Screening of different Iranian ecotypes of cannabis under water deficit stress

Agronomic, phytochemical and drought tolerance evaluation of Iranian cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) ecotypes under different soil moisture levels: a step towards identifying pharmaceutical and industrial populations

“…Whereas Vijaya Kumar (2021) reported that hemp is sensitive to water deficiency and waterlogging stresses, this study also identified that biomass and yield reduction also occurred due to changes in plant phenology, leading to early flowering and shortening of the seed filling duration in stressed plants. Another study showed that water stress had reduced the cannabis yield of different ecotypes and a high degree of variation in drought response among cannabis genotypes has been reported (Babaei 2017). It has been reported that water deficit resulted in reduced biomass and seed yield in cannabis genotypes (Campbell et al .…”

“…In a study of 10 Kansas locations, Latta and Eaton (1975) found wide differences in plant cannabinoid content, observing that THC ranged from 0.012 to 0.49% and generally increased as locations became less favourable for plant growth, suggesting increased plant stress enhanced THC production. Babaei (2017) also showed that the response of cannabis ecotypes to drought stress was different and the amount of THC in some ecotypes under drought stress increased. It has been reported that controlled drought stress can result in increasing THC concentration in chemovar II cannabis (Caplan et al .…”

“…(2019) suggested that controlled drought stress can increase the concentration of the major cannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and the yield of THCA, CBDA, THC, and CBD in chemovar II cannabis without reducing inflorescence dry weight. Babaei (2017) also showed that the response of cannabis ecotypes to drought stress was different and the amount of THC in some ecotypes under drought stress increased.…”

Adapting the cultivation of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) to marginal lands: A review

“…Breeding for water stress tolerance would, however, appear more relevant especially considering the projections of climatic evolution for the next decades (IPCC 2018). Because no breeding programmes have yet addressed this trait (Salentijn et al, 2015; Thouminot, 2015), there might be room for increased water stress tolerance in hemp, especially considering that recent studies have highlighted the existence of a wide variability of water stress tolerance within hemp germplasms of both industrial and drug types (Campbell et al, 2019; Babaei & Ajdanian, 2020; Blandinières et al, 2021; Sheldon et al, 2021).…”

Cannabis sativa: Interdisciplinary Strategies and Avenues for Medical and Commercial Progression Outside of CBD and THC

“…In addition to possessing a range of phenotypic and chemotypic traits of interest to the textile, medicinal, food and energy industries as an agricultural crop, Cannabis is extremely versatile and hardy, hence the application of the colloquial term for this species, 'weed'. The phenotypic flexibility of Cannabis provides it with the capacity to adapt and survive a range of abiotic and biotic insults, such as drought [23], heavy metal stress [24], high temperature [25], poor soil nutrient content [3], high plant density [26], and stem damage from the larva of Ostrinia nubilalis, the European corn borer [27]. Tolerance to a range of abiotic stress conditions is exemplified by the tap root of Cannabis which is able to adapt to highly variable edaphic conditions, either penetrating deep (greater than 2 metres) into dry soil, or developing an extensive lateral root network in response to its growth in soil that has a high moisture content [26].…”