My lower buds are dying WHY

[MadeInAmerica1983]

Hey guys,

I am on my 3rd grow and I am having a problem I can not figure out. My upper buds are beautiful but my lower buds are losing their hairs and drying up. I flushed the problem plant and it did nothing, I then fed it and it is still doing the same thing and it is progressing. My friend said its because the grow space is too crowded, and I want some more opinions before I start to make sacrifices. I am following the nutrient chart of fox farm, I have two different strains Purple peaks which are the ones that are having the issues, and Tropical cookie with Shoreline which are doing ok but lower buds are not developing at all. They are in 15 gallon pots and I have 4 of them in a 5x10 tent, under a 600 W light, on a track system. I am open for any suggestions, plenty of airflow as well.

 

[Anthem]

How far below the top of the canopy are the lower buds that are dead?
Also what light do you have that is 6000 watts?

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

How far below the top of the canopy are the lower buds that are dead?
Also what light do you have that is 6000 watts?

Im sorry extra 0 in there its a 600 watt light max, TSL Horticulture on a rail.
the issue started with the very lowest bud sights but is advancing towards the top of the kolas.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

How far below the top of the canopy are the lower buds that are dead?
Also what light do you have that is 6000 watts?

Updated the 600 Watt and also added some photos, anything you notice let me know. I am in real need of advice. Good advice.

 

[Anthem]

That seems really odd. Can you opening up one of the buds that is dead and check for seeds. I am seeing some odd bud shapes starting at picture #4.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

That seems really odd. Can you opening up one of the buds that is dead and check for seeds. I am seeing some odd bud shapes starting at picture #4.

I have, I almost thought it was trying to seed. I have all clones so its not likely but also not impossible for them to hermy.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

I have, I almost thought it was trying to seed. I have all clones so its not likely but also not impossible for them to hermy.

They were all healthy developing buds, the hairs started to brown and then they fell off and this is what I have left. I almost want to pull the plant, but the top buds are still looking amazing. Like I said its slowly progressing up, everyday I see buds further up the stem turning brown.

 

[Anthem]

I have, I almost thought it was trying to seed. I have all clones so its not likely but also not impossible for them to hermy.

You have a fair amount of leaf burn from too much nutrient in the water but other than that I am not seeing much to go on. I think my next move would be to start checking the soil for bugs. I am concerned you might have root aphids. I am going to bring in an expert at root aphids. @MIMedGrower. Hey can you take a look at these plants and help out. This one is over my pay scale.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

Thanks anything helps. I do have fruit flies but they are not really bad. I hear you on the burnt tips I thought it was nut burn too at first, but my other two are healthy as a horse, but they are different strains. I have the same plant in another tent by itself and I don't feed and water it nearly as much, it was a mother plant and its thriving with minimal attention. Kind of blows my mind how well its doing because its really not the priority, at one point I was going to kill it cause I needed room in the veg tent. I threw it in a 3x3 and its doing great. I have looked all over the internet and I can't find anything on my issue, bud rot was also a thought.

Do you think the canopy is overcrowded, or no CO2 system could be the issue.

 

[MIMedGrower]

Full directions of fox farm nutes under a single 600 w bulb is 2-4x too much nutes. Whats the runoff ec?


i think simple lockout if lowers are fading or necrotic. Look at the dark green leaves and burned tips.


and i am only an expert at having root aphids for a year. Im a root aphid keeper. They are like pets. ;-)

But their damage is not what i see here. They eat the nutrients right out of the roots and leave random faded and dying leaves and what looks like a climbing mag deficiency. When they were maxed population i couldnt even overfeed. I was feeding them directly it seemed.

They crawl out of the pot and on the edge. Tiny white insects and fliers that look like fungus gnats would be next. And the roots and maybe base of the plant will have a white chalky substance buildup in spots.

 

[Anthem]

Thanks anything helps. I do have fruit flies but they are not really bad. I hear you on the burnt tips I thought it was nut burn too at first, but my other two are healthy as a horse, but they are different strains. I have the same plant in another tent by itself and I don't feed and water it nearly as much, it was a mother plant and its thriving with minimal attention. Kind of blows my mind how well its doing because its really not the priority, at one point I was going to kill it cause I needed room in the veg tent. I threw it in a 3x3 and its doing great. I have looked all over the internet and I can't find anything on my issue, bud rot was also a thought.

Do you think the canopy is overcrowded, or no CO2 system could be the issue.

That is not over crowded and CO2 is not the problem. There is something going on for sure, if they are not seeded than your Fruit Flies might be another place to go. Get some yellow sticky traps and place around the infected plant. You will need a lop to identify the flies, my concern remains with Root Aphids. In the later stage of life they become fliers.

 

[MIMedGrower]

That is not over crowded and CO2 is not the problem. There is something going on for sure, if they are not seeded than your Fruit Flies might be another place to go. Get some yellow sticky traps and place around the infected plant. You will need a lop to identify the flies, my concern remains with Root Aphids. In the later stage of life they become fliers.

they fooled me for a long time.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

Full directions of fox farm nutes under a single 600 w bulb is 2-4x too much nutes. Whats the runoff ec?


i think simple lockout if lowers are fading or necrotic. Look at the dark green leaves and burned tips.


and i am only an expert at having root aphids for a year. Im a root aphid keeper. They are like pets. ;-)

But their damage is not what i see here. They eat the nutrients right out of the roots and leave random faded and dying leaves and what looks like a climbing mag deficiency. When they were maxed population i couldnt even overfeed. I was feeding them directly it seemed.

They crawl out of the pot and on the edge. Tiny white insects and fliers that look like fungus gnats would be next. And the roots and maybe base of the plant will have a white chalky substance buildup in spots.

Don't want to sound like an nube but what is EC?

What do you recommend for Lock out?

She's drinking water. Im watering every 3-4 days.

 

[MIMedGrower]

Don't want to sound like an nube but what is EC?

What do you recommend for Lock out?

She's drinking water. Im watering every 3-4 days.

ec is the universal measure for ppm. 1.0ec equals 500 ppm. Parts per million. Thats how you measure the amount of nutrients in the mix.

And you need to run many gallons of fresh water through the pots to clear out the excess nutrient buildup. Most call it flushing. Its really called leaching. Without knowing the ec of the mixture and runoff i cant be of much more help.

 

[Anthem]

Don't want to sound like an nube but what is EC?

What do you recommend for Lock out?

She's drinking water. Im watering every 3-4 days.

EC is the same as PPM but displayed at different values but they are both measuring the electro conductivity in the water. AN EC of 1.5 is a PPM of 750 on a .5PPM scale. Lock out means you have given your plant too much nutrient and it has burned. What is your grow media (brand of Soil or Coco or what are you growing in. This is need to tell you what to do next.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

Don't want to sound like an nube but what is EC?

What do you recommend for Lock out?

She's drinking water. Im watering every 3-4 days.

Can this happen if the tent is too crowded?

 

[MIMedGrower]

I will try to put this simply.

When you see tips burning like here the plants have gotten way too much nutrients. You have to flush them out and re feed a proper much lower strength mixture.

Next time err on the side of underfeeding. Its easy to give more. Very problematic to take too much back out.

And please read a grow book or full tutorial. You need to know the basics to utilize any help we try to give.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

ec is the universal measure for ppm. 1.0ec equals 500 ppm. Parts per million. Thats how you measure the amount of nutrients in the mix.

And you need to run many gallons of fresh water through the pots to clear out the excess nutrient buildup. Most call it flushing. Its really called leaching. Without knowing the ec of the mixture and runoff i cant be of much more help.

I have a ppm meter, but really don't know how to use it. I follow the directions on the chart to feed, If your putting 3 different types of nuts in a watering container how does PPM tell you what you need to know. Ive heard people water with so much Ppm but how does that work? I can YouTube it but doesn't hurt to ask. I always make sure my PH is at 5.8 - 6.5.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

I will try to put this simply.

When you see tips burning like here the plants have gotten way too much nutrients. You have to flush them out and re feed a proper much lower strength mixture.

Next time err on the side of underfeeding. Its easy to give more. Very problematic to take too much back out.

And please read a grow book or full tutorial. You need to know the basics to utilize any help we try to give.

I do appreciate it, and I have studied growing. Just need to study more apparently. I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure this out. I appreciate the help though.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

I do appreciate it, and I have studied growing. Just need to study more apparently. I have been driving myself crazy trying to figure this out. I appreciate the help though.

I may have made the issue worse then I flushed waited for a week and it didn't change so then I hit her with more nutrients. I will be dialing back my nuts. I truly thought it was a deficienty.

I will be flushing and hoping I can save the tops.

One more question, can overcrowding have anything to do with it, and do you think its overcrowded?