I have a Godfather OG that's 4wks in flower and getting either a whole lot of sugar falling from the pistels. I do have a fan on one side of the tent blowing over the top and it's all over the plant down wind of the fan. Could this possibly be mildew? It feels sticky and smells like young flower. There is a lot of sugar production currently happening. I've seen this time to time but not this much. Humidity averaging @70% and temps are in the upper 70s.
Sugar or mildew
- Thread starter Indicolas
- Start date
Looks like either thrips or mites to me. With a loop or magnifying glass look underneath the leaves, bet you find critters! Bad news is you're in flower, so your options for eradication are limited.
Temperatures are good. Humidity is not all that great and should be brought down.
All those little white dots on the fan leaves are insect damage and most likely is the result of a large colony of Mites. You said "I've seen this time to time but not this much.". Did you see it before on a previous grow or just that you have seen this before on this particular grow?
There are products available that can be used right up to harvest so spend some time reading the labels. Many of the 'safe till harvest' ones will meet the criteria to be called "organic" source or input. I use the one called Nuk'Em made by the Flying Skull company. There is mention on the label and on the company web site that the product can be mixed at double dosage for severe infestations.
As it is, unless something is done the plants will become weaker if the insects continue to damage the leaves. Keep in mind that anything you do to get rid of the insects will not make the spots go away. Removing the damaged leaves will not help and will weaken the plant even more. Your goal is to get a handle on the mite problem and keep them from moving into the buds where they will feed on the sugar leaves. And, you will want to keep the fan leaves from getting worse.
If you do something for the problem it is up to you but I have sprayed at double dose as often as twice a day for 2 or 3 days in a row. Then drop down to double dose but spray every 4 to 5 days or so. Doing this and there is a good chance that the stigma/pistils will turn brown and shrink but the buds themselves are still good and will continue to grow. In about a week the buds will start to produce new stigma/pistils and grow.
I have been through all of this over the years and now I spray with the stuff I mentioned without even thinking about it. It is just a preemptive strike against the Mites even if I do not see any damage "yet". Do nothing and the leaves will be so chewed up that they will look white or silver colored. The buds will be smaller and the sugar leaves will have fewer trichomes. What some growers call senescence will happen sooner and be more severe.
All those little white dots on the fan leaves are insect damage and most likely is the result of a large colony of Mites. You said "I've seen this time to time but not this much.". Did you see it before on a previous grow or just that you have seen this before on this particular grow?
There are products available that can be used right up to harvest so spend some time reading the labels. Many of the 'safe till harvest' ones will meet the criteria to be called "organic" source or input. I use the one called Nuk'Em made by the Flying Skull company. There is mention on the label and on the company web site that the product can be mixed at double dosage for severe infestations.
As it is, unless something is done the plants will become weaker if the insects continue to damage the leaves. Keep in mind that anything you do to get rid of the insects will not make the spots go away. Removing the damaged leaves will not help and will weaken the plant even more. Your goal is to get a handle on the mite problem and keep them from moving into the buds where they will feed on the sugar leaves. And, you will want to keep the fan leaves from getting worse.
If you do something for the problem it is up to you but I have sprayed at double dose as often as twice a day for 2 or 3 days in a row. Then drop down to double dose but spray every 4 to 5 days or so. Doing this and there is a good chance that the stigma/pistils will turn brown and shrink but the buds themselves are still good and will continue to grow. In about a week the buds will start to produce new stigma/pistils and grow.
I have been through all of this over the years and now I spray with the stuff I mentioned without even thinking about it. It is just a preemptive strike against the Mites even if I do not see any damage "yet". Do nothing and the leaves will be so chewed up that they will look white or silver colored. The buds will be smaller and the sugar leaves will have fewer trichomes. What some growers call senescence will happen sooner and be more severe.
flowrrpowrr
Well-Known Member
I use captain jacks deadbug and it's been effective on everything except root aphids.
Anything with spinosad at .5% seems to work.
It's fermented from naturally occurring bacteria and it's supposed to dissipate in 48 hrs. This stuff is banned for weed growers but it's on lots of fruits and vegetables you buy.
I've read that degradation is greatly enhanced by light so I wouldn't use it too close to harvest.
Good luck, that's a monster infestation
Anything with spinosad at .5% seems to work.
It's fermented from naturally occurring bacteria and it's supposed to dissipate in 48 hrs. This stuff is banned for weed growers but it's on lots of fruits and vegetables you buy.
I've read that degradation is greatly enhanced by light so I wouldn't use it too close to harvest.
Good luck, that's a monster infestation
flowrrpowrr
Well-Known Member
BTW, do you usually grow at 70% RH?
I'm more like 60-65% in Florida and mold is killing me.
I'm more like 60-65% in Florida and mold is killing me.
Yep got to agree with Phyto on the bugs, get rid of those and get a dehumidifier, 70% is fine in veg, but I like 35% or less in flower...don't want bud rot on top of all you have goingI have a Godfather OG that's 4wks in flower and getting either a whole lot of sugar falling from the pistels. I do have a fan on one side of the tent blowing over the top and it's all over the plant down wind of the fan. Could this possibly be mildew? It feels sticky and smells like young flower. There is a lot of sugar production currently happening. I've seen this time to time but not this much. Humidity averaging @70% and temps are in the upper 70s.
It's been many years since I've had bugs, but when I did it was pretty bad...I sprayed with Garden Safe 3 in 1...kills bugs and mold, I only sprayed, quite heavily i might add, only twice a week, otherwise you'll kill the plant, then when harvest comes, look into "Bud Washing" many growers do this whether they grow inside or out, but the bud washing should deal with any toxins or left over bugs if done correctly
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks so much for your info. I'm new to indoor growing and this my first year with grows starting in the winter. All my summer and late fall grows were not problematic.
- Thread starter
- #8
In the islands 70 is the average RH. Plants love it when it drops to 50. I have to specifically select my seasons to grow in. I know mold loves colder temps which is non existent here. So I never had a mold problem... yet.
- Thread starter
- #9
I'll be definitely 'bud washing' after treatment and removing micro-debri. I'd like to know the correct baking soda/lemon juice to water ratio.? Thanks for your reply.
There’s a few recipes, but this one works: in 5 gallons of water add 1/2 cup baking soda and a 1/2 cup lemon juice. There are also recipes that use hydrogen peroxide.
4 buckets total. (5 gallon buckets are perfect)
Bucket 1: 3 parts RO water to 1 part 3% H202.
Bucket 2: 5 gallons of RO with 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup Lemon Juice
Buckets 3 and 4: RO only.
Cut down plants, pull off fan leaves by hand, remove any necrotic leaves. Leave sugar leaves and anything with frosting on the plant.
Fully submerge in bucket 1 (H2O2) for 30 seconds. Submerge for a full minute if you had ANY sign of PM or bud rot. Let water drip from buds and then.....
Fully submerge in buckets 2 through 4 for 30 seconds each...lightly agitating the whole time.
Allow produce to drip dry. You can blow a fan on it if you like, just make sure it's blowing clean air.
Hang and dry per usual.
Final manicure of buds is best done after they dry. It goes very fast and you're left with washed, highly resinous trim....makes superb joints. I'm also educating my customers to select untrimmed buds, which are actually better than the manicured ones because they still have sugar leaves attached. The trichomes in the leaves have more THC than those in the buds.....so it's good to get the whole spectrum in there.
I give instructions for this in my journals, as I do it every single week, on every single harvest. Once you try it, you'll never go back.
This works so well for a couple reasons:
1. takes off dirt, foliar sprays, bugs, fiberglass dust, etc.
2. fully hydrates the leaves, allowing photosynthesis to occur for a day or two on cut and trimmed buds. I recommend leaving a light on the buds for the first day or two after washing.
This results in very, dense, clean burning, smooth tasting produce! That's the basic recipe....and I'm tweaking and changing it all the time.
Warning: Do NOT use an "organic produce wash" that is based on oils! They sell these in grocery stores and health food stores, and while they might be good for lettuce and cukes....the oil removes resin from the plants.....don't use it!
Water will not harm resin....oil can and does.
