I would love to see the composition of each of the nutes somewhere on the website of EJ. It's not only EJ though. Alot of companies don't seem to find important to state in their websites their compositions. This is wrong in my opinion.
We can assume with confidence the problem lies with a
mobile micro or macro nutrient, because the leaves affected are the oldest, as opposite to new shoots (which indicates imobile nutrients deficiency). All the rest is kind of a shot in the dark, mainly because that plant is not "normal" and I, for one, don't know what the nutes you giving have in them. I also don't think it's such a good idea to foliar spray with molasses because it attracts bugs and the sugars clog the small stomatas when they dry out.
Is there any and how much Molybdenum (Mo) is in the nutes you giving? They are rare, but
Mo def starts in the middle leafs and then goes for the new growth:
Molybdenum (Mo)
Molybdenum has proteins that help the plant take nitrogen from the air.
A Molybdenum deficiency causes leaves to have a pale, fringed and scorched look, along with weird or retarded leaf growth. Yellowing of middle leaves can occur as well as twisted younger leaves which will eventually die. Molybdenum deficiencies frequently resemble a nitrogen deficiency. A Molybdenum deficiency shows older chlorotic leaves with rolled margins and stunted growth. Looks like a nitrogen deficiency but with the red tips moving inwards to the middle of the leaves. Molybendum deficiency will usually show up in the older to middle aged leaves, then it moves to the young leaves. Generally a molybdenum deficiency occurs when sulfur and phosphorus are deficient.
That could be it aswell. Or maybe not
That brings us back to P, K and Mg. I agree with Muddy about the P. P would more likely show a dark blotch in the leafs, something like this:
That is not the case.
Plants often suffer from mild K deficiencies, even in rich, well-fertilized soil, usually caused by improper fertilization. Many organic fertilizers such as guano, fish emulsion, alfalfa, cottonseed and blood meals, and many animal manures contain minor amounts of K relative to N and P.
Plants suffering from minor deficiencies look vigorous, even taller than the rest of the population, but the tips and edges of their bottom leaves die or turn tan/brown and develop necrotic spots. As the deficiency gets more severe the leaves develop chlorotic spots. Mottled patches of red and yellow appear between the veins, which remain green, accompanied by red stems and petioles. More severe deficiencies result in slower growth, especially when plants are in the vegetative stage. Severe K shortages cause leaves to grow smaller than usual.
Larger fan leaves have some dead patches, or necrosis, on their margins. These leaves eventually turn brown and die off. Plants with K deficiencies tend to be the tallest.
This thing about the tallest plants may not apply here, because you might have a runt.
With Mg def the final result would become something similar to what you have with all that curled and irregular growth, but with a lot of white. Mg helps to support veins and the overall structure of the plant, that's why.
Mg deficiency starts in the lower leaves. The veins remain green while the rest of the leaf turns yellow, exhibiting chlorosis. The leaves eventually curl up, and then die. The edges of affected leaves feel dry and crispy. As the deficiency continues it moves from lower leaves to the middle to upper half.
Eventually the growing shoots change from a pale green to white color. The deficiency is quite apparent in the upper leaves. At the same time, the stems and petioles turn purple.
I desagree with Muddy in one thing
I would avoid the foliars because she's allready into flowering and there's not much space between the low and the upper end of the plant. I wouldn't want to add mold to my problems. I would get a
chelated micro fertilizer and do some feeding.
Chelation is a natural process. In order to prevent absorbed nutrients from precipitation resulting from the interaction of nutrients, such as iron forming precipitation with phosphorus, upon entering plant cells cationic nutrients will immediately form chelates with ORGANIC ACIDS such as citric acids, malonic cid, and some amino acids.
This chelation process will then enable the nutrients to move freely inside the plants. CHELATION in soil increases nutrient availability to plants.
It was a bit long, but I hope this helps you out.
PS - That's for plants at pics 1 to 4
PS 2 - The other one's are a bit dark. Are you giving them too much N?
