What the heck is this white stuff???

[Shadoobie]

These ladies are a few months old.. outdoors in FF ocean forest soil. I just noticed this stuff today while watering. Its weird, it almost looks like its running but not all of the leaves look that way(also some birds have craped on it before and with the rain its hard to tell which spots they were). I looked at some leaves under my 30x scope and I can't tell anything...they are just little white things that seem like they gather around the tiny hairs on the leaves. One other thing...2 days before I moved the plants to here, I put down some powder style bug killer/repellent. I don't think the rain could have stirred the dust up and it settled on the leaves...do you guys? I'm just praying that its not some kind of mildew or something bad. So...anybody know what to do?

 

[Whatever]

Most of those pics just look like some type of residue especially the way it is collecting at the leaf tips. The last pics for sure is a giveaway. The second to last pic almost looks like powdery mildew but based on all the other pics I'd say some type of residue. Next time you're out there, if it hasn't rained, just bring a small spray bottle and rinse the leaves off. I'm sure that's all it is.

 

[Shadoobie]

I hope its just residue, but I have a feeling its not....I found the same looking stuff on some basil today about 150 feet away. I've heard that mildew can start in the veins because thats where water collects. It doesn't really look like it has spread though. I think I'm going to give em some neem oil later and see what it does.

 

[PharmaCan]

Under a scope, powdery mildew looks like small white sticks (strings, hairs?) laying haphazardly on the leaf.

PC

 

[Whatever]

That last pic is definitely residue. I've just never had PM settle in the leaf tips like that but haven't run outdoors in a long time. If PM it should spread pretty fast. I'm not a big neem fan as you need to apply it regularly as it strips off the healthy bacteria as well. I'd vote for some Serenade or make a bacterial tea and use as a foliar. Maybe outdoors you're getting morning dew settling on the leaf tips?

 

[Shadoobie]

Thanks for all the help guys....I gave a good dose of neem yesterday and this morning there wasn't anymore white crap. So residue or mildew, its gone(fingers crossed)
PC it kind of looked like that but more blobs of white than hairs, but there were some that looked more hairy.
Whatever...I'll get some of that serenade to have on hand thanks for the tip!

 

[MynameStitch]

Ya, I agree it looks like something that landed on and moved downwards on the leaf, if you had mildew it spreads on your plant like hell.

Does it wipe off by any chance?