Types of fungi

Mould or fungus infestations in cannabis can be as damaging, or even more damaging, than an insect infestation; in the blink of an eyes they can take over your plants. Each type of mould or fungus has its own characteristics and some are more aggressive than others; we don’t recommend allowing these pathogens to get to your indoor or outdoor cannabis grow.

In this section you’ll be able to find information about different types of fungi that can damage your cannabis plants so that you can easily identify them, as well as fungicides designed to get rid of them.

What Types of Mould Infestations Affect Cannabis?

Some of the most common types of fungus that can affect cannabis tend to spread quite easily under normal cannabis growing conditions in as far as humidity and temperature. This is why it’s important to stay alert and check your plants periodically; you should also make sure to prevent spores from spreading as much as possible.

There are various types of fungus that can be distinguished mainly by the part of the plant they attack. They’re all incredibly bad for your plants and even your health.

The Most Common Types of Fungus in Cannabis Plants

• Fusarium: this mould infects your plants using toxins that it secretes, and it can be caused by overwatering or substrate infections. This is why we recommend using sterilized substrates; at La Huerta Grow Shop we only stock substrates that meet the requirements. You can also prevent it using bio products such as Mineral Magic, which has high levels of silicate and beneficial microorganisms, or ZHO by Botanicare, which contains different mycorrhizae strains which can help protect roots.
• Oidium: extremely frequent in outdoor grows, and even indoor grows. In order to prevent or treat oidium, we recommend using bio fungicides such as Neudo Vital, which can be used up until a week before harvesting. Do not consume any parts that have been infected by oidium once you’ve harvested your plants, as it can be damaging for your health.
• Botrytis: also known as grey mildew, this is one of the most dangerous pathogens for cannabis plants. Once it’s made your plants its home, there is no way to get rid of it other than removing the affected area entirely. This is why it’s important to prevent against botrytis. If you’ve already had issues with this fungus in your grow and you think that it might happen again, we recommend using Botry-Prot. Our advice is that if you have an outdoor grow that’s been infected by budworms, make sure to pay special attention to any markings, which tend to be a great way for botrytis to appear.
• Rust: this can easily affect your plants if they’re in high humidity conditions and they don’t have the correct type of ventilation. Rust is easy to identify through its small brown and orange bulges under the leaves.
• Pythium: this type of fungus attacks cannabis plants when they’re at their weakest, which means under any situation of stress (not watering enough, watering too much, temperature etc.). The clear symptoms that your plant has been infected by pythium are slowed growth, bent leaves and rotting roots.
• Mildew: this is one of the most dangerous pathogens in cannabis plants, developing internally and now showing itself until it’s already taken over most of your plant. The best way to avoid dealing with this pathogen is to prevent it, which is why you need to pay special attention to the underside of your plants leaves, looking out for a characteristic grey-like powder.

*Each of the aforementioned infestations comes with a direct link to their category if you’re looking for more information or products designed specifically for them.

Prevention: The Best Weapon Against Cannabis Fungi

As cannabis lovers and growers, we hope that you never have to fight of fungi from your plants using fungicides. This is why we’d like to talk about how important it is to prevent these pathogens from getting near your plants. Let’s have a look at some useful advice designed to prevent fungi from appearing in your cannabis plants.

How to Prevent Mould in Outdoor Cannabis

• Keep your garden clean: sweep the leaves and dead material under the pots.
• If you’re planting in a flowerpot, make sure to keep your cannabis plants safe when it rains, especially if they’re flowering, in order to avoid extra bud humidity.
• If you live in a cold climate with short summers, we recommend choosing short-flowering strains such as Jamaican Dream in order to avoid a long harvest wait, which can allow rains to get to your plants easily.
• Periodically check your plants in search of mould symptoms.

How to Prevent Mould in Indoor Cannabis

• Avoid hot pockets of air forming in your grow, and make sure there’s decent ventilation.
• Clean your grow room and keep the trays in your grow tent free of dead leaves or other plant material.
• Make sure to leave the necessary space between plants in order to allow air to circulate.
• Keep humidity between 40 and 50% during the flowering stage.
• Periodically check on your plants.

Do you think you may have some sort of mould in your plants? Send us some pictures to info@lahuertagrowshop.com and we’ll help you to find out what it is and how to get rid of it.