A friend of mine recently paid an entomologist for a russet mite consultation.
Some eriophyid mites like gall mites might lay eggs and burrow in surface, but Cannabis russet mites do not.
They’re hard to eliminate because for many reasons, like their ability to spread via wind, tiny size, and 10 day life cycle, but not because they lay eggs and/or live in the tissue. IDK what to tell you about your “tough actin’ tinactin” tek lol but it doesn’t sound like an effective method to control russet mites.
How about chop the plant down to minimum size create a cage around it and the pot stretch the hose over the cage (several pairs to make them smaller.I would imagine a mesh over the whole plant trapping in bugs but letting the light in. After a week or so they should all be dead if it’s done right. ( just trying to use my imagination ha ha)
No. I was told by someone that sometimes you have to look outside agriculture for the solutions. I have a small list of different things I’ve tried at various ratios trying to find out as much as I could. Obs did it first, which made me have to be really creative. I added a few more things to that list. It’s all about sharing information. So one thing may not make sense to someone, but perhaps someone can spin an idea I haven’t tried. I’m not trying to prove anything. I know what works now. And I didn’t have to talk to an entomologist. I tried and failed. Tried and failed. Over and over again. I’ve shared my winning knowledge with 2 pro breeders. And is likely the most coveted secret until they figure out viroids. And remember, when I come forth with all my documentation on the future platform I’m given, and russets seem like no big deal anymore…it was because of a broke guy living in Detroit that never gave up.
There have been many times where growers that don’t take clones, get russets. Based on speculation, I believe the microscopic mites survive on seeds by eating the gibberellin. Which coincides with bad germination rates from various breeders. I believe I was reinfected by seed around day 80 of ipm treatment. Thought I had an OGKB pheno out of the 6 plants. A few days later 3 of them did. Next thing you know, a third of my garden looked like ogkb phenos. Even the ones without ogkb in lineage. This is after I have already been baking my media in the oven, and pouring boiling water over hydroton. So they didn’t come from the media.
We’re talking about a mite that can lie dormant for months. Not to mention, the first time we get new seeds, we put them into the fridge. So if they can in fact go into some sort of hibernation state, then we are all screwed if the breeders have russets. However when it comes to that, again, totally speculating. But it connects the dots, and would make sense for everything from increased hermies, bad germ rates, and shitty vigor. The toxins from the russet saliva could likely be the cause of over abundance of ogkb, or mutated phenos coming out of seeds as well.
It seems that using an enzyme like Dr. Zymes was the best way to ensure clean seedlings. Even though I always add peroxide after the first 24hrs, and then after every 12. So 3% peroxide itself doesn’t work. I did find that switching over to hydro using calcium hypochlorite in addition to the nutrient solution was very beneficial. Gotta cut back the N, and calcium obviously. Seems the russets don’t like bleach. I was able to keep some genetics alive solely by that method. Although nothing to brag about. That male eventually gave shitty germ rates. Lol.
So until this is disproven, I strongly recommend culling any weird seedlings from this point on. It’s not worth the infection. I see big breeders in IG posting pic like this:
They do not survive on “gibberellins” lol or seeds in general.
They move around on wind aka fans indoor, and contact with other plants, and your hands, and clones. You were likely reinfected because you never got rid of them in the first place, or reintroduced them. But they don’t live in/on seed. They have a short life cycle and need to feed often at normal temperatures. They need soft plant tissue.
I really really doubt foot fungus cream is going to fix your problem. There are plenty of acaricides available that work.
It is important to not let misinformation about pests spread.
As I mentioned a couple of times, that part was speculation. What isn’t speculation is my documentation of my russet research. And that I do have valuable information pertaining to the subject. It will be revealed soon enough, I’m just waiting on the date. It’s in talks, I’m just documenting my progress until then. Words are nothing without proof of success right? So even if the intellectual property of the info is stolen, I still have documentation to back it up.
