Take a look at my hops

[masterbrewer88]

I am seeing some yellowing of leaves. I do fertilize however and I dont believe nutrient deficiency is the case. Could this be downy mildew? Also it appears that another bine spiked off the main shoot towards the bottom. Should this be removed? Any input would be appreciated. And I am not seeing stunted growth. Acually the growth has been very vigorous.

Thanks again
Cheers

Sorry about the pics being sideways

 

[user 108580]

No expert on hop growing (yet) but sometimes the leaves towards the bottom of the plant dry out and die as nutrients are pushed to the top if the plant.

The shoot coming off the main bine is called a lateral arm. They appear everywhere there is a leaf on the main bine. This is where your hops grow. On my plants it seems that the hops only grow after 5 or so feet up the plant. Any arm that looks like it will not produce I have cut off over time.