Came across this interesting article on popular insecticides (all commonly used on marijuana grows, avid, pyrethrins, acephate, spinosad and neem). Ive always wondered about their effect on plants. check it out. looks like neem slows growth and quality. from my personal experience this has been true. definitely slows down compared to using spinosad. they say the oil mechanically slows photosythesis by blocking pores. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/...abstracts/pdfs/2008-GreenhouseGrow-Spiers.pdf looks like Im ditching the neem and sticking to the spinosad. been way more effective for me anyways
if only they tested the effects of imidacloprid, BT, and other fungal type of insecticides. thatd be cool for scientific purposes *edit update* nvm. guess it would have been a waste of time for the university. there's already a ton of info out on imid effects on yield/quality (not cannabis)
Nothing about Cannabis in that article. If insecticides affected growth they wouldn't be so popular, That article Is based on a greenhouse study and doesn't provide enough data or comparisons, just a few graphs and don't show much of a change to begin with. There's a reason there are no other studies done, hence the article being forgotten in 2008. It also proves nothing about neem affecting growth and quality within cannabis, neem is only sprayed during veg, by the time you get to flower you shouldn't be spraying anything on your buds. When it comes to veg I'm sure plenty of people can confirm it doesn't slow growth.
just an article I found interesting which mentions stuff used in cannabis world. it does slow growth. maybe not for your varieties but it does for some. im not only person who has experienced this too.
not everyone uses the same concentration of neem that you do either. it slows growth at 4x dose. i went with 2x and it was quite noticeable. imagine 4x. i dont think this was continued cuz no one really cares about this type of stuff. schools can use money elsewhere. nothing in this article was meant to be final. but interesting, for me at least. more data for me
i dont think there is a standard either when measuring doses. 2x for me can be 8x for you. just foodfor thought. at higher rates it started to taper downward on plotline. i wont get exact numbers but at least know where the scales tips even though i kinda already learned it thru experience hehe
oh and people. PLEASE DONT USE AVID, ACEPHATE, OR EVEN NEEM GRASSCITY. if you can try to use predatory bugs as preventative. only use that stuff if you HAVE to and even then you prob shouldnt (would feel way more comfortable with neem/spinosad as opposed to toxic avid). i wouldntwant to smoke tht shit if I knew.
neem is better alternative... for now. theyre already saying thats somewhat toxic too and banned from colorado pesticide list that they just released not too long ago
valid points. no mention of cannabis whatsoever. its so early and very little info exists. however, in my opinion it wouldn't be too far fetched for someone to draw comparisons from whats out there on other plants with reason. When taking risks hands on, this type of info is all some people have, and usually worth looking at to help you establish baseline of whatever you are testing. i know the logic is somewhat flawed but think of it like testing mice to come up with data applicable to humans. the plants that were tested photosynthesize just like cannabis and also have pores that can clog if too much neem was used. Insecticides are popular (or at least in my opinion) because they are effective at killing bugs. Plant growth concern is secondary when the alternative to not buying insecticide is zero yield from dead plant. also, you'd be surprised man, not everyone sprays only in veg. some people spray till day of harvest. And I dont know why youre saying not to spray in flower but if its cuz itll turn/distort hairs brown(like I have personally seen) that would actually support the findings from experiment. I know they taste funny thats for sure.