Cannot figure out what the hell is doing this to my fan leaves??? Help Identify RIU..

Alright thanks for checkin this out for me RIU.... I really cant for the life of me figure it out.
I have these chunks out of 80% of my fan leaves.. before you say it.... ITS NOT BUGS! At least I dont think it is. It certainly looks like snail or slug damage but Ive checked, and I dont see shit. Plus my little hobby grow this time around is in a tiny 2.5'x2.5' tent, no soil. I thought maybe it was a bit too much silica at first so I cut back...still gettin it on new growth. If someone out there could tell me if theyve ever had this happen to them or what they think it is I sure would appreciate it. On a plus side with exception to the chunks missing from my leaves the plants are doing pretty well in the small tent so Im not sore how systemic it could be either...Im just stumped. Thanks for input.-S0uP [/URL][/IMG] [/URL][/IMG]

If you are sure it's not bugs, then it's definitely a silica overdose. I had the exact same problem last crop- looked the same. It's documented under my Grape God grow if you want to check it out.

Looks like some damage from when the leaf forms, sometimes... I find with indica IME the leaves are attached when they are emerginging from the node, sometimes they do not seperate fast enough as they grow, I am guessing your doing DWC? They grow so fast it sometimes leaves not enough time for all the plant processes to take place, then the leaves rip. That is my hypothesis.

Peace

SSHZ said:

If you are sure it's not bugs, then it's definitely a silica overdose. I had the exact same problem last crop- looked the same. It's documented under my Grape God grow if you want to check it out.

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Thanks SS! I had a feeling it was the Si and after looking at your grape god leaves Im convinced, I was gonna cut it out of my reservoir recipe in 2 weeks anyways so might as well cut it now... Bottom line though it looked like your GG finished up alright so Im not too worried. How do you like that Snow Storm Ultra? Ive had some lying around for years that I got for free, never thought to use it.... I thought most of humboldts gear was kinda "gimmicky", but I respect your opinion so would like to know your reasons for including it if ya got the time. Thanks again-S0uP

Sativa Dragon said:

Looks like some damage from when the leaf forms, sometimes... I find with indica IME the leaves are attached when they are emerginging from the node, sometimes they do not seperate fast enough as they grow, I am guessing your doing DWC? They grow so fast it sometimes leaves not enough time for all the plant processes to take place, then the leaves rip. That is my hypothesis.

Peace

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Thanks for the input man. Im growing this run with ebb and flow buckets, mixed perlite and lava rock medium, and 1k in 5sq ft as an experiment! This definitely seems to be "user error", I had a pretty good idea that it was a Si overdose as I was adding quite a bit in anticipation of such high light intensity, its just that there is no documented info anywhere on the symptoms of such abuse, or at least non that I could find.-S0uP

I haven't done enough indoor grows to conclude it with certainty, but so far it only happens to me when I scrogg, crop and otherwise train the plant. I have a handful of similar looking leaves and I think in my case the leaves got minor damage from binding/pinching when they were small, and it starts to show now the leaves grown larger. Obviously ymmv but seeing a few of these doesn't worry me.

Looks like the time(s) I accidently hit a plant with the shop vac when im trying to suck up the drain pan.

When I figured it out, I flushed and no more damage appeared. It took a week for me to figure it out. It seems the problem often happens with Gro-Tek Silica- is that what you are using? I found 3 other people with the exact same problem at the same time- all using Gro-Tek. I threw mine in the trash and switched brands. The plants will recover, but the fan leaves will show some distortion. Not a big deal. I used the Snow Storm thru flowering, along with Botanicare Hydroplex as the bloom enhancers. Everything is quite chunky so I guess it worked fine. Just go easy with it- another words, don't overdo it and you'll be happy.