Spotsy said:

Hey growers.. running into problem this year on outdoor soil grow. New growth has black spoting on leaves as they start to sprout out of the top.. but it's not round spots. More like on edges as new growth sprouts out of stem.. had this issue last year too.. tentatively think it's a form of botrytis.. but not sure I'm in Virginia .. very humid in summer... Every year so far also got hit with grey botrytis.. but this is different.. saw thread last year about this. But no one really had a good answer.. I'll post pics

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MIGrampaUSA said:

I've seen this issue before, but never experienced it personally. It looks funky and certainly isn't normal ... but I don't think its mold. I believe someone with more knowledge of plant diseases identified it as a "virus."

I'll be watching this thread to see what you find out.

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Spotsy said:

Hey thanks for that thought.. yeah this is some weird, non typical thing.. I just kept plucking out the whole top last year on affected plants. ,, But only one plant outgrew it.. I pulled up all but one of the affected plants last year.. and the one that outgrew it was a chocolope. So aggravated.. I figured it was a one off situation last year. But apparently not. I already had to pull up some this year.. so whatever y'all can help with this year

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Harpua88 said:

This is very interesting. Spotsy how has the weather been so far? And what happens to these new growth leaves when they fully form? Does the discoloration stay? Is it damaging the leaves?

I've read horror stories about viruses hitting plants. I don’t know how likely they are....

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MIGrampaUSA said:

I don't know how likely they are either. I have heard that Massachusetts growers especially have been fighting Hop Latency Virus. I'm not sure how likely it is that HLV is what the OP's plant has.

On this thread, I'm here to learn. I have no idea what it is other than its not normal growth.

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Harpua88 said:

Yeah this is one of the unknowns (so far) that we need to learn about, with an eye on viral infections......

Unless it's something else. If it was due to cold weather like brief frosts at night, I'd believe that too. He said he's in VA, Spotsy are you up in elevation/the mountains?

My only other guess would be something with the soil or water......contamination or way too much or little of something?

It does look very much like that "virus" link though......

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Spotsy said:

Hey.. I was reading up on the HLV thing. But it does not seem to twist the leaves or damage the plant too much.. not up in the mtns... Perfect weather.. a little cool at nite maybe. But my other plants seem ok so far.. not strain specific either.. can't say what end result is. ,because I pulled all but one last year.... And that one I kept plucking the bad top out of till it sorta outgrew it. Soil is ffof planted in ground.. I'm on well water that comes out at 5.5 ph. so I ph up to 6.3 or so. Actually the pics here are from last year.. but the same crap is occuring on my crop this year too... Growing outdoor in VA is hard.... Humidity and bugs are off the charts.. but I grew some champion Acapulco gold 2 years ago.. so it can be done. Appreciate the feedback!!

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Harpua88 said:

Yeah this is one of the unknowns (so far) that we need to learn about, with an eye on viral infections......

Unless it's something else. If it was due to cold weather like brief frosts at night, I'd believe that too. He said he's in VA, Spotsy are you up in elevation/the mountains?

My only other guess would be something with the soil or water......contamination or way too much or little of something?

It does look very much like that "virus" link though......

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Homesteader said:

Has the plant started to go into flower? What strain?

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Spotsy said:

Outdoor grow. 3 weeks old... Last year's was ac gold , chocolope,, actually last year it seemed to stop when it went into flower. Quality was not really affected... I agree it prob is not HLV. But I've hit it with antifungal to no affect so I do think it is some weird virus that is uncommon., But 2 years in a row??? WTF????

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2Bad said:

Did you reuse soil? or containers?

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Spotsy said:

No. I buy ffof new every year... Not really a fan of FF but it's easy to get.... I plant in ground. But it's showed up in both 25 gallon pots and direct bury in soil. Side note: I really appreciate all the growers chiming in... Anyone wants to D. M. Me, or talk on phone if u have experience with this.... It's cool... It's hard to keep texting and following all diff people on this site... I'm new to this app,, and tech in general.... Lolo not sure if that's even allowed or wise. But this crap is stressing me out!!

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