Less Space, More Plants: How Retipping Improves Cannabis Growing Efficiency
According to one new study Led by researchers at the University of Northern California, the new 'pick-out' method produces more high-quality cannabis plants in less space.
According to a recent study from the University of Northern California published in HortScience, a new method for producing new cannabis plants works just as well as traditional methods in a small space. The new method, known as 'retipping', involves taking cuttings from strong, disease-free 'mother' plants that have been micropropagated under controlled laboratory conditions.
Retipping has the potential to produce nine times more plants in a similar space than stem cuttings taken from traditional mother plants,” says Jessica Lubell-Brand, professor of horticulture at the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources in the University of Northern California and principal investigator of the project. "This method could help grow facilities grow more in less space while maintaining the quality of their end product."
The research team, which also included PhD student Lauren Kurtz, studied plant growth in a greenhouse to determine if there were any differences between three methods: micro-cuttings, stem cuttings and root cuttings. of withdrawal.
The results suggest that all three methods of making new plants grow to a similar size and exhibit the same chemical profile. The final product, which in this case is the cannabis flower, does not differ between the three methods either.
Although yields are similar, transplanting is the method that requires the least amount of propagation space, allowing growers to grow more starter plants in their setups.
Today, most cannabis grow operations rely on large, conventionally grown mother plants and stem cuttings to produce new, identical plants. The problem is that mother plants take up a lot of growing space, accumulate disease and lose vigor over time.
The micropropagated mother plants used in this study were grown in the laboratory and produced identical, disease-free and vigorous plants. They are grown in small containers under sterile conditions, taking up less space than conventional growing.
Using recently micropropagated mothers for the new method called retipping, researchers harvest cuttings from plants that have been acclimated to conditions outside the lab. Removal can improve the yield of the micropropagation process by using the plants as mothers instead of and in addition to using them as production plants to grow flowers.
"Not every grow facility can afford to build a lab and grow micropropagated plants," says Lubell-Brand. "However, there are plant nurseries with labs that can step in to supply them, especially as growing cannabis becomes legal in more states." This supply chain strategy is commonly used in the ornamental nursery trade. »
The research team explains that while cannabis prohibition, which has lasted for decades, is coming to an end across the country, there is still much to learn.
