Chlorine Dioxide In The Cannabis Industry
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 in the Cannabis Industry. 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 seeds and the growth process can be contaminated.
Cannabis producers must keep their cultivation facilities free from bacteria and fungus not only before they begin growing but also throughout the entire plant life cycle.
- Mold and other pathogens present a great risk to every stage and aspect of cannabis cultivation.
- Mold can contaminate seeds before the growth process even begins.
- Mold has the potential to thrive on all surfaces exposed to water.
- 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
- Cannabis can form mold during the drying and curing process.
- Even cannabis that has been trimmed and is ready for consumption can become contaminated with mold and other substances, 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 pollutants. 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 spread to every surface, crack, and crevice in the facility.
ClO2 will effectively be spread throughout the grow operation, including the watering 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. We distribute the gas at low levels to eliminate mold and other pathogens without harming the plants.
Keeping the plants free from mold is essential to the success of the grow operation. Once mold infects the plants, it can easily spread and ruin the entire crop.
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. If dried cannabis is infected with mold, ClO2 can be used to kill the fungus while preserving the product’s safety for consumption.
Cannabis producers must keep their cultivation facilities free from bacteria and fungus not only before starting to grow but also throughout the entire plant life cycle.
Concerns Using Cl02
The EPA regards ClO2 as safe to consume in small amounts, though it can be toxic at high levels. 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, using ClO2 in an indoor grow operation can lower the odor emissions to levels permitted by regulatory agencies.
Adding a Cl02 generator to a grow operation can eliminate the risk associated with producing cannabis.
Many growers face challenges in maintaining a cleaned environment for the plant life cycle. Chlorine dioxide has proven to have germ-fighting and germ-killing effects in heavily held industries, and it’s time to implement ClO2 in the cannabis industry.
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