Choosing natural, clean, and aseptic inputs for cannabis crops

With the abundance of inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides, inoculants, teas, sugars, acids, etc., dedicated to cannabis cultivation, it is sometimes hard to choose reliable options. Not only products need to give you the expected results, but they also need to provide a clean, safe and easy way to get the most out of your plants.

Inoculants being an important part of cannabis cultivation, they are also some of the most complicated products to evaluate for growers. Several companies come up with staggering numbers of products, some of which offer a list of ingredients longer than your grocery list. Without any explanation on where the active ingredients come from, what they do, how they are produced, and why they are a reliable option for you, buying an inoculant can be more like a leap of faith than an informed choice.

Adding to that, growers are more and more looking for natural options, sometimes even certified organic inputs, knowing that what you put in your pots ends up in your product. Organic or not, there are products out there that give you the certainty that you need.

Known for its product consistency and overall quality, PRO-MIX^® is a Premier Tech brand that has innovated since its inception with cutting-edge products that are adapted to growers' needs.

PRO-MIX value-added growing media include two different active ingredients, developed and produced by Premier Tech:

• MYCORRHIZAE (Glomus intraradices, PTB297 Technology)
• BIOFUNGICIDE™ / BIOSTIMULANT* (Bacillus pumilus, PTB180 Technology)

PRO-MIX^® CONNECT™ is a “stand-alone” mycorrhizal inoculant, meaning the mycorrhizae are mixed in an inert powder.

Source: Premier Tech 

As the world leader in the production of aseptic mycorrhizal inoculum, Premier Tech has developed a premium quality control process for its active ingredients and value-added growing media. It is what makes the PRO-MIX brand so consistent.

PRO-MIX Quality Control: a reference in the cannabis market
With products that guarantee a high concentration of viable spores, “we control the quality from the biofermenters to the formulated products,”, says Régine Otis, IR&D Coordinator at Premier Tech, and every aspect of the end products’ viability and efficacy is verified for each produced batch.

Quality Control for Mycorrhizae

Washed and stained plant roots in a Petri dish will be observed under microscope to assess the colonization by mycorrhizal fungi. Source: Premier Tech

Mycorrhizal fungi (PTB297 Technology) are produced at an industrial scale in a completely aseptic production facility in Canada. Recognized as one of the first companies worldwide to produce spores in vitro in a mycoreactor, Premier Tech has developed a rigorous quality control process to ensure the viability and efficacy of the products.

Produced spores in liquid suspension are tested for concentration and viability. The spores need to be whole with their structure intact, and filled with lipids to be able to colonize plants. Unlike most inoculant producers on the market, only viable spores are counted. Premier Tech does not include hyphae fragments or non-viable spores, which are ruptured, deformed or not filled with lipids.

The active ingredient is formulated within growing media, or on a powder carrier for PRO-MIX CONNECT™, and is once again tested for concentration and viability, with special proprietary methods. As production and formulation cause stress to the microorganisms, this step is crucial to ensure product integrity.

Product samples are used to grow plants in Premier Tech’s labs and greenhouses. Plants are harvested after a few weeks to verify the colonization rate and efficacy of the product. This verification is done by washing the roots, staining them to finally observe them with a microscope. The presence of mycorrhizal structures (arbuscules and vesicles) inside the roots, and the intensity of their presence (colonization rate) indicate the active ingredient is viable. In other words, intraradical colonization, i.e. inside the roots, means that the fungi can develop an extraradical network in the soil and help plants through symbiosis.

Quality Control for Bacillus pumilus

Colonies of Bacillus pumilus that developed on nutrient agar. Source: Premier Tech

Bacillus bacteria (PTB180 Technology) are produced in biofermenters in another aseptic facility in Canada, and the concentrated inoculum is in liquid form.

1. Concentrated production is tested by calculating the cfu/ml or cfu/g (cfu: colony-forming units, i.e. active cells of bacteria).
2. Concentrated inoculum is incorporated to formulated growing media according to guaranteed concentrations.
3. Every batch of growing medium is tested for concentration of cfu/ml or cfu/g. Special methods have been developed to test concentration on any growing medium.
4. Product samples from every production facility are used to grow plants in Premier Tech’s labs and greenhouses, to test the active ingredient’s efficacy. Plants are then harvested and verified to assess the active ingredient’s efficacy.

PRO-MIX products, whether they contain one of both active ingredients, are all are tested the same way to ensure that mycorrhizae and Bacillus, known for their great compatibility, colonize plants together as expected.

Root with his root hairs. Source: Premier Tech

The whole process aims to provide a ready-to-use product for you, with proven reliability and performance.

35 Years of Expertise in Active Ingredients
"Next time you invest in a product, be sure to know where it comes from, what ingredients it contains, and if the production was controlled appropriately. You want to make sure your new product is compatible with your growing practices, that its active ingredients are viable and that its shelf life information is reliable. The last thing you want to invest in is a product that could contaminate your crop or simply be useless.

Premier Tech has more than 35 years of expertise in biologically active ingredients and offers premium quality products that are trustworthy.

When looking for the right inoculant, you should feel safe that what you pay for offers the results you expect.

*Products with BIOFUNGICIDE™ are available in the U.S. and products with BIOSTIMULANT are available in Canada.