Cannabis cultivation requires a delicate balance to produce high quality buds that both look and taste great. However, too much of a good thing is no longer good. Nutrient burn is a common and (thankfully) preventable condition that every grower should know about.
Nutrient burn is a symptom of a larger problem, usually a nutrient deficiency or excess. How you respond can help determine the plant’s quality of life and the overall outcome of the harvest. The first step is to know what nutrient burn is, how it impacts your plants, and how to correct it.
Nutrient burn is most often identified by its physical characteristics. This is when the tips of the leaves on a cannabis plant turn brittle and the tips of the leaves curl. Coloring will also change with nutrient burn, often brown or yellow.
While different from a deficiency, nutrient burn can open the door to other serious problems. When the leaves of a plant die, it cannot produce chlorophyll. According to National Geographic, “Through photosynthesis, the plant uses the stored energy to convert carbon dioxide (absorbed from the air) and water into glucose, a type of sugar. Plants use glucose together with nutrients taken from the soil to make new leaves and other plant parts.”
When glucose cannot be produced, the plants will effectively starve. This will leave them vulnerable to viruses, viroids, molds, and pests. Without correction and preventative measures put in place, the affected cannabis plant will die.
Cannabis cultivation is all about balance. When one thing, such as the nutrients fed to the plants, is out of balance then things like nutrient burn begin to happen. While nutrient burn can be caused by an excess of a certain nutrient, it can also be caused by a nutrient deficiency. Some of the nutrient deficiencies that can display nutrient burn as a symptom include Potassium, Sulfur, and Zinc.
This is a great example of why having careful records and measurements of your feeding schedules is so important. Deciphering which nutrient is causing the problem can be a bit like playing detective. It is also important to note that different cannabis strains can have different nutrient requirements to grow to their full potential.
Nutrient burn will appear as brittle brown marks on the plant leaves, often resembling dead foliage. This can occur at any stage in the plant’s life cycle. As mentioned before, the leaves of the plant will begin to curl and become brittle, often appearing brown or yellow. As the leaves continue to burn, they will fall off into the soil or soil alternative, making a prime habitat for pests.
If the nutrient burn is not corrected, then the plant will continually worsen until it dies. This can happen at any stage in the cannabis plant’s life cycle. In a commercial grow setting, this can mean that multiple plants, or in worst cases the entire crop, are damaged or lost.
To combat a nutrient burn problem, it must first be determined if it is due to a nutrient excess or deficiency. If the burn is caused by a nutrient deficiency, then once the correct nutrient needed has been identified, the feeding schedule can be adjusted. When the proper nutrient levels are achieved, growers will begin seeing healthy new growth and a cease in worsening of the older growth.
If the nutrient burn is due to an excess, the first step is to apply a flush to the plants. This is usually done with RO water that is pH balanced. Depending on the grow setup and the nutrient line used, select small amounts of nutrients may be included. The plants may need to be flushed more than once to help adjust the balance. Once the plants are beginning to pull out of the burn, the next step is to adjust the nutrient feeding regime to ensure the plants do not burn again.
Please remember that different cannabis strains may have different nutrient needs. You may have multiple feeding regimens when growing multiple strains at once. This can also be said of growing multiple plants in different parts of the life cycle.
Ready to learn more about the nutrient requirements of cannabis crops? What about viruses, viroids, cultivation tips, and other cannabis cultivation topics? Verne Bio is a great way to learn more about these topics and more!
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Work Cited
Peters, Kristian. “Chlorophyll.” National Geographic Education, 1996-2023, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/chlorophyll/. Accessed 29 October 2023.
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