silverhaze
- 178
- 28
Hey Farmers,
Sharing my story.. For over a year in my current location, I have battled against a wicked unknown enemy. No matter what I changed, no matter what strains I tried, I got the same result time, and time again. I refused to believe that I could be fighting something that could not be overcome so I have spent the whole year reading, researching, and trying to understand what, if anything, I have been doing wrong. First of all, I am not an expert grower. Some of you guys here on the farm have such an unbelievable understanding of this subject it amazes me time and time again. So, I have quietly been asking questions, reading and talking with guys I know who have been growing for decades. Unfortunately, no one was ever able to identify this problem for me until now. For those growers on here who have helped me along this path, thank you so very much for your help!
My set up is a sealed environment. I have two adjoining rooms, one for veg, one for flower. I run 4k, co2 from tanks with meter, mini split 2 ton, 6" rockwool cubes and I top feed with Veg+Bloom nutes (currently V+B but have used many other nutrient line ups). Veg always looks great. Once the plants move to the flower room, it takes about a week (sometimes less) before the Fusarium begins to take hold. Let me add here that yes, I know for certain that it is Fusarium Solani as I had three parts of my plants lab tested last month; sample of the stem at the soil level (rockwool level), multiple leaves and sections of roots from various plants. Leaves were clear of everything, stem was clear, roots were positive for FS. These plants showed the exact same characteristics as all of my previous crops (in this location).
Once in flower, the Fusarium begins to choke the roots inhibiting nutrient uptake almost completely. Then the slow death begins. New growth comes in bright green if not yellow and during the night hours of this first week or two, the plants do what I call the "death wilt" where they look like they haven't been fed in a week. Next, the fan leaves begin to yellow and die though they stay attached unlike a Nitrogen deficiency where the leaves will fall off. Along the way, the leaves show every deficiency in the book; and I've chased them all from Calcium to Zinc. I keep these rooms extremely clean and take every precaution; but nothing, I mean nothing I've tried will change the result.
In this last run I introduced Cap's Bennies in a last ditch effort to beat this thing before total tear down and move. While I love Cap's Bennie's and they made my plants look better in veg than they ever have, they did not have any effect on the Fusarium. I flipped this last crop 5 days ago and I'm already convinced they are ALL infected and I will have to kill yet another crop.
What I hope to find is someone out there who has successfully beaten, or at least managed Fusarium and can give me some advice about what worked for them. This has been one of the most painful exercises of my life. I have never worked so hard for no reward. In more than a year, I haven't seen one healthy plant make it through to flower in this room. When rooms are empty, I clean everything, every time with Bleach, H202 and Physan 20. The Pathologist who discovered the Fusarium thinks that it is NOT airborne and is only spread by water, tools and insects. Does anyone know differently? The new fear is that even if I can ante up and go at it again in a new spot, I might well bring the plague with me catching a ride in or on my equipment. How about strains that are resistant to Fusarium? Do they exist?
I've read everything I can find online about Fusarium and there isn't much. Many growers call bullshit when someone says they have Fusarium and I suspect that is just because it is very rare and they themselves don't know anything about it. Fusarium in cannabis is all too real and maybe my painful experience can save another grower some time and resources in identifying the fungus. No matter what the symptoms though, I believe this is something that can only truly be identified by lab tests.
I will leave you with four photos. Two of the current crop while in Veg and then two more of the same plants a week into flower. Please let me know if you know anything about this awful disease!
Thanks all.
Horrified...
Sharing my story.. For over a year in my current location, I have battled against a wicked unknown enemy. No matter what I changed, no matter what strains I tried, I got the same result time, and time again. I refused to believe that I could be fighting something that could not be overcome so I have spent the whole year reading, researching, and trying to understand what, if anything, I have been doing wrong. First of all, I am not an expert grower. Some of you guys here on the farm have such an unbelievable understanding of this subject it amazes me time and time again. So, I have quietly been asking questions, reading and talking with guys I know who have been growing for decades. Unfortunately, no one was ever able to identify this problem for me until now. For those growers on here who have helped me along this path, thank you so very much for your help!
My set up is a sealed environment. I have two adjoining rooms, one for veg, one for flower. I run 4k, co2 from tanks with meter, mini split 2 ton, 6" rockwool cubes and I top feed with Veg+Bloom nutes (currently V+B but have used many other nutrient line ups). Veg always looks great. Once the plants move to the flower room, it takes about a week (sometimes less) before the Fusarium begins to take hold. Let me add here that yes, I know for certain that it is Fusarium Solani as I had three parts of my plants lab tested last month; sample of the stem at the soil level (rockwool level), multiple leaves and sections of roots from various plants. Leaves were clear of everything, stem was clear, roots were positive for FS. These plants showed the exact same characteristics as all of my previous crops (in this location).
Once in flower, the Fusarium begins to choke the roots inhibiting nutrient uptake almost completely. Then the slow death begins. New growth comes in bright green if not yellow and during the night hours of this first week or two, the plants do what I call the "death wilt" where they look like they haven't been fed in a week. Next, the fan leaves begin to yellow and die though they stay attached unlike a Nitrogen deficiency where the leaves will fall off. Along the way, the leaves show every deficiency in the book; and I've chased them all from Calcium to Zinc. I keep these rooms extremely clean and take every precaution; but nothing, I mean nothing I've tried will change the result.
In this last run I introduced Cap's Bennies in a last ditch effort to beat this thing before total tear down and move. While I love Cap's Bennie's and they made my plants look better in veg than they ever have, they did not have any effect on the Fusarium. I flipped this last crop 5 days ago and I'm already convinced they are ALL infected and I will have to kill yet another crop.
What I hope to find is someone out there who has successfully beaten, or at least managed Fusarium and can give me some advice about what worked for them. This has been one of the most painful exercises of my life. I have never worked so hard for no reward. In more than a year, I haven't seen one healthy plant make it through to flower in this room. When rooms are empty, I clean everything, every time with Bleach, H202 and Physan 20. The Pathologist who discovered the Fusarium thinks that it is NOT airborne and is only spread by water, tools and insects. Does anyone know differently? The new fear is that even if I can ante up and go at it again in a new spot, I might well bring the plague with me catching a ride in or on my equipment. How about strains that are resistant to Fusarium? Do they exist?
I've read everything I can find online about Fusarium and there isn't much. Many growers call bullshit when someone says they have Fusarium and I suspect that is just because it is very rare and they themselves don't know anything about it. Fusarium in cannabis is all too real and maybe my painful experience can save another grower some time and resources in identifying the fungus. No matter what the symptoms though, I believe this is something that can only truly be identified by lab tests.
I will leave you with four photos. Two of the current crop while in Veg and then two more of the same plants a week into flower. Please let me know if you know anything about this awful disease!
Thanks all.
Horrified...
