GilaMinumBeer

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Check the undersides very closely for mites. They may appear as a tiny black speck. After you rub your finger over them, if they move you got mites.

I had a very similar situation and had thought I had inspected the leaves very closely. Later, towards the top of the plant I began to see webbings.

Apparently, a very small immature colony of mites can create a profound amount of damage to plants depending on air temps and can multiply to maturity very quickly.

All I am saying is look very closely under every leaf for even single specks. Once you have definitively ruled out mites start looking at soils issues.

LC homebrew gnome

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I have seen similar spots on other plants and had been told to pour used coffee grounds on the soil around the plant, for some type of deficiency.

7Enigma

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Do you water your plants? If so magnesium deficiency is all but out. Almost all well/city water has ample amounts of both calcium and magnesium (and most soils are also sufficiently loaded). Common soil deficiencies are potassium, iron, nitrogen, phosphorous. Most fertilizers supply the NPK and so a lot of people see iron deficiencies, but this doesn't look like chlorosis, rather it looks like potassium deficiency.

The problem with hops and other fast growing plants is they can very quickly sap local nutrient concentrations. So even if the soil surrounding has ample nutrients, with first year plants having poor root systems they just don't have the nutrients in close enough proximity. While its great to go organic (I myself use home-made compost for most of my fertilization), I've started to add a very dilute (1:10th recommended dosage) of miraclegro to a watering can, and use that for some of the watering directly over the rhizome area (say 6" diameter). This way I can be sure that even under the craziest growth spurt there shouldn't be a nutrient deficiency.

After this first year though, I plan to go back to strictly organic feedings.

Dig

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Rust.

Don't worry, this plant will outgrow the problem.

ChrisS68

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Dig, can you elaborate on the rust thing? Is that a type of fungus? I think I might have the same issue (amongst others). It's been an insanely wet and humid spring, even for Illinois. I can't remember the last time we went 24 hours without rain, and when it's not raining, it's so humid that nothing dries out. Unless of course it's so windy the bines get pulled off their ropes. I had to remove the tip from my best growing Hallertauer after sustaining wind damage one day when I came home and most of my plants were on the ground. The tip quickly shriveled up and started turning gray, which left me even more concerned about mold and fungus. I've even had mushrooms start popping up on a daily basis. I picked up a fungicide, but other than testing on one plant, I haven't really used it yet. Does mulch help prevent some mold and fungus issues?
Thanks!

Chris