Bud rot in grow tent discovered after chop, would UVC during the grow help?

[roperman]

Had a spike in humidity for one day (went up to around 80%) a few weeks before harvest and got it back to normal (around 40%) within a day, but it seems the damage was done. Had bud rot in my biggest colas, that didn't show at all until trimming.

The tent is clean but I guess the bud rot spores and all kinds of mold spores are still in the tent waiting for the right conditions. I bought a 22 watt UVC bulb on Amazon... was thinking about attaching it to the ceiling and running it for 5 minutes a day during the entire grow, when the lights are on. (I've tried it now that the grow is over and I do smell ozone after it being on an hour or so. But after five minutes, no smell.)

Think that would help any with keeping mold at bay? Good / bad for the plants? From what I've read, I'm thinking the plants could tolerate that amount of UVC and it might kill some of the spores floating around in the tent. I've seen youtubes of growers using hand held UVC lights on their plants with success, so maybe ok to try? Thanks.

[9fingerleafs]

Yeah I’ve seen them too. You should investigate more about it because I think it needs to be real close to the plant and just for a few seconds. I think you have to try to get the light to hit from as many angles possible. Don’t know for sure but 5min a day from the same direction sounds like it could be ineffective. Too much time and too far away

[Canuck147]

What's your airflow like? I deal with humidity averaging 65%, today it's raining and it's 100%. Air circulation is necessary.

[roperman]

I had two usb fans going in the tent, plus an exhaust fan hooked up to a charcoal filter for smell. The 4 x 4 tent is in my smallish office. I turned the dehumidifier off because I opened the window on a low humidity day and forgot about it that night. I think I'll put two more fans in the tent for more air circulation (and never rely on the weather for my dehumidification).

An occasional 100% would be fine in veg, but in late flower I think you'd risk bud rot like I got.

[Canuck147]

That's why one has to pay attention daily to their grow. And I keep the middle defoliated to maintain good airflow.

[Toker1]

Won’t do much. The UVC needs to be real close to the zone you are trying to cleanse. 5 min per day is not enough time to be effective, and UVC is best used during lights off.
Why not use a dehumidifier?
spores are naturally everywhere. Just have to keep them from experiencing optimal growth conditions.