WeedMD’s (WMD.C) new partnership with Guelph, Ontario based Cann TX Life Sciences aims to add new cultivars to its genetic bank and expand the life cycle of the company’s existing cultivars using tissue culture techniques from Steadystem Solutions, according to a press release.
Tissue culture is a popular agricultural practice used in the preservation of plant integrity, crop health and genetic accuracy. Nodal segment cultures are collected from WeedMD’s mother plants and regenerated using an in-vitro platform to re-produce historical cannabinoid and terpene profile, using the Steadystem program.
“WeedMD is recognized for its diverse genetics library and its expertise in producing premium strains under a world-class cultivation platform. It’s imperative that we proactively take steps to protect our valuable assets with tissue culture innovation as we also look to introduce new cultivars into our genetics bank and product lines,” said Curtis Wallace, head of cultivation at WeedMD.
According to CannTX’s website, steadystem’s system works in three different steps:
- Cannabis tissues are regenerated into plantlets using micropropagation to ensure clean and consistent inputs for commercial production.
- The plantlets are grown using vertical farming technology and environmental controls, using LED lights, to increase efficiency and productivity.
- When the plants mature, they’re harvested and finished to lock in quality and consistency both within and between batches.
Steadystem rejuvenation techniques represent more than just an expansion of WeedMD’s genetics bank and cultivars’ lifestyle, they also safeguard genetic material for preservation of plant assets.
“Investing in the longevity and security of our strains provides added assurance that we are accurately cloning from the healthiest plants. This precision cultivation gives us an opportunity to maintain our germplasm clean of contaminants and protected from phenotypic degradation,” said Dr. Alexandre Sibilev, vice president, quality assurance, global regulatory compliance at WeedMD.
—Joseph Morton
