Sup Fam,
I have two Girl Scout Cookies Autos (Spliff Seeds), both are 31 days from seed and progressing into flower. They’re planted in 5 gal pots in Bio Terra Plus soil, the roots have been powdered with a product containing (let Dude read this) rhizophagus irregularis, bazillus velezensis and bazillus amyloliquefaciens, kelp extract, humins, horn meal, starch. I give only rain water. Last weekend I found a couple of spider mites and on Tuesday sprayed both plants up and down with a 2:1 mix of water and self made rosemary oil (olive) and two drops of an organic citrus acid based cleaner to break the tension. The mites we’re soon gone but today I found that some older fan leaves on both plants look partially hollowed out. I know this only happened this week and not before because I scout all leaves daily and would have noticed this. Both plants have shown signs of nitrogen excess (dark leaves, tips pointing down) throughout their life but I heard Scotty once say “A little nitrogen excess in early veg never hurt nobody” so I didn’t worry.
What gives?
The yellow margins on the leaves are a mutation called variegation, these sections are lacking chlorophyll and are unrelated to you mites and spray. On the other hand, I can’t really tell what’s going on in that close up picture but that leaf does have a ton of oil buildup on it, maybe consider giving it a wash with a small bit of citric acid, dish soap and water. I think an old recipe for DIY Dr. Zymes or Nuke Em is 1.75g powdered citric acid to 1 gal water
Thanks so much for your quick reply. You are correct about the buildup. I sprayed an hour before lightsoff and dimmed the lights to minimum. I watched the leaves closely the following days and found no indication of burns so I left it. Today I checked when the lights were off and could see my phone led Shine through. Does it block photosynthesis or clog the stomata? I should probably dilute more and will give them a shower asap.
I’ve seen mosaic viruses look like this on other plants like apples and hydrangeas and those are usually always vectored by ‘piercing sucking’ group of pests such as spider mites. Just a thought, if you see it spreading onto new leaves then it’s not variegation. I’m curious as to what others think.
I just checked the plants and the affected areas are growing quite fast, younger leaves have it too. The areas grow from the stem outwards. It looks like someone is sliding opacity down to 0%. Yellow dots have appeared on the oldest fan leaves. The plants do not seem stunted. They keep growing and reacting to lst.
https://tinypic.host/images/2022/08/05/IMG_20220805_155405.jpg
Looks like leaf variegation as stated above. I think they look cool. Seeing more and more of it
https://ibb.co/nQq7TFT
So, 10 days later most fan leaves look like the one linked. Both plants have finished the stretch imo and budsites are still small but getting bigger by the day. New leaves have shown multiple mutations, ranging from twisted fingers, clawing, tacoing, 1/2/3/4/5/6 fingered leaves and merged fingers. One plant is definitely healthier than the other but it seems to be a race against the clock. I will drag them through harvest for science and because it’s still cheaper than the unregulated market.
I think I can rule out variegation now. I adjusted my lights to reduce stress although I’m missing actual damage at the top to be convinced that could be the problem. Right now I’m running a 240w led on ~70% at 60cm (23.5in). Here’s the footprint: https://ibb.co/NK9K8vC