In vitro technologies for propagation and genetic improvement of Cannabis sativa

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Plant tissue culture has a wide array of applications in modern plant agriculture including large scale clonal propagation of disease/insect/virus free plants, enhancing breeding programs for genetic improvement of crops, and to study and understand the unique biology of plants. However, these technologies have not been thoroughly developed for Cannabis sativa, which is projected to be among the most economically important crops in Canada following legalization. These technologies are particularly important for Cannabis since it is predominantly propagated vegetatively and there are several challenges in developing breeding programs due to the specific biology of the plant. This project aims to develop several in vitro technologies to address challenges faced by the industry including: 1) Developing and optimizing micropropagation protocols for a variety of genotypes. This technology will help to preserve elite genetics and mass produce high quality, disease free, plants. 2) Study the effects of light quality on plant physiology in vitro. This will provide a system to evaluate the use of light to manipulate plant growth and development in a highly controlled and reproducible setting that can then be applied to commercial scale production systems. 3) develop methods to create seedless triploids, analogous to seedless watermelons. This will prevent the unwanted pollenation and eliminate the chances of unwanted seed production. Together, these experiments will provide producers with a set of tools to maintain, propagate, and improve available genetics in Cannabis.