Plant top wilting

[Dr.NO]

I'm growing Inzane in the Membrane by Ethos Genetics and two days after the latest watering one of the plant's tops was discovered wilted.

I Immediately sprayed with a neem solution in case it is pests. The recent watering's runoff was low at 5.95 pH. The soil was dry so I don't think it is overwatering but I'm not counting it out completely.

The plants were stunted a bit as seedlings but once they were transplanted they recovered nicely.

How long has this problem been going on? A few hours
What STRAIN are you growing? Inzane in the Membrane by Ethos Genetics
What was the establishing technique? Seed
What is the age of your plants? 4 weeks 4 days
How long have they been in the soil mixture they are in now? 3 weeks
Were they in the same mixture when they were seedlings/smaller plant? If not, what mixture were they in before? Fox Farm Light Warrior
How Tall are the plants? ~8 inches
What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? Vegetative
What Technique are you using? Just growing so far
What size pots are you using? 6 inch square plastic, one plant per
What substrate/medium are you using? What brand of soil mixture are you using? One bag each mix of Fox Farm Ocean Forrest, Fox Farm Potting Soil and Fox Farm Light Warrior with a cup of Fox Farm Peace of Mind
What brand Nutrient's are you using? Just Water
What is the pH of the "RUN-OFF"? At recent watering it was low at 5.95
How often are you testing pH/ppm/EC/TDS? Every watering
What method of pH test was administered? Digital pH meter
How often are you watering? Every 5-6 days once dry
What size bulb are you using? 600 watt LED, veg switch only
How old is your bulbs? New, first use
What is the distance to the canopy? 2 feet
What is your RH Factor? Stays between 50 and 60%
What is the canopy temperature? Stays between 70 and 75F
What is the Day/Night Temp? Little to no variation
What is the current Air Flow? Two 6 inch fans
Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ? 8 inch inline exhaust on low, no intake
Is the fan blowing directly at plants? No
Is the grow substrate constantly wet or moist? No
Is your water HARD or SOFT? Hard at ~150 ppm
What water are you using? Tap
If using tap water, what is the ppm/EC/TDS of the water right out of the tap? ppm: ~150
Has plant been recently pruned, cloned or pinched? No
Have any pest chemicals been used? If so what and when? Neem spray, at discovery of this current issue
Are plant's infected with pest's? Saw some small white things crawling in the soil

Here is the wilted individual:



A shot of all plants, the wilted one is on the far left:



Just before last watering 2 days ago:



Any recommendations for fixing this issue are much appreciated!

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Personally, I use soap/water or alcohol/water for pests. I have a pretty high sensitivity to the azadirachtin in neem oil.


How long have you noticed the white bugs?


Can you post a full white-light photo of the bugs (not led illuminated)?


The soil is still damp, of course?

 

[Dr.NO]

I noticed the white bugs in the soil a few weeks back but didn't think much of them. The plants don't seem to have any visible physical damage other than the wilting on the one.

They are very tiny and I have no magnifier so i cannot get a photo of them.

Yes, the soil is still damp from the last watering.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Bugs in soil usually feed off of roots. This will cause uptake issues to all or part of a plant, depending on which parts of the roots are destroyed.


First step is to identify the bugs. Transplanting to soil which has Diotamaceous Earth (DE) mixed in with it MAY help. Really need to know which bugs you have first.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

I'm growing Inzane in the Membrane by Ethos Genetics and two days after the latest watering one of the plant's tops was discovered wilted.

Any recommendations for fixing this issue are much appreciated!

Overwatering.

The soil mix is possibly also too dense. And possibly no drainage layer of perlite or grow rocks to cover the drainage holes.

The plant to the right of the wilting plant has algae growing on it.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Overwatering.

The soil mix is possibly also too dense. And possibly no drainage layer of perlite or grow rocks to cover the drainage holes.

The plant to the right of the wilting plant has algae growing on it.

Good point. I shoot for drying out in 1 or 2 days maximum myself.

 

[Dr.NO]

TanzanianMagic- Thank you for responding!

I don't see any algae, I think you might be seeing the combination of the blurple from the LED and the single white light bulb I was pointing at the plant. But you're right there is no drainage substrate at the bottom and they are staying moist for awhile, so algae may not be far off.

I will be transplanting them into 5 gallon fabric pots soon, that should help with aeration and drainage.

Douglas.Curtis- Thank you for responding as well!

I will look into acquiring a magnifying device and research pests in order to properly identify these invaders. Hopefully they are minimal and the neem spray had some affect on them.

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

"How often are you watering? Every 5-6 days once dry"

I think your problem was first under watering, then possibly over. Remember, over and under watering chase each other around like puppies. Cannabis grows too fast to adhere to a watering schedule. The first interval after repotting might be 5-6 days, but then the roots hit the bottom of the container and the next interval will be only 3 days and so on.

Also, it's good to remember that there's really no such thing as over watering, only a lack of O2 at the roots, caused by various reasons (standing water alone wont do it, has to be some fermentation going on robbing the O2).

I try to judge where the roots are in the container. If they're at the bottom of the container, over watering is much, much harder than it was when the roots hadn't hit bottom yet. If the mix is fairly light and good drainage and the container is not too large for the plant (all of which your setup meets fine) you shouldn't have to worry about over watering at all.

But, if you do under water to the point that roots die, you may see signs of overwatering from the fermentation of the dead roots as the puppies chase each other....

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Doubtful the neem spray had an effect on soil bugs.



Remember to mix DE with your soil when you transplant. Someone help me out here, I remember half a cup or a cup of DE to 5 gallons of soil. I haven't used it in so long I don't remember. LOL

 

[Dr.NO]

Mr. Greengenes- Thanks! That makes sense. The soil was quite dry before last watering. The plants were all fine at that point but perhaps it was right on the brink and that one plant went over the edge. I will transplant soon and be more prescient of their water needs.

Douglas.Curtis- Thanks for the recommendation, I will look into getting some and adding it to the soil mix.

 

[GoatCheese]

...The soil was dry so I don't think it is overwatering but I'm not counting it out completely.


Are plant's infected with pest's? Saw some small white things crawling in the soil



Just before last watering 2 days ago:

View Image

Any recommendations for fixing this issue are much appreciated!

[FONT=&quot]I'd say it's over watering. The plants look fairly small still and so they don't handle over watering that well. To me in the "just before watering"-photo the soil still looks moist (dark), and thou i don't know the name of the "white pests in the soil", those tiny bugs are usually a sign of over watering; they're not harmful but a sign of soil being too moist for too long.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Many times when plants are still small, esp. seedlings, and are sitting in pots that are abit too large for the young plants, thou the top soil may seem to be dry there still can be plenty of moisture left in the bottom half of the pot. And so if you then give them abit too much to drink (till you see some run-off) the soil will get too moist and the roots can't breathe.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Allow the bottom of the pot also to dry abit before you give them the next "water-till-run-off"-sized drink. You can give them smaller waterings just enough to moisten the drier top-half of the pot, but so that the bottom of the soil is allowed to dry out abit. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]What i do to check if the whole pot is dry enough for next watering is that i lift the pot and feel the weight in my hand(s). Ofcourse you then need to know how much such a pot-full of dry soil would weigh which is not very much.[/FONT]

 

[Dr.NO]

Update

Update

GoatCheese- Thanks for responding! I'll be more aware of the moisture levels throughout the pots.

The problem persists and the other plants are now exhibiting some leaf damage. I think it's a combination of overwatering and the pH being too low.



The plant that was heavily drooping has further leaf damage but the stem seems to have straightened some.



There are a few winged bugs that have been collecting on the sticky fly ribbon and the nearly microscopic white bugs in the soil are still present here and there.



I have some No-Pest Strips coming. They will be unleashed for a time to rid the tent of any pests that may be causing issues.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Make sure it's only in veg, and you vent where pets/kids/adults won't be breathing.

 

[Dr.NO]

Make sure it's only in veg, and you vent where pets/kids/adults won't be breathing.

Thanks for the advice Douglas.Curtis, and yes, I'm taking the proper precautions with the no-pest strips.

The drooping plant, that seemed to be recuperating, is now looking worse than ever. The rest, although they have some lower leaf damage, seem to be weathering the issue.

I'll keep updating to document the progress.

 

[SaToRi_GrOwS]

Those look like fungus gnats not that big of a problem. Their larva look like little silver or white tiny thin little guys u will find them in run off and stuff if u have a really bad problem. But they get annoying and a lot of time people also get root aphids with them, they also grow wings but have round rear ends instead of the pointy ones like fungus gnats. I see a little burn also might be because of the peat moss in ocean forest making it a little harsh for seedlings and just rooted clones. IME with those products years ago that was a problem.

 

[z00t]

bro i tell u after growing in soil for 13 years i started seeing these fly's in soil for a whole year i battled them they ate all the roots at the end i couldnt even get anything the plant was dying after 2 weeks in flower room so i moved to hydro, best choice i ever took i've never grown anything as big u can push the plant i have buds the size of an apple . bro

 

[MrBungle]

Diatomaceous Earth only works when its dry and as a top layer against bugs... once its wet, it is no longer like walking on sharp glass for the bugs, it smooths out and they can resume normal activity.... If you choose to attack the bugs with DE, leave it on top and dry until you are sure the bugs are dead.... To avoid wetting the DE it is best to water your plants from the bottom using a saucer...



Chances are they are just springtails enjoying the extra moisture, they are relatively harmless... I'd let the droopy plant dry out a lil bit