Week old seedling stem looks damaged but has not been physically damaged please help

I have a week old seedling that started showing some yellowing in the first set of true leaves and I’ve noticed the stem looks damaged but I have been very careful to not damaged it so I don’t know what is causing the symptoms. It is an indoor soil grow and has had only pHed water twice. It was under a 185W grow light on only veg setting at 50” but has be replaced with two 9W grow bulbs at 20” and I did have spider mites in an adjacent grow tent and the plant was removed but the seedling was started a few days prior.

It's not going to make it.

Have you used the same soil mix for a seedling before? Has the appearance of a seedling in too hot of a mix. Possibility too wet, too soon....

looks like damp off.. which is usually fatal, sadly.

It’s a cheap Walmart soil with noting added that I’ve used once before with no issues but has been started in a cheap peat pellet I’ve not used before. As far as damping off it was removed from humidity dome after 24hrs from breaking soil and put in 4” pot with said soil. The last seedling did about the same thing but without the stem damage but it was put in a 4” pot with Foxfarm happy frog and looked like it died from nute burn. Now I’m wondering if it is the peat pellets I’m using but I’ve never heard of anyone having an issue with them.

I do have a second seedling stared that broke soil 4 days ago and is in the same peat pellet and soil that seems fine so far.

I believe I’ve solved the problem, I carefully removed and opened the peat pellet to discover root rot. The pellet was too dense and moist. I’ve carefully replanted both seedlings in the pots surrounded by a small amount of dryer soil, maybe I’ll get lucky and 1 or both might survive. I still don’t understand why the stem looks like it does though.

Chip Green said:

Has the appearance of a seedling in too hot of a mix. Possibility too wet, too soon....

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Woodyfox said:

I still don’t understand why the stem looks like it does though.

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