Maximum Yield USA 2012 September | Page 138

black bugs, be gone! of the roots that is responsible for taking up water and nutrients. When the aphids eat this portion of the roots, it reduces your plant's ability to take up plant food. Cutting the fertilizer in half reduces the concentration of plant food, which in turn normally slows the onset of wilting because of osmosis. It also helps with plant deficiency like signs of over fertilization. The fifth step The fifth step is to reduce the temperature of your water reservoir to 65ºF. This will help control the spread of other plant diseases because it will reduce the temperature of the water and the rate at which root rot can spread. The sixth step The sixth step is put some Vaseline around the base stem of your plant. This is preparation for the next step when aphids try and climb up and get away. The seventh step The seventh step is to completely drown your entire root system with an oil-based soil drench. To put it simply, root aphids are extremely hard to kill and an oil-based soil drench solution is the only thing that will do a great job. MY System Sterilization Checklist 1. 2. 3. 4. Kill your plants Remove all growing media Fog your room before you start sterilizing Clean everything: a. Inside and outside hoods b. Lenses and bulbs c. Walls d. Reservoirs and other H2O systems e. Get new irrigation if auto watering f. Fans 5. Apply fogger 6. Shut down room for two to four weeks to insure complete death 7. Start from scratch (that means new motherplants) and do not go back to the person that gave you the aphids—go to a new nursery! 136 Maximum Yield USA | September 2012