Help me save my plants from phytotoxicity!

[Seymour109423]

Accidentally sprayed for spider mites with undiluted pesticide, thought all of my stuff was premixed. I fucked up and they looked wonderful two days ago. I'm completely sick about it and definitely hate myself for it. What can I do now to help recover or are they done for? What leaves are still able to absorb sunlight? Please help!

 

[mancorn]

Definitely spray them down with plain water to remove as much of the pesticides as possible (which I’d guess you’ve already done) and try and shade (with a tarp) as the less sun the better at this point. Looks like you’re still preflower, so while burned bud sights won’t come back, the leaves will. (It’s almost like a defoliation test.)

 

[Seymour109423]

Definitely spray them down with plain water to remove as much of the pesticides as possible (which I’d guess you’ve already done) and try and shade (with a tarp) as the less sun the better at this point. Looks like you’re still preflower, so while burned bud sights won’t come back, the leaves will. (It’s almost like a defoliation test.)

Yes, I've sprayed them down, flushed the soil, and gave a foliar spray of calmag plus and big bloom to help recover. It's worse today than yesterday and I'm continuing to lose leaves all over, especially the bottom. Should I shade and remove everything dead? I removed the fully dead leaves yesterday and left the partially dead to use for feed to recover, which I'm assuming are the dead ones I see today. I've lost a lot of my leaves now. I'm not sure which damaged leaves are still able to absorb sunlight? I was thinking remove all the lower branches and try to keep whatever leaves I can, however I'm not sure how far to take it without speeding up death. It seems as though the pesticide is almost traveling through the plants, but I'm not sure if it locked out nutrients due to stress.

 

[Seymour109423]

Yes, I've sprayed them down, flushed the soil, and gave a foliar spray of calmag plus and big bloom to help recover. It's worse today than yesterday and I'm continuing to lose leaves all over, especially the bottom. Should I shade and remove everything dead? I removed the fully dead leaves yesterday and left the partially dead to use for feed to recover, which I'm assuming are the dead ones I see today. I've lost a lot of my leaves now. I'm not sure which damaged leaves are still able to absorb sunlight? I was thinking remove all the lower branches and try to keep whatever leaves I can, however I'm not sure how far to take it without speeding up death. It seems as though the pesticide is almost traveling through the plants, but I'm not sure if it locked out nutrients due to stress.

Also, there's about a month until daylight change when flowering will start. Should I just top all the burnt bud sites and lower branches? I'm wondering if it may come down to almost leaving the top cola and hoping to harvest something off that. They are all 6-7' and I really don't want them to die. Here's a couple videos I took this morning and sent to a friend. They are doing really rough. Tops seem "ok", but that's about it. Leaves are constantly dying. I do not know how much I should remove?

 

[Capital_Florica]

Should I just top all the burnt bud sites and lower branches?

At the very least I’d remove all burnt leaves because they aren’t going to recover. The bud sites you’ll have to see how they react but any that seem dead I’d snip. Don’t give up yet, after all that defoliation, the plant should put out some decent growth and with another month of veg I’m hopeful she’ll recover somewhat.

Just don’t remove more than half of the leaves if you can, she won’t die.

 

[Seymour109423]

At the very least I’d remove all burnt leaves because they aren’t going to recover. The bud sites you’ll have to see how they react but any that seem dead I’d snip. Don’t give up yet, after all that defoliation, the plant should put out some decent growth and with another month of veg I’m hopeful she’ll recover somewhat.

 

[Seymour109423]

I really hope you are right! I've been in panic mode the last two days, got worse when I saw even more dying leaves and branches this morning. Death is just creeping bottom up quickly so I need to try everything; that's why I'm here for experienced advice. How far along burnt should I cut? Considering minimal solar panels, I don't want it to spread from the infected to the healthier leaves or they won't have time to grow new leaves. I've read keep if less than 50%burnt, but I really can't tell. It looks like a tragic mess. From everything to edges, centers, bud sites, curling, twisting, spotted, brown, or just drooping. I don't know what I should keep or cut...

 

[Ponky]

Cut off the damaged leaves. All you can do. It will either pull through or the rest of the leaves will start to die.

 

[Dirtbag]

Which exact undiluted pesticide did you spray them with? Makes a pretty big difference.

But you will probably lose most or all of the leaves and the plant might not recover. For sure get it in the shade for a week or so and remove any dead plant matter before it rots. You might get lucky, but if you sprayed it with something toxic, I personally would not consume it.

 

[Seymour109423]

Which exact undiluted pesticide did you spray them with? Makes a pretty big difference.

But you will probably lose most or all of the leaves and the plant might not recover. For sure get it in the shade for a week or so and remove any dead plant matter before it rots. You might get lucky, but if you sprayed it with something toxic, I personally would not consume it.

Malathion, supposed to be safe for vegetables and fruits.

 

[Seymour109423]

Cut off the damaged leaves. All you can do. It will either pull through or the rest of the leaves will start to die.

Most have some damage, but it varys from a couple spots to scorched. I wish I knew what still has some ability to absorb sunlight. I can cut them off when it starts growing more, but if I cut every one that has anything off, I'll be left with none and it definitely will die.

 

[Dirtbag]

Malathion, supposed to be safe for vegetables and fruits.

Nasty.. I would scrap that plant. IIRC malathion is systemic so you aren't gonna be able to just wash it off, she's completely toxic now. That shit is gonna be soaked Into the plant in a ridiculous concentration.

 

[Seymour109423]

Nasty.. I would scrap that plant. IIRC malathion is systemic so you aren't gonna be able to just wash it off, she's completely toxic now. That shit is gonna be soaked Into the plant in a ridiculous concentration.

That's what I was worried about. Do you think there could still be any chance for recovery with removing the bad and doing everything else possible to nurture them?

 

[Dirtbag]

That's what I was worried about. Do you think there could still be any chance for recovery with removing the bad and doing everything else possible to nurture them?

You might be able to keep them alive on a wing and a prayer, but I dont think you can do anything to make them not poisonous. I would never consume something that is saturated with a systemic pesticide overdose. That's just asking for a twitchy eye...

 

[Seymour109423]

You might be able to keep them alive on a wing and a prayer, but I dont think you can do anything to make them not poisonous. I would never consume something that is saturated with a systemic pesticide overdose. That's just asking for a twitchy eye...

Damn. I wonder what it's half life is. Maybe it will deplete?

 

[Dirtbag]

Damn. I wonder what it's half life is. Maybe it will deplete?

173 day half life. Shit is pretty toxic man. It's a legit chemical systemic.

For your personal health and safety, you should really abandon any prospect of trying to save those plants. It's just not worth it.

 

[Ponky]

Malathion? Wouldn't use or smoke anything treated with it.

 

[Dirtbag]

Malathion? Wouldn't use or smoke anything treated with it.

No, me neither.

 

[Seymour109423]

173 day half life. Shit is pretty toxic man. It's a legit chemical systemic.

For your personal health and safety, you should really abandon any prospect of trying to save those plants. It's just not worth it.

Fuck..I want to cry. This breaks my heart. Seriously sucks and it's too late to start over.

 

[Dirtbag]

Fuck..I want to cry. This breaks my heart. Seriously sucks and it's too late to start over.

It sucks man, but we've all done stupid shit at one time or another. I've killed my fair share of plants.
One thing about growing that's best to learn sooner than later is that no crop is guaranteed until it in the bag. Also, be careful with which pesticides you use. Malathion is something I'd personally never use on pot.
There aren't many safe things that work well for spider mites unfortunately. Rosemary oil shows promise though, and sulfur fumigation works to an extent but only in enclosed spaces.