. Cannabis likes slightly acidic soil. Here's some nugs I just bagged up today from my no-till.

 

[buzzmobile]

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

I know more about bugs than leaf reading, @Ringodoggie , and those signs are not from bugs. It appears to look like a Calcium issue, but take that suggestion with a spoonful of salt.

Deficiencies and excesses in Cannabis

This post shows the main deficiencies and excesses of macro and micro-nutrients that can affect our cannabis plants during their cultivation. If you detect deficiencies or excesses in your cannabis plants, you can now learn how to prevent them and treat them in following crops.

www.alchimiaweb.com

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I know more about bugs than leaf reading, @Ringodoggie , and those signs are not from bugs. It appears to look like a Calcium issue, but take that suggestion with a spoonful of salt.

Deficiencies and excesses in Cannabis

This post shows the main deficiencies and excesses of macro and micro-nutrients that can affect our cannabis plants during their cultivation. If you detect deficiencies or excesses in your cannabis plants, you can now learn how to prevent them and treat them in following crops.

www.alchimiaweb.com

I agree it's not bugs. I don't think it has anything to do with the white fungus either. I would also cross out too much light as the problem. I only looked at the first picture before when I said it looked like P deficiency. Looking at the other pics with the brown spots I'd have to agree about maybe Ca deficiency. It could even have both Ca and P deficiency. I don't know. I'm not a fan of the FF nutes. I see lots of people having problems with them.

@Ringodoggie have you checked the soil pH or just the water going in? Low soil pH could explain it if it is low.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I am talking about organic soil. My 5 year old no-till soil is usually around 6.4 when I've tested it. And everything I've read about organic soil pH says between 6.2-6.8. Cannabis likes slightly acidic soil. Here's some nugs I just bagged up today from my no-till.

View attachment 18984131

Outdoor, photoperiod, feminized, no PGRs. No lightdep after initial flowering of 2 weeks max. Also notice that while the calyxes are super ripe, the plant isn't scenescing - the leaves are still green.

 

[Ringodoggie]

I agree it's not bugs. I don't think it has anything to do with the white fungus either. I would also cross out too much light as the problem. I only looked at the first picture before when I said it looked like P deficiency. Looking at the other pics with the brown spots I'd have to agree about maybe Ca deficiency. It could even have both Ca and P deficiency. I don't know. I'm not a fan of the FF nutes. I see lots of people having problems with them.

@Ringodoggie have you checked the soil pH or just the water going in? Low soil pH could explain it if it is low.

I check water and nute mixes going in. I have never checked soil or runoff pH.

What's the best way to test the soil pH? I have one of those 'stick in the soil' with a gauge on it but I have never used it. I don't think I have any pH paper. Saturation test? I can pick one up if that's the best way.

Thanks

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I check water and nute mixes going in. I have never checked soil or runoff pH.

What's the best way to test the soil pH? I have one of those 'stick in the soil' with a gauge on it but I have never used it. I don't think I have any pH paper. Saturation test? I can pick one up if that's the best way.

Thanks

If it's one of the 3 in 1 meters those aren't reliable. The good ones that you stick in the soil aren't cheap. If you don't have a decent one a slurry test is your best option.