Stem Rot... how do i stop it?

[Ozymandias15]

I've got a few plants in a flood and drain system and a few weeks ago one of them just died. It seemed like lack of watering but i was unable to diagnose the problem until i pulled the plant and realised that the stem had rotted through below the pebbles and the plant was unable to take up water. I think that this is because the base of the plant had been sinking and it had ended up 3/4 of the way down the pot it was in so must have been exposed to lots of moisture. The system is draining enough so that it wasn't perpetually in water.

The problem now is that another one has just done it. I could deal with losing one but i can't deal with two and i definitely don't want to lose anymore. The one that has just died today (or is on it's last legs at any rate) has not been pulled yet because i'm waiting for the photoperiod to start so i can get down there with suitable (non-green) light and have a real look. Any Ideas on how to rescue this little gem?

I'm going to have a thorough look at all my plants and see which ones have migrated to the bottom of their bucket. Anyone got any ideas what i can do with these? I'm thinking that they somehow need to be raised back up the bucket but I don't know how i can do this really. I suppose i'm just going to have to empty all the pebbles out of the bucket, hold the plant up and then refill below it! Plants are now in week three of flower and look like they are gonna be the best ones ever so I don't want to lose them... it might make me cry! My res is at around 25-26C for part of the day; could this be the problem? If so i might have to invest in a chiller which will not make me happy either but if i have to do then i'll do it.

Thanks once again for any help on this one guys. Thought that this would be the first faultless grow but oh how wrong i was

 

[Wastel]

Hi buddy,

i just had to deal with the same root-rot problem up till a few days ago and i feel ya!
1.Make sure no roots are sitting in stagnating water. Get enzymes. Get a GHE Biofiltre and get it started right away.

2.flush throughly with pH corrected water at least for 2 days in the morning with 3-times the amount of water as the sum of your pots are. then mix a very weak nutrient-solution of EC 0.2 add enzymes according to instructions and feed as usual for 3-5 days. (i feed 7times a day for 4 min.) Actually control the NS regarding to EC that should increase over the day because the root-rot will have caused a salt built-up. Keep correcting the pH to stay between 5.5-6.2 (HYDRO) 2-3 times a day.

Within 3-4 days symptoms should stop and plants should start to pick up growth and vigor again. All this will depend on the progression of the Pythium.
Some folks will reccomend H2O2 flushing when the root-rot has grown severe far already. But i have no experience with H2O2 and hence can't advice.

Good luck and i hope it's due to "dampening off"

Try to post some pics and fill out the info sheet:

HYDROPONICS/Aero Ponics
How long has this problem been going on?
What system are you running? (DWC? Ebb flow? Aero? Water Farm? Flood Tables? and so on...)
What STRAIN are you growing?
What was the establishing technique? (Were the seed or clone?)
What is the age of your plants?
How tall are the plants?
What PHASE are the plants in? (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in?
What Technique are you using?
What substrate/medium are you using?(Hydroton, RockWool etc.)
What is the Water temperature?
What color are your roots? White? Brown? Are your roots slimy?
What Nutrient's are you using? How much of each if using multiple?
What is the TDS/EC/PPM you are using?
What is the pH of the "Tank"?
Are you sure your calibration is correct on your equiptment?
When was your last watering?
What is your water temps?
When was your last feeding change? (ie. grow-bloom-micro-additional)
How often do you clean your system: example: Flush out water replace with clean water and nutrients?
What size bulb are you using?
What is the distance to the canopy?
What is your RH Factor(Relative Humidity)?
What is the canopy temperature?
What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include flucutaion range)
What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.)
Is the fan blowing directly at plants?
Is your water HARD or SOFT?
What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water?
Has plant been recently pruned, cloned off of or pinched
Have any pest chemicals been used? If so, What and When?
Are plant's infected with pest's

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

more/bigger airstones/airpumps, a $10 pump WILLNOT cut it in most situations more then 5-8 gallons....

you can treat the plants in the system with h2o2-hydrogen peroxide, lots of it, it wont hurt, make a foliar 50/50% in a small bottle and spray the leafs and stems, especialy the lower ones. mix more h2o2 in the res/buckets/tub at any concintration you see fit, 1:20-2:10 are my sugested dosages depending on how bad the damage is, but again, the plant cant overdose on h2o2.

if you see 'foaming' action, like on a cut(finger?), even a bit, when u spray h2o2 then its safe to use more concintration, as the 'baddies' populations is indicating large levels....roots also....

 

[Ozymandias15]

Thanks for all the advice guys; i've been struggling to log on for a couple of days for some reason so haven't been able to thank you for the advice. The day after i pulled the plant i went into my room and some plants had developed totally yellow leaves overnight. I've added a strong mix of H2O2 and i've also attached a 400mg Ozone generator to an airstone and dropped that in the res. No update on the state of the plants yet but i know the res smells better already

 

[stinkyattic]

To add to the very helpful suggestions already...

If you suspect the plants have settled, you may have to change your pump timing so that the flood is not so high, or prop up the plants so the base of the stem never sits in water.
Benefical bacteria such as Serenade may be added to the res.
Also consider tilting your table more sharply for complete drainage, so that there is COMPLETE drying of the base of the tray (if containerized) or at least no possibility of ANY stagnant areas under the pebbles (if bed style).
Lastly, consider modifying your system to a containerized type where each pot of pebbles is watered by a constant stream- a waterfall NFT- and dead plant material has a much harder time building up due to the constant flowing action. This is a last resort if you continue to have rot issues in your flood n drain. The plumbing can be a PITA but it works well in troubled gardens.

Then you can tell the fungi what I KNOW you've been wanting to all along...
"Look upon my works, Ye Mighty, and despair!!!"
hahahaha

I love Shelley!

 

[Wastel]

i've also attached a 400mg Ozone generator to an airstone and dropped that in the res

Now that is new to me?!? AFAIK ozone is toxic to all O2 breathing life...
I'm afraid that it'll kill all life in your res. The bad AND the good. I wouldn't use it with a GHE Biofiltre because the way it works is through beneficial bacteria.
Yet O3 is probably one of the most potent desinfectant there is. So it should work killing the root-rot bacteria for good. Please teel us how it worked out in the end.

Good luck and big buds anyways!

 

[icough2getoff]

I had stem rot a few years back so bad that over half the stem got eaten away. I was able to halt it's progress by keeping the affected area dry and I tied the plant up since the rotted area was too weak to hold up the plant. My yield still turned out fine and ended up with some great smoke.

I really like stinkyattic's advice/options the best. I think it really comes down to keeping the affected stem drier.