Botrytis cinerea, also known as gray mold, is perhaps best known for affecting wine grapes. However, gray mold can also decimate a cannabis crop within a few short days. Botrytis cinerea takes the form of asexual spores that spread on branching gray filaments that soon cover a plant. Circulating air throughout a grow room causes these Botrytis spores to spread, rapidly infecting new plants with gray mold; therefore, learning how to stop Botrytis on cannabis plants is important.
Types of Disease Caused by Botrytis
Botrytis actually causes two different types of plant infections. The first, called noble rot, tends not to cause long-term damage to plants (among wine growers, it is actually considered beneficial, but there is no such benefit in cannabis). Noble rot develops when drier conditions follow a wet period.
In well-controlled cannabis growing environments, noble rot rarely develops. The more common form of Botrytis disease is as gray rot or gray mold. This develops when conditions are consistently too wet or humid. Botrytis spores thrive in these conditions, proliferating and spreading throughout a growing environment.
How to Stop Botrytis on Cannabis Plants
Botrytis spores likely exist in your grow room, but they tend not to become activated until growing conditions are right. Spores are spread by air circulation and in water. For example, maintaining circulation with large fans is a good way to reduce temperatures from grow lights and prevent powdery mildew. However, these fans can blow Botrytis spores around your grow room. Meanwhile, spores spread to the plant roots or surface each time an irrigation turns on.
Botrytis thrives in humid environments. This is why it is best to keep humidity levels near 40% whenever possible. Going much higher than this level can lead to the activation of spores and spread of gray mold. Regulating air quality is also paramount. An air purification system such as AiroClean420 actually sucks Botrytis spores from the air and destroys them. With a proprietary design first used for NASA to prevent the spread of fungus in outer space, AiroClean420 sweeps dangerous Botrytis spores from your grow room. When combined with proper growing conditions, this is the best way to stop Botrytis on cannabis.
The best way to stop Botrytis on cannabis plants is to invest in better quality air. Without the opportunity to spread spores throughout a grow room, a Botrytis infection will go nowhere. To learn more about air purification opportunities, contact AiroClean420 today. Our experts can help you make equipment choices that are best for the scale and scope of your cannabis growing operations.
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