Propagation Methods in Cannabis Manufacturing: Vegetative vs. Seed

Decoding Vegetative Versus Seed Propagation: A Comparative Analysis

Propagation is the cornerstone of cannabis manufacturing.

There is a common misconception that internally produced clones are associated with lower costs and risks when compared to the purchase of seeds or clones from a validated supplier.

Even though vegetative propagation is a common practice in cannabis manufacturing, it does come with certain tradeoffs.

One reason for the dominance of vegetative propagation is the production of vegetative modules that are capable of independent growth, reproduction, and often dispersal (Barrett, 2015). Clonal offspring share the same adaptive traits and may have greater competitive ability when compared to sexual offspring (Bicknell and Koltunow, 2004; Richards, 2003). The ability of ramets to share nutrients, light, and water in patchy environments, as well as spatial task sharing among shoots of a clone together lead to high competitiveness and reduced lethality of clonal genotypes (Barrett, 2015; Lei, 2010). On the contrary, the propagation of cannabis from vegetative cuttings could account for a significant fraction of capital expenditures and operational costs. Furthermore, cannabis propagation from clones requires cultivation space, which otherwise could have been allocated to flowering, underlining the Economic Benefits of Seed Propagation in Cannabis.

Advantages of Cannabis Propagation From Seed

At first glance growing commercial cannabis crops from seed may sound counter-intuitive. Nevertheless, one may consider some of the benefits this propagation method has to offer.

Cannabis crop propagated from seed in Northern Macedonia (2019)

Economic and Spatial Efficiency: Unlocking the Benefits of Growing Cannabis from Seed

First and foremost, Cannabis Propagation from Seed could be more cost-effective, in terms of money and cultivation space. From an economic standpoint, commercial cannabis seed may cost a fraction of the clone’s cost. Furthermore, when we take the genetics room with mother plants and vegetative rooms out of the equation we may increase asset utilization to full capacity as more cultivation space now could be allocated to cannabis flower production.

Operational Excellence and Healthier Crops with Seed-Based Cannabis Propagation

Next to seed cost one may consider the operational effectiveness associated with the seed-based propagation model. It is probable, that a single person can plant up to 1000 seeds in under 2 hours. To learn more on how to enhance the operational effectiveness of your cannabis cultivation please delve into Precision in Hydroponics: Optimizing Nutrient Supply for Maximum Yield.

Lastly, propagation from clean seed could be one of the integrated pest and disease management measures enabling reduced risks of disease incidence.

Hence, the development of more uniform seed-based cultivars may facilitate the adoption of seed-based cannabis propagation.

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Further reading:

Barrett, S. C. (2015). Influences of clonality on plant sexual reproduction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(29), 8859-8866.

Bicknell, R. A., & Koltunow, A. M. (2004). Understanding apomixis: recent advances and remaining conundrums. The Plant Cell, 16(suppl 1), S228-S245.

Lei, S. A. (2010). Benefits and costs of vegetative and sexual reproduction in perennial plants: a review of literature. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 42(1), 9-14.

Richards, A. J. (2003). Apomixis in flowering plants: an overview. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 358(1434), 1085-1093.