WTF is GROWING on my plants??? Please help identify! (Mold of some type I think)!

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Max Frost

Max Frost

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Hi folks,

I'm hoping somebody can help me identify and correct this! I've seen this type thing in a couple of previous grows and even had it lab analyzed. The lab report came back listing a variety of molds present. It's been several years and I can't remember all of them now. The only one that sticks out in my mind was pennicillium.

When I had this before, my home had a terrible mold infestation going on. In fact, the home-builder had to shell out over $30,000 for a intensive mold remediation of the home. The cause turned out to be a defect in the way they had hooked up the AC ventilation system, and moisture became trapped. It turned into a mold farm and the AC carried it all through the house. On that grow, I chalked it up to that. I figured that since mold was growing in my carpeting, flooring, and all through the house, it only made sense that it was just too big an infestation, and it got the plants too.

This time, I'm in a different state, with none of the same equipment/supplies. There is nothing from that old house where I am now, so I know it hasn't become contaminated that way. I'm not even positive that it is mold this time. It looks a bit different, although very similar.

Can anybody please help me identify what this is? And even more importantly...how do I get rid of this and prevent it in the future? Your help will be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Here are the quick facts and pics...

NOTE: You can see my set-up and these plants at the link in my sig below to "The Maxy Pad".

Set-up - Approx 10' x 12' room with a 3x4 tent for flowering, a 2x4 tent for veg, and a 2x2 tent set up for drying.

Ventillation - I am unable to vent outside at all. I am in an apartment. I pull the air from my tents with a 6" and a 4" fan/filter combo to scrub the odor, and the air is exhausted back into the room. The grow-room door stays open at all times during lights on, and is closed while I'm at work during the day with only the T-5 running in the veg tent. It's not stuffy in there. There air circulation seems good since I can leave the door open most all the time. Temps in the room are stable and in range, and I'm adding CO2 with 3 Refresh bags. (5) 6" circulation fans for circulation. (Everything is always swaying in the breeze in my tents. I'm a believer in air-flow).

RH - Humidity was running on the high side in veg...around 70-80%. I now have a dehumidifier going. Humidity ranges from 50-60% currently.

Temps - Was keeping the temp at around 78f, but since adding the CO2 have stepped it up to 82-84f.

Light - Flower: Started with VHO T-5, switched to Inda-gro PAR 420 w/ pontoon. Currently on a 13/11 photoperiod. / Veg: T-5, bloom spectrum, 24 hr. schedule

Medium - FF soil cut with 1/4 chunky perlite.

Nutes - Fox Farm line-up. Supplement with organic compost teas as of lately.

Watering - I water to saturation, and then will not water again until the soil is thoroughly dried out and the pot is very light. (I'm confident they're not over watered).

Here are some pics of what I'm seeing. I just bought this USB microscope so I could post these shots. (This is a cool little gadget! I'll never look at my trics with the handheld scope again)!!!

Anyway...here's what I'm seeing...

Low power leaf shot:

Wtf is growing on my plants please help identify mold of some type i think 2


Wtf is growing on my plants please help identify mold of some type i think


A little closer...same leaf:

003 leaf close


004 leaf close


Here's a shot from a different leaf...

005 leaf close



And these pics are from a tester bud I harvested a couple of days ago that is still drying. THANKFULLY...this mold or whatever it is, seems to be mainly on the bud leaves and not so much on the buds themselves. I've smoked a tester like this and there's no discernible taste, odor or effect (not coughing your head off like with storage molds). When I had this before, it did effect the smoke some. It did make you cough some.

Bud pic (SB) zoom out:

Wtf is growing on my plants please help identify mold of some type i think 6


Zoom in...

Wtf is growing on my plants please help identify mold of some type i think 7


Again...I would be most grateful if anyone can tell me for certain what this is (if it's mold as I suspect, or not) and what can I do to treat and then prevent it? I'm concerned since I've had this before that maybe it's something I'm doing wrong...but I do not know what. I thought I had all the bases pretty well covered!

Thank you!

Max :wacky:
 
Max Frost

Max Frost

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I don't see shit in the first 2 pix Max...you might just be trippin' out.

Haha...wouldn't be the first time bro! Actually, I'm talking about the areas I've circled in red. It's kind of a dark grayish-dark green color, so it's not easy to see. It's actually visible to the naked eye just holding the plant material up to the light, but it's so small, it's really hard to see. The next set of "zoomed in" pics above, are the same area magnified. When magnified, it's almost iridescent/glowing the way it reflects the light. It's spooky shit! Haha. Can you see it now that I circled it? Thanks for your time!

Max :wacky:

002 leaf mod
 
Natural

Natural

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It's super hard to see buddy..but PM starts out as looking black..sorta like shiny soot. Best do some preventative..maybe for your situation...some green cure if your deep into flower...keep your eye on it.
 
Max Frost

Max Frost

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Thanks man, I sure hope it's not PM starting, but I really don't think so. Now that you say that though, I am going to google PM and see if I can find any shots of it magnified like that to compare. Thanks much!

Oh yeah...I'd forgotten to mention it, but I'm at week 7 flowering on a 8-9 week strain (just started water-only on this) and a 10-11 week strain.

Thanks again!

Max :wacky:
 
Natural

Natural

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check this pic...3rd one down..it's magnified
..when I saw it by the naked eye..it looks more "sooty" like PM but black..maybe less organized in circles and more like random slight splotchyness. If it is PM...dry pots make it worse btw. Get on a neem or stylet oil early on. Hopin for the best..
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
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Hmmm... well, it's not like anything I've seen before, and if it's iridescent, that feature honestly makes me think of snail slime. I don't think your lovely ladies are gettin' slimed, though, are they?

I'm with Natural, start with a physical barrier, I use(d) JMS Stylets oil and Oxidate the last time I had to deal with PM. One's a physical barrier (the oil) the other is a contact killer (Oxidate, which is a strong peroxide). Both can be used up to the moment of harvest, IME, but I prefer to use Oxidate for the end since it just dissipates, whereas the JMS may leave a film that I'd rather not have on the buds.

You could also fight microbes with microbes, E.G. OGBioWar packs, brewed up into a tea and applied as a foliar.
 
xX Kid Twist Xx

xX Kid Twist Xx

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take soem shots of the plant from back a bit further. i really cant make it out either
 
Max Frost

Max Frost

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Thanks all! I'm really pretty sure it's not PM or Botrytis. LMAO Sea...no, I'm pretty sure it's not snail slime either. I don't think the stuff is actually iridescent...it just seems that way. It's kinda shiny. The structure of it looks very similar to the "storage mold" I have seen through the scope. Does anybody know what these usually are?

I'm SO close to taking them down, I'm reluctant to do anything to this run. I'm on the flush, and will probably harvest in a week. I really would like to identify this and what's causing it for the future tho! Since I believe this was caused by environmental contamination last time...I'm concerned it may be the same cause again. I saw a home "mold test kit" at Ace Hardware. I think I'll go back and pick it up and see if it gives me any insight.

I'm REALLY hoping someone here at the Farm will have seen this before and have some experience with it. I cant be the only grower in the world to encounter it!

PLEASE...can anybody offer an identification??? Thanks in advance! If we don't get this identified, I guess I'll just have to try treating it as you suggest, Seamaiden. Thanks again!

Best,

Max :wacky:
 
Max Frost

Max Frost

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Well, I believe I may have found the cause of my mold issues! About 7 weeks ago, I culled some plants before flipping. One was about 2-1/2' tall, and I cut it, leaving about 6-8" of the main stem sticking out of the soil. I was going to let it dry out for a day or two and then discard. Somehow, it got put behind a large box in the room, and I forgot about it! I found it last night and it was covered in a white powdery mold. That moist stem sticking out of the moist soil for several weeks, is a perfect invitation for mold to set up shop! My thinking is that it did, and the spores migrated to the living plants. Here's a pic of the stem as I found it...

StemMold


Here's a few close-up shots of my bud taken with the USB microscope. I'm thinking the fuzzy structures are mold. Can anyone please help me confirm this?

Mold


Mold1


Mold2


Mold3


Mold4


Assuming this is mold...how should I treat this? I have two plants that are going to be coming down over the weekend, so I'm not planning to do anything to them at this point. My other plants still have approx. 3 weeks left. Should I try to treat them with anything? What should I use?

So far...I've cut my RH to 30-40% and wiped everything down really good with peroxide. Of course, I also got rid of the old soil and stem immediately! Any input or suggestions here would be GREATLY appreciated!

Also...just for shits and giggles, I scoped some of the brown mexi-schwagg going around locally. I suspected storage mold on it as well, as it's very harsh and makes you cough, and your nose run when you smoke it. Mold seems to be very pervasive in my area. Is this common everywhere?

Meximold


Thanks in advance to all!

Best,

Max :wacky:
 
OctoberDee

OctoberDee

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Isopropyl alcohol will kill the mold on contact, also good for killing mites. 70% alcohol sprayed on affected areas should kill the mold. You may need to check and reapply as necessary. I use this method on clones that get mold so it's def not going to hurt your flowering mature plants. You should also be ok to use up until harvest if needed IME.
 
Max Frost

Max Frost

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263
Isopropyl alcohol will kill the mold on contact, also good for killing mites. 70% alcohol sprayed on affected areas should kill the mold. You may need to check and reapply as necessary. I use this method on clones that get mold so it's def not going to hurt your flowering mature plants. You should also be ok to use up until harvest if needed IME.

Thanks Dee! Funny, I have just been discussing using iso alcohol with seamaiden, and had decided to give it a go. I'm going to have to pick up some more alcohol. (Just used the last I had cleaning my glass...haha)! Do I just get the regular "rubbing alcohol", or do I need something special? Also, can you definitely identify what I'm seeing in the pics as mold?

Thanks again!

Max :wacky:
 
Mr_GreenGenes

Mr_GreenGenes

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Glad you figured it out bro. The Iso will hopefull work and from what Ive read theres NO residual. Get some extra so you can make some QWISO with all that trim you gonna have soon. MGG
 
OctoberDee

OctoberDee

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Regular old fashioned burns on a booboo isopropyl, I buy the cheap stuff at CVS or the market.
 
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