---
title: "Protecting Cannabis Growth"
date_published: "2023-05-05"
date_modified: "2023-11-02"
permalink: "https://www.steramist.com/our-company/blogs-insights/protecting-cannabis-growth/"
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## **ELIMINATING ASPERGILLUS & POWDERY MILDEW**

Aspergillus is a type of saprophytic fungus that plays a role in removing carbon from the atmosphere. However, it can pose severe health risks to immunocompromised individuals. This presents a significant danger to patients who consume medicinal cannabis by smoking and inhaling through combustion, as the spores are not eliminated by the low burning temperatures.

###### **PROJECT SCOPE**

**Products Used:** SteraPak, BIT Solution

**Use Site:** Pre-harvest cannabis plant stocks

**Summary:** Aspergillus mold impacted cannabis yields, requiring a spray that directly eliminates the fungus without affecting the quality.

Dark Horse Genetics needed a solution to a mold problem in their grow facility was needed after a failed Aspergillus and powdery mildew test. A solution was required for the cannabis that did not pass the testing stage. The solution needed to be a spray that would not compromise the cannabis' strength or usability, as it had already undergone the drying and curing process. The research was a two-phase process. It needed to be determined if SteraMist was a solution to remediate the Aspergillus and powdery mildew in the infected plants. The second phase of the research was to determine if iHP technology was a viable solution for the prevention of those two spores in a commercial cannabis cultivation environment.

![](https://www.steramist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MicrosoftTeams-image-81.jpg)

###### **MEETING THE NEED**

Through cooperation with a TOMI-preferred partner, the prevention study spanned four months and was initiated with the treatment of **grow rooms, hallways, and common areas** using the SteraMist SteraPak. SteraMist was administered to the **plant stocks**, also referred to as mother plants, and subsequently to new clones after a week. After four weeks, the same clones, now in their **teenage phase**, were subjected to another round of SteraMist treatment, followed by another round after another four weeks. When the plants had entered the **flowering stage**, they were treated with SteraMist twice - one spray one month into the flowering phase and another one month before the harvest. The plants were then collected, dried, cured, and forwarded to a third party for testing, **which they successfully passed for both powdery mildew and Aspergillus**. The other cultivation rooms, used as controls and not treated, failed the lab tests. Subsequently, the affected group was treated with SteraMist and retested, successfully passing the tests.

###### **THE FUTURE OF STERAMIST IN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY**

The cannabis industry has been seeking a consistent solution to prevent spores at every stage of the growing process. This research demonstrates that **SteraMist meets this requirement and provides growers with an all-encompassing disinfectant to safeguard their grow, thus fulfilling a long-standing need.**

**"With testing standards as one of the biggest pitfalls for commercial growing, incorporating SteraMist into our grow practices greatly reduced microbial failure rates."** -Jason Holck, Dark Horse Genetics