Something has munched my plant

[itchybromusic]

Still reckon green caterpillars holes look the same as in tomatoes when they've had a go

look around for leaves that seem stuck together or wrapped in a tube kinda

It's prob the greedy lill green F**ker after feeding on ya plant

getting ready to move on to it's next stage of life 

 

Still think it's weird they ate stem & not leaf 

Edited January 6, 2015 by itchybromusic

[max_headroom]

Thanks BiggDogg and itchybromusic I am going to take both your suggestions and act on them tonight

 

The second major battle will begin tonight with a physical inspection and taping up of the holes. It will make it much easier to keep track of any new holes. I will also try and hunt down any of type leaves stuck together because I would love to see what this guy looks like. I will also be continuing to clean up the lower canopy of any dead or well advanced dying leaves. I have basically cleaned up around the pots so there is no long grass. I have got a bird feeder to hang in the tree right next to the plants as I am only to happy to share my bugs with the local native birds, attracting them to the garden is the first thing. I gave both my big girls a big drink of Charlie Carp Sunday morning and they have responded astonishingly well. This was only at 1/4 strength but they are both looking really well. Another point is the Early Durban was hit by this and two foot away is the Diesel which has no damage of this kind at all.

[MediKat]

Hey max i wonder if there's a companion plant out there that would be like a sacrificial plant so to speak that would be more to pests liking. I found the comfrey plant is a great indicator with grasshoppers. Just a thought, maybe someone has some opinions on this if your new what was doing the damage on your plant. 

[Biggdogg]

It could be drawn to a strain specific odor from the plant being attacked, would explain the other plant not being touched.

 

Attracting birds could end up with birds munching your buds??

[choofy]

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/problems-pests-disease-control/97694-stems-swelling-irregularly-bursting-open.html

[max_headroom]

Hi Choofy appreciate you taking the time to post

 

Read that thread yesterday and I think its right on money. I followed through one of the links and It actually explains exactly what happened to mine, long grass around the bottom of the pot, affected parts of plant is where the LST comes on contact with the grass, why I can't find anything in the way of a bug(long gone by now), the type of damage is almost identical to mine.Closer examination of holes looke like something trying to get out   Stalk Borer is the culprit, it all fits...Everything I have read tells me insecticides are a waste of time and some plants will tolerate the attack and some won't. This Early Durban is coping fine with the damage which I have covered with tape. Even the weakest one is now looking fine. I have been checking daily but cannot see any new sites so I may well have seen the last of them. I have stopped lowering my plant and am letting it get some height around the outer edges. along with clearing the weeds and tall grass.

 

Now that all the current damage is taped anything new(nothing for a week) should stick out but at the end of the day there is nothing I can do about it but try and mitigate the damage it more occurs. I cannot see any more swelling but it is such a think bushy plant I can't see everything...fingers crossed

[max_headroom]

Went up to see the Girls last night and found further damage...LST branch on the low side was a hole that nearly took out the whole branch. Same culprit as before but this time it appears to have taken out the whole branch, I am not sure how long it has had the hole in it but the whole branch had withered where usually I would find a dieing Top but the rest of the branch is fine. The only thing I can think of is that it had the damage awhile ago which remained UN-noticed because of the position. Something has happened to push that whole branch into dieing. Should I cut this away?I grabbed the top and quickly put it in water while I prepared a pot. Fully soaked the pot and then dipped the cut top in rooting mix and placed in the soil. It was looking pretty sick when I did this but this morning while still not looking very good has shown improvement.

 

Some Pics

 

The entire branch looks like this

 

 

This is the top I am trying to save...don't like its chances

 

 

Have checked the rest of the plant and it seems fine Very Very Close to going into full flower

 

 

[Knarfman]

Think positive thoughts.

The top will recover and be the best clone you ever had.

[max_headroom]

Hi Knarfman I wouldn't know the first thing about clones...I must say though it has picked up considerably since that photo was taken. I am loathed to touch it but does it need the more damaged leaves removed

 

There appears to be 3 or 4 large fan leaves that are the worst affected now. Should I remove these or let then die naturally

 

When you lift these leaves the growth underneath looks OK

 

I am not entirely sure what to do with her next, I have not watered her as the soil I put it into was very moist.Should I be giving hers a light foliar feed? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The sum total of my clone experience is to take two last season for sexing and when the sex was known they were gone. But they were planned cuts and certainly not the top of the branch.

 

 

[Knarfman]

Not a clone master myself either but hopefully someone with more expertise will chime in.

 

Don't feed it through the leaves as you want a root system to form

use half strength nute's till the roots are well formed

Don't take the leaves off unless they are dead and falling anyway but you can trim the leaves back so that more energy is put into roots

clones like a humid environment as they are not able to reseparate well from the leaves

place back under 18/6 lights ( a small CFL would be perfect)

 

that's about all I can think of but I'm sure the community will proffer much more.