Abstract
The impacts of different growing substrate compositions, consisting of peat (PM), peat substituted with 30% green fibre (G30) and coco coir fibre (CC) growth media, were investigated in regard to the plant height, biomass and floral yield, biomass nitrogen (N) content, root growth, and cannabidiol content (CBD/A) of two phytocannabinoid-rich cannabis genotypes in an indoor pot cultivation system. Genotypes and substrate treatment combinations were randomly allocated to 36 plants according to a Latin square design. The results showed a higher total plant height for PM (39.96 cm), followed by G30 (35.28 cm), and the lowest in CC (31.54 cm). The N content of leaves indicated the highest values for plants grown in G30 (52.24 g kg DW−1), followed by PM (46.75 g kg DW−1) and a significantly lower content for CC (37.00 g kg DW−1). Root length density (RLD) increased by 40% (PM) and 50% (G30), compared to CC treatments, with no significant differences in root dry weight. Both genotypes, Kanada (KAN) and 0.2x, reacted in a genotype-specific manner. KAN indicated a reduced floral yield of plants grown in G30 (4.94 g plant−1) and CC (3.84 g plant−1) compared to PM (8.56 g plant−1). 0.2x indicated stable high floral yields of 9.19 g plant−1 (G30) to 7.90 g plant−1 (CC). Leaf DW increased in PM (5.78 g plant−1) and G30 (5.66 g plant−1) compared to CC (3.30 g plant−1), while CBD/A content remained constant. Due to a higher biomass yield, the CBD/A yield of flowers (549.66 mg plant−1) and leaves (224.16 mg plant−1) revealed 0.2x as an interesting genotype for indoor pot cultivation in a peat-based substrate substituted with 30% green fibres. Overall, the demand for organic green fibres to partly replace fractionated peat showed a genotype-specific option for a homogeneous plant development, with comparable high biomass yields and stable cannabinoid contents compared to a peat containing standard substrate.
Highlights
Cannabis sativa L. is the golden example of a multifunctional plant with a high potential in various industries
Data on plant height indicated that the height of PM- and G30-treated plants was significantly greater compared to plants grown in coco coir fibre (CC), during vegetative growth at 59 days after planting (DAP)
The results of this study showed that different substrate compositions, namely coco coir fibres (CC), standard peat-based media (PM) and peat substituted with 30% of green fibres (G30), had significant impacts on the growth, biomass yields, root development and nitrogen (N) tissue content of
Summary
Cannabis sativa L. is the golden example of a multifunctional plant with a high potential in various industries (e.g., food, pharma, cosmetics, animal products, etc.). Industrial hemp genotypes, which meet the 0.2% THC limit mandated by the European Union (EU) legislation, can be cultivated without restrictions by farmers within the EU [7]. Breeding efforts on CBD-amplified chemotypes, called phytocannabinoid-rich cannabis genotypes, are aimed at contents of > 10% CBD and less than 0.2%. In many EU countries, phytocannabinoid-rich cannabis with a high content of non-psychoactive phytocannabinoids and THC < 0.2% may be legally grown as industrial hemp, whereas genotypes with a THC content above this limit require a cultivation license for medicinal cannabis in many EU countries. A clear differentiation between chemotypes is necessary, as the different legal framework in the cultivation of medicinal and phytocannabinoid-rich cannabis is expected to result in significant differences in market potential for companies operating in this sector
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