Hey Buddy Leaf Damage at the Top Week 5 Flower
Short answer:
This is light stress + nutrient concentration at the canopy, not a disease and not a major deficiency.
🔍 What the photos are telling us
What we see:
• Damage only at the top canopy
• Marginal necrotic spots / rusting
• Tips and edges affected first
• Lower and mid canopy look healthy
• Buds look strong and stacking well
That pattern immediately rules out root problems or systemic deficiencies.
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💡 Light is the main trigger here
You said:
• Spider Farmer G4500
• 100% power
• 40 cm distance
At week 5 flower, that’s a lot of photons, especially combined with feeding.
Even if PPFD is “within range” on paper, plants don’t read charts — they react to total stress load.
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Feeding + light = concentration at the leaf edge
Your input:
• pH 6.5
• EC 1.6
Your runoff:
• pH 6.3
• EC 2.2 ⚠️
That tells us:
• salts are accumulating in the medium
• uptake is slightly outpacing transpiration
• leaf margins are burning first (classic)
This is not overfeeding alone — it’s overfeeding + high light intensity.
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🚫 What this is NOT
Let’s be clear:
• ❌ Not pests
• ❌ Not disease
• ❌ Not potassium deficiency
• ❌ Not magnesium deficiency
So no sprays, no panic flushes.
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✅ What to do (simple & effective)
1️⃣ Reduce light stress slightly
You have two good options:
• Raise the light 5–10 cm
• OR dim to 90–95%
You don’t need to go drastic — just ease the top leaves.
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2️⃣ Ease nutrient pressure a bit
Next few feeds:
• Slightly reduce EC (aim ~1.4–1.5 input)
• Keep pH stable
• Let runoff EC come down gradually
Do not strip bloom nutrients — just soften them.
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3️⃣ Leave damaged leaves alone
• Old damage won’t heal
• If the leaf is still photosynthesizing → keep it
• Remove only if it’s fully necrotic later
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👀 What to watch next
Over the next 5–7 days:
• New top leaves should stop spotting
• Margins should stay clean
• Bud development should continue normally
If damage stops spreading, you nailed it.
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🌱 Final takeaway
This plant is healthy.
It’s just being pushed right at the edge.
A small adjustment now keeps:
• yield
• quality
• terpene expression
…without risking further burn.
Growers Love my friend, keep us posted and remember this is just my humble opinion, please follow your instincts
🙌👊🙏