Um, wow... (Mold/Pest-Related)

This strain recently won 2nd place at the Aspen Cannabis Crown. I feel sorry for anyone who was up there judging, based on these pics. It's either some really severe and weirdly web-like powdery mildew or an equally bad mites problem... what do you experienced grower types think?

I want to make clear that I'm not in the business of disparaging any dispensaries or anyone in general for that matter... I am, however, in the business of spreading information to MMJ patients, especially where safety might be involved. Judge for yourselves if this is something you wouldn't mind smoking (it's a bit hard to capture it well, as retaining focus on something so small and with depth is near-impossible with my microscope)..

Perhaps the bigger worry to MMJ consumers beyond the fact that tainted meds were supposedly good enough to win the Crown (I didn't smoke any of the sample I have for obvious reasons, but it smells great and I could certainly see it placing in a competition) is that from my understanding, the samples competing were supposedly all tested by Full Spectrum for mold and pesticides. If that is true and this strain got through their testing regimen, I don't even know what to say, and I will be uber-paranoid about everything I smoke, tested or not...

Just had to put this out there somewhere... I hesitate to publish the pictures and the info on my blog without giving the dispensary a chance to respond, but at the same time, I worry about anyone who is going there to purchase "prize-winning" Grape Ape and end up with a collapsed lung after the vaporize their purchase and don't kill the spores...

it isn't PM.

Yeah I was thinking mite webs for some of it (the main pics clearly show some kind of web). What would be your guess as to what it is?

Some of it appears to be a type of mold though, as you can see in this shot. Sorry for the quality of that pic, I'll try to find the same spot or some others that look similar and will post more pics... it's a tiny section of a leaf, so it was tough to steady it enough without losing sight of it.

maybe it's the grape syrup ;)

Also, I have two different buds with multiple spots all over them... it's definitely not a case of a nug falling into some of that fake spider web shit they put up on Halloween or some other innocuous piece of fuzz. It's either mite webs or mold, and with the prevalence all over the buds and the area it was generally located (where the fan leaves would connect in between bunches of calyxes), I'd knock mite webs out of contention.

could be food grade mold or webbing from mites hard to tell def not something i'm trying to put in my lungs:jointsmile:

Well since it sounds like you haven't seen any dead mites I'd be more inclined to say mold... and white/fuzzy is usually a good sign of mold!!

WOW is right! Great eye man... so many others have already scrutinized and smoked these nugs without any second thought apparently! I probably would've missed that, but now that you point it out I think it's something to be concerned about...

Cannot believe that it placed so well in a competition with mold! Goes to show how meaningless these competitions really are!

It's a pity, because it's very well-grown otherwise and smells very nice... ha, apparently the people liked it in Aspen. They should've provided 420 Scopes... =/

But yeah, I looked at these nugs for about 40 minutes trying to figure out what it is... definitely looks webby in areas but it's so pervasive and in so many odd nooks (where mold normally grows, where stems are snipped and stumps left between calyx clusters) that mites don't seem likely. No dead mites either, which I've seen on several samples and can spot easily... never seen these 'webs' accompanying those, and spidermite webs normally show up between fan leaves low on the plant, etc. unless the problem is HORRIBLE. I had mites pretty bad in my last grow and never even saw webs except on one plant in veg, much less woven in the crannies of the bud like this.. just weird.

Doesn't look like PM though, I've seen that and it's similar but those webs are something else. Maybe mold and bugs? Haha, wouldn't be surprised at this point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MMJinColorado

This strain recently won 2nd place at the Aspen Cannabis Crown. I feel sorry for anyone who was up there judging, based on these pics. It's either some really severe and weirdly web-like powdery mildew or an equally bad mites problem... what do you experienced grower types think?

I want to make clear that I'm not in the business of disparaging any dispensaries or anyone in general for that matter... I am, however, in the business of spreading information to MMJ patients, especially where safety might be involved. Judge for yourselves if this is something you wouldn't mind smoking (it's a bit hard to capture it well, as retaining focus on something so small and with depth is near-impossible with my microscope)..

Perhaps the bigger worry to MMJ consumers beyond the fact that tainted meds were supposedly good enough to win the Crown (I didn't smoke any of the sample I have for obvious reasons, but it smells great and I could certainly see it placing in a competition) is that from my understanding, the samples competing were supposedly all tested by Full Spectrum for mold and pesticides. If that is true and this strain got through their testing regimen, I don't even know what to say, and I will be uber-paranoid about everything I smoke, tested or not...

Just had to put this out there somewhere... I hesitate to publish the pictures and the info on my blog without giving the dispensary a chance to respond, but at the same time, I worry about anyone who is going there to purchase "prize-winning" Grape Ape and end up with a collapsed lung after the vaporize their purchase and don't kill the spores...

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That is a shame, but it so common with most product out there today, this is what happens when every one is a grower, and on large scale grows without proper attention given to each plant, ya know like a production line, I like to reference this way: What is better, a slow meal prepared for 2-5 people, or a massive meal prepared for 100 people, same food, same prep, but the larger meal will be nowhere as good as the small meal, IMO this applies to a lot of areas, meds being one of them. Also why would anyone in this state patronize a show or event put on by Cali big money disp. or read their magazine (it may be Kush Colorado but it is Cali owned), they are the ones working with Romer who just recently fucked over the patients of Co.

So I say Boycott the the large dispensaries, do not assign a medical center on your paperwork unless you know for a fact they are local long term Coloradans, or find a caregiver who grows multiple strains. It is time we take our state back and boot out the money hungry political liars like Josh Stanley with peace in medicine and the Cali owned Farmacy.

The way the "Crown" was run was a joke. I've known the organizer, Damien, for years. He's a world class Mass drunk who got into the MMJ business to get rich quick. They bought the whole event off an even flakier guy. Samples weren't tested at Full Spec for sure. Hence we didn't participate. I've heard nothing but awful things about how it went. Sorry to anyone who wasted their hard earned cash.