As an update to my earlier posts, there was indeed a mite problem. These particular mites were red and smaller than any I have seen in the past, with no visible webs on the plant tissues. I used a combination of dry ice bombs inside the cooler as well as some Avid treatments to take care of them. The hamata seems to be recovering quickly with 4-5 growth points developing, although they are much smaller than before. I think from now on I will do a monthly dry ice bomb to keep the pest pressure as low as possible if there are still any that remain. Thanks for all the help and suggestions! It is a nice feeling to finally have some normal plant growth after some time struggling to figure out the issue.
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Additionally, I observed some leaf burn when applying neem oil to my plants during the daytime and thought it might be helpful to mention for others. It appears that daytime applications may have caused some sensitivity to light, as I did not see this effect when neem was applied once my lights were off. I think most of the liquid had the chance to dry out overnight and that may be why I didn't see any leaf burn when applying in this way.
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Additionally, I observed some leaf burn when applying neem oil to my plants during the daytime and thought it might be helpful to mention for others. It appears that daytime applications may have caused some sensitivity to light, as I did not see this effect when neem was applied once my lights were off. I think most of the liquid had the chance to dry out overnight and that may be why I didn't see any leaf burn when applying in this way.
