Leaf-Spotting - HELP

[h1ghway]

Hello Icmag,

Sorry for this being my first message on this wonderful board.
I been growing COCO for quite some time never had any major issues that couldnt resolve but this one got me on my toes.

It started a few days ago when i spotted these spots on my girls that are currently room-1 week#3 through their flower cycle:
(Some leafs have a little more and a slightly bigger sized spots)



I am running COCO-RTW in 6.5L pots currently multifeeding x3/24H at 450ppms. First off I have noticed some tips burn and at the following days i have seen the spots on the leaves so i have figured i might overfed and locked out Ca so I have addressed this as a calcium def and flushed with 400PPms of just AN Cal-mag which is my base nutrient after adding tap water which comes about 150-170ppm. Second feeding that day i bumped EC to 460 with just adding coco A/B solution.

Next day i have noticed the same problem at the 2nd flower room - there i only multifeedx2/24H (girls are smaller)

Today i have noticed the same spottings on some of my fresh seedlings - They only get the base Cal-mag at 240PPm (it has a 4-0-0 NPK and it usually always enough for the first week or so - never had this problem with seedlings before )


So now i have this problem all around my grow rooms - I have figured it might be a PH issue and re Calibrated my bluelab combo meter. After that i went to the seedling reservoir to see what ph range it has and it was standing at 5.4-5 which is thought is a little off i bumped it up to 5.8 and re-watered seedlings. Next I was checking on the flowering room Res and it was the same as yesterday 6.1-2 and so is the 2nd flower room.

So as for now im kind of in the dark here trying to figure out whats going on or what i have been changing lately. I Used to always mix my tap water with reverse osmosis to about 110PPM and add cal-mag. Lately i have stopped mixing reverse osmosis because tap was coming out at 160-170PPm and i thought its pretty decent to work with. Although water reeks out of some chlorine i always Bubble them a few decent hours before adding any nutrients.

Any thoughts here would be appreciated guys.

 

[DiverDave]

Hello Icmag,


So as for now im kind of in the dark here trying to figure out whats going on or what i have been changing lately. I Used to always mix my tap water with reverse osmosis to about 110PPM and add cal-mag. Lately i have stopped mixing reverse osmosis because tap was coming out at 160-170PPm and i thought its pretty decent to work with. Although water reeks out of some chlorine i always Bubble them a few decent hours before adding any nutrients.

Any thoughts here would be appreciated guys.

As for the Tap water , purge chlorine by filling gal bottles to leave sit with lids off for 24 hrs and its ready for use.

P.S. welcome to ICMAG , a great place to learn.
I use to do out door soil , but after time here its all bio bucket for me .. small grows.
Again Welcome.

DD

 

[h1ghway]

As for the Tap water , purge chlorine by filling gal bottles to leave sit with lids off for 24 hrs and its ready for use.

P.S. welcome to ICMAG , a great place to learn.
I use to do out door soil , but after time here its all bio bucket for me .. small grows.
Again Welcome.

DD

Thanks buddy
I Purge the chlorine using an air pump it supposes to speed up the process, So i do it for 12H - 24H lately just to be sure.

I

 

[PurplePotion]

Looks like a little splash of nutrient solution may have gotten on the leaves and burned, or residual from a foliar spray that didn’t dry all the way before being exposed to intense light. I don’t think I’d freak out unless it started spreading and you are positive it isn’t what I stated above.

However, I would go ahead and check thoroughly for pests at this time and be sure you aren’t tracking in or breeding anything from outside especially during summer. Check in the top layer of coco. Inspect the leaves thoroughly, especially the undersides of the damaged fans you’re showing. Some mites are so small you can’t hardly see them without a scope. I am certainly NOT saying that this IS bug damage, but if it was, and you didn’t check now you would really be kicking yourself down the line. Keep us posted.

 

[h1ghway]

Looks like a little splash of nutrient solution may have gotten on the leaves and burned, or residual from a foliar spray that didn’t dry all the way before being exposed to intense light. I don’t think I’d freak out unless it started spreading and you are positive it isn’t what I stated above.

However, I would go ahead and check thoroughly for pests at this time and be sure you aren’t tracking in or breeding anything from outside especially during summer. Check in the top layer of coco. Inspect the leaves thoroughly, especially the undersides of the damaged fans you’re showing. Some mites are so small you can’t hardly see them without a scope. I am certainly NOT saying that this IS bug damage, but if it was, and you didn’t check now you would really be kicking yourself down the line. Keep us posted.

Thank your for your reply,

It is not a splash damage for sure since i did not foliar spray anything in the past 3 weeks. And did not foliar the young seedlings yet with anything. Also this problem occurs on most of the plants in different rooms. I have found a few flies on the yellow trap but not sure this is the case here(have seen them before and had no issues) :

 

[PurplePotion]

Hmm. Those look like fungus gnats but it’s hard to tell as the picture is a bit blurry and too far away. Are they attracted to your lights or no? Inspect the leaves and top layer (1-2”) of coco and see if you find anything crawling around or hanging out.

 

[h1ghway]

Sorry tried to cap the best shot I could, anyway im not sure what these are but they dont look like fungus gnats they are too small even as adults and dont have long front legs as gnats do. As a precaution, i have yellow traps covering the top layer of coco.

 

[PurplePotion]

You may want to give this thread a read through: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=159960 The first post shows good pictures of both a fungus gnat and a winged root aphid. I would definitely try to identify any and all bugs you find around them.

 

[h1ghway]

More photos -

 

[maryjane481]

You definitely have root aphids. They are in the coco. They are difficult to remove completely.
There are plenty of posts on fighting root aphids. Read up.
Good luck!

 

[h1ghway]

You definitely have root aphids. They are in the coco. They are difficult to remove completely.
There are plenty of posts on fighting root aphids. Read up.
Good luck!

How can i be sure this is my problem before i blast with different applications? Anyway to spot them?

 

[h1ghway]

I have been drenching the top layer of coco on plants with most spotting on them and found a few winged ones coming out of top. I couldnt see anything else in the coco or on the roots i have read along that people see them move on the top layer around the roots but i cant spot any movement of crawling or whatsoever beside a few winged ones. How can i be 100% sure that these are root aphids? my plants are in 3 weeks to bloom and have overall good health praying everyday

 

[maryjane481]

Don’t worry. The root aphids will not ruin your crop. They are a royal pain in the ass.
They breed in the coco, crawl out the top and fly around looking to lay more eggs.
Keep them under control until harvest. Spray the top of the coco and hang fly paper to catch flying aphids. After harvest ditch the coco.
Aphids come with the coco. Some brands of coco are cleaner then others. I use Canna Coco.
Canna brand seems to be the cleanest.
Also check your leaves with a magnifying glass and look for other insects.
You may also have mites or twerps.

 

[h1ghway]

Don’t worry. The root aphids will not ruin your crop. They are a royal pain in the ass.
They breed in the coco, crawl out the top and fly around looking to lay more eggs.
Keep them under control until harvest. Spray the top of the coco and hang fly paper to catch flying aphids. After harvest ditch the coco.
Aphids come with the coco. Some brands of coco are cleaner then others. I use Canna Coco.
Canna brand seems to be the cleanest.
Also check your leaves with a magnifying glass and look for other insects.
You may also have mites or twerps.

Thank you MJ,
I gave first heavy application to the top of the coco layer with organic solution contain Pyrethrum and organic solution with Saccharopolyspora Spinosa. I have let it soak for a while and then rinsed with good Feeding - Covered the top layer of coco with Hydroton clays and on top of that got the yellow trap closing most of the pathway: was very hard to apply since SCROG net was already laid down low



Checking 2Hours to lights off -


Hope this room will stay clean.
Will do the same at the second flower room soon as lights go on.

I had a fresh batch of seedling bout to crack the surface in the other room and a few very young ones. The really fresh seeds were dipped in a diluted camomile tea and had a good sprinkle of ground cinnamon on top layer. The week1 seedlings got application with some Pyrethrum on the top layer of coco and covered with hydroton clays.


Will update on the main flower room.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Root aphids love potatoes. Cut a few 1"+ thick slices and place them on top of your coco. Check them in 4-5 days and watch for movement. If you have aphids, you'll have movement...

RA's are tough, and I don't have the answers. My solution in the past has been to nuke them in veg, or work on taking clean clones and wiping everything else out.

 

[knuckles]

Nematodes work very well, killing the larvae in the coco..I’ve used them many times for gnats and thrips.

 

[Dropped Cat]

Pasteurize your coco for future grows and cut your losses.

You may also be dealing with a leaf fungus.

Likely will be dealing with them for a couple grows until you break the cycle.

Nasty bit of business, good luck and keep us updated