Every cannabis variety has unique genetics, but the plant's potential is limited by its environment. Manipulating inputs and modifying the environment is the most effective way to maximize plant yield, but the effect of the environmental delta on plant quality characteristics is often overlooked. Advances in horticultural biotechnology like growth-promoting bacterial consortia and biostimulating fertilizers allow growers to fine-tune their plant's environment to accelerate growth and yield while simultaneously enhancing quality characteristics of their crop. In addition to improving the grower's top and bottom line, the use of biostimulants and other environmental input technologies in cultivation can be leveraged to communicate a brand's commitment to quality and sustainability and help brands distinguish themselves in a competitive marketplace.

Learning Objectives:

1. Communicate how the environment limits even the best plant's potential

2. Explain how new biostimulant technology is effective and economical but also superior to traditional inputs by working in novel ways

3. Give examples of how the metabolome and volatilome are influenced by plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere and phylosphere

4. Describe how a cannabis brand's image and message of sustainability and quality start from the ground up and that a commitment to high-tech, sustainable cultivation practices and inputs can be reflected in both the brand's products and their marketing to gain a competitive advantage