Wrinkly leaves, burnt looking pistils

[Hapaguy]

Aloha everyone! Long time reader, first time commenter. I've been an outdoor grower off and on since around 1980 here in Hawaii and decided to try my hand at indoor growing during the short season. I bought an AC Infinity 5x5 with AC Infinity EVO8 5x5 light. I'm growing in soil (a mix of Hawaiian soil, Fox Farms Ocean Forest, and vermiculite) for the first run since that's what I am familiar with but I also bought the Growace Aircube system which I will be trying out later after I get the hang of growing in a tent under a light. I have my light set to static height (all the way up) and using a light meter to check ppfd which I adjust on the EVO8. For my first run I am growing 4 Cherry Limeaid from ILGM which I am also growing for the first time (so problem could be genetics?). For nutes I am using Fox Farms Trio (Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom) and Cal Mag. I ran 18/6 for veg (ppfd of ~ 600) without any problems and I've been running the tent around 82 degrees and try to keep the humidity down between 60-65% which is difficult in Hawaii. Then when I switched to 12/12 for flower, 3 of the plants started getting weird symptoms like wrinkly leaves and burnt looking pistils on the early flower (see pics). I checked ppfd and the tops were at 650 so I dialed it down to 550. I also turned off all the fans because I saw some comments regarding windburn. I open the tent during the day now to minimize temperature swings because another commenter said temp swings can cause that problem. Anyone have the symptoms in the pictures and have a cure? Could it be genetics, or a disease? Any help would be greatly appreciated! MAHALO for reading!

 

[Grownsince95]

I'd be using 100x magnification to check for russet and broad mites. The texture of the leaves and dark shriveled pistils are cause for concern.

 

[RGWD0202]

Have you sprayed anything recently?

 

[Phyto]

if you haven’t changed something in their feeding, then I’d lean towards possibly a light issue, but more likely a bug issue as said above.

 

[Putthataway]

Looks like there’s bugs all over it.

 

[orggrwr]

Bugs was my first thought also. Do you have a digital microscope or something with magnification you can check the underside of the leaves with?

 

[Hapaguy]

No, I haven't sprayed anything at all.

 

[Hapaguy]

Thanks. I have a 40x loupe that I use to check trichomes but that's about it. I'll use that to see if I can see anything.

 

[orggrwr]

Here's some pics of spider mites ( i think) taken with a digital microscope to give you an idea what you're looking for. These are from my greenhouse grow last summer.

 

[Grownsince95]

Here's some pics of spider mites ( i think) taken with a digital microscope to give you an idea what you're looking for. These are from my greenhouse grow last summer. View attachment 2593170View attachment 2593171View attachment 2593173View attachment 2593172

The OP would be looking for broad or russet mites which are waaaay smaller than spider mites and the damage is totally different.

 

[Ninjadogma]

The OP would be looking for broad or russet mites which are waaaay smaller than spider mites and the damage is totally different.

They're detectable under 60x but you have to stare for several seconds watching for translucent dots that move. But the leaf tissue damage tells you what you want to know. Spider mites leave those little white freckles and the russet and broads kind of remind me of thrip damage but patterned in a way that looks like a deficiency, if that makes sense.

 

[Grownsince95]

They're detectable under 60x but you have to stare for several seconds watching for translucent dots that move. But the leaf tissue damage tells you what you want to know. Spider mites leave those little white freckles and the russet and broads kind of remind me of thrip damage but patterned in a way that looks like a deficiency, if that makes sense.

To me, broad and russet mite damage make the leaves look like they have a fabric like texture. Those little fuckers actually have toxin in their saliva that makes the leaves do that.

 

[Hapaguy]

Thanks for all your comments guys! I used my jewelers loupe but can't really see anything. In all my years of growing outdoors I have never had an issue with mites of any kind. The biggest pest that I've run into in Hawaii is white fly and budworm. Never mites so I went to my local garden supply store and asked what they use to kill mites and they recommended Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap so I bought a bottle. I haven't used it yet though. Anyone have any thoughts on this Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap? Safe to use on preflower cannabis?

 

[Grownsince95]

Thanks for all your comments guys! I used my jewelers loupe but can't really see anything. In all my years of growing outdoors I have never had an issue with mites of any kind. The biggest pest that I've run into in Hawaii is white fly and budworm. Never mites so I went to my local garden supply store and asked what they use to kill mites and they recommended Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap so I bought a bottle. I haven't used it yet though. Anyone have any thoughts on this Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap? Safe to use on preflower cannabis?

That's not pre-flower anymore. Be careful what you're putting on them from now on. Predator mites after one or two applications of the soap are a safer alternative but it might be too late. Russet and broad mites are almost impossible to beat unless caught extremely early.

 

[Grownsince95]

And your 40x loupe will not show them. They're hard to see at 100x

 

[Hapaguy]

Thanks for all your help. My first indoor grow and this happens! I'm going to try the Garden Safe and see what happens. If the plants don't turn around I'm going to pull them all and disinfect the tent and start over. If I keep having problems like this I think I might stick to growing outdoors! LOL