Slow root growth & yellowing tops

[One Love 731]

My mom's are in 3x3 rockwool cubes in 1 gallon pots filled with hydroten, drip fed 3 times light's on 1 time lights off for 15 minuets. Rez temp 68-70. Room temps are 76-78f. RH is 35-30%. PH 5.6-6.1 I am using Dutch Masters Advance with all additives as to nute. calculator @ 700 ppm. I transplanted 18 plants from a 3inch bed of perlite hand water to the system 2 weeks ago. a few days ago I noticed I had 4 plants that were yellowing, the 2 worst I culled and turned into clones, thats when I noticed the roots were not growing on the plants I culled and were browning but not slimey. The pics are of the other 2 I still have, I have not checked there roots. I fear they may have the same problem. What would cause this? How can I fix it? Karma, One Love

 

[Weedhound]

I leave my drip system on 24/7 but no rockwool so I'm not sure if it makes a difference. Hydroton dries out very fast.

The clones.....what are your rooting medium and cloning supplies? Plenty of humidity and warmth for them etc?

Dutchmaster......I use Pro Blend although I do use a few dutchmaster products......love them but am very careful with them as DM makes STRONG stuff. you mentioned 700 conversion, but I do not see total ppm listed. Doubt I could help you with nute levels of DM products anway.

good luck.

 

[One Love 731]

Weedhound, my ppm's at 700. Could high ppm's cause this problem? Should I back the nute's off? The clones were already yellow when I put them in the pucks as I culled the worst 2 plants and turned them into clones in an attempt to save the genetics. Is it possible that they are just weak plants as the other ones seem fine? Thanks for the help. The clones are in peat pucks, I also have some in a perlite wick system. Cloning supplies- Dutch Master APS and replicator, Scotts cloning powder, plenty of 10x20 prop trays and domes, perlite, vermiculite, rockwool and GH flora blend. (Edit) I have been doing alot of reading and I think that this could possibly be a gnat problem, therefor I am going to get some mosqito dunks for the rez and some neem oil to spray plants. Could either of these cause problems with cloning? Does any body have any hands on with mosquito dunks or neem for gnats? Thanks for any advice in advance,If any pic's would help let me know. Karma, One Love

 

[libby]

Any root plcs???

 

[One Love 731]

Libby,I don't want to pull living plants out if their hydroten to take pics. Here are pics of the worst plant.

 

[HeadyPete]

Please don't spray the neem, it is not necessary. It is a foul smelling oil and will gunk up your plants and sprayer.

Do you have gnats confirmed? If you do, use the dunks. They take a few days to work, but they work.

Add some hydrogen peroxide in with the cloner to help kill pathogens and oxygenate the clone stems. Sounds like pythium rot or some other "damping off" pathogen. Clones don't need nutes till roots are growing.

That yellowing looks like a mag def. Are you RO? Using any CalMag?

Finally, what size light(s)? 700ppm doesn't seem high....

 

[One Love 731]

I do have gnats. I just today put a dunk in the rez. I'm using tap water that has usually sat for 24 hrs. My rez has Cal-mag, Dutch Master Advance grow A and B, Silica, Zone and Max. Would the hydrogen peroxide counter act with any of these? I'm using a 1000 mh and I dropped my ppm's to 600

 

[Crush]

My mom's are in 3x3 rockwool cubes in 1 gallon pots filled with hydroten, drip fed 3 times light's on 1 time lights off for 15 minuets. Rez temp 68-70. Room temps are 76-78f. RH is 35-30%. PH 5.6-6.1 I am using Dutch Masters Advance with all additives as to nute. calculator @ 700 ppm. [/IMG][/URL]

I would bring the PH to 5.6 or so and change the resevoir (of course) with a new mixture of nutes at about 350 ppm and then slowely work up until the new leaf growth becomes a nice green color. Not too dark, not too light.. Keep in mind during this time you'll have to change the nutes often. So change it again in a week when the plants suffering if fully over.

Never let the PH go to 6.1. Adjust it daily or 2 days at most and keep it stable as you can. Know how many 'drops' from the eye droper it takes to get your PH down .2 points. In my 30 galon containor it was 7 drops each 2 days to keep it between 5.4 and 5.6 (for that strain).

The glass eye drops can be purchased at most pharmacies.

See.. what's happening is that your plant is eating one nute or mineral more than another and over time the resevoir begins to lack a certain nutrient it wants. If you Ph is too hight it will do the very same thing. If you give it too much of 1 nutrient that will also happen. The fan leaves are storage of minirals that it will flush out back via the roots into the resevoir as a protection mechanism. to give it the nutes it needs. Doesn't work very well in hydro.

Thus, you have to change your resevoir. The more the better becuase you are always starting with a fresh start. Kind of like driving a brand new car to work at the beginning of each week. You probably wont have car troubles. Same with changing the resevoir weekly and tending to the PH every 2 days which is very labor intensive unless you have a couple of small bubble buckets.

It's this high maintance that none of the books tell you about hydro and is why I'm giving organics a shot. Just watering with tap water and have burn proof soil and throwing away my meters seems too good to be true. hehe.. i still believe it when I grow these things out and experience this first hand. I'm still very skeptical considering the maintanance hell I went through with hydro..

 

[One Love 731]

Crush, is this something that is caused by previous care or is it genetics? the reason I ask, I am trying to find the holly grail of mothers. Should I think about passing this plant (Himalayan gold) on to a friend? Sometimes I just want to be a ghost and fly.
Karma, One Love