small white spots

[WantDaChronic]

sounds like fungus gnats to me, buy some of that maverik stuff i mentioned, give the plants a decent spray and after a day or 2, wash it off and set those predator bugs free...that should kill any and all bugs except those predator mites hopefully

[sausage]

well i was chatting to the guy at the beneficial bug company and he said that if there are no mites running around on my plant then it's unlikely to be spidermite eggs. and there aren't... i invested in a good magnifier and checked

 

so, i think i'll hold off on the predator bugs and get some maverik

 

thanks for the help

Edited January 10, 2006 by sausage

[Chev]

Ok, sounds like fungus gnat to me too. Adult fungus gnats are black with clear wings, midgie size. Are these white things actually 'running' across the media, or more 'jumping'? Could be fungus gnat larvae...... :scratchin

[sausage]

the white stuff looks more like discolouration of the leaf to me than eggs, but then i've never knowingly seen such eggs before. the white stuff is definitely not moving (unlike the white bugs in the soil, which i've been told are probably some kind of fungus eating bug - and those guys run, they don't jump). will try to get a picture

 

are fungus gnats bad news for the plants?

Edited January 10, 2006 by sausage

[F420]

are fungus gnats bad news for the plants?

 

Heck yea, they eat the roots and promote root rot.

[F420]

did you know that fungus gnats are Glow worms? interesting but of usles info for yas.

[sausage]

not for much longer they're not. i applied some mavrik last night. strangely it didn't have instructions on the back for use on marijuana. i was thinking of applying more in maybe 8 days time, then a final application 8 days after that, which should cover the gnat life-cycle

 

would lots of fungus gnat larvae be behind the nitrogen defiency (ie yellowing of the lower leaves)?

 

how long after the final application - assuming it all works ok - should i wait before encouraging my plants to flower?

Edited January 12, 2006 by sausage

[WantDaChronic]

would lots of fungus gnat larvae be behind the nitrogen defiency (ie yellowing of the lower leaves)?

 

yep, those bastard bite into the roots and suck them dry so it could explain it a bit...

 

i would also do it the doses in 5-7 days of each other, after the 3rd treatmeant, i would wait a few days and then wash the plant down 2 or 3 times a day to wash all the crap off the plant...few days of being washed down and the plants should be ready for flowering

[Luke Skywalker]

That image looks more like powdery mildew than eggs to me. Powdery mildew is a form of fungi which can attack plants in humid conditions.

 

The only really effective treatment is wettable sulphur, as most commercial fungicides aren't really effective. That said, wettable sulphur is something you really don't want to get on a plant that you want to smoke. If you have to treat it, as it can quickly get out of control, then keep the spray of wettable sulphur only to the affected leaves, and once about 2-3 weeks have passed, wash all remaining W.S. from the parts of the plant it's been sprayed on.

 

 

At a close look it could also be the damage caused by spider mites where they suck the cell juices out from the undersides of the leaves. The real identifyer will be if you can rub off any of the whiteness, or if it's a sunken damage to the plant which doesn't rub off. The first will be the powdery mildew, whilst if it doesn't come off on your fingers it's likely to be spidermite damage.

 

Never treat plants with W.S. or other spray insecticides if the temp is going to be over 30 degrees, as this can cause severe damage to plants. Some spray insecticides are okay, and these won't mention this on the packet, but if you use white oil or soap sprays for pest control, you may have problems in hot weather.

 

As to the fungus gnats, yes, these could be causing your yellowing of lower leaves, but it may also be a slight deficiency caused by other things. Treating with systemic insectides is never a good idea when you plan on smoking them....

 

And yeah, you can't "encourage" flowering in outdoor plants unless you can control the photoperiod. It's the length of the dark period, along with the genetic potential of the plant that determines when they'll flower, not anything else like fertilisers etc.

 

Hopet that helps, get back to us on whether those white spots rub off or not before you go spraying stuff which may not do anything for your problem like wettable sulphur. (mind you, W.S. can treat spider mites too, but there are many other things out there for mites which are far less damaging and won't stay on the plant for a long period.

 

Always double withholding periods IMHO, as these companies have a vested interest in telling you something is safe to consume when really it's just on the edge...

[sausage]

thanks for that

 

the white doesn't rub off, and also doesn't appear to have got any worse since i first saw it a week ago. i'll continue with the fungus gnat treatment and hope for the best. also will get some proper fertiliser if the yellowing gets much worse