Chlorine Dioxide in the Cannabis Industry
The pandemic, along with new legislation, has pushed demand for items derived from this once-illegal plant to new heights. With new states opening up recreational marijuana, cultivation will reach a new all-time high. New farmers will soon learn the challenges of growing cannabis. Chlorine Dioxide (Cl02) is an efficient oxidizer that can keep indoor and outdoor grows contaminant free without leaving behind any harmful byproducts. All grow operations should be using Cl02 to stop bacteria from ever entering these controlled environments.
Challenges in Cultivating Cannabis
Growing marijuana at scale is incredibly hard. The number one challenge is keeping the environment free of fungus and bacteria. Cannabis needs air and water to grow. Unfortunately, both are filled with contaminants.
Cannabis producers are not only tasked with keeping their cultivation facilities free from bacteria and fungus before they start growing but throughout the entire plant life cycle.
- Mold and other pathogens present a great risk to every stage and aspect of cannabis cultivation.
- Seeds can be contaminated with mold before their growth process even begins
- All surfaces that are exposed to water have the potential for mold to thrive
- Irrigation systems create the optimal environment for mold and other pathogens to live and multiply
- During the plant life cycle, pests can destroy entire crops
- Mold can form when cannabis is being dried and cured
- Even prepared cannabis that has been trimmed and is ready for consumption can be subjected to mold and other contaminants, ruining the final product
Growing cannabis can be an extremely lucrative business, but it does not come without challenges. Adding a Cl02 generator to a greenhouse offers a solution to the biggest problems presented in cannabis cultivation.
Using ClO2 as a Versatile Solution
Cl02 is a naturally occurring gas with antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. It is widely used as a disinfectant in a variety of highly regulated industries that depend on a clean work environment. Water treatment facilities use Cl02 to destroy bacteria, viruses, and some parasites that can make people sick. The EPA allows up to 0.8 ppm of Cl02 in drinking water. Food and beverage producers, paper processing facilities, hospitals, and drug manufacturing companies all rely on Cl02 to sterilize their facilities to ensure that the people they serve are safe.
Using Cl02 for cannabis cultivation provides a solution to many of the challenges that growers face.
Sterilizing the Grow Facility
Prior to any plants producing their valuable buds, a grow operation needs to be completely free of contaminants. Failing to do so could ruin a crop before the plants are even mature. Chlorine dioxide gas can fill the entire space, completely destroying any new mold spores or any other forms of fungus and bacteria to take shape. The gas is distributed to every surface, crack, and crevice of the facility.
Cl02 will be effectively distributed throughout the grow operation, including the irrigation system. Biofilm can cling to the surface of reservoirs, tanks, pipes and tubing. This is a prime environment for fungus and bacteria to prosper.
Maintaining a Clean Environment
A chlorine dioxide generator can distribute the gas during the plant’s lifecycle, ensuring a contaminant free ecosystem. The gas is distributed at low levels that won’t affect the plants but are going to kill mold and other pathogens.
Keeping the plants free from mold is essential to the success of the grow operation. Mold can easily spread, once the spores infect the plants the entire crop could be ruined. Dealing with a mold outbreak is a complicated and costly experience that growers do their best to avoid.
Drying, Curing, and Storing Cannabis
Once the crop is ready to pick, trim, and get ready for consumption, the dangers of contamination don’t stop. Cl02 can be utilized if dried cannabis is infected with mold, killing the fungus while keeping the product safe to consume.
Chlorine dioxide gas has been successfully treated with cannabis with the presence of Aspergillus, the genus of over 185 species of fungus.
Concerns Using Cl02
Cl02 can be toxic at high levels but is regarded by the EPA as safe to consume in small amounts. This is reassuring to anyone concerned with the quality of their product. Cl02 doesn’t leave behind any harmful residue or have a lasting environmental impact. In fact, the use of Cl02 in an indoor grow operation can reduce the emission odors released to levels that are allowed by regulatory agencies.
Adding a Cl02 generator to a grow operation can eliminate the risk associated with producing cannabis. Most of the challenges that growers are faced with regard upholding a sanitized environment throughout the plant life cycle. Utilizing the antimicrobial and antibacterial effects of chlorine dioxide has been proven in many heavily regulated industries, it’s time to start implementing Cl02 into the cannabis industry.
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Chlorine Dioxide in the Cannabis Industry
Chlorine Dioxide in the Cannabis Industry
Chlorine Dioxide in the Cannabis Industry
