MrPuffTuff
Active Member
Anyone using CO2 in their curing room/area for mycotoxin prevention?
I've heard this works... but have yet to try it or hear from anyone who has...
Apparently mycotoxins need oxygen to proliferate - an article I read said replacing some oxygen with CO2 or Nitrogen gas helps significantly.
Any experience/thoughts?
From article (https://www.marijuanaventure.com/mycotoxins/):
Methods to protect your crop during harvest:
– Avoid late harvesting (fresh, dense plant material contains significant amounts of water, which promotes fungal growth); and
– Have effective pest control (according to relevant state guidelines).
Methods to protect cannabis during storage:
– Minimize lag time between harvesting and drying plant material for storage;
– Maintain hygiene of storage facility and storage containers;
– Dry the product to below 14% moisture content (less than 0.7 water activity, or aw);
– Maintain pest control post-harvest (the presence of other insects can introduce extra water and heat into the environment, providing fungi and bacteria the opportunity to grow); and
– Control the gaseous environment by reducing oxygen content and replacing it with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to reduce the production of aflatoxin and ochratoxin.
It is crucial to understand the threats of aflatoxins and ochratoxins so that proper steps can be made to avoid their production. When guidelines for other crops are applied correctly to cannabis, the threat of aflatoxin and ochratoxin contamination can be significantly impeded. A good place to start is a clean environment for the drying and storing processes by reducing humidity, oxygen and pest insects.
I've heard this works... but have yet to try it or hear from anyone who has...
Apparently mycotoxins need oxygen to proliferate - an article I read said replacing some oxygen with CO2 or Nitrogen gas helps significantly.
Any experience/thoughts?
From article (https://www.marijuanaventure.com/mycotoxins/):
Methods to protect your crop during harvest:
– Avoid late harvesting (fresh, dense plant material contains significant amounts of water, which promotes fungal growth); and
– Have effective pest control (according to relevant state guidelines).
Methods to protect cannabis during storage:
– Minimize lag time between harvesting and drying plant material for storage;
– Maintain hygiene of storage facility and storage containers;
– Dry the product to below 14% moisture content (less than 0.7 water activity, or aw);
– Maintain pest control post-harvest (the presence of other insects can introduce extra water and heat into the environment, providing fungi and bacteria the opportunity to grow); and
– Control the gaseous environment by reducing oxygen content and replacing it with nitrogen or carbon dioxide to reduce the production of aflatoxin and ochratoxin.
It is crucial to understand the threats of aflatoxins and ochratoxins so that proper steps can be made to avoid their production. When guidelines for other crops are applied correctly to cannabis, the threat of aflatoxin and ochratoxin contamination can be significantly impeded. A good place to start is a clean environment for the drying and storing processes by reducing humidity, oxygen and pest insects.
