nutrient deficiency?

So I think I'm finally making some headway with the massive spider mite infestation I've had with my hop plants, but now I've run into another issue. Lots of the leaves have been lightly or heavily damaged by the spider mites, but when I went out to check on the plants yesterday I noticed that even the leaves that were healthy are starting to yellow around the veins of the leaves. Other leaves are starting to brown, but I think these are mostly the ones that the spider mites hit hardest.

I managed to snag a camera from work, so I actually have pics. What can I do with these plants to get them healthy again?


This is one of the previously healthy leaves.


A lot of leaves are starting to look like this.


You can see here that the spider mite infestation is still not 100% under control. That spec in the center is one of the bugs, and you can see the webbing underneath the leaf on the left side.


Here's the plant as a whole.

Looks like you need to fertilize a little. Don't go overboard though as you can hurt the plant by overfertilizing.

Since this morning the plants are in even worse shape somehow. The majority of the leaves that were half-browned have completely turned brown and whithered. I found spider mites all over them though, so I'm assuming that's the reason. I sprayed them down again, seems like I have to hit them every chance I get. Still anyone have any idea why the leaves are yellowing? I'm getting worried that the plants are dying.

It kind of looks like potassium deficiency to me as pictured here:

http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-diseases-and-pests

Thanks guys, I guess I'll have to pick up some fertilizer right away. Potassium does sound reasonable since the leaves do seem to be curling downward. Between this and the mites I hope my hops still have a chance.

Are the leaves pretty thin? Was just check the Homebrewers Garden and Zinc deficiency was described as "Leaves roll, followed by bronzing and browning; leaves abnormally thin."

Do a foliar with N Zn And B get as much N into the ground as possible If u have any apple trees around u go cut some suckers off them they have a trip mite that is predatory to spider mites stick a couple of suckers in the groung touching your plants Cheers Glen

It's hard to tell since this is my first time growing hops. I really don't have anything to compare to. They don't feel particularly thin to me. The one thing is looking at zinc deficiencies I'm seeing that the leaves would be small, which they don't seem to be. I'm thinking most of the browning so far has been a result of the mites? Anyway I guess I'll hit it with some flower fertilizer and keep spraying the mites and see if it gets any better soon.

Hopfarmer - thanks for the advice, I had to look up what foliar feeding is. Unfortunately I don't have any apple trees (or trees at all, I'm a condo dweller), but I'm going to see if I can capture some ladybugs from my parents house tomorrow. My sister works for a garden center so hopefully she'll be able to help out with getting the right fertilizer.

You might find this site useful: http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/beneficial-insects-predators-parasites They have ladybugs & predatory mites.
Regards, GF.

Nutrient Deficiencies?
Picture 1: Looks like a nutrient deficiency, depending on whether it is a younger leaf or older leaf could point to the specific deficiency. If this leaf is an older leaf (Macro nutrient deficiency) its probably a nitrogen deficiency. If its on a younger leaf near the top of the plant or one of the side arms (micro nutrient deficiency) probably iron or zinc deficiency (hard to tell this early short of a tissue test through a lab).
Picture 2: Looks like the after effects of two spot spider mite.
Picture 3: looks like advanced nitrogen deficiency but tough to tell from pic.
Picture 4: From this whole plant pic, it looks like you have both Macro and Micro nutrient deficiencies. Remedies: Fertilizer with balanced N-P-K (16-16-16 or 20-20-20 or something similar) will take care of the macro nutrient deficiencies (1/2 tsp per gallon every other watering).
For the micro nutrient deficiencies, you'll need to find a fertilizer with iron, manganese and zinc and apply as the directions say. These may not correct the existing problem but new growth should be a good green color. Small amounts of compost (1/2 inch over the top of soil) and watered in will also help. This will also help your rhizomes store nutrients of next year.
Cheers,
Ron Godin

Any update on this? My leaves are starting to get the same purple color to them and I'm thinking I may have the same problem.

For the mites you might try here: http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/beneficial-insects-predators-parasites

For the fert you might try here: http://www.wormpoop.com/
Regards, GF.

FrFtr28 said:

Any update on this? My leaves are starting to get the same purple color to them and I'm thinking I may have the same problem.

Click to expand...

To update, the leaf spotting was pretty much entirely from spider mite damage, and the yellowing on the healthier leaves seems like it was from a lack of nutrients. I've been regularly hitting the plant with a 20-20-20 fertilizer. I tried ladybugs but the ones I got locally were mostly dead in the container, and the few that were still alive wandered off within a few days. I went back to spraying with an alcohol-water solution. I also did a lot of pruning of the most heavily infested leaves. Any time a leaf turned more than 50% brown I pulled it off and disposed of it. Between the pruning and the spraying the spider mites seem to be under control now. A lot of the original growth on the plant is dying back, but I've gotten a lot of new growth around the base of the plant. Unfortunately all the baby hop cones I had in development have died, so I'm not expecting any harvest this year. It's a first year plant though so I wasn't expecting a lot.

FrFtr28, I didn't notice much purple coloring to my leaves. It may just be the pictures, but in person the leaves had more of a bronze color to them.