Abstract:The illegal status of cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) post-World War II resulted in a lack of research on agricultural practices. However, there is a resurgence of interest in cannabis due to diverse uses such as a rich source of cellulosic/woody fiber and construction uses, seed oil, bioenergy and pharmaceutical properties. The principle of an integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) is to enable adaptation of plant nutrition and soil fertility management to local site characteristics, attempting to optimize us… Show more
“…The combination of both mineral and organic fertilizers for integrated crop nutrition as performed in our study and also cited in the literature ( Bernstein et al., 2019 ; Da Cunha Leme Filho et al., 2020 ; Laleh et al., 2021 ) suggests that the higher availability of mineral fertilizer can be important for plant initial growth, while organic fertilizers can be employed as a more sustainable nutrient complementation during flowering without major yield losses. It is relevant to further investigate the effects of nutrient deprivation in the different stages of flowering, as the major balance between biomass accumulation and the concentration of secondary metabolites can be modulated.…”
Indoor medicinal cannabis cultivation systems enable year-round cultivation and better control of growing factors, however, such systems are energy and resource intensive. Nutrient deprivation during flowering can trigger nutrient translocation and modulate the production of cannabinoids, which might increase agronomic nutrient use efficiency, and thus, a more sustainable use of fertilizers. This experiment compares two fertilizer types (mineral and organic) applied in three dilutions (80, 160 and 240 mg N L−1) to evaluate the effect of nutrient deprivation during flowering on biomass, Cannabidiol (CBD) yield and nutrient use efficiency of N, P and K. This is the first study showing the potential to reduce fertilizer input while maintaining CBD yield of medicinal cannabis. Under nutrient stress, inflorescence yield was significantly lower at the final harvest, however, this was compensated by a higher CBD concentration, resulting in 95% of CBD yield using one-third less fertilizer. The higher nutrient use efficiency of N, P, and K in nutrient-deprived plants was achieved by a larger mobilization and translocation of nutrients increasing the utilization efficiency of acquired nutrients. The agronomic nutrient use efficiency of CBD yield – for N and K – increased 34% for the organic fertilizers and 72% for the mineral fertilizers comparing the dilution with one-third less nutrients (160) with the highest nutrient concentration (240). Differences in CBD yield between fertilizer types occurred only at the final harvest indicating limitations in nutrient uptake due to nutrient forms in the organic fertilizer. Our results showed a lower acquisition and utilization efficiency for the organic fertilizer, proposing the necessity to improve either the timing of bio-availability of organic fertilizers or the use of soil amendments.
“…The combination of both mineral and organic fertilizers for integrated crop nutrition as performed in our study and also cited in the literature ( Bernstein et al., 2019 ; Da Cunha Leme Filho et al., 2020 ; Laleh et al., 2021 ) suggests that the higher availability of mineral fertilizer can be important for plant initial growth, while organic fertilizers can be employed as a more sustainable nutrient complementation during flowering without major yield losses. It is relevant to further investigate the effects of nutrient deprivation in the different stages of flowering, as the major balance between biomass accumulation and the concentration of secondary metabolites can be modulated.…”
Indoor medicinal cannabis cultivation systems enable year-round cultivation and better control of growing factors, however, such systems are energy and resource intensive. Nutrient deprivation during flowering can trigger nutrient translocation and modulate the production of cannabinoids, which might increase agronomic nutrient use efficiency, and thus, a more sustainable use of fertilizers. This experiment compares two fertilizer types (mineral and organic) applied in three dilutions (80, 160 and 240 mg N L−1) to evaluate the effect of nutrient deprivation during flowering on biomass, Cannabidiol (CBD) yield and nutrient use efficiency of N, P and K. This is the first study showing the potential to reduce fertilizer input while maintaining CBD yield of medicinal cannabis. Under nutrient stress, inflorescence yield was significantly lower at the final harvest, however, this was compensated by a higher CBD concentration, resulting in 95% of CBD yield using one-third less fertilizer. The higher nutrient use efficiency of N, P, and K in nutrient-deprived plants was achieved by a larger mobilization and translocation of nutrients increasing the utilization efficiency of acquired nutrients. The agronomic nutrient use efficiency of CBD yield – for N and K – increased 34% for the organic fertilizers and 72% for the mineral fertilizers comparing the dilution with one-third less nutrients (160) with the highest nutrient concentration (240). Differences in CBD yield between fertilizer types occurred only at the final harvest indicating limitations in nutrient uptake due to nutrient forms in the organic fertilizer. Our results showed a lower acquisition and utilization efficiency for the organic fertilizer, proposing the necessity to improve either the timing of bio-availability of organic fertilizers or the use of soil amendments.
“…Humic acid supplementation had a positive effect on cannabis in the case of the height of cannabis plants, the chlorophyll content and the efficiency of photosynthesis, especially immediately after the period of water stress (Da Cunha Leme Filho et al 2020).…”
The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back well before the era of modern medicine, but in recent years research into the use of medical cannabis in the medical and pharmaceutical sciences has grown significantly. In European countries, most cannabis plants have been and still are grown for industrial purposes. For this reason, hemp cultivation technology is relatively well researched, while little is known about the key factors affecting cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. The active substances of cannabis plant targeted by this review are called phytocannabinoids. The biosynthesis of phytocannabinoids is relatively well understood, but the specific environmental factors that influence the type and number of phytocannabinoids have been much less studied. Indoor or greenhouse cultivation, which uses automated lighting, ventilation, irrigation systems and complex plant nutrition has become much more sophisticated and appears to be the most effective method for producing medical cannabis. There are many different cultivation systems for cannabis plants, but one of the essential elements of the process is an optimal plant nutrition and selection of fertilisers to achieve it. This review summarises the existing knowledge about phytocannabinoid biosynthesis and the conditions suitable for growing plants as sources of medical cannabis. This review also attempts to delineate how nutrient type and bioavailability influences the synthesis and accumulation of specific phytocannabinoids based on contemporary knowledge of the topic.
“…Similarly, the use of biofertilizer increased plant height on pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) (Aseri et al 2008 ) and sunflower ( Helianthus annus L.) (Akbari et al 2009 ). On cannabis, Conant et al ( 2017 ) and Da Cunha Leme Filho et al ( 2020a , b ) reported greater cannabis height due to biostimulant applications under indoor conditions. Fig.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…As soil CO 2 evolution is directly related to soil microbial activity (Frankenberger Jr and Dick 1983 ), the application of HA positively affects microbial growth due enzymatic function (Visser 1985 ) and carbon source (Flaig 1964 ). A review evaluating the effects of HA on microbial activity indicated that HA dose and bacteria and fungi species have an important influence on whether or not the activity measurement will be increased (Da Cunha Leme Filho et al 2020a , b ).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…There are far less studies testing the use of biostimulants on cannabis when compared to other plants. Humic acid application on cannabis presented positive results in terms of canopy uniformity (Bernstein et al 2019 ) and higher plant height, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic efficiency (Da Cunha Leme Filho et al 2020a , b ). According to Turner et al ( 1978 ), cannabinoid compounds are present in all aerial parts of the cannabis plant, and thus, the research to validate the responses of cannabis to the application of biostimulants can be very important because biomass increase can potentially lead to higher cannabinoids production, which is the most valuable sub-product.…”
In 2019 and 2020, we investigated the individual and combined effects of two biofertilizers (manure tea and bioinoculant) and one humic acid (HA) product on cannabis biochemical and physiological parameters and soil CO2 evolution under outdoor conditions. Our hypothesis was that HA would increase the microbial activity in the biofertilizers and synergy of both compounds would promote better plant performance and stimulate soil microbial activity. In 2020, the individual and combined application of biofertilizers and HA increased cannabis height, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, aboveground biomass, and bucked biomass by 105, 52, 43, 122, and 117%, respectively. Impacts were greater under suboptimal growing conditions caused by planting delay experienced in 2020. In 2019, planting date occurred in-between the most favorable period and chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency were the only parameters influenced by the application of biostimulants. The discrepancies between the two growing seasons reinforce the evidence of other studies that biostimulants efficacy is maximized under stress conditions. This study could not conclusively confirm that the combined use of biofertilizer + HA is a superior practice since affected plant parameters did not differ from application of the compounds singly. Similarly, only one biofertilizer + HA treatment increased soil microbial activity. More research is needed to define optimum rates and combinations of biofertilizer and stimulants for cannabis.
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