Can I Get Some Tips on Preventing and Battling Bud Rot?

hey guys can i get some tips on preventing and battling bud rot? This is my second time growing outdoors but is my first time experiencing Bud Rot.

I am in No-till pots fwiw. Since the plants have been outdoors they have been getting BT spray every sunday at sundown. I stopped BT spray this week because I discovered bud rot in a couple of buds last week about a day or two after spraying. I bought some green cure but i never sprayed it because I never got PM before. Only reason I bought it is because I see it get mentioned by so many so cal outdoor growers on the forums, including brassnwood, specifically for powdery mildew... so i bought it just to have on hand. I wonder though if Green Cure significantly helps prevent bud rot also?

Does bud rot have to be inevitable when growing outdoors? How do you guys make it to harvest outdoors without experiencing bud rot?

here's a photo of my first discovery of bud rot on a bud site:


heres a photo i took of my outdoor plants the day i discovered a nug or two with bud rot:


i stripped a bunch of fan leaves after discovering some bud had bud rot on it in hopes of promoting airflow:


and recent pic of how MOST of my buds look:


every day i am going out and scanning the plant for abnormally dead leaves that lead to the bud rot at the petioles. on average ill find about 3 or 4 grams a day with rot, nothing too crazy at least not yet? I havent found any buds that have been completely devoured by rot yet, fingers crossed (i guess because i noticed it early?)
but i am definitely finding buds here and there with a tiny amount of rot on them and removing them accordingly.

My questions:

1) do i simply spray Green Cure every week to prevent bud rot? will that work? or are there other measures i need to take to prevent bud rot outdoors?

2) i have decided to stop spraying BT spray until harvest and in the future am thinking I'll stop spraying BT spray when the plants' buds are swollen to the point when i first noticed bud rot. Is it okay to stop BT spray the last 2 or 3 weeks of outdoor plants lives? the caterpillars wont come as soon as I stop spraying bt spray and devour the buds will they??

3) i first noticed signs of bud rot about two days after spraying BT spray last week. is it very likely the BT spray was what caused the bud rot to occur? Like am i suppose to stop spraying bt spray (and all other sprays) after a plant's buds gets to a certain size to prevent bud rot??

4) is there anything(s) i can do in the meantime to stave off bud rot as much as possible and make it to harvest with as much clean buds as possible? Weather forecast says its going to be pouring tomorrow and on thursday so i plan to push my plants under a gazebo to shelter them from the rain for the two days. any other tips?

5) I've read that some genetics are just more susceptible to bud rot. if that's the case, is it common for some outdoor growers to decide to not grow a plant outdoors anymore simply because its susceptible to bud rot? Or is it usually more of an environmental factor rather than genetics that causes bud rot?

6) any other tips worth mentioning to prevent/fight bud rot?

sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance!

Genetics, overall plant health, training, pruning, mother nature!


Want something that finish's well in your location. Some stuff never rots, while other stuff will rot a month before harvest.


More, smaller tops, helps. Thinner stems. Cookie hybrids seem to do well. Small, dense nugs, along the stem. Not 1 huge branch full of bud.


Spraying all that BT seems a little overkill, what are you trying to prevent with it. Sort of gross imo.


Have heard people use Mycostop which is really strong Actinovate, preventative with some success. Really though, that is sort of gross also imo.

Best bet, find something that crops easy, good, dank. Make a bunch of tops, clean out the snicklefritz so you get some airflow. Watch it like a hawk.

Gl,
Mr^^

I would reexamine your spraying regimen a bit. I personally never spray anything past week three and generally only before sunrise or early in the day. This way the plants have a better chance of drying off before trouble sets in. Never had anything burn as a result, it just needs to be done while the sun is low.

Botrytis, or any other pathogen, isn't a given in any climate. I grow without cover in the PNW and most plants never have any mold, even the late-October giants. Why? A few reasons.

Genetic selection. I almost always grow the outdoor crop from seed bred outdoors in the same location. There are probably some locally acclimatized strains down your way too.

Heavy calcium loading throughout the plant's life. This can be incorporated into whatever no-till/water only/KNF technique you desire. The bottom line is that calcium is the key to strong cell walls, not to mention buds that retain more of their weight after harvest than average. The bottle growers will tell you to hit them with silica, which can be okay until early flower but IMO ruins the buds if used later.

Another feeding-based approach to prevention involves digested chitins. There is a product called The Kraken from Nectar for the Gods that is a digested shrimp and crab meal with amazing plant-strengthening/immune promoting properties (not to mention that it promotes terpene production).

Inoculating with a product containing Pseudomonas fluorescens is worth looking into. Research indicates this microbe promotes systemic resistance to pathogens.

Salicylic acid is another catalyst for plant immune system response. Regalia from Marrone Bio Innovations is a plant extract that promotes the production of phytoalexins in the plant, which are key in immune response. Anecdotal evidence suggests Regalia can increase potency through these same pathways.

Moth traps are easy to build and even easier to buy.

Green Cure is only alright for Botrytis and as you point out is better vs. PM.
For now, scouting and manually removing is the right thing to do here. You can also choose to treat the wounds with h2o2.

Big Picture: Spraying should be your last line of defense for any plant problem except in a few very specific circumstances. I think if you focus on catching the moths that lay the eggs that turn into the caterpillars and bolstering your plants' immune systems you'll see a dramatic improvement.

greenhouse, protect from rain, dew.

I agree with spraying every week with BT is overkill. I was told to use it on full moons and spray Spinosad on the quarter moons to battle caterpillars.

newguy41410 said:

My questions:

1) do i simply spray Green Cure every week to prevent bud rot? will that work? or are there other measures i need to take to prevent bud rot outdoors?

2) i have decided to stop spraying BT spray until harvest and in the future am thinking I'll stop spraying BT spray when the plants' buds are swollen to the point when i first noticed bud rot. Is it okay to stop BT spray the last 2 or 3 weeks of outdoor plants lives? the caterpillars wont come as soon as I stop spraying bt spray and devour the buds will they??

3) i first noticed signs of bud rot about two days after spraying BT spray last week. is it very likely the BT spray was what caused the bud rot to occur? Like am i suppose to stop spraying bt spray (and all other sprays) after a plant's buds gets to a certain size to prevent bud rot??

4) is there anything(s) i can do in the meantime to stave off bud rot as much as possible and make it to harvest with as much clean buds as possible? Weather forecast says its going to be pouring tomorrow and on thursday so i plan to push my plants under a gazebo to shelter them from the rain for the two days. any other tips?

5) I've read that some genetics are just more susceptible to bud rot. if that's the case, is it common for some outdoor growers to decide to not grow a plant outdoors anymore simply because its susceptible to bud rot? Or is it usually more of an environmental factor rather than genetics that causes bud rot?

6) any other tips worth mentioning to prevent/fight bud rot?

sorry for such a long post and thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

1. The time to start spraying GC was week 2-3 of flower, once a week. I've found it to be MOST effective this way, but I managed to save all but ~5% of last year's flowers by using GC, even after most of the plants were affected. I'm no expert, by any means, but I do know that GC works well to stop a mold infestation. Also, H2O2/water solution, (50/50 mix in a spray bottle,) spritzed on those brown areas, then carefully pick out the rotten bits and treat the whole plant with 1Tb/gallon GC mix.
It'll brown some or all of your pistils -be warned.
It has no negative effects, taste or smell that I could discern, and AgentPothead mentioned not harvesting them until ten days have passed since the last application, per the manufacturer and in use on tobacco. Mix it up, spray them down well, and repeat every few days to a week until you're a cpl weeks from cutting them.

Good luck!
Be vigilant and inspect them often, and all you'll have to do is do a little picking and spray with the peroxide mix each time you find some.

2. I stopped spraying Bt, but only because I had corn borers, and their window seems to have closed and I'm only 3 weeks from harvest. That depends on what bugs you have in your area, and whether or not they are actively trying to shit eggs on your flowers so their asshole kids can ruin your tops. If you're in doubt, it doesn't hurt to spray it, but that's added moisture, and rinses off the GC that is keeping your mold at bay. I guess I don't know what you should do. Maybe just spray the stalks and top of the spoil every few days and stay off the flowers? Best of both worlds? Those cats start out crawling stalks and fan leaves, so why not, right?

3. Could be... because mold loves moisture -whether by rainy cool weather, or by spraying Bt at night. Or... condensation in the air settling on everything in the cool of early morning and then you have the perfect conditions for mold to get going.

4. Keeping the soaking rain off of them is best; especially when using GC and not rinsing it off the plant's surfaces.
What can you do? Maintain a vigilant watch -twice daily visits if possible and pick out the places that get moldy, spritz with H2O2, GC every 5 days or directly after a soaking rain stops, if not covered.

5. My introduction to bud rot was last season, growing Nepalese Jamaican. It was maddening, and I almost swore off that strain just because well... it's an option. BUT! I like that bud SO much, and so did everyone I shared it with, and I decided to just do a better job of preventive treatment and so far I have not been disappointed. I have big stinky-ass buds chugging right along and only two of those buds have gotten small patches of mold so far, and only then during really wet cold weather. I feel like that's a success, and will grow it again -and again, and again hahaha

My advice: grow what strains you like best, take good notes and learn them over a few seasons. You'll have a more pleasurable experience if you know what's coming and can be proactive and enjoy less stress. That's what it's all about anyway, right? Less stress?


6. Nope, that's all I know, and I admit my knowledge is limited as I've not grown "for decades" and am not a professional grower at that.
I'm just a guy who loves to observe and learn.

There's a lot of misinformation out there regarding cannabis growing. I like the facts, and observable phenomenon and outcomes to learn from and keep getting better at this.
It really brings me a lot of joy every season and NO ELECTRIC BILL!!!

Outdoor weed is still awesome, and doesn't disappoint.

green-genes77 said:

I would reexamine your spraying regimen a bit. I personally never spray anything past week three and generally only before sunrise or early in the day. This way the plants have a better chance of drying off before trouble sets in. Never had anything burn as a result, it just needs to be done while the sun is low.

Botrytis, or any other pathogen, isn't a given in any climate. I grow without cover in the PNW and most plants never have any mold, even the late-October giants. Why? A few reasons.

Genetic selection. I almost always grow the outdoor crop from seed bred outdoors in the same location. There are probably some locally acclimatized strains down your way too.

Heavy calcium loading throughout the plant's life. This can be incorporated into whatever no-till/water only/KNF technique you desire. The bottom line is that calcium is the key to strong cell walls, not to mention buds that retain more of their weight after harvest than average. The bottle growers will tell you to hit them with silica, which can be okay until early flower but IMO ruins the buds if used later.

Another feeding-based approach to prevention involves digested chitins. There is a product called The Kraken from Nectar for the Gods that is a digested shrimp and crab meal with amazing plant-strengthening/immune promoting properties (not to mention that it promotes terpene production).

Inoculating with a product containing Pseudomonas fluorescens is worth looking into. Research indicates this microbe promotes systemic resistance to pathogens.

Salicylic acid is another catalyst for plant immune system response. Regalia from Marrone Bio Innovations is a plant extract that promotes the production of phytoalexins in the plant, which are key in immune response. Anecdotal evidence suggests Regalia can increase potency through these same pathways.

Moth traps are easy to build and even easier to buy.

Green Cure is only alright for Botrytis and as you point out is better vs. PM.
For now, scouting and manually removing is the right thing to do here. You can also choose to treat the wounds with h2o2.

Big Picture: Spraying should be your last line of defense for any plant problem except in a few very specific circumstances. I think if you focus on catching the moths that lay the eggs that turn into the caterpillars and bolstering your plants' immune systems you'll see a dramatic improvement.

Click to expand...

Great post Greens!

It's like trying to reverse death.

Once mold gets hold of the bud, either dry it fast or let it have it.