Contributed by: Strawdog
Nutrient lockout happens when your plant can not access specific,
or all nutrients in the growing medium, this is due to a chemical
reaction within the medium/solution which prevents nutrients from being
absorbed by the roots.
Aged nutrients can precipitate in the bottle, causing some of the
ingredients to become solids or even evaporate, the same problem may
also occur in the growing medium.
Lockout will display the same symptoms as nutrient deficiency; to
help control this problem dispose of old liquid feed containers as you
would old medicine and use fresh nutrients from a bottle that has been
recently opened.
The following points can also be responsible for nutrient lockout.
- PH is incorrect or fluctuates.
- Single pack hydroponic solutions.
- Salt build up.
- A chemical reaction between 2 or more nutrient
solutions that are mixed together.
For acute deficiency symptoms caused by toxicity and nutrient lockout a first Aid program should be immediately administered.
Step 1)
Leach the plants roots and growing medium using a professional
leaching agent to thoroughly leach away metals, calcium, sodium,
chlorides, sulphates and many other compounds, which can build up in
the growing media.
Step 2)
Feed with 1/4 strength high quality complete plant food mix along
with a high quality vitamin B-1 product such as Superthrive (1 drop per
gallon).
Step 3)
Spray a professional stay green formula on the leaves. After 24hrs, spray the leaves with a quality vitamin B-1 product.
Feed at 25% of recommended fertilizer dosage until first signs of growth.