Follow along with our viroid resource at www.growcastpodcast.com/viroid Contributor to the Human Genome Project and cannabis viral expert Kevin McKernan debuts on the show for a DEEP DIVE into viral cannabis pathogens! Kevin starts by breaking down the science of what a viroid is, how it differs from a virus, and what it's role in the natural world is. He discusses hop latent viroid in cannabis, and explains the mechanisms by which it replicates itself using the plant's energy, and stops the expression of desirable traits like potency, terpene expression, and more. This leads to a conversation about the hops industry, where instead they opted to breed cultivars that would carry the virus but resist it- as opposed to the cannabis approach of testing for viruses and culling any positives. Kevin wraps up the show by talking about tobacco mosaic virus, why it's so misdiagnosed, and just how many varieties there are of these types of plant virals... GrowCast Membership (100s of hours of bonus content and more) GrowCast Classes (Coming to VA, MA, and MO!) GrowCast Seed Co (Grab the Tech Truffle before it's gone!) *Proud partner of FOOP Nutrients! Organic certified, clone gel, foliar spray, and nutrients! www.thefoop.com USE CODE: GROWCAST be healthy go organic use FOOP! www.thefoop.com * *Photontek Lighting - High efficiency, magnetic, water resistant grow lights! Use code growcast to save 10% on the NEW c02 1000W pre-order the most POWERFUL light you'll ever need!*