These are clones from a mother plant I grew from seed and have had around for years.
It only seems to be effecting those few specific clones. Plants sitting right next to the clones look fine.
This also happened to me a while back in a different veg room, with clones from a different strain.
Neither of the mother plants had any leaves that looked like this, and the clones looked fine initially too. This didn’t start until after they were rooted and planted into soil (it’s store bought bagged soil and this time it’s a different batch of soil from the last time this happened months ago).
I suspected maybe russet mites (which I’ve never had before) but I’ve plucked leaves and put them under 100x magnification and didn’t see anything.
Maybe I just didn’t see them? I could try looking again.
Russet mites usually, but not always taco the leaves near the petiole, and if they are not found on the top of the leaf, there is a much better chance of locating them on the underside. They can’t fly, so if there is not a breeze or mechanical transfer by touching them, they don’t travel very far, if that is the issue. They are also known to stunt emerging new leaf growth, which I kind of see here, but I don’t see the taco-ing near the petioles. tldr; I don’t know, but check very carefully the underside of each leaf (they are fairly small plants and this shouldn’t take very long if they are there). If not, I would suspect some micro-nutrient deficiency, particularly molybdenum from the looks of it, but, I could be wrong here too. Molybdenum deficiencies can cause both deformed leaf growth and the yellow splotches that we see here. This can happen from soil not being amended with a rock dust or similar input, or from over-watering. I’m just listing everything I know given what I see, but take it with a grain of salt, as nothing is definitive.
Yeah that’s exactly where I checked. But I will check again. Thanks!
Edit - and yes, I have sprayed them with pure crop 1 and then a thyme oil mix. But this was happening before I sprayed them. That’s the reason I sprayed…
It could possibly be a soil issue. I think they are in the same soil as the last time this happened.
I use a couple different brands of store bought soil so I can’t remember for 100% sure. But it’s definitely something I’ll pay attention to going forward.
Also keep in mind, that different stimuli can bring out different phenotypes (like mutations, and feeding problems). Ambient environment, lighting differences, feeding techniques, etc, between the mother and the clones can in fact give different results.
Just because the genetics are the same, doesn’t mean they will respond the same under different conditions.
I guess anything is possible. Try to narrow it down a bit more and see if you can spot anything off, from pests, to soil, to environment, to technique.
Russet mites are incredibly tiny, and you’d want some form of magnification, especially since they blend in where they are more common on the lighter underside. They are only about 200 micrometers, which is 0.2mm long, and much shorter wide.
Second that. They are so tiny that I looked right at them a couple times before realizing they were there. They are like the width of cystolith hairs, so teeny. Plant looks totally like Russet Mites, and I bet if you look close enough you will see them.
I agree it looks like russet mites to me too from the pics of russet mite damage I’ve seen.
I just checked another leaf yesterday. I removed one of the most damaged looking leaves from the plant and put it under a 100x digital “microscope” thing I have and didn’t see anything moving at all. I saw some tiny black specs but I think it was just dirt (russet mites aren’t black anyway, are they?). I watched them for 10 minutes and they didn’t move once.
It’s not actually a real microscope, and it only has a 720p screen but it’s usually good enough to diagnose issues. But it can be hard to get crisp resolution at times.
I’m going to keep periodically checking for russet mites.
I really don’t want to take a chance at my room being infested with russet mites but I can’t just ditch the few clones showing this weird leaf damage like I did when it happened last time 3-5 months back (in a different veg space at the same location). These are the only clones I have left off that mother plant and I really don’t want to lose this mom. It’s a really relaxing medicinal high for me.
Edit - I also already treated with sulfur since it’s supposed to work well against russet mites and it also works as a fungicide.
I can’t treat with anything else for a bit now (because 8 don’t want to burn them up). I’ll treat with sulfur again in a week or so.
For now I have them as separated as I can. I’d like to move them to another space but I’ll have to figure something out to do that.
I am 100% positive that it was some type of pest and almost 100% positive that I had broad mites (or russet mites). I was checking constantly with numerous different magnifying devices (from 10x to 60x and even 100x a few times) and never actually found anything moving but I did find some small black specs that after zooming in closely I think might have been something pest related.
I’ve been treating for mites and the plants are all recovering now.
So apparently, all those pics are what broad or russet mite damage looks like. I tried every damn spray I have, treating for all sorts of stuff before I solved this. I was even treating for bud worms and caterpillars because it looked like something was eating the leaves.
A diligent effort succeeds eventually - well done!
The black specks could have been mites or excrement from any such insect. Most, but not all insect/arachnid pest eggs are clear or white.
Caterpillars leave black poop all over the place after they chew. They normally don’t chew leaves though, and actually like the flowers and stems. A single cabbage looper is almost invisible when it finds its way up into the crevace of a stem near a bud it likes, and in a matter of 1-2 days will grow to be near pencil-sized in diameter, with whole buds laying on the soil. Not a fun time for even a single one of those. It’s unlikely you had one/some, or you would know for sure.
I’m glad you figured out a solution! Most mite varieties like dry conditions, so just misting the plants is the easiest thing to do, but of course, a liquid other than water that deters pests can be more effective.
