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Trolls may wanna check the date: November 4, 2021 · Updated November 5, 2021
With water scarcity an increasing problem, some marijuana and hemp cultivators are seeking solutions beyond automation or growing methods,
including using drought-resistant plant strains that require less water and can withstand higher temperatures.
Ryan Power, CEO of California-based Atlas Seeds, said the California-based seed company
is identifying what it deems “drought-tolerant” marijuana and hemp varieties.
“What we have noticed is that genetics that display high vigor are also more drought-resistant,”
Power said. “They grow with much less water than others, and we do breed for vigor.”
Power said the company has developed strains that tolerated “excessive” heat – over 100 degrees Fahrenheit
– for multiple weeks inside greenhouses on the East Coast this season.
“The autoflowering strains can tolerate reduced watering, but the trade-off is smaller but saleable yields,” said Power.
Autoflower, which has a relatively short growing season, typically 60-70 days, allows a grower to plant and
harvest while still having access to sufficient water, according to Power.
It also means the grower can harvest before early season freezes, rains or wildfires.
“This can be a factor in rain-fed systems or ditch-delivered water such as in the Southwest,” he added.
Powers’ interest in drought- and heat-resistant strains comes at a time when areas of the American West
have experienced an ongoing dry spell since 2000 that is considered one of the worst “megadroughts” in the past 1,200 years.
Yet most cannabis growers have yet to specifically factor in water use beyond what’s required for a sustainable production operation.
But that could change if water becomes a more expensive resource.
In that case, more growers could seek out plants that require less moisture and are more resistant to high temperatures, according to industry officials.
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