And what is the proper treatment and corrective action for chlorosis? I had always assumed that it was some sort of genetic trait.
Here is what I learned as I diagnosed and attempted to find the source of my problem...
It's most likely to occur in DWC/Hydroponic applications and the most likely cause would be improper pH... If it does a pH adjustment will resolve the issue...
Almost never occurs in organic and soil grows...
Conventional wisdom is that iron is most always present in soil and water... Adding Greensand ensures its availability over the long run which is something I routinely add to my soil when recycling...
Soooo... This is what was so vexing to me when trying to find a plausible cause... Everything I was noticing flew in the face of conventional wisdom... I wasn't growing DWC and my soil by nature should be iron rich...
Originally, I figured that if it was pH then adjusting it would set things straight. It did but ever so briefly. Then bam, it came back.
After manually adjusting pH levels and allowing the plant to consume any available iron, I decided that somehow my issue most certainly had to be lack of iron itself... But where? That's when I remembered how the home inspector had taken the time to show me a newer toilet in the house that had no iron deposits (water here usually has high iron content). That's when I put two and two together and looked at the new plumbing that was added when the previous owners put in the expensive new kitchen... Under the counter was a greensand filter! Used of course, to strip the water of all available iron! Makes for tasty water and white laundry...
The filtered water then being used caused the plants to then consume every bit of iron from the soil which once gone caused the chloritic symptoms... That died down briefly when I'd adjusted the pH to the exact level necessary to grab whatever iron was left.
The remedy was to....
1) Stop using filtered water and switch to a known good (trusted) source.
2) Transplant all affected to larger containers where possible. With subjects in their final containers, top dress with my usual flower mix and a little extra soluble potash (that contains iron too)
Then resume my garden flow and wait to see the improvement...
I knew I'd solved the problem but had no idea how the cure would play out... Watching it over these past few weeks was sure painful but ultimately super interesting to witness... Scars remained but the Supernatural OG flowers I'd nearly given up for lost recovered and are now large and dense as expected with this strain... I do believe the additional soluble potash saved those... The rest of the affected strains recovered completely after transplanting...
This is one of the many reasons I am glad I've begun to run seedlings in smaller containers and transplant at 18 to 21 days... Also another reason I always make sure there's two inches of space left on top for top dressing at 30 to 35 days... Had I not been doing both of these practices, I'd of been f*cked...
Three plants (worst hit and lab test subjects) were total losses...
I hope this windy answer helps to clarify things...
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