My shriveling, wilty sickly branch. Any ideas the cause?

[KLAX]

This is an Arjan Haze plant whose trichromes are just beginning to turn from milky to amber. Last night, I noticed an entire main branch who’s leaves were clearly shriveling. You can see the top of the branch in the first photo. The rest of the plant appears healthy. Looking at the plant’s trichromes this morning with the loupe, they appear to be continuing to ripen.

You can see in the second picture that the stalk at the juncture appears brown. In person I think it is slightly more purple, but definitely on the brown side. There are no soft or punky spots that I could feel when I pressed on the juncture.

I grow exclusively outdoors.

Any ideas about what has caused this not a full-brown crisis, but a bigger loss than I would prefer?

The last photo is from 2015. That’s my son Eli and me. That was taken at the Oregon Country Fair, at the place called Watergate. I ran a security crew at The Fair from 1980 to 1995. I handed crew leadership over to a friend and long-time Fair guy with the understanding that if he continued as crew leader and if my kid ever was interested in carrying the radio (aka, being crew leader), Brendan would be up for that. 20 years later I got to be on my son's crew! As you can see, we were definitely working hard!

[johnb1963]

Looks like bud rot

[KLAX]

Thank you for your response, johnb1963. The entire branch? As I trim that branch (which I've just begun doing), I'm not seeing any evidence of bud rot under the shriveling leaves. Previously when I've encountered bud rot, it has come on literally overnight, no evidence a day before, totally rotten bud the next day.

[Blowdout2269]

Bud rot is also my first thought.
I would dig into a bud and investigate.

[SoOrbudgal]

There is a boring worm also type of catipillar that damages stalks. I'm having the worst season i've had with catipillars this year. I'm harvesting now also and man it's a choir for one person. Mine are small indica crosses but i do have a 7 ft. GG#4 that's at least 3wks out and not been touched by the worms yet thank goodness. She is sticky as fly paper. Also if i may add.......i live about 1 1/2 South of Eugene, gotta daughter lives in Pleasant Hill she works the Country fair almost every year for many years in the Sushi booth myself i've been a couple times but i'm not one for big crowds in tight spaces. I very much enjoyed the art displays and riding the bus there LOL.

[KLAX]

I used to work in Pleasant Hill. I called it Unpleasant Hill. Yikes!

For those who may not know, the Oregon Country Fair is a hippy arts and crafts fair. First year was 1969. It's a 501(c) 3 non-profit that has become famous world wide. It happens the weekend following the 4th of July, and is just three days long, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Over the course of the weekend, over 150,000 folks attend. Other than a very few paid staff (under a dozen), the entire fair is put on by several thousand volunteers. I am confident it's like no other arts and crafts fair anywhere else on earth. Shit, one year I sat next to the Dalai Lama at a sit-down reservations required food booth (Chez Ray) and have dinner with him. Nice guy. Humble. I think it's also the only place one would have seen the Flying Karamazov Brothers juggle fire naked at midnight on stage. Don't know where else either of those things would happen!

FWIW, too many fucking people for me too these days. Hell, even in 2015. Used to be a lot smaller and more intimate.

[KLAX]

Here are a couple of closer-up photos, one of part of the branch untrimmed, and one of a couple of the smaller branchlets trimmed.

There are also two photos of bud rot that I grabbed from the "Diagnose Your Sick Plant" page.

When I look at the pictures from the diagnosis page, it appears that most of the leaves surrounding the buds, but seemingly on the same branch, are healthy and full of turgor. For the most part, the leaves in the buds themselves are clearly not just withered but they are also rotten. That said, a few of those leaves seem close to healthy, or at least they remain green. None of the leaves on my branch are rotten, although there are a very few that are yellowing, which I consider normal since the plant is fully into flowering.

As I trim the branches, they seem normal relative to any other branches I've trimmed in the past. There is no odd or off odor (which my wife's nose would detect that in a hot second!) and they feel like any other bud. They feel just like a fresh moist bud when it's fully trimmed.

I wonder, has anyone has ever caught bud rot early enough to be able to save the entire bud? I certainly have not, nor have I ever heard of it happening.

Thank you all very much for your comments.

[KLAX]

Late this afternoon I noticed another branch with wilting fan leaves. I took the plant down and am starting to dry it now. I won't be able to trim the entire plant tonight, so the rest of it is hanging untrimmed. It will be interesting to see how it all looks tomorrow. As of this time, I haven't seen any evidence of active bud rot. And damn that plant is pungent!

[Rwise]

Botrytis effects more than buds, I would suggest tossing the dead branch, and cutting soon (I see you did). When you cut it look inside for dark areas, more near the bad place. I will also say cut out the bad area so it does not spread.