Cannabis Plant


There are several cannabis plant diseases that can threaten to halt your growing operation. cannabis plant diseases normally arise as a result of improper growing conditions and nutritional deficiencies. cannabis plant diseases are more stressful to deal with as compared with pests and other problems you might encounter during the growing period since they are harder to treat. This means that you need to be prepared beforehand and know the possibilities of cannabis plant diseases occurring to ensure a healthy and strong growing operation. Read on to know the 5 common cannabis plant diseases you should be prepared for, as well as their symptoms and treatment methods.




5 Common Cannabis Plant Diseases


1. Bud rot 

Bud rot is one of the problematic cannabis plant diseases you will face, and it can seriously disrupt your growing project. This is because the marijuana plant disease ruins every part of your plants, regardless of whether they are stalks, buds, or stems. The infection also spreads rapidly, so you need to routinely monitor your plants and stamp these and other cannabis plant diseases out before they leave you with massive losses. It thrives in cold and relatively humid environments. You can use a diluted bleach solution or a recommended fungicide to treat the disease.

2. Algae 

One of the best and controlled ways to grow cannabis is with the use of hydroponic systems. Since they are water-based, improper care could encourage certain cannabis plant diseases, like algae, which can devastate the marijuana plants. Similar to cannabis, algae also thrive in nutrient-rich water environments, but it is not something you should not be proud to have in your growing operation. Algae is one of the cannabis plant diseases that compete with your marijuana plants for essential nutrients and starve them, leading to a myriad of growth problems. It also hinders the plant from absorbing water normally hence causing it to wilt and die off eventually. The best way to control algae is to remove it as soon as you see it developing on your plants’ roots.

3. Leaf septoria

Leaf septoria also goes by the name yellow leaf spot and is a type of disease that leaves your marijuana plants’ leaves with numerous yellow spots. It is one of the fungal cannabis plant diseases that attack cannabis growing outdoors. Cannabis plant diseases like yellow spots strike after plants have been exposed to recent rain and heat. The yellow spots first appear on the bottom-most leaves and soon spread to all the leaves of the entire plant.

In the worst-case scenario, severe leaf septoria causes entire leaves to turn yellow before they crumble. Even though the disease does not cause plants to die off, it leads to significant yield reduction as it hampers the proper growth and maturity of your marijuana plants. If you are using compost to nourish your plants, you should apply a fungicide to kill any pathogens that could transfer the cannabis plant diseases like a yellow spot to your garden.


Plant Diseases

Preventing Cannabis Plant Diseases


4. Powdery Mildew 

Powdery mildew is a spore-based fungal disease that can affect both indoor and outdoor cannabis gardens. Wind can carry the disease’s spores to your garden at any time, which implies that it is difficult to control the disease effectively. The spores can stay dominant in the soil until the appropriate conditions for the disease to grow are available. This means that you could cultivate on infected soils without your knowledge, only to this, and other cannabis plant diseases emerge when it is warm and humid, just when your marijuana plants start to flourish. Another growth risk is planting your plants without sufficient spaces in between, which leads to overcrowding in the grow room.

The treatment of powdery mildew using chemicals is possible, but it is not advisable in cannabis to grow room. The best way to eradicate this and other fungal cannabis plant diseases is to remove and dispose of the infected plants.

5. Fusarium 

Fusarium is also on the list of notorious cannabis plant diseases that can plague your grow room. It is a fungal disease that attacks the root systems of cannabis plants. You might, however, get lucky if you are using hydroponics systems to grow your marijuana since the disease only survives in a specific soil-based substrate.

Fusarium weakens and destroys your cannabis roots causing the plants’ leaves to wilt. The roots also tend to rot and are unable to perform their duties in helping to nourish the plants. Just like other forms of fungi, the fusarium will stay dormant in the soil and await the right conditions for it to strike. You should use a fungicide to control fusarium, and other cannabis plant diseases in an infested grow room.

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Diagnosis of Cannabis Plant Diseases 

Before you can make an informed decision on how to solve cannabis disease problems, you need to first identify the specific cannabis plant diseases. There are several visual symptoms that normally identify various cannabis plant diseases, and you can note them by inspecting your plants keenly. Surveying plant problems pictures or having a leaf/plant diagnosis chart will also help you identify the cannabis plant diseases plaguing your cannabis.

The easiest types of cannabis plant diseases to spot are those that attack the foliar systems, such as bud rot and powdery mildew. Although bud rot attacks the flowers, you will first notice it on your plants’ leaves. It is one of the cannabis plant diseases that cause colas to rot from the inside out, and you might notice it on one or numerous buds of a single marijuana plant. The symptoms vary in appearance or appear in different orders, depending on the environment. You will notice a combination of white fuzz surrounding the sides or bottoms of the buds, and the leaves under the bud will turn yellow. The buds can be gray, purple, brown, or black inside.

Powdery mildew manifests as a powder-like substance that could be gray or white on leaf or flower surfaces. You can identify it without employing difficult plant problem diagnosis methods. You will most likely first notice it on the bottom parts of your plants before it makes its way upwards if you fail to treat and eradicate it.

To identify cannabis plant diseases that attack the roots, you need to check visible parts of the roots and the general health of your plants. Healthy roots are white, succulent, numerous, and elongated to support the soil inside the pot. Crumbly and brown roots are an indication that cannabis plant diseases such as root rot have infested cannabis plants. When you uproot the plants, you will notice that their roots are rotten or have little or zero lateral roots. Taproots may at times have visible white mold or pink stains. For the general plant, stunted growth, burned leaf edges or yellow leaves, wilting, and the death of some plants are key indicators of root-based cannabis plant diseases.


Cannabis Plants

Preventing Cannabis Plant Disease


How to Prevent Cannabis Plant Diseases 

The best way to control cannabis plant diseases in your cannabis garden is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. There are several ways to control the wide variety of cannabis plant diseases, including the following:

  • Using Clean Mulch. Mulch can introduce a wide variety of cannabis plant diseases to your cannabis plants, depending on where you obtained it from. It is advisable to use polythene inside controlled grow rooms to control cannabis plant diseases like fungi as organic mulch might be infested.
  • Maintaining Optimal Conditions in the Garden or Grow Room. Keeping the essential growth conditions inside the grow room prevents the survival of cannabis plant diseases such as bud rot. One of the ways you can do this is by investing in a dehumidifier that prevents the build-up of the excess moisture inside your grow room.
  • Use of Potassium Bicarbonate. Potassium bicarbonate, an alkaline compound, is allergic to fungi. It is a white powder-like substance that you can mix with water and pour at the base of your cannabis plants to treat or prevent the spread of cannabis plant diseases like blight.
  • Monitor and Eliminate Disease-infested Plants Growing around the Grow Area. Various forms of plants carry varying types of cannabis plant diseases which easily transfer to your marijuana plants when the appropriate carrier agent is available. You need to remove disease-infested plants near your grow area and eliminate plants that grow on the walkways or surrounding the marijuana plants.
  • Restricting Access to the Growing Area for People and Pets. Unrestricted access to the grow area causes pathogens from outside to be introduced to your cannabis plants. This includes humans and pets who have been roaming around pickup numerous types of microorganisms. Ensure that only those individuals that actively work on the marijuana plants have constant access to them.
  • Removing Infested Parts or Entire Plants to Prevent Disease Spread. You should never slack once you start to notice the symptoms of various cannabis plant diseases on your cannabis plants. Start by removing infected parts such as leaves, flowers, or entire plants if the disease has spread all over it. This will ensure that neighboring plants have a chance of staying disease-free and prevents an outbreak of cannabis plant diseases throughout your entire grow room.

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Controlling cannabis or marijuana plant diseases will ensure that you get a bountiful and top-quality harvest from your grow operation. For any of your medical cannabis certifications, choose MMJ Doctor and receive superior treatment. We have accredited medical marijuana doctors ready to help you understand how cannabis can help with numerous conditions.


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