Fungal Diagnosis Control on Cannabis

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January 26, 2016

Disease Identification and Fungal Diagnosis Control on Cannabis

Fungal diseases are a leading cause of plant death and revenue loss for marijuana growers. The optimal growing conditions for cannabis — moderate temperatures and humidity — also provide excellent opportunities for plant diseases. Learning how to accurately identify common causes of disease is important for growers to enact effective fungal diagnosis control on cannabis to rid these crops of disease.

How Fungal Diseases Attack Cannabis

Fungi are a class of organisms including yeast, mold, and mushrooms. These are often opportunistic organisms that thrive on their hosts. Marijuana plants make excellent hosts for fungi because they are rapidly developing plants grown in a moderately humid environment. Fungi use cannabis plants as an energy source that fuels their growth. This makes accurate fungal diagnosis control on cannabis an essential part of keeping plants healthy.

How to Identify Fungal Disease on Marijuana Plants

There are many types of fungi that attack marijuana plants, including gray mold, pink mold, blossom end rot, powdery mildew, and damping off. Each of these diseases has unique characteristics, but the following signs are common to most diseases that require fungal diagnosis control on cannabis:

Visible signs of mold or fungi. The fungi that attack cannabis plants are often visible to the naked eye. Look for small filaments that are gray, white, pink, or black in color. These may appear on the stems or leaves. For example, powdery mildew looks like a fluffy white powder that takes over the leaves of plants.
Damping off. Seedlings are particularly vulnerable to the effects of fungal infections. Seedlings unable to stand on their own may be experiencing damping off, a type of fungal disease.
Withered leaves. As a fungal infection progresses, leaves often become withered or develop sores. Check leaves carefully, even if you think plants are healthy, to identify early signs of fungal diseases.

Of course, it is impossible to see the spores that float through your growing room, waiting to infect new plants. These reproductive spores are invisible to the naked eye but spell major trouble for your cannabis crop. For effective fungal diagnosis control on cannabis, invest in methods of neutralizing these dangerous spores before they kill plants.