Hello hammerpamf,
I also have been growing hydroponically for years, and I'm now in the process trying to make it a career. Not a career in selling hydroponic products, but produce grown hydroponically. I have also spent many countless hours doing research over the years to answer those questions I have. As well as the over 40 articles I wrote on various subjects of hydroponics. I also got very few good answers to my questions when I started out. That's what
led to me starting to do my own research to find out the answers to my questions in the first place. I don't think I do anything different, but I have learned some tricks to narrow down good information, and weed out the rest. I have also learned to save the good information to my computer in text files (not just bookmarking it), and pdf's to be able to reference it easier later. I'll even e-mail tech support to various
nutrient manufactures to get their opinion too.
Just so you know, I'm not sure what to make of your intentions in this forum. I don't mean any offense, but I have seen so many other people who give their credentials you do (like giving a resume) that wind up just wanting generate visitors to another website in the end. I don't know if your just trying to build up a reputation before beginning to spam the forum, or generally want to be a part of the forum. I cant say you have done anything wrong yet, just saying that I see signs I have seen before that have me wondering.
That said, I tried to join the group, not sure if I did it right or not. But in any case, I think it's an interesting idea. However I'm not sure that the questions I have can actually be answered any better without real lab/controlled testing. Again that's why I look for research done by reputable sources. As an example I would be interested in research on compost tea. I know I can make a compost tea brewer, and brew a good compost tea (even though that's a whole subject in itself). However compost teas rely on live beneficial microbes. I know there are many manufactures that sell compost teas, but how effective are they after a few weeks/months of storage? Brewing my own would only be worth it if I could store it effectively. Things like how long will the beneficial microbes survive, In what numbers do they exist. What individual mineral nutrient concentrations are in the compost tea to start, and how if it at all it diminishes over time are the type of questions I have.
Other aspects of interest for me include plant disease (including pest damage), and/or nutrient deficiency and toxicity for specific crops. Without the verifiable lab testing of the disease, pest conformation, and/or nutrient problem, coming to any conclusions is skeptical at best to conclude. Not to mention witch problem started first, because pests tend to attack/infest unhealthy plants first.
I'm also highly interested in using beneficial microbes, bacteria, and fungi to combat pathogens and preventive maintenance of them. However without real controlled testing of various strains, then testing them on specific crops, and against specific problems. Well that's the kind of research I'm looking for. I have also done research on using UV light treatment for disease control. I haven't built one yet, but in order to verify the effectiveness at specific light intensity's, water flow rates, and depth's takes specific controlled testing. I haven't found reliably research on those aspects yet.
I have nothing against backyard growers (I am one), but they just don't have the kind of money and resources to conduct real controlled research. I also need to ask who is going to be responsible for policing and verifying the findings? That also poses the question of if their qualified to do so or not.