Bud rot? Or bugs, or bud?

[Joefkelly]

Hey guys I’m pretty new to it all having only grown one solid plant successfully last year

at the moment my buds are about 6-7 weeks away from the the harvest time from last year but I’ve found a few brown,grey patches on my plants.

at first I was worried it was bud root but I’m not seeing the spores and whispy grey stuff that people talk about

A few of the times when I’ve inspected the grey patch I found a catarpillar in deep near the stem so that got me thinking the bug had killed the bud and caused it to go grey.

last thing I was thinking is maybe this crop is just ripening early and I’m spinning out for no reasons lol

I’ve played it safe and removed said patches and monitoring closely

any wisdom would be appreciated

[CaptainWiese91]

Definitely some kind of fungi.

[dilvish]

Outdoor grow I assume? If you found one caterpillar there may be more but just looking at the pics I would suggest bud rot or some kind of infestation like russet mites. Lack of white or grey mold doesn't mean it's not bud rot.

Additionally it looks like chew marks on some of the other leaves so it could be caterpillars among other types of pests. It gets tricky growing outdoors. Bugs are certainly a big problem sometimes. Too much shade and too much water mixed with little or no breeze makes the plants a great place for bugs.

[crucialbunny]

Moth eggs hatch and a tiny little caterpillar eats its way into the heart of your bud and it kills off the surrounding area. If you find one outside the bud it's looking for a fresh home inside another bud. The ones around here max out at about an inch long. Unfortunately they prefer bud over leaf so it takes some serious searching to locate them because they become exactly the same color as the plant.

[MrPNW]

Many bugs hide deep in plants or in the soil during daytime/light hours. Check them at night with a bright led flashlight to see if anything is crawling around on the plant or coming up and out of the soil. Root weevils do the later and can devastate a plant without you ever seeing one in the day.

[PLreef]

Looks just like the hemp borer damage my outdoor got last season. Check for holes in the stem near the damaged areas.

[Rwise]

Time for some praying mantis!

[dilvish]

Try an organic pesticide like cinnamon oil or peppermint oil used in a pressurized garden sprayer (manual pump type are cheap and effective).or predator mites...Start now or those little suckers will destroy all the plants.

Next time you grow outdoors try to grow some peppermint, lavender, basil, sage or even rosemary alongside the cannabis. the odiferious plants will ward of many pests