悟る · diagnose & fix

Cannabis Light Burn

Environmental stress · also: light bleaching, LED burn, too close to light

Yellowing or bleaching on the TOP leaves and colas nearest the light — too much intensity or lights too close.

Not sure it's light burn?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

What it looks like

Damage is on the leaves/buds CLOSEST to the light, not the bottom. Top leaves yellow with green veins, edges crisp, and in severe cases top buds bleach white/pale. Lower canopy looks fine.

Symptoms

  • Yellowing/bleaching on the top canopy only
  • Top leaves crisp at the edges, veins stay green
  • Buds nearest the light bleaching pale/white
  • Leaves angling away or 'praying' too hard

Causes

  • Light too close to the canopy
  • Intensity (PPFD) too high for the stage
  • No acclimation after raising power

How to fix it

  1. 1Raise the light or dim intensity to the stage's PPFD range
  2. 2Re-check distance against the fixture's recommendation
  3. 3Damaged leaves won't recover; protect new growth

Prevention

  • Target stage-appropriate PPFD/DLI
  • Raise intensity gradually
  • Watch the TOP canopy as your early-warning zone

悟る · how satoru tells it apart

Top-canopy burn is light; bottom-up yellowing is nutrition. Position alone is the tell — and Satoru uses your light readings + where the damage sits in the photo to separate light burn from a feeding problem.

Commonly confused with: Nutrient Burn, Heat Stress, Potassium Deficiency.

Not sure it's light burn?

Snap a photo and get a free read — no signup. Satoru weighs the visual against the conditions that cause look-alikes, so you treat the real problem.

More plant problems

Educational reference for cultivation troubleshooting. Symptoms overlap — when in doubt, match against your own conditions. Satoru fuses your photo with your logged environment for a grounded read.