TITLE:
Cloning Successive Generations of Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa) to Assess Cannabinoid Profiles
AUTHORS:
Cassandra Perrone, Paul Kline, John DuBois
KEYWORDS:
Industrial Hemp, Cannabis, Cloning, Cannabinoids
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.13 No.12,
December
8,
2022
ABSTRACT: Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) has made a remarkable impact worldwide due to the plant’s beneficial properties and versatile use. Vegetative cuttings (clones) of C. sativa are the preferred propagation technique to be the most effective in retaining the same genetic information and reducing hybridization and mutations. The objective of this project was to assess cannabinoid profile concentrations of successively cloned generations of 5 varieties: Cherry, Cherry Blossom, Cherry × Workhorse, Sour Space Candy, and The Wife. This research project focused on the idea that every cloned plant contains the exact same genetic information and, therefore, should have the same metabolic profile of cannabinoids through all the successive generations grown, which is shown to be true. Plants were cloned for multiple generations using stem cuttings and a commercial cloner. As plants matured, they were set in environmental conditions to stimulate flowering and buds were harvested and analyzed for cannabinoid contents using HPLC. Several generations of each variety were successfully cloned. As many as 17 different cannabinoids were analyzed and the results of this study show that there is not a significant difference in cannabinoids over successive generations, showing no major trends.