Terrified of Broad Mites

[Student Of Life]

First timer here. Noticed weird development lately and really don't want it to be broad mites. The new growth has been slowish, has a slight waxy shine to it, is a lime greenish yellow, and appears to be thin and on some leaves, distorted/bent. Also, the lines/ridges on these new leaves are more pronounced/deep.

8th week veg
Temps 73-75.
Humidity 59-63.
EC 1.2, pH 5.8
80/20 Coco/Perlite
600W MH ~22 inches from tops


Ive had people tell me that's just what new growth looks like, but these symptoms also match broad mite early signs. Am I trippin?

 

[_tessarecting]

Instead of trippin start scopin for eggs

https://www.icmag.com/ic//showthread.php?t=323440

 

[Growdoc]

take some pics of the underside of the leafs pls

 

[areocrafter]

Those are healthy potentially to small of container. when the roots can't keep up the new growth will look light green or yellowish.
clones show this problem.
A good foliar spray can assist the plant substantially.

 

[Student Of Life]

More pics/better angles. Underside pics too, but can't zoom all that much. Will have a 60-100x scope on Thursday to be sure. Man I'm stressing this, doesn't help that I broke my arm a few days ago and am typing this with one hand lol.

 

[_tessarecting]

From my stoned and busted ass phone that just looks like calcium deficiency to me

If you really had bm your shit would be totally dead already. Cant be too careful always scope and spray. Ive seen them destroy healthy plants in 2 days flat

 

[Big Sur]

I would use Neem oil if you fear mites. Not the 70% Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil, but virgin Neem oil. Virgin Neem oil has the
Azadirachtin in it (which is removed when Neem oil is clarified). Azadirachtin is a strong miticide. Many do not think it is effective against broad mites, but I have seen it work on them and on other hard to eradicate mites. You have to spray at multiple intervals (3-day intervals for broad mites and 7 day intervals for spider mites). Neem oil will kill mite eggs, nymphs, crawlers and adults on contact. Use it at 1:100 with water. Do not use a spreader. Do not spray above 70 degrees. Some say to turn the lights off after spraying for 6-8 hours, but I have sprayed Neem oil in daylight and my plants had no issues. It also is the #1 best stuff to control powdery mildew with on weed. Even bad PM will be controlled in about a day of spraying with Neem oil at 1:100 (with either virgin or clarified). Many say it taints the buds with a bad flavor, but I have not noticed any bad effect myself. As you are in veg state that is not an issue. Neem oil is pretty cheap too. And best of all, Neem like other agricultural oils is not something that mites can develop a tolerance to, like other miticides (ie., Avid). However, to be effective, you have to cover every bit to leaf surface as it is a contact killer. Neem is also disliked by mites and other insects in general, and they tend to avoid plants that have been sprayed with it. Neem will also take care of thrips, aphids, and whitefly.

Note that there are many misconceptions that I have read about mites, and particularly broad mites. One is that they lay their eggs inside the leaves. This is not true, nor is the notion that the nymphs live inside the leaves. They lay their eggs like other mites on the leaf and stem surfaces. I guess that people think they are inside the leaves because they cannot find or do not see the eggs on the leaf surfaces. This is because the eggs are basically microscopic and even with a lens they are likely to be missed.

Another misconception I have commonly read online is that mites can develop a tolerance to oil and soap sprays. This is simply not true. Soap sprays kill insects and mites by making water more soluble and "wetter". Meaning that it breaks down the surface tension of water, and drowns them. They have no defense against this, and they cannot develop an immunity to wetting agents. Similarly oil sprays work to smother insects with an oil film, and they are suffocated. And like soap sprays, insects and mites cannot mutate or develop an immunity to oil sprays either.

As for Neem oil, there are also many misconceptions about that as well. Contrary to what you may read online and other places here Neem is pretty harmless to humans as long as you do not drink the stuff. It is also harmless to bees and most beneficial insects. Canada only banned it for use there because it was not TESTED as a pesticide/miticide. No one can make money on a generic product like Neem, so no company is going to spend to the money to test Neem oil as a pesticide to satisfy Canadian requirements. But everyone there seems to know that it is a great pesticide, miticide and mildewcide. In the US it is listed as a miticide, pesticide and mildewcide. It is also listed as organic.

UCONN has a good web page on Broad mites and their cousins, the Cyclamen mites here:

http://ipm.uconn.edu/documents/raw2...d Broad Mites on Greenhouse Crops.php?aid=208

Note that translaminar miticides are said to be the most effective for Broad mites (and spider mites). Translaminar miticides move through leaves and will kill mites on both surfaces making it easier to spray plants and kill all the adults. Personally I use Avid for this reason (or rather, a generic with abamectin, the active ingredient of Avid, as generics are half the price of Avid). I do not use abamectin on my Cannabis plants though. It is restrictions for using on specific food crops (ie., pears and citrus). But many use it on Cannabis. Mites can and will develop an immunity to abamectin if it is used too much though. Abamectin also does not kill mite eggs. For that reason it is commonly sprayed with agricultural mineral oil and a sticker/spreader (both of which will kill all stages of mites on contact, including eggs). Here is a good article on using abamectin on mites posted by Cornell University:

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/24d-captan/abamectin-ext.html

And some info on the risks of using abamectin and its rapid breakdown under light and soil exposure:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2198753

 

[Student Of Life]

Thanks for the help everyone. Scoped the leaves at 100x and didn't see anything suspicious, and the symptoms ended up being nutrient related. Plants are recovering, and I'll be spraying with spinosad then neem oil as a quick preventative before putting the girls in flower.

 

[StonedSpook]

New Grower jitters. Just one of many freak outs to come. Keep a rig by you at all times- make sure there is butane in there, bromigo. This shit is an emotional roller coaster. Haha

 

[ChiGuy23]

Hello Student. I have the same symptoms you had and I almost came to tears when my initial research suggested broad mites. I am waiting on my scope to arrive to see if broad mites are present. How did you correct your issue? Was PH off? Salt buildup? Any help is appreciated.