Can anyone identify the cause?

[Carmen Ray]

This is a 70 day old auto-flowering plant. It has been in flower for 40 days. It is full of foxtails, making it difficult to see what is going on in there.

I have been looking at trichome pics, trying to determine how much further my buds have to go. This morning I spotted some hairy looking stuff in a section of trichomes. I cannot tell where on the plant this is as this is not visible to the naked eye.

1) What are the hairy things?

2) What should I do about this?

 

[SmokingWings]

My suggestion is to take a photo of this same bud from just a bit further away so that we can see more of the plant around this bud or any other that shows the possible problem.

I grabbed a copy of your photo and resized, cropped and circled some of the areas I think you are asking about. It looks like the start of a mold or mildew. There is a lot more brown in the photo plus some of the trichomes are brown and well past the usual amber stage. It looks more like a mold, possibly bud rot.

If it is, the hairs are "filaments of cells called hyphae" and when there are more of them it is called mycelium. These are just the name of the "hairy parts" and both good & bad molds will have hyphae and mycelium. Most of the good molds are in the soil and organic growers will look for mycelium to start forming. But, in the leaf and flowering area not good to see.

So, another photo and we can see what some of the others feel is going on. Sometimes, if the problem has not spread to far it can be removed by cutting out damaged areas and possibly spraying with the appropriate spray.

Another photo and lets see what the others say they see.

 

[Carmen Ray]

My suggestion is to take a photo of this same bud from just a bit further away so that we can see more of the plant around this bud or any other that shows the possible problem.

I grabbed a copy of your photo and resized, cropped and circled some of the areas I think you are asking about. It looks like the start of a mold or mildew. There is a lot more brown in the photo plus some of the trichomes are brown and well past the usual amber stage. It looks more like a mold, possibly bud rot.

If it is, the hairs are "filaments of cells called hyphae" and when there are more of them it is called mycelium. These are just the name of the "hairy parts" and both good & bad molds will have hyphae and mycelium. Most of the good molds are in the soil and organic growers will look for mycelium to start forming. But, in the leaf and flowering area not good to see.

So, another photo and we can see what some of the others feel is going on. Sometimes, if the problem has not spread to far it can be removed by cutting out damaged areas and possibly spraying with the appropriate spray.

Another photo and lets see what the others say they see.

Hi and thank you SmokingWings. Unfortunately my camera is not working today so I have taken some shots of the branches with my phone. You will see that there are foxtails on foxtails. I have checked trichomes and can only see the ones on the foxtails which still appear clear. I am not seeing a lot of amber overall and I don't see the brown trichomes.

I cannot identify where the "hairy" shot was taken on the plant. I can't see anything with my naked eye and I am useless with a loupe.

What do you think I should do?

 

[Roy Growin]

Hi Carmen
Personally I take no risks with mould as it is so pervasive
I would chop it and rinse it in H2O2, straight away
Even if it's not ideal to smoke it'll still be good for butter
I don't see the foxtail stopping anytime soon and mould tends to hang around once it has a foothold

 

[Carmen Ray]

Hi Carmen
Personally I take no risks with mould as it is so pervasive
I would chop it and rinse it in H2O2, straight away
Even if it's not ideal to smoke it'll still be good for butter
I don't see the foxtail stopping anytime soon and mould tends to hang around once it has a foothold

Thanks Roy. It seems to be the consensus that it is the start of bud rot. I will head to the pharmacy to buy some H202. What % should it be? I will chop today.

 

[Roy Growin]

Thanks Roy. It seems to be the consensus that it is the start of bud rot. I will head to the pharmacy to buy some H202. What % should it be? I will chop today.

I dilute to about 1.5-3%; food grade is usually 3% already
A full on dunk/budwash before hanging should do it

 

[SmokingWings]

I have checked trichomes and can only see the ones on the foxtails which still appear clear. I am not seeing a lot of amber overall and I don't see the brown trichomes.

New circles with arrows. The yellow arrow pointing to the yellow circle around healthy looking green with some amber trichomes.

The blue circle is around brown trichomes with shrunken heads. Some of them look like the head is about gone and stalk has shrunk. The blue arrow points at a large trichome that has turned brown and the head has shrunk. To the left side I can see brown trichomes that look like they are just starting to shrink.

What do you think I should do?

What @Roy Growin is bringing up. Harvest the buds. Get the H2O2 and mix with water and do a bud wash.

I had noticed a situation on a couple of plants several years ago. Had a feeling of what it was and let the plants go a bit longer to watch how it progresses. It got a lot worse than what it looks like you problem is, a lot worse. I pulled buds off, broke them apart, and looked them over with a low power loupe and a large magnifying glass. Sprayed all the other plants with a vinegar & water several times a week for a couple of weeks. So far so good.

Not saying that it will work for you but my hobby is growing plants to grow them. Having buds for smoking comes second.

 

[013]

Hope I’m wrong Carmen but to me it looked like webs from spider mites… but I would defs take a conservative approach, wait and see for a few days while you figure out best approach

the idea is a no harvest bud washing…. if it’s necessary to treat the whole plant without chopping it down you could cover the soil with something like cardboard or couple of paper plates cut to fit, just enough to cover the soil.…. then tightly bag the rootball in plastic bag and seal up where plastic bag joins the plant stem. At this point hopefully the soil can’t fall into plants biomass but hold the improvised soil covering with your hand while plant & container are flipped upside down and dunked into whatever ipm or cleaning solution seems appropriate.

since its a no chop strategy you can dunk / treat the whole plant biomass today and then wait & see what she looks like tomoz

 

[Nunyabiz]

Its one of 3 things.
Could be the beginnings of mold if it were mold it would usually be kind of gray and or white, I can't tell in pic.

Could be just a single small spider getting busy.

Could be spider mites.

If its mites it would be pretty much all over the bud.

 

[SmokingWings]

Hope I’m wrong Carmen but to me it looked like webs from spider mites…

That was my first thought but I noticed that the "hairy things" did not go all the way across like mite webs do when they are anchored at each end. Those hairs are looking like super thin hairs.

No signs of mite bites on the leaves and those seem to show up before the webs become visible.

but I would defs take a conservative approach, wait and see for a few days while you figure out best approach

Probably safe to do this if the grower wants.

 

[013]

was thinking it’s not a full on spider mite infestation… just one or two latecomers that hit paydirt.

my wedding cake is a lanky biotch within a foot of the ceiling & grow lights. Noticed a few webs on her during veg and found a single spider web descended from floor joists down to top of plant.

It was veg cycle so I treated with SNS but that got me wondering- do spiders carry spider mites??

best of luck Carmen hopefully it’s not a waste

 

[SmokingWings]

It was veg cycle so I treated with SNS but that got me wondering- do spiders carry spider mites??

Common spiders feed on other insects and spider mites. Spiders on the plants are not a bad thing since they do not eat the plant itself according to everything I have read about them.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I dilute to about 1.5-3%; food grade is usually 3% already
A full on dunk/budwash before hanging should do it

Thank you Roy! It's done and dusted. I am just waiting for the buds to be dry before I put them in the dark.

New circles with arrows. The yellow arrow pointing to the yellow circle around healthy looking green with some amber trichomes.

The blue circle is around brown trichomes with shrunken heads. Some of them look like the head is about gone and stalk has shrunk. The blue arrow points at a large trichome that has turned brown and the head has shrunk. To the left side I can see brown trichomes that look like they are just starting to shrink.

This is brilliant! Thank you. So essentially I left it too long and the bud started to rot. I will attach some pics. The rest of the bud looks fine to me.

What @Roy Growin is bringing up. Harvest the buds. Get the H2O2 and mix with water and do a bud wash.

I had noticed a situation on a couple of plants several years ago. Had a feeling of what it was and let the plants go a bit longer to watch how it progresses. It got a lot worse than what it looks like you problem is, a lot worse. I pulled buds off, broke them apart, and looked them over with a low power loupe and a large magnifying glass. Sprayed all the other plants with a vinegar & water several times a week for a couple of weeks. So far so good.

Not saying that it will work for you but my hobby is growing plants to grow them. Having buds for smoking comes second.

Thank you.

Hope I’m wrong Carmen but to me it looked like webs from spider mites… but I would defs take a conservative approach, wait and see for a few days while you figure out best approach

the idea is a no harvest bud washing…. if it’s necessary to treat the whole plant without chopping it down you could cover the soil with something like cardboard or couple of paper plates cut to fit, just enough to cover the soil.…. then tightly bag the rootball in plastic bag and seal up where plastic bag joins the plant stem. At this point hopefully the soil can’t fall into plants biomass but hold the improvised soil covering with your hand while plant & container are flipped upside down and dunked into whatever ipm or cleaning solution seems appropriate.

since its a no chop strategy you can dunk / treat the whole plant biomass today and then wait & see what she looks like tomoz

Hey 013 thank you. By the time I read your post I had already harvested. I'm glad I did because there were a couple of suspicious spots. Thank goodness for the photo or I would never have known something was awry.

Its one of 3 things.
Could be the beginnings of mold although if it were mold it would usually be kind of gray and white.

Could be just a single small spider getting busy.

Could be spider mites.

If its mites it would be pretty much all over the bud .

Thanks Nunyabiz, have a look at these pics. I think that is the beginnings of rot.

Thanks everyone for your input! Harvested and washed.

 

[013]

ahh that bites but great job on rescuing most of the plant Carmen!!!

 

[Nunyabiz]

Thank you Roy! It's done and dusted. I am just waiting for the buds to be dry before I put them in the dark.

This is brilliant! Thank you. So essentially I left it too long and the bud started to rot. I will attach some pics. The rest of the bud looks fine to me.

Thank you.

Hey 013 thank you. By the time I read your post I had already harvested. I'm glad I did because there were a couple of suspicious spots. Thank goodness for the photo or I would never have known something was awry.

Thanks Nunyabiz, have a look at these pics. I think that is the beginnings of rot.

Thanks everyone for your input! Harvested and washed.

Yep Bud Rot it looks like.
Its coming from within the bud.

 

[Phytoplankton]

Doubting that it was spider mites, the leaves show no evidence of spotting. Normally you have to have a pretty heavy infestation before the webs start showing, and you usually see the mites moving on the webs. Harvest was about your best option, mold rarely gets "better" on it's own.

 

[bluter]

what was the rh ?

seems like mold is managing to take hold here in drier conditions than it normally does. i'm wondering if anyone else sorta feels the same.

a friends grow just got mold at 50% rh in the flower room. he'd never had it before. it took out two of his plants which was half the grow.

 

[Carmen Ray]

what was the rh ?

seems like mold is managing to take hold here in drier conditions than it normally does. i'm wondering if anyone else sorta feels the same.

a friends grow just got mold at 50% rh in the flower room. he'd never had it before. it took out two of his plants which was half the grow.

Hi Bluter. I don't measure RH because I do not have a tented grow. I am growing in my living room. I grew in mid winter last year (your summer season) which is our rainy season with no ill effects to speak of. This is summer for us, our dry season. However, These buds were squashed so tightly together and they couldn't breath with all the foxtails going on, I think. We have had some very hot days and then suddenly a big rain out of nowhere. Also, with the loadshedding the fan gets switched off and there is nothing to circulate the air.

Doubting that it was spider mites, the leaves show no evidence of spotting. Normally you have to have a pretty heavy infestation before the webs start showing, and you usually see the mites moving on the webs. Harvest was about your best option, mold rarely gets "better" on it's own.

Thanks Phytoplankton. It was the right decision once there was a broad consensus.


Thanks everyone. I am going to ask Admin to mark this thread complete.

 

[SmokingWings]

I don't measure RH because I do not have a tented grow. I am growing in my living room. I grew in mid winter last year (your summer season) which is our rainy season with no ill effects to speak of. This is summer for us, our dry season.

Even without a grow tent you still have relative humidity in the living room. Often the humidity in your living room will be different than the humidity outside just like there will often be a difference in the humidity between the tent and the room it is located in.

These buds were squashed so tightly together and they couldn't breath with all the foxtails going on, I think. We have had some very hot days and then suddenly a big rain out of nowhere. Also, with the loadshedding the fan gets switched off and there is nothing to circulate the air.

Good chance that the plants and the buds being squished together contributed to the problem. A heavy and long lasting rain contributes. Loosing the fan for awhile can contribute.

My thoughts are that the best thing to do is some sort of preventive program throughout the life span of the plant or grow. Something as simple as spraying for molds and mildews can help prevent the problem from starting. Waiting till the issue shows up is often too late. By the time the grower sees the problem the molds and mildews can have several weeks of a head-start.

Mildew spores are in the air during those warm, dry days in the summer. Once on the plant they can start to grow when there is water on the leaf for a long enough time and the humidity stays high for awhile. I feel that bud rot molds react the same.

 

[SmokingWings]

seems like mold is managing to take hold here in drier conditions than it normally does. i'm wondering if anyone else sorta feels the same.

I think it is happening more because we are holding our plants in flower longer. Looking back at messages in all the long time message boards there now is more discussion on waiting weeks longer before harvest. It used to be 8 or 9 weeks after flowering started. Now we see growers going 12 or more weeks.

Not saying that waiting the extra weeks is causing this; just that it could be one of several contributors.