:smoking: True, lower RH% is best during bloom which does help keep mold from getting the conditions that kick it off... BUT the cultivar's ("strain", wrongly used in cannabis technically-) native resistance is very much a big part of this! it run the gamut, auto and photo, from being weak and pretty much indoor/dry only to near bullet-proof outdoor Northern climes super tough!
.. a note: botrytis = grey mold... mildew is another thing altogether, and while there are several others common to cannabis, those two are most common with ID grows... more on that in a bit...
Trust in me when I say don't grind over the leaf overlapping thing, it's not a red flag of any kind at all... Some is normal and just fine... Personally I don't see anything to this "contact sweating " thing at all. Stomata are closed at night/dark, and there are no hydathodes (micropores) located in that area.
If you have plants that are really congested with leaves, then some judicious pruning is A-OK (which you have done already)
That's about making sure there's some good airflow through the canopy, and with proper fan placement and air movement, that's no challenge to achieve...
Now if you had actual mildew issues, we'd be singing another song, but you aren't... I see no troubles so far...
Again, I'm asking how heavily you are watering? Really soaked pots = more pressure on the roots to pump it out, and you also risk root rot, so tell me more about the moisture levels in the pots...
Naturally, with heavy defol's, you have taken away more surface area for transpiration and even guttation, so that could account for some of what you're seeing...
This might be part of it, and what I was asking about in your water/feed schedule. During lights out, transpiration slows way down because the rest of the photosynthesis machine is shut down,.. stomata closed, no CO2 fixing, all that jazz,... Meantime that late watering is putting added root pressure going up and out, even w/o the drawing effect of transpiration happening... Xylem is nearly all dead tissue, wicking/capillary action is how water and mineral nutes are being moved upwards... So the physics of capillary action don't take a break because the rest of the live cells are on one-
Different plants, different reactions and behaviors, expect no universal anything when it come to this! Some will be fine in conditions others may be bitchy about...
Mildew, molds, these can be strongly prevented by certain products. Some are OK in bloom, other not so much... Any foliars during bloom need to be done carefully if necessary. But for fan leaves, getting started early before bloom can help significantly... Neem (veg only, it's oily and stanky), various products made from botanical oils, Potassiun carbonate, and my favorite, biological agents can make the leaf surfaces inhospitable (but not bullet proof!) to pathogenic infections.
The latter though isn't as readily available to the public.. Actinovate might still be out there, might be others which I've not really dug around for... The one we tested here at AFN is Phyter/RotBlock (check their section). This product kicked butt in testing, really was put to task with some growers and all of them reported major improvement in fighting off mold/mildew...
Last I checked the owner wanted to see about making it readily available to the growing public. It's already used in a wide variety of Ag' crops, some cannabis too...
Anyway, for a new grower you're doing great!
Thank you so much for all the information. I apologize for all my questions but I have one more. The reason I water twice a day is because this plant is growing in coco. I was originally watering only once a day, but one evening when I came down to check my garden I noticed that this particular plant had less than 50% pot weight. Growing in coco I try to always keep it above that 50%. That being said, would not watering in the evening still apply? I will say USUALLY its 4-5 hours before lights out, but a few times it has been only 2 hours. The only reason I ask is because if I don't water the second time in the evening the coco and pot are literally BONE DRY in the morning. I've heard this is terrible for the roots(especially the little tiny hair like ones). All advice is welcome and appreciated.
