If you are an experienced cannabis grower, you are all aware that possible problems can arise during the plant’s growth process. Cannabis cultivation may seem like a fun and rewarding experience as cannabis is a very versatile plant but the truth of the matter is if you are not careful your plant may suffer from common plant diseases.
A plant may encounter diseases such as cannabis leaf symptoms, nutrient deficiency, light burn just to name a few. So it is best to have a good grasp of information regarding the different kinds of cannabis plant diseases that you may encounter along the way so that you can prevent it from happening or treat your plants in case that they get sick.
What is cannabis leaf symptoms?
Cannabis leaf symptoms when the leaves of your cannabis plant appear different from what it is supposed to be. Cannabis leaf symptoms can be in a form of yellow leaves, leaves that curl upward, drooping leaves that curl downwards, and brown leaves. If your plant has falling leaves it can also be a sign that it might be suffering from some sort of disease.
Cannabis leaf symptom simply occurs when your plant is suffering from a particular disease that may be caused by nutrient deficiency or caused by some insects or pests.
Here are some cannabis leaf symptoms and what causes them:
- Brown Leaves. This can be a sign of Sulphur, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and potassium syndrome. It can also be caused by the nutrient burnt which occurs when your plant is getting too much nutrient than it is supposed to have. Heat stress can also cause brown leaves.
- Yellow leaves. Yellow leaves can be caused by the light burn and any type of deficiency.
- Leaves curling upward. This could be a sign that your plant is suffering from overwatering or potassium deficiency.
- Leaves curling downward. Again this could be a sign of overwatering or phosphorus or potassium deficiency.
- Leaves droop. This could be a sign of overwatering.
When you observe these symptoms that would be an indicator that your plant is suffering from a disease or any form of deficiency and you must do something about it.
What causes cannabis leaf symptoms?
If your plant is stricken by a particular disease it would show some signs or symptoms and most of the time it can be observed on the leaves first.
- Nutrient deficiency. If your plant is not getting enough nutrients then it will not grow healthy, instead, it will grow weak, and then you will observe yellow leaves growing instead of green ones.
- Nutrient burn. If you think that feeding your plants with too much nutrient supplements or fertilizer, well think again. Too much can also cause a nutrient burn. Yellow or brown leaves indicate nutrient burn.
- Diseases. If your plant is suffering from any form of the disease, the leaf will often turn yellow indicating that it is not healthy. Your plant may suffer from diseases such as algae, root bud, leaf septoria, powdery mildew, fusarium, verticillium, root rot, and damping off. If this happens, you have to check your plant carefully. For example, algae might be growing on your pot, usually, you have to check at the bottom part of your plant to see if they may have grown that is why your plant is not growing healthily.
- Insects and pests. When insects and pests infest your plants, they feed on important plant parts such as the leaves, the buds, mature flower, or stem. The plant loses its nutrients and eventually gets damaged. It won’t grow well and instead of getting green leaves, it turns yellow or brown indicating that the growth is not good. Ants, aphids, caterpillars, cutworms, crickets, grasshoppers, spider mites, worms, and other insects and pests can damage your cannabis plants.
- Stress. If plants are exposed to stress such as heat stress, humidity, and temperature, pruning cannabis, airy and lose buds, knockdown plants, overcrowded plants, over and under watering and other soil problems can cause the plant to have yellow leaves.
How to prevent cannabis leaf symptoms?
Cannabis leaf symptoms occur when your cannabis plant is having a problem. As discussed earlier, it could be a deficiency, a disease, or something caused by insects and pests. To prevent this from happening here are some important things that you can do.
- Keep your plant healthy. Keeping your plant healthy, this would mean that you are providing your plant with the right kind of care, food, and nutrients that it needs. You are not overfeeding your plants as well as not underfeeding them. Also, make sure to keep them hydrated but do not overwater your plants.
- Check regularly. Caring for your plants means that you have to check them regularly. Cannabis may be a versatile plant but it needs to be taken care of if you want to grow a quality crop. Checking on them regularly will also allow you to see if pests or insects are bothering your plants. This way, your plants will be able to grow healthily and you can avoid having yellow leaves.
- Avoid stressing your plants. As mentioned if your plants are sufferings from any form of stress, it will develop yellow leaves which means that things are not going well. Also, make sure that your grow space is not overcrowded where your plants can grow well, they get enough exposure to the light and has good airflow.
- Keep your grow space clean. This will prevent insects and pests from infesting your plants. Keep your plants away from animals as well. Keep them secured and clean.
How to treat cannabis leaf symptoms?
Treating the symptoms depends on which factors or which causes the leaves to change its color. If its nutrient deficiency, then adds enough nutrients to keep your plants healthy, if it a disease, make sure to treat it so that your plant can grow healthy again. If it’s a pest infestation, then take measures to get rid of them. It is important to know what causes the problem to provide proper treatment.
Cannabis leaf symptom will give you the idea that there is something wrong with your cannabis plant. As soon as you observe it, do not hesitate to check on your plants, see what is causing it and address the issue as soon as possible.