A few easy steps for Powdery Mildew Treatment
When it comes to Powdery Mildew Treatment the same principles apply to your IPM (Integrated Pest Management) programs in your grow. Prevention is always better than cure and weekly sprays are crucial to mitigate any issues in your grow. If you have been following us on Instagram and Facebook you would have seen us mixing our weekly IPM concoctions. These consist of two products namely Double Nickel 55 and Eco-BB ( I will discuss the Eco BB in a separate post so stay tuned).
The Double Nickel 55 comes in 100g sachets and makes 16-20 litre which means we can work on a ratio of approximately 5 grams per litre. This product should be mixed or stirred really well before applying as a Powdery Mildew Treatment. The batch size we make usually depends on the amount of plants that we need to treat but please keep in mind that once the product is mixed it should be used within a couple of hours to prevent it from going anaerobic.
Double Nickel 55 contains a preventative bacterial inoculant called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens which is used for the suppression of Downy and Powdery Mildew. We just love this product as it can be used when the plants are flowering and at a crucial stage of your grow. When we use Double Nickel 55 as a Powdery Mildew Treatment we only apply it once a week for maintenance but if there is a serious problem we suggest spraying 2 or 3 times a week.
Always remember to spray your plants when the lights are off or at sunset when it is cooler outside, especially when the plants are flowering because the last thing you want to do is burn your pistils. The chances of that happening is very slim because this product is not oil based and gets mixed with water but I would always try to prevent “worst case scenario” and this is best practice.
According to Andermatt the Double Nickel 55 is a broad spectrum bio-fungicide with multiple modes of action, ideal for resistance management in IPM programs and it has no MRL (maximum residue level) or WHP (withholding period) levels which is great when your grow is for human consumption. It is OMRI listed which means it is suitable for organic production. The optimal pH is between 6 and 8.
There are other ways to treat Powdery Mildew but in our own experience this product works the best, Powdery Mildew can be quite difficult to get rid of or even to keep at bay. The key with Powdery Mildew Treatment is your environment, good airflow and controlled humidity levels help to prevent it from forming. We usually remove unwanted foliage to increase airflow and then spray the plants. If you are spraying inside I suggest to always turn the fans off and then back on once you have finished spraying. Turning the fans back on afterwards will also help to dry the leaves faster.
To summarize we believe that it is essential to take your IPM programs really seriously and be diligent. Everyone enjoys growing their plants but to make a spray mixture and do weekly sprays becomes a chore for some and this is when problems arise. Powdery Mildew is a pain for all of us especially when our plants are flowering and the Powdery Mildew gets into the buds so taking the extra time will be really worth it in the end.
If you need any help with applying this product for Powdery Mildew Treatment please feel free to contact us. We are always willing to help.
