I have seen several opinions on this site indicating that it is desirable to maintain a sterile hydroponic grow. A trained microbiologist may be able to achieve this in a laboratory setting with rigorous precautions. First you would have to kill any microbes, including spores, which generally inhabit the seeds (can't kill the seeds though). Then using stage 3 microbiology laboratory conditions (HEPA filtration, moon suits), etc., you may be able to do a sterile grow.
My rock media has seen about 30 grows so the organic contamination is huge. I have had fusarium for years and just get used to dealing with stem rot. Every plant, every grow. Cannabis sp will do anything they can to survive, so when they fall over sideways with a gaping hole in the stem I splint them up, they form a cancor and life carries on. If I catch the infection before the plant falls over I have used 3500 ppm hydrogen peroxide spray onto the stem to kill the fungus and it helps. I just recently tried a hydrated bacterial spore spray and it seem to work as well.
I only started enzyme and bacterial spore addition half way through the last grow so I expect the reduced organic content on the rocks plus competing bacteria may reduce pathogen levels and prevent stem rot. Maybe silicates will also help.
Not only do beneficial bacteria and fungi degrade organic material in the media, but probably provide synergistic effects similar to the human microbiome. If your gut was sterile life would be hell. It has only started to become evident how much your microbiome effects your life (obesity, diabetes, immune system response, plus lots more). The same is true with the complex root hair system of plants. The similarity between root hairs and the gut lining comes with the large surface areas involved. There is plenty room for many different bacterial and fungal microenvironments to be established. The waste products of the microbial degradation of organics is generally organic acids (ex: acetic acid, the simplest). How do these complex organic acids effect the taste of the dried flower? Organic farmers swear their buds taste better than a hydroponic grow and I'm sure it's true because of the complex microbiome of organic soils.
My rock media has seen about 30 grows so the organic contamination is huge. I have had fusarium for years and just get used to dealing with stem rot. Every plant, every grow. Cannabis sp will do anything they can to survive, so when they fall over sideways with a gaping hole in the stem I splint them up, they form a cancor and life carries on. If I catch the infection before the plant falls over I have used 3500 ppm hydrogen peroxide spray onto the stem to kill the fungus and it helps. I just recently tried a hydrated bacterial spore spray and it seem to work as well.
I only started enzyme and bacterial spore addition half way through the last grow so I expect the reduced organic content on the rocks plus competing bacteria may reduce pathogen levels and prevent stem rot. Maybe silicates will also help.
Not only do beneficial bacteria and fungi degrade organic material in the media, but probably provide synergistic effects similar to the human microbiome. If your gut was sterile life would be hell. It has only started to become evident how much your microbiome effects your life (obesity, diabetes, immune system response, plus lots more). The same is true with the complex root hair system of plants. The similarity between root hairs and the gut lining comes with the large surface areas involved. There is plenty room for many different bacterial and fungal microenvironments to be established. The waste products of the microbial degradation of organics is generally organic acids (ex: acetic acid, the simplest). How do these complex organic acids effect the taste of the dried flower? Organic farmers swear their buds taste better than a hydroponic grow and I'm sure it's true because of the complex microbiome of organic soils.
