Growth Stages

There’s never a good moment to discover insects or fungal infections in your plants, although depending on the growth stage they’re in it can be easier to prevent, detect and get rid of such issues.

In this section you’ll find products designed to prevent and get rid of fungi in cannabis during the growth and flowering stages; the severity of the infestation and the method used to treat it depends on the growth stage:

• During the vegetative stage you can use organic products, as well as more aggressive chemical products as you won’t be affecting the quality of your plants’ flowers. However, we always recommend using organic products for an environmentally-friendly grow.
• During the flowering stage you should only ever use organic products; chemical residues can stick around for long amounts of time, plus they have quite a long safety period. The best way to do this is to use bio preventive products during the growth/veg stage in order to increase your plants’ natural defences.

Insects and Fungal Infections during the Growth Period

We recommend taking preventive measures during the growth stage, which is the best way to avoid issues further down the line.

One of the benefits of detecting an infestation during the growth period is that you can use chemical products without putting your flowers at risk; chemical products can alter the aroma, flavour and effect of flowers because of their long lasting residual effect. At La Huerta Grow Shop we recommend using bio/organic treatments whenever possible; they’re environmentally-friendly and better for both your plants and your health.

During the growth stage it’s incredibly important to use preventive products such as repellents or sticky traps, which come in yellow and blue, giving you a heads up on winged insects.

During the growth stage it’s incredibly important that you use preventive products – with the right type of treatment you can avoid even larger problems in the future.

Neem Oil

Neem Oil is organic, biodegradable and a great repellent for insects and fungus on cannabis plants. It’s harmless for beneficial and predatory insects. Bio Neem by Prot-Eco is a natural insecticide and preventive made using Neem seed extract; it can be used to repel aphids, nematodes and various different types of airborne and soil fungi.

Trichoderma

Trichoderma Harzanium is a type of beneficial fungi used to prevent fungal infections in your plants’ root system. It increases root strength while also competing for space with other types of fungus, feeding off of them and biodegrading them. Some examples of products high in Trichoderma are:

• Bio 16 Trifag
• Canna Aktrivator
• Trikologic by Terra Aquatica

Other Insecticides and Fungicides

Another preventive method used to avoid insects that feed on leaves is to use spray products designed specicially to cover your plants’ leaves in a protective layer, making them much tougher to attack.

• Cannacure
• Leaf Coat
• Protect

If you discover an active infestation during the growth period and it has gotten out of hand, you can always fall back on more aggressive chemical treatments while respecting the instructions and safety measures put in place. Some examples of chemical pesticides are:

• Lexor 25 by Probelte; a systemic fungicide that acts via contact and can be used to treat oidium, rust and alternaria.
• Belproil A by Probelte: an insecticide and arachnicide that contains paraffin and asphyxiates insects.
• Solfac Automatic Forte: this pesticide is used before growing in order to get rid of all types of infestations indoors via automatic spraying.

Infestations during the Flowering Stage

During the flowering stage, you should only ever use bio products that don’t leave long-lasting residue on your cannabis plants. In as far as chemical preventives and products, they have a much longer safety period and can leave toxic residues on your flowers.

Bio fungicides for flowering plants

When it comes to preventing fungal infestations during the flowering stage, you can use products such as Oidioprot and Botryprot for oidium and botrytis, respectively, taking extreme care not to spray your flowers. You can also use products made using neem in order to fight off soil insects and pathogens.

Bio insecticides for flowering plants

If you want to protect your plants from infestations during the flowering stage, you can use bio spray products (with extreme caution) such as the previously mentioned Cannacure, Leaf Coat and Bio Protect.

When it comes time to water, you can use Plant Vitality Plus by BAC, a strengthener made using micro-organisms designed to reduce stress in your plants and strengthen them against all types of aphids. It can also be sprayed.

If you’ve detected an infestation in your plants, the best way to fight it during the flowering period is to use products that contain pyrethrin, such as Spruzit, combined with products that contain insecticidal soap like Mobet. Pyrethrin acts via contact and the insecticidal soap can increase the duration. Keep in mind that you should stop using all types of insecticides and fungicides around two weeks before harvesting.

If you have any questions when it comes to treating your plants in any stage, you can get in touch with our team and we’ll help you out!