Bud factor x isn't just chitosan, it also has salicylic acid and harpin protein-all three of which stimulate systemic resistance in different ways. It isn't snake oil, it's just overpriced. All three of those ingredients have many studies backing them up, just look for them. As someone else mentioned, you can do the ebay chitosan thing, or you can buy one of the other chitosan products like Tidal Vision or Hy-Shield (made by the Hygrozyme folks). I love chitosan as a foliar anti-fungal agent. I'm a long term outdoor grower who is now dabbling in coco indoors, and in my climate I was constantly battling botrytis outside. Growing with naturally mold resistant strains helped a lot, but it was chitosan that ended the nightmare for me. I've also heard that too much chitosan can reduce yields, but I haven't found that to be an issue if used once per week as a foliar. Rather than bud factor X, the cheap way to do it is to properly prepare ebay chitosan (there are many "how to's" out there) and feed the girls aspirin water twice per grow-that's another one that can be overdone. This is all from my outdoor experience, but I'm sure it would work indoors too. Oh, and I have no idea how or if Harpin protein works-I've read a few studies but never tested it for myself, but I see you can buy some on Amazon to try it if you want to do the full DIY Bud Factor X experience, hehe.
