Is this Bud Rot, or is it a caterpillar problem?

Growing Pests & Diseases
1

Hi,

I was asked what this is:

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I answered “It is Bud Rot, caused by high humidity on dense buds”.

I was then corrected by a bunch of people, telling me it is actually caused by caterpillars.

So I wanted to ask the experts in this forum. Do you think this is caused by caterpillars?

Thanks

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2

I suspect you are both right. It’s more of an issue of cause and effect. I have dealt with this scourge in a large field here in Arizona a few years back. We had an invasion of caterpillars which consumed some of the exterior foliage but ultimately made their way into the center of some rather dense colas. The caterpillars were basically living in a buffet. As the caterpillars made their way to the interior of the buds, they defecated along the way. The combination of the bacteria from the caterpillar feces and the moisture from the buds made the conditions perfect for botrytis (bud rot) to develop. We lost a lot of that crop.

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3

Thanks, I did not think about caterpillar droppings.

Certainly makes sense that those cause mold.

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