Mold Resistant Strains of Marijuana
Mold Resistant Strains of Marijuana
What causes black-blue bud mold on cannabis?
Black-blue mold that grows on marijuana buds is called botrytis. Also known sometimes as bud rot or bud mold. This fungi feeds on the succulent ripe flowers of budding cannabis plants, and spreads through the entire plant rapidy.
An unfortunate reality for many herb cultivators growing plants in wet climates, black-blue bud mold can cause a total loss of all your prized dank buds.
Botrytis mold is not found in just marijuana, but grows on a variety of fruits and vegetables such as grapes, apples and overripe produce. Similar to another plant disease – powdery mildew, in the way that bud mold suffocates the plant and ruins the harvest.
Some varieties of cannabis are more susceptible to bud mold botrytis than others. In general, overly dense flowers as well as spongy-type flowers do poorly when exposed to mold spores. The dense plants create a low-oxygen environment perfect for triggering mold to grow, while the spongy-type flowers tend to absorb moisture like a wick, giving the mold disease plenty of the moisture that it needs.
How to prevent rot and mold on buds:
Indoor solutions
Preventing botrytis mold from growing is easy enough if you are growing in a controlled environment. Simply lower the humidity of the room with a dehumidifiers, and provide plenty of airflow to flowering plants with fans. Easy.
Set the humidity of the indoor grow room from 45% – 60% RH (relative humidity). Mold is known to thrive at 80% or more humidity, so be careful to monitor your levels frequently, as well as drain your dehumidifier machines.
Outdoor solutions
Outdoor marijuana growers are the most common victims of black-blue mold botrytis. Subject to nature’s fury, rain and humid sunny conditions are the perfect environment for any fungi to grow.
Some outdoor growers use temporary or permanent greenhouses to shield their precious cannabis plants. If you choose to do this option, it is crucial that the airflow to plants is not compromised. You may need to use fans if you are in a humid or cloudy area. Many growers have success keeping the sides of the greenhouse open, for wind to come in and aerate plants.
Keeping weed plants in the full outdoors without cover can be done successfully, but it requires a few things:
For starters, the cannabis plants must be in as dry of location as possible . If this is hard to find, locate the nearest open hilltop available and take advantage of the wind it provides. The perfect location for weed plants would have a constant moderate wind, not harsh, but not still-air. This will help buds to finish up hard and clean without mold issues.
Next, plants need to be kept clean regularly, especially close to harvest. Pick out any dead leaves and other matter than gets caught up in their flowers. Remove any sucker leaves that are yellowy, damaged or dying.
The real secret to growing mold-free marijuana is strain selection. Mold resistant strains are varieties of cannabis that have either adapter or just fare well in wetter conditions. Sativa strains, especially those from South-East Asia are some of the most resilient strains to mold in the world. By breeding with these genetics, dank hybrids have been born bearing the weather-tough qualities of their parents.
Best Mold Resistant Strains
Without a doubt, growing a cannabis strain resilient to mold and mildew issues is the best bet for outdoor and indoor growers. Many of these strains are available to buy as seeds online. You may be surprised to find some of the most popular hybrids nowadays are resistant to botrytis, although the old-school landraces are always the best.
Landrace strains that have evolved in rainy and tropical climates fair well when faced with environmental stresses. When picking your seeds from a seedbank, make sure to look for the right strain for your climate. For many, this means a hardy resilient cannabis strain is the answer.
Some of the best mold resistant strains are listed here below:
- Thai Stick – a landrace sativa strain with super high THC content + THCV
- Hawaiian Maui Wowie – a hodgepodge of genetics, indica and sativa that have been passed around and adapted to the wet conditions of Hawaii.
- South African Durban Poison – a quick-flowering sativa strain that has been available in seed form, bred by Dutch Passion for decades.
- Mexican Sativa – a robust, high yielding sativa plant that grows like a tree. Commercial outdoor variety.
- Swazi – a spindly strange growing plant that looks quite different than any other strains. Produces skinny buds rich in THC.
Read more about these strains plus more resilient hardy wet-climate cannabis strains here: Mold Resistant Strains. Seeds are available for purchase as well.
-Aloha
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