Talk to me about Monterey BT and Bud Rot

What’s up, guys.

I’m battling the one-two punch of caterpillars and botrytus here in near-coastal Northern California. So far it’s been a loosing battle despite weekly sprays of BT and Doctor Zymes. I already had to scrap my indicas and my sativa-dom hybrids that were growing big/dense buds.

I still have two pure sativas (Golden Tiger from Ace Seeds) that are going strong with zero bud rot so far, but they need at least another 4 weeks.

I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions that might help me get these two beatiful sativas to the finish line.

* What’s the best time to spray the BT? Early AM so it can dry quickly when the sun hits them? Or late evening so that it remains active overnight without degrading in the sun? (Am I just making the problem worse if I spray in the evening and they stay wet all night?)

* Anything you’d recommend other than (or in addition to) the Doctor Zymes to prevent botrytus from taking hold?

Any other tips? I’m allergic to mold, so I need to be 100% sure anything I harvest and process is mold free…
Here are a couple pics of the Golden Tiger. Hopefully their loose/wispy bud structure will help prevent botrytus, but I don’t want to reply on that alone.

I recommend this stuff combined with BT.

I usually spray in the evening myself, but as long as you are spraying and doing a thorough job of application(spraying under leaves etc as well) I think that you’ll be oka

Interesting… Does that stuff have any odor that could funk up the final product if used near harvest?

How much of each product are you adding per gallon of water when you mix them?

Thanks for the tip.

SpicySativa said:

Interesting… Does that stuff have any odor that could funk up the final product if used near harvest?

How much of each product are you adding per gallon of water when you mix them?

Thanks for the tip.

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Most are preventative products.Caterpillers cause bud rot from living and crapping in your buds.Spray BT early in flower and well at three or four tablespoons per gal.It will keep them out.I have no need to spray during the last four weeks,but your results could differ.GL

I mix 1/2tsp Monterey BT in 16oz. of distilled water (which is double the recommended dosage) which will treat a plant grown in a 15gal pot

It takes 1-2 days to kill the caterpillars, during which time they're busy eating and pooping in your flowers, the bastards

I'm starting to harvest right now, and I found one small caterpillar that was still alive

SpicySativa said:

Interesting… Does that stuff have any odor that could funk up the final product if used near harvest?

How much of each product are you adding per gallon of water when you mix them?

Thanks for the tip.

Click to expand...

You won’t have a final product without taking action

As long as they stop eating in 24 hours there’s no damage, small egg=small cat. Alternate btk and spinosad into earl flower(unfortunately spinosad kills butterflies and kills bees), neem in veg only if at all.

Sir Napsalot said:

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Not sure what laid those eggs, but the common budworm lays single, white/yellowish eggs

Kerowacked said:

As long as they stop eating in 24 hours there’s no damage, small egg=small cat. Alternate btk and spinosad into earl flower(unfortunately spinosad kills butterflies and kills bees), neem in veg only if at all.

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Spinosad should be sprayed after sundown to avoid killing pollinators

SpicySativa said:

Interesting… Does that stuff have any odor that could funk up the final product if used near harvest?

How much of each product are you adding per gallon of water when you mix them?

Thanks for the tip.

Click to expand...

Neither Spinosad, BT, or Monterey Complete had any odor once diluted. I go stronger on ratio’s, but I’d you follow instructions you’ll be A-OK.

and Reapply after heavy rain.

Sir Napsalot said:

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Great pic man: equally eerie and beautiful!

obijohn said:

Not sure what laid those eggs, but the common budworm lays single, white/yellowish eggs

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I put that leaf in a plastic bag and in 4-5 days it was full of hundreds of tiny caterpillars

I've been harvesting for the last two days and have found several (small) areas affected by caterpillar action

BT definitely works, but it takes 1-2 days to kill the little bastards during which time they're busily chomping and pooping, albeit much less than if one didn't use BT

Spinosad is really effective against worms. I've sprayed it right up until harvest with no negative effects. From what I've read, Spinosad has much more staying power than BT. But, I hear a BT and Spinosad combo is deadly as fuck for worms.

In flower, I typically spray in the early AM, while it's still dark out. In late flower, I personally don't spray in the evening because I don't want the buds soaking wet overnight.

Potassium Bicarbonate is good for mold control. You can spray that right up until harvest too. I actually bud wash with it as well. I sprayed with a solution of potassium bicarbonate/rubbing alcohol/castile soap/water and it seems really effective. I will be repeating this next year, alternating between Spinosad (probably BT too) and the PB spray.

Sir Napsalot said:

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Geeze... that's UGLY. lol

I tested spinosad in my vegetable garden and flowers. It works great but even spraying at dark took a tool on the Bumblebees. I was finding them dead on the ground and in my water bucket. I quit using it after that. I used it also for a soil soak for pavement ants. They left the garden too.

Norcal also and another problem is we have had near 98% humidity every night for a couple weeks, warms during the day but big buds are suseptible. I will prob dump approx 1lb due to bud rot.

burnpile said:

Norcal also and another problem is we have had near 98% humidity every night for a couple weeks, warms during the day but big buds are suseptible. I will prob dump approx 1lb due to bud rot.

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Any strains I had going with dense fat colas had rot this year. Cali weather was nice not having rain but the heat during the day and colder temps at night didn’t help at all this year. I tossed lots of plants this year due to bud rot and it wasn’t from caterpillars. My yield this year wasn’t good but it was mostly a pheno hunt so I can’t complain.