Does AirROS Prevent Powdery Mildew in Cannabis? A Spectral Imaging Case Study

A controlled 11-week spectral imaging study at KGB Farms tests whether AirROS by Sage Industrial Corp can keep a cannabis flowering room completely free of powdery mildew  and the data tells a compelling story.

The Problem: Why Powdery Mildew Is Every Cannabis Grower’s Worst Nightmare

Powdery mildew (PM) is a fungal disease caused by airborne spores that thrive in warm, humid, low-airflow environments exactly the conditions common in commercial cannabis grow rooms. Once established, PM spreads rapidly from plant to plant, reduces photosynthesis, diminishes bud quality, and in severe cases can devastate yields by up to 50%. For licensed cultivators, a PM outbreak can also mean failing state testing requirements and losing an entire crop’s revenue.

Traditional prevention relies on chemical fungicide sprays, environmental controls (humidity, fans, HEPA filtration), and vigilant manual inspection. The problem? Each of these approaches has significant limitations, requires constant labor, and still leaves growers vulnerable particularly during the late flowering stage when chemical applications become problematic.

The central question this study set out to answer: can an air purification system using Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) technology prevent powdery mildew from taking hold in a cannabis flowering room and can spectral imaging prove it?

The Technology: What Is AirROS And How Does It Work?

AirROS is a commercial air and surface purification system developed by Sage Industrial Corp, a Fresno, California-based manufacturer with over 15 years of applied purification technology across food, agriculture, and cannabis. Unlike standard HEPA or carbon filters that only clean air passing directly through them, AirROS uses a two-stage process:

Stage 1 — Internal chamber purification: Ambient air enters the unit, where a reaction chamber creates non-thermal plasma and generates five short-lived, highly reactive oxygen species (ROS). These break down carbon-to-carbon bonds, destroying bacteria, molds, viruses, and other pathogens as they pass through.

Stage 2 — Environmental sanitization: The system continuously diffuses low levels of dry hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and trace ozone into the room. These react to create Trioxidane an antimicrobial agent that sanitizes surfaces including plant canopies, equipment, floors, and walls around the clock, without the need for chemical sprays.

The practical implication for growers: AirROS does not require PM spores to travel through the unit to destroy them. It treats the entire environment continuously, meaning pathogens on surfaces and in the air are neutralized in place, 24/7.

The Test Setup: KGB Farms, 2020

KGB Farms is an indoor hydroponic cannabis operation that established itself as a craft producer early in the Oregon market’s transition to quality-focused cultivation. For this study, Emerald Metrics a company specializing in multi-spectral imaging and the Canaintelligence AI analytics platform designed and monitored a controlled 11-week study during the flowering phase of the South African Rose Sativa strain.

 

 

Three Emerald Metrics spectral imagers (cameras 14, 18, and 43) were integrated into mobile rail systems and programmed to capture high-resolution RGB/NDVI imagery of the entire canopy every hour. The Canaintelligence system then analyzed each image using grid analysis and pixel-level analysis to track four key signals in real time:

• Green line — healthy plant material (should increase over time)
• Blue line — total plant material (tracks overall canopy growth)
• Brown line — stressed or diseased material (should decrease)
• Gray line — absence of plant material (decreases as canopy fills in)

Prior to activating the AirROS unit, all standard PM prevention controls were deliberately removed from the room to confirm the room could sustain a PM outbreak under normal conditions before the product was introduced.

What the spectral data showed: a week-by-week breakdown

Week 1 — January 23, 2020

 

Initial imagery confirmed plants were growing but showed expected transplant stress — high readings for stressed material and absence of plant material, consistent with a freshly transplanted grow room. No powdery mildew was detected. The Canaintelligence system recorded the healthy plant material trend beginning to rise.

Week 4 — February 13, 2020

 

By Week 4, the trendline for stressed and bad material had been substantially eliminated. Strong, healthy plant material was increasing rapidly in both the grid and pixel analyses. Both imagers tracked in line with what a strong, disease-free grow cycle should look like at this stage.

Week 6 — February 29, 2020

Imager 18 (spectral and filtered RGB) confirmed the AirROS unit had eliminated disease in the room. Only a small area of heat damage was visible in the spectral image — notably, there was zero PM detected anywhere in the canopy. The report noted this was already unusual compared to a standard operation at this stage of flowering.

Week 9 — March 21, 2020

Spectral images continued to show no disease or damage. The independent observation by Emerald Metrics described the room as showing “no disease or damage which is unusual for a standard operation” — confirming the AirROS unit was maintaining a clean environment as plants entered the critical late-flowering window.

Week 11 — March 30, 2020

 

 

Final imagery confirmed no disease or damage throughout the room for the entire 11-week cycle. The healthy plant material trendline had remained strong and consistent from Week 4 through harvest. The AirROS unit maintained a disease-free environment without interruption.

The Harvest Results

In conclusion, at harvest, all 60 plants in the AirROS test room yielded a total of 30.02 pounds of sellable flower with a THC content of 23% a slight but meaningful improvement over the pre-test baseline from the same room and strain, which had yielded 29.68 pounds. Terpenes were not tested in this cycle.

This improvement was considered preliminary given the single-room scale of the test, and was attributed cautiously to the elimination of disease-related stress on the plants rather than any direct growth stimulation effect. The report noted that plants freed from continuous disease pressure are known to allocate more energy toward growth, density, and cannabinoid production.

Above all, beyond yield, the AirROS unit also fully eliminated cannabis odor within the operational space independently confirmed unanimously by all team members, and verified as a conversion of odor compounds rather than masking.

 

 

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Frequently asked questions

Does AirROS prevent powdery mildew in cannabis? Based on this 11-week study at KGB Farms, yes. Zero cases of powdery mildew were detected throughout the entire flowering cycle, even after all standard PM prevention controls were deliberately removed prior to the test. Independent spectral imagery confirmed a clean, disease-free grow from Week 1 through harvest.

How does AirROS eliminate powdery mildew in a grow room? AirROS uses a two-stage process. First, air passes through an internal reaction chamber that generates Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), destroying pathogens on contact. Second, the system continuously diffuses dry hydrogen peroxide and trace ozone into the room, creating Trioxidane — an antimicrobial agent that sanitizes all surfaces and the entire air volume 24/7. Unlike HEPA filters, AirROS does not require PM spores to pass through the unit to destroy them.

Does AirROS have any negative effect on cannabis plants? No negative effects on plant volume, canopy development, or health were observed during the 11-week KGB Farms test. Plant health manifested as positive in all cases, with no reduction in growth rate or any signs of phytotoxicity from the ROS environment.

Does AirROS eliminate cannabis odor? Yes. All team members at KGB Farms unanimously confirmed the AirROS unit completely eliminated cannabis odor in the operational room. Importantly, the odor was not simply masked — it was converted through the air purification process, which is a meaningful distinction for cultivators navigating local odor compliance regulations.

How does AirROS compare to HEPA filtration for powdery mildew prevention? Standard HEPA filters can only sanitize air that physically passes through the unit, leaving surfaces, plant canopies, and stagnant air pockets untreated. AirROS continuously diffuses reactive oxygen species throughout the entire room — treating all surfaces and the full air volume including areas a filter can never reach — 24 hours a day without requiring pathogens to pass through the device.

Can AirROS replace chemical fungicide sprays in a cannabis grow room? Based on the KGB Farms results, the room remained completely disease-free for 11 weeks without any chemical fungicide applications. The AirROS system provided continuous passive protection throughout the flowering cycle, reducing the need for spray programs, lowering labor costs, and eliminating the risk of chemical residue on flower — a significant advantage for cultivators in regulated markets with strict testing requirements.

Is AirROS a good return on investment for cannabis cultivators? Yes. When weighed against the costs of treating PM outbreaks, product remediation, regulatory non-compliance, failed state testing, and yield loss from disease pressure, the operational cost of the AirROS unit is more than justifiable — even at small-scale single-room production. The KGB Farms test also showed a yield improvement from 29.68 lbs to 30.02 lbs at 23% THC, consistent with plants freed from disease-related stress performing better at harvest.

What strains were used in the AirROS powdery mildew case study? The study used the South African Rose Sativa strain, grown at KGB Farms in Portland, Oregon. The test monitored 60 plants across 6 tables through an 11-week indoor hydroponic flowering cycle.