Growing and Harvesting Testing

Analytical testing during cultivation is geared toward increasing crop yield and quality. At this early stage, growers can create a cannabinoid profile and determine the plant strain, as well as the levels of terpenoids, phytocannabinoids, and other compounds of interest. Acquiring these results early gives growers a competitive edge by identifying which plants will eventually be culled and discarded, thus avoiding significant time, energy, space, and monetary investments into these plants.

When all plants in a crop have identical characteristics, it is possible to determine production yield and quality attributes:

Female sex – genetic testing of leaf samples can determine the sex of a plant approximately 6 weeks before male/female characteristics are first seen.
Cannabinoid composition and potency – analysis of leaf samples (as early as the first true leaf) can determine the cannabinoid profile of the mature plant, which typically varies little over the life of the plant.
Other defining characteristics including size, growing cycle, nutrient need, and disease resistance.

It is much more efficient and cost-effective to cultivate and extract plants with the optimal compound profile than to change the composition of extracts later via purification procedures.

Growing and Harvesting References

Potter, G.R., Barratt, M.J., Malm, A., Bouchard, M., Blok, T., Christensen, A.S., Decorte, T., Frank, V.A., Hakkarainen, P., Klein, A. and Lenton, S., 2016, Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: Sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries, In Friendly business (pp. 163-196). Springer VS, Wiesbaden

Aizpurua-Olaizola, O., Soydaner, U., Öztürk, E., Schibano, D., Simsir, Y., Navarro, P., Etxebarria, N. and Usobiaga, A., 2016, Evolution of the cannabinoid and terpene content during the growth of Cannabis sativa plants from different chemotypes, Journal of natural products, 79(2), pp.324-331.

Thomas, M., 2012, Cannabis Cultivation: A Complete Grower’s Guide, Green Candy Press

De Backer, B., Maebe, K., Verstraete, A.G. and Charlier, C., 2012, Evolution of the content of THC and other major cannabinoids in drug‐type cannabis cuttings and seedlings during growth of plants, Journal of forensic sciences, 57(4), pp.918-922

Amaducci, S., Scordia, D., Liu, F.H., Zhang, Q., Guo, H., Testa, G. and Cosentino, S.L., 2015, Key cultivation techniques for hemp in Europe and China, Industrial Crops and Products, 68, pp.2-16

Nykter, M., Kymäläinen, H.R., Thomsen, A.B., Lilholt, H., Koponen, H., Sjöberg, A.M. and Thygesen, A., 2008, Effects of thermal and enzymatic treatments and harvesting time on the microbial quality and chemical composition of fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), Biomass and bioenergy, 32(5), pp.392-399.

Müssig, J. and Martens, R., 2003, Quality aspects in hemp fibre production—influence of cultivation, harvesting and retting, Journal of Industrial Hemp, 8(1), pp.11-32

Bocsa, I. and Karus, M., 1998, The cultivation of hemp: botany, varieties, cultivation and harvesting, Hemptech

Meier, C. and Mediavilla, V., 1998, Factors influencing the yield and the quality of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) essential oil, J. Int. Hemp Assoc, 5(1), pp.16-20