The most problematic issue that can affect your plant is root rot. In most situations, it can be pretty challenging to recover the plant after the roots are damaged. This is the reason why experts recommend beginners take exceptional care of the plant roots.
Most of the time, root rot is because of oxygen deficiency. Even though there are minimal chances of oxygen deficiency in hydroponics, other factors might affect your plant. If your plants are suffering from root rot in hydroponics, then let us help you identify what causes root rot in your hydroponics system.
What Causes Root Rot in Hydroponics
If you don’t sanitize the containers and add new nutrient solutions every time you plant new things, that may cause root rot in your hydroponics system. The bacteria, mold, and fungus are the primary reasons for root rot in hydroponics.
You have to be especially careful about the cleanliness of the environment to avoid this outcome. To identify root rot, you need to inspect the color of the roots inside the container. Ideally, you want your roots to have a white color and not be slimy.
However, if your roots turn dark brown and are all mushy, then your plant might be suffering from root rot. This problem can hinder the plant’s growth and eventually kill it depending upon the severity of the situation.
Root rot can further be detected with the help of smell. Ideally, the plant roots should smell like medicine. However, if your plant roots have a foul smell and fit the description above, you might have to get ahead of this problem immediately.
The recovery of the plants suffering from root rot depends entirely upon the situation of the roots. If the problem is severe, then it might not be possible to salvage the plant. But if the root rot is not that severe, you should try cutting the bottom half of damaged roots and then changing the nutrient solution along with the plant container.
The plant will grow new roots, and the health will start to recover depending upon your luck.
Using the wrong concentration of nutrients and faulty hydroponic design can also cause similar problems for your plant. So, we suggest that you seek guidance from an expert if you’re suffering from this issue. If the root rot is recent, then there might be some methods that can improve your situation.
To Conclude
Root rot is one of the leading causes of plant death in hydroponics. Usually, the causes for root rot in hydroponics are related to bacteria, fungus, mold, and the concentration of nutrients in the solution. If you are not familiar with any recovery method, seeking help from a local expert might be your best option.
If the damage is not that serious, you can cut the bottom halves of the dead roots and then change the nutrient solution after sanitizing the container. That will help the plant recovery, and your plant might develop new roots depending upon the current situation.