Autoflower 2nd grow - day92

[eugeeen123]

Hi everyone, struggling at day 92 with my second grow of the same strain i grew on my first run (previous_day91.jpg was my previous run for comparison)! This time I tried a 24-hour light cycle and suspect it stressed the plant. I hopefully faced a persistent fungus gnats presence in the last few days with BTI, possibly mold/mildew, and unclear trichome development (mostly white, few clear but no amber?). Plant has many dead leaves but surprisingly persistent white pistils. Debating if it's salvageable or time to restart. Any advice appreciated! Photos attached.

tldr
Strain: Same as First Grow (Second Attempt) - auto bruce lemon diesel
Stage: Flowering end of life?
Light: 100w 24h LED (possibly too much?)
Temp/Humidity: 23.8C/64% (average) - extractor vent and clip box fan always on
Soil: Mix of old/new (Biobizz light soi)
Nutrients: Biotabs kit + flowering boosters (stopped 2 weeks ago)
Problems:

• Fungus gnats (persistent, tried DE & BTI) -> fungus_gnats.png
• Trichome development (mostly white, few clear, no amber)
• Possible mold/mildew? i.e. thrics_status (2).png left lower side what are those tiny filament?
• Many dead leaves + white pistils (mixed signals)
• Give up or keep trying? Are there any Potential for growth?

[Bluey]

At that stage you must get humidity down to at least 50% and have good airflow in the tent. I looked at most pics but couldn't see any. At 64% I'd be guessing yes to mold.

That looks like a good yielding grow with a bit of stress. The buds dont look at their peak yet but id be looking at harvesting early because of the stress.

[eugeeen123]

Hey Bluey! nice to see you again, you helped me a lot on my previous run. Right now tbh I'm struggling to keep my grow tent humidity below 60%. I'm running two small dehumidifiers in the lung room (adjacent to the tent), the extractor fan is at 3/4 power, and I have good ventilation with a clip fan all of this are running 24/7. Despite these efforts, humidity climbs to 70%. My location currently has an outside average humidity of 75-80%.

To clarify, when you said "couldn't see any," you meant you didn't see any mold, correct? I inspected the plant after watering and couldn't find any more of these white filaments this time. I guess the best action here is to just monitor the situation for a few days before proceeding with harvest.

[Bluey]

Yes. I couldn't see mold but the first place you'll get it is inside the bud.

Look fir discoloured leaves and peer inside

[Bluey]

Run a dehumidifier inside the tent. Use its inlet to draw the air in to the tent via the dehumidifier if you can.

[eugeeen123]

I am unable to observe any mold with my naked eye, even when inspecting the densest buds closely peeking inside. However, when I use a digital microscope and zoom in, I occasionally notice these minuscule filaments, which are scarce and nearly imperceptible even at maximum magnification. I haven't noticed any other insects apart from fungus gnats, which have thankfully begun to diminish thanks to BTI treatment. Therefore, seeing a web-like formation like this in the pics below makes me wonder if it could be a sign of mold, i have no other explanation for it. I am committed to implementing your advice and placing dehumidifiers inside the tent to address the issue with humidity, i just have to decide if this is salvageable or not (can be smoked).

[SoOrbudgal]

You are so close to harvest. I hope you turn the lights off when you spray? I think that had effect on those colas being wet. Tackle that gnat problem with changing soil and pre wetting the container of soil prior to planting. Let it dry a tad just moist. Leave the tent open more they don't need complete darkness for autoflowers. I'd open all the flaps and would not spray BT when buds are this far along. Top surface of soil maybe but not buds. Fungas gnats are not that harmful above the soil it's the roots that are a concern. Fix the soil issue next go I still think cannibus needs a rest period from intense light. If those leaf pull off real easy that's a sign of mold or soggy roots.

[eugeeen123]

I generally keep the grow lights on continuously and take care not to directly spray anything onto the plant. When watering, I make sure to target the soil, and the same goes for applying BTI. I mixed the BTI powder with water and applied it to the soil about 3-4 days ago, and I've only done this once. It's encouraging that the fungus gnats are nearly gone, but I'm worried about potential damage from their larvae to the root system over the past 2 months. Additionally, I usually leave one flap of the tent open (opposite the windows), and I recently introduced a 2-hour dark period into the light cycle. For my next grow, I'm considering using entirely new soil. Regarding the tiny filaments, I'm unsure of their nature. The leaves don't come off easily; only completely dead (dry-brown) ones do but i think that is totally normal. While the filaments could be early signs of mold formation, they almost resemble glue to me or...perhaps resin?!. ,maybe glue from the yellow traps I placed in the tent for the gnats inadvertently got onto the buds. Unfortunately, there's no definitive way to confirm this.

[eugeeen123]

It seems the BTi application did the trick, as I haven't spotted any gnats today after 4 days since i introduced it with watering! While the yellow sticky traps show some catches, the infestation never reached alarming levels. Decided to harvest in about 7 days at day 100, so I'll hold off on any further interventions. No visible mold detected, except for those odd filaments observed in the pictures sent in my previous post. as per Bluey suggestions Humidity control is improving - I've deployed one dehumidifiers inside the tent and i leave the other one in the lung room, bringing the relative humidity down to 56-60% (not ideal, but definitely an improvement).

[Bluey]

Last grow I had high levels of fungus gnats midway in veg. Plant was maybe 6 weeks old, mushrooms were growing out of the coco in large numbers. Juvenile gnats by the 1000's at about 1 ½" deep. The coco was alive.

So I read up about them. It was just symptomatic of overwatering. They are not harmful and only eat the top roots by accident when they are eating the fungus so can be detrimental for small plants with top root systems and stunt their growth, maybe kill them if the plant only has top roots in the layer the gnats are active.

So I didn't treat them, just stopped drowning my coco and they died off fast.

Those filaments you are seeing are much larger than the ones I get on my sativas but yours are fewer in number and in my case are part of the plant. I don't know what they are but it's not fungus. I've noticed them most when I deliberately open up well developed buds for inspection in small numbers but when I cut the buds and put them under a scope I see lots then. It might be caused by the physical damage when cutting or opening the bud to repair or repel pests...I really have no idea what it is but I'm pretty sure it's a good thing.

[eugeeen123]

day 96, thanks to Bluey's advice, the average humidity is finally down to 50%, which is much better for the plant. And speaking of good news, the BTi treatment seems to have done the trick - no more gnats around!

Now I'm keeping an eye on those white pistils, there are still a few hanging around. The trichomes are something else though, mostly clear with some white ones mixed in as far as i can tell. I guess that means the buds aren't quite ready yet, right? Still need to get better at telling those amber, white, and clear trichomes apart.

Reflecting on Bluey's gnat experience, it makes me wonder if the 24/7 light schedule might have actually hindered growth in my case.

[eugeeen123]

Yep, all set up in another tent which is smaller than the grow one, so i can't put the whole plant inside but i have to cut the single branches. temp around 19Celsius (66F) and humidity 47-48% not the best conditions. What do you think?

[Bluey]

I think you will dry it way too fast and likely overdry it in those conditions.

You need to aim for 60/60 according to a commonly accepted theory. I've never dried at that though. If you cannot get temps down try bringing humidity up a bit or vice versa.

If you can't do much about that you can slow the process by hanging the plant upside down roots and all, no trimming, no cutting. Wash the roots in a bucket of sugar water and gently shake off excess water so it doesn't run down and get the buds wet. Keep airflow to an absolute minimum but don't let the buds rest against each other or any other surface. Risk of mould is real so monitor closely.

Edit. If the buds are touching each other or another surface that is where mould will first develop. You could also dry using the immersion process.

[eugeeen123]

i think i can work on humidity, i have to test it out but i have a small humidifier ready. In the meantime the buds are getting bigger i think introducing 2 hours light off into the schedule worked out a bit, i'll post some pics before harvesting day to get your opinion.

[eugeeen123]

On the 99th day, I'm considering harvesting tomorrow. I observed that one bud appears "dry" or possibly overmatured, maye signs of bud rot or botrytis?!?. It's distinguishable as it's the only one with orange pistils, contrasting with the other buds that still exhibit a mix of white and orange pistils. This can be seen in the last photo, located at the bottom right of the plant. Overall by looking at the plant i'm not sure there's more room for growth, i stopped giving flowering nutes 3 weeks ago so i think it's time! Im no where near satisfied, buds density is not what i was looking for....

[eugeeen123]

This is the single overmatured bud, even looking with the microscope i cant see any mold so it basically just looks dry/done

[SoOrbudgal]

To me it still looks like bud rot but if it's not it still not good to let that happen.

[eugeeen123]

SoOrbudgal you were totally right, decided to cut the dead bud and found mold inside only the top part the bottom bart was still green and without mold but afaik bud rot grow from bottom to top? now i must decide what to do, im going to harvest in the mean time and look for more mold. Do you think it is somehow savagable? without doing any washing etc

[SoOrbudgal]

Well i've never saved moldy buds but i've salvaged bud rot buds. I'd cut the rotted brown out if the stem seems green below it i'd use it. But you'd best be hanging in sections by branches with good airflow drying in those conditions. It can spread real fast

[eugeeen123]

I carefully removed the brown bud from the main branch and disposed of it. Already harvested everything (i leaved a small portion on the plant, basically the lower side), I did a light trim and checked for mold while putting everything to dry. The rest of the buds looked fine. On inspecting each bud inside, I found no signs of bud rot like a brown stem. Although I was cautious, I'm aware that mold spores might have spread. Now, it's just a matter of whether or not they develop on the other buds I've recently harvested.

[eugeeen123]

On the third day of drying, the average temperature is 18°C with 60% humidity. Meanwhile in the main tent, I'm still watering the remaining plant she is at day 103 avg 24C / 49% hum (pics below), but I'm wondering if it's worth the effort or just a waste of time. The plant doesn't look promising (possibly reverting to vegetative state?), so I'm considering starting anew with another plant while waiting for the main harvest to finish drying. What do you think?

This second grow taught me valuable lessons for the future:

1. A 24-hour light cycle is not ideal, particularly for beginners like myself. It's better to provide at least 2-4 hours of darkness.
2. Even in indoor grows and with utmost cleanliness, pest infestations can still occur.
3. When a plant shows signs of distress, there's a high likelihood of developing issues such as bud rot, or it may just stunt and not grow as expected.

[eugeeen123]

It's been 106 days since germination and the seventh day of drying. The remaining part of the plant doesn't seem capable of producing more buds. Should I allow it a few more weeks to see any improvement?

Meanwhile, I've ordered some new seeds. If there's no improvement in the plant by next week, I'll accept the setback and begin a new growing cycle. For this new cycle, I've selected the Auto Mimosa Punch strain.
Moreover using my apt AC unit to cool the tent for drying doesn't seem like a viable long-term solution. I'm considering purchasing a 35-liter no-frost mini fridge for drying my next harvest in paper bags.

[SoOrbudgal]

Man that's one dying auto no improvement gonna happen @eugeen123 she's done by the looks of it. Cut and hang it salvage what you can.