Hi Everybody I'm 99% sure this is bud rot and I have already resigned myself to the reality that these plants are likely doomed. However, in due diligence, I wanted to show some pics to all of you and get some additional opinions before I remove these plants from my garden. The strain is Skywalker OG and the plants are about 9 weeks old. They began flowering way too early as a result of the clones going from 24-hour light at the dispensary to the mid-latitude photoperiod of my backyard. The plants appear otherwise healthy but on some of the developing buds, I am finding tiny brown patches. When I inspect further I typically find that a single calyx and it's accompanying pistils have browned and died. I don't see any spores and the rest of the bud is always healthy-looking. It appears to be attacking only one or two calyxes per bud, only on a few of the buds. I have been removing these buds as I find them. I took these photos of a bud I found today and dissected. If anybody knows of any other conditions that mimic bud rot and might not require me to destroy these plants, that would be awesome, but I think those chances are slim. Thanks!
Update: I found another nug that was turning brown, and noticed that the brown part appeared to have been chewed off by a tiny caterpillar I found at it's base. It may be possible these little assholes are just eating the buds from the inside out. Maybe not a total loss yet...Sorry for the blurry photo.
Looks like Budrot possibly from the caterpillars eating them like you said and shitting inside the nugs. I always like to do a BT spray right before flower. If you don't want to spray you can pick them off.
Thanks! I agree. I just came in from the backyard where I pretty much confirmed it's caterpillars initially killing the buds, then they get moldy. Found tons of the fecal matter....
That fucking sucks dude! Its caterpillars. I'm having the same problem. They eat through the center of the flowers and shit all over. Check inside the buds carefully and cut off/out the dead material. I used captain jacks dead bug brew on mine and I noticed some dead ones in the barrel tonight. I'm hoping they're dying. Good luck! Kill 'em all
Smoke the caterpillar pop. It gets you to the clouds faster . Spray BT it's just a protein/bacteria can't remember that the caterpillar eats and gets full. Then it dies lonely and sad Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Caterpillars. Spray with BT. You can tell it's caterpillars and not but rot because the damage is dry. Bud rot is darker and not always crunchy. Pinch off the affected areas and inspect closely to find the caterpillars. Remove what you find by hand. Also look for eggs on the fronts and backs of the leaves. These will be tiny balls, the same color as the leaf. Find these and wipe them off with your finger. Use Monterey garden spray or Caterpillar Killer as a last resort. Both have BT in them. Only saying as a last resort because it looks like you're pretty far into flower. Supposedly they are both safe to use up until day of harvest, but I wouldn't want my smoke tasting like bug spray.
This is just my opinion, but don't let bud rot scare you into picking early. I get bud rot every year and I pick it out when I see it but I let my plants keep going until they are mature. I have found over the years it's better to let them finish with mature bud even if you loose a good % to rot rather than picking early and smoking something that just doesn't hit the way you know it could.
The caterpillar poop is what's causing that mold. As others have said start spraying BT, and I'd also cut out any affected parts Also, inspect every inch of your plant for this:
I got eggs in a little box. Gonna grow some caterpillars lol. I too found a leaf that had eggs on it like crazy, plucked it and now waiting. Do you have any full pics of the plant OP? My buddy pulled through with his and still ended up with good stuff to smoke. Better than nothing. Lost like 80% of it but still managed to find green pieces.