Cannabis is a sensitive plant, subject to numerous environmental conditions and opportunistic pests. These can result in poor quality plants or even crop failure.
To effectively control these problems, it is important to implement an IPM program. This will not only reduce the need for costly control measures, but it will also ensure that you get a high-quality yield.
Insects
When it comes to pests and diseases, there are a few different approaches you can take. One is to use biological methods, like beneficial insects. This is an eco-friendly alternative to chemical treatments that doesn’t compromise your crop’s quality or contaminate your buds with dangerous residual chemicals.
Beneficial insects are natural predators that patrol your plants to attack any pests that may be present, preventing the pest population from reaching problematic levels. This approach is popular among both indoor and outdoor growers and obviates the need to apply pesticides.
There are many types of beneficial insect available to growers, including ladybugs, lacewings and mites. They’re all effective at destroying certain types of pests while not damaging the cannabis plant’s health or producing any waste.
For example, ladybugs are great for ridding your cannabis plants of aphids. These tiny, flying insects are carnivorous and will consume thousands of aphids over the course of their lifespan. They also eat other pests such as spider mites and thrips.
Lacewings are another effective way to combat aphids and other soft-bodied pests, such as spider mites, fungus gnats and whitefly. Green lacewings are small and delicate insects that have large transparent and lace-like wings.
They feed on aphids and other pests, while their ability to fly and reproduce means they can spread their prey throughout your grow tent and your entire cannabis crop. They can also eat pest eggs and larvae, making them an excellent choice for a multi-species fight against these pests.
To control these pests, you can either spray them with a solution or use room foggers that will release pyrethrum, an ingredient derived from chrysanthemum flowers. Three applications at 5-10 day intervals should significantly knock down a spider mite infestation.
As with most other pests, reducing temperatures and humidity can help slow a spider mite infestation. Additionally, limiting the number of people and equipment in your cultivation area will decrease the likelihood that any pest infestation can spread to other parts of your grow facility. Finally, implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that focus on employee hygiene and the proper cleaning of tools and equipment will reduce the potential for an infestation to spread throughout your facility.
Diseases
One of the most important things to understand about growing cannabis is that your plants are constantly in danger of disease and pests. With millions of species of fungal spores floating around the environment, it’s necessary to know how to effectively control these diseases to ensure the health and safety of your plant.
There are a number of ways to successfully control pests and diseases in your grow space. Maintaining healthy plant tissue is a key factor, as a strong immune system will help your plants fight off pests and diseases before they become a serious problem.
Keeping your plants clean is essential as well, as this will help prevent soil and plant debris from containing fungal spores that can cause fungus infections. This can be done through a regular spray of bleach or peroxyacetic acid (PAA) like Jet-Ag* or H2O2. It also includes disinfecting the grow room surfaces and using high quality air filtration units to clean out fungal spores in the air.
Another important step is to monitor your plant for any pests that are present and identify them. Sticky traps can be a great way to easily identify pests without having to use insecticides.
Some common pests that you should be on the lookout for include: thrip, whiteflies and leaf miners. These insects live in leaves and tunnel through them to eat the best parts of your plants. They leave a trail of damage behind them and are normally around 1/8″ thick when they hatch.
If you notice any of these pests on your plants, it is best to remove them from the grow area immediately and treat them with insecticides. This will eliminate the pest and prevent it from spreading to other plants in your grow room.
It is also a good idea to use pesticides when you have aphids in your grow room because these aphids are a major threat to the health and production of your cannabis plants. Leaving aphids to hang around will attract more pests to your grow and can lead to a bigger problem down the road.
Nutrients
There are many different types of pests and diseases that can harm your cannabis plants. It’s important to control them before they take hold of your grow.
Whether you’re growing outdoors or indoors, the most effective way to protect your crops is prevention. This means monitoring your plants regularly and carefully, and keeping pests in check by introducing natural predators.
In addition to these methods, you can also use organic nutrients and additives in your growing media and flowerpots. These will provide better organoleptic properties to your buds, as well as more intense aromas.
Nutrients are an essential part of any growing schedule, so it’s important to choose the right ones. The nutrients you choose must be in the right proportions (NPK ratio) to suit the needs of your plants at each stage they’re in; rooting, growth and flowering.
Organic nutrients are often better for the environment, and can help prevent harmful chemicals from leaching into your soil or water. They also tend to be absorbed slowly by your plants, so it’s harder to accidentally overfertilize.
Another nutrient that can help keep pests at bay is a high-quality fungicide. You can get fungicides that are made for cannabis, and they’re safer to use than conventional pesticides. They also have the added benefit of helping to avoid a fungal disease that can lead to poor quality and quantity of your crop.
A few other ways to fight pests include sterilizing your grow room and equipment, and removing any plant debris immediately after harvest. You can also use insecticidal soaps, which weaken the outer shell of mites and other insects.
Lastly, you can also introduce beneficial nematodes into your soil and soil-based grow beds to help with the battle against pests like spider mites. This is a natural and inexpensive way to eliminate your pest problem.
You can also use netting around your plant’s perimeter to deter birds and other animals from munching on your buds, as well as protecting them from the sun. However, this can sometimes be a difficult job since some insects and smaller-sized creatures will thrive in a dark environment, so you’ll have to monitor your plants carefully and closely for any signs of a pest infestation.
Light
Cannabis growers often invest in the best seeds, top-end lights and sophisticated grow rooms, only to see their crops suffer a severe pest or disease problem if they do not effectively control them. The key is to learn how to detect pests and diseases in the early stages, which can prevent a disaster before they start.
Plants require different light cycles and wattages depending on their stage of growth, so it is important to have a movable lighting setup that allows you to easily control them. For example, a plant in its vegetative stage needs 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness, while a flowering cannabis crop requires 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness.
It is important to ensure that your plants get sufficient light during the growing phase, as it will increase their photosynthesis rate and allow them to produce more cannabis. This can be achieved by controlling the intensity of your grow lights, by using reflective materials and by keeping cannabis plants as close to the walls as possible.
There are many different types of pests that can be a serious issue in your cannabis garden, but with the right techniques and attention to detail you should be able to keep them under control. The best way to do this is by learning to monitor your plants and being prepared to react quickly when signs of pests appear.
Leafhoppers are a major pest and can be particularly damaging in hot, dry weather when they need to feed off the sap that your plants produce. They can be removed by spraying with a soapy water or neem oil, or predators such as ladybirds or lacewings can help to eat them off the plants.
Mites are another of the most common pests in cannabis plants and can be a real nuisance. They can damage leaves and buds, causing them to rot and reducing harvest potential. Specialist chemical sprays are available but neem oil is preferred by most.
Powdery mildew is another common pest, affecting a wide variety of crops. It causes a buildup of white, yellow or black spots on leaves and stems. It also reduces nutrient availability to the plants, resulting in prematurely dropped or wilted leaves. It can be controlled through fungicides and other methods, such as limiting humidity levels or maintaining air flow in the grow room.
