White fuzzy stems and drooping plants!

[Southerncough]

Hey all, I'm dealing with a new issue that's killing my plants FAST!
I've been finding white, fuzzy clumps on my stems, plants aren't taking up water and starting to droop and die a few days later.
I just got over spider mites and white flies and now I'm starting to wonder if this is mealy bugs or maybe root aphids?
Also, just transplanted most of my plants using a new coco brand called Cyco, could it be an issue?
My local shop touted it as the best coco they carry but I'm starting to wonder if it's causing me issues?!?
So far I've been spraying the stems with 70% ISO Alcohol and was going to pick up a few bottles of H2O2 at the store tonight and see if i can aerate and kill off any yuckies in the root zone.
Anyone else experience this?
Thanks

 

[013]

Yes I have but my plant bit the dust. In my case I think it was a combo of whatever that mold is and root aphids or some other kind of larvae in the soil. Bear in mind I’ve never had PM that I know of, just a sick plant with moldy nodes and limp leaves but mine was worse than your pics.

I trashed both the plant and the soil but I like your idea on the H202 plus I’m thinking Neem Seed Meal cuz that’s some pungent stuff but go easy since it’s like 6-1-2 so it’s hot all by itself

 

[Carcass]

Yipes!..You've definitely got a mealybug infestation going on...The ISO should kill a lot of them, but you may also want to spray the plants with insecticidal soap- Safer® brand is good, or Dr Bronners unscented castile soap (1tsp./gal.) will also do the trick.
You'll probably have to spray the soap quite a few times to get rid of them, and then spray once a week or so to keep them from coming back.
Their end game is to kill the plants, so the sooner the better on treating them...

 

[Southerncough]

Yes I have but my plant bit the dust. In my case I think it was a combo of whatever that mold is and root aphids or some other kind of larvae in the soil. Bear in mind I’ve never had PM that I know of, just a sick plant with moldy nodes and limp leaves but mine was worse than your pics.

I trashed both the plant and the soil but I like your idea on the H202 plus I’m thinking Neem Seed Meal cuz that’s some pungent stuff but go easy since it’s like 6-1-2 so it’s hot all by itself

Thanks, I'll look into that

 

[Southerncough]

Yipes!..You've definitely got a mealybug infestation going on...The ISO should kill a lot of them, but you may also want to spray the plants with insecticidal soap- Safer® brand is good, or Dr Bronners unscented castile soap (1tsp./gal.) will also do the trick.
You'll probably have to spray the soap quite a few times to get rid of them, and then spray once a week or so to keep them from coming back.
Their end game is to kill the plants, so the sooner the better on treating them...

I actually have some safer soap but have been hesitant to use it because i just released a bunch of predatory mites last week and wasn't ready to slaughter my own army... but i may have to sacrifice them to get rid of the mealy bugs...

 

[Southerncough]

I wonder if some of those BT mosquito dunks would kill off anything in the soil? Have had a LOT of springtails in the coco that i hope aren't eating the roots

 

[Roy Growin]

Crikey that's a horror show - a combination of bugs and mould *shudders*
I'd cut the salvageable shoots for clones (and clean them), burn the rest, thoroughly H2O2 the grow area several times then start afresh, otherwise this will be an ongoing struggle, so you may as well deal with the bigger problem now
Don't faff about my friend, it's a waste of time and effort ;O)

 

[Southerncough]

Yeah, I took a few cuttings last night in preparation to having to say goodbye. Just really trying to get another harvest or two in while Mrs Cough is battling cancer

 

[Carcass]

I wonder if some of those BT mosquito dunks would kill off anything in the soil

They kill soil gnats in the larva (maggot) stage, so they might also kill mealybug (or springtail) larva- it definitely wouldn't hurt to try .
The Mosquito dunk packaging doesn't mention killing soil gnat larva, but they kill 'em, so maybe they'd also kill other larva...

 

[Roy Growin]

Yeah, I took a few cuttings last night in preparation to having to say goodbye. Just really trying to get another harvest or two in while Mrs Cough is battling cancer

The cuttings are the same age as the mother, they only need vegging for 1-2 weeks before flipping, meanwhile bung some autos in there if you have space and you'll have a productive garden in 90 days or so
You could always keep one as a mother and repeat the process
Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out, it will be instructive
Sorry to hear about Mrs Sc, you have my sympathies

 

[Southerncough]

Maybe that coco is bad too...here's a side-by-side of 2 citronella plants and the one i used the new stuff on isn't looking very well

 

[Southerncough]

Just got back from store with 4 bottles of peroxide, hope it helps revive the roots and kill some pests

 

[Southerncough]

Last night gave ALL the girls (even the mostly dead ones) a thorough soaking of safer soap and the ones with droopy branches and leaves got peroxide to the roots. Now we wait and see...
Have been finding little white slow moving bugs on the outside of the fabric pots and they got a nice soapy shower as well. I think they like getting up in the velcro...hmm

 

[013]

Most excellent on the nuking!! It looks like larvae to me - is that what you are seeing?

 

[Curbcalamity]

use nicotine. go to your local vape shop, buy 100mg/ml nicotine base. dilute at 5-10mg/ml. spray plants, use the leftover water to water them to save roots. if this doesn't kill your pest, nothing will. it won't harm your plant at all either. is still technically considered organic and is nonselective, makes no difference what your pest is it'll die (to clarify, not ALL fungus are killed by nicotine and not ALL bacteria are but a good number of the ones your likely to encounter)

 

[SmokingWings]

They kill soil gnats in the larva (maggot) stage, so they might also kill mealybug (or springtail) larva- it definitely wouldn't hurt to try .
The Mosquito dunk packaging doesn't mention killing soil gnat larva, but they kill 'em, so maybe they'd also kill other larva...

I don't remember the Mosquito Dunk packaging mentioning it either. However, the Mosquito Bits label mentions using the bits for Fungus Gnats several times, front and back.

The Mosquito Bits cost less than the Dunks. I just follow the basic instructions and sprinkle a small amount on the surface of the soil and every time the plants are waters some more of the Bti is washed into the soil. I also sprinkle some on top of the soil mix that is being stored in tubs or large buckets.

I guess that if someone want to do it, they could put a 1/4 teaspoon or so into a gallon of water and let it rest overnight to release the Bti bacteria and then water in the next morning.