Enhancing yield of cannabis inflorescences and cannabinoids through plant stem infusion of sucrose : a novel cannabis cultivation approach

Zupančič, Klemen (author), Zupančič, Luka (author), Bitežnik, Luka (author), Malík, Matěj (author), Lenarčič, David (author), Flajšman, Marko (author)

The rising demand for cannabis, both medicinal and recreational, requires innovative cultivation methods to maximize yield and cannabinoid production. This pilot study investigated the potential of plant stem infusion of sucrose (PSIS) as a novel approach using precise control of infusion pressure and sucrose concentration to improve cannabis growth, morphology, physiology, and cannabinoid yield. Cannabis plants infused with sucrose under low pressure (0.5 bar) and high sucrose concentrations (15–30 %) exhibited significant improvements in flower dry mass (up to 31 %) and cannabinoid yield (up to 34 %) compared to control plants. Morphological analysis revealed that plants treated at 0.5 bar exhibited increased plant height and significantly greater flower and stem dry mass, while leaf biomass was reduced across all treated groups. Physiologically, respiration increased significantly under 1 bar pressure, likely due to metabolic responses to exogenous sucrose. However, net carbon assimilation, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, and other photosynthetic parameters showed no significant differences compared with the control. Our findings highlight that PSIS at an optimal pressure of 0.5 bar and sucrose concentration of 15–30 %, is an effective method for increasing cannabis flower mass and cannabinoid yield. While high pressures negatively impacted plant morphology and physiology, low-pressure infusion proved beneficial. This study establishes PSIS as a promising innovation in cannabis cultivation, warranting further research to optimize pressure and sucrose concentrations for even greater improvements in yield and quality.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Cannabis sativa L., plant stem infusion, sucrose infusion, flower yield, inflorescence enhancement, morphology optimization, plant cultivation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 228, art. 120880
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-168140
• UDC: 633.522
• ISSN on article: 0926-6690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.120880
• COBISS.SI-ID: 230670851
• Publication date in RUL: 31.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Industrial crops and products
• Shortened title: Ind. crops prod.
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0926-6690
• COBISS.SI-ID: 1220885

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: navadna konoplja, infuzija rastlinskih stebel, infuzija saharoze, donos cvetov, izboljšanje socvetja, optimizacija morfologije, gojenje rastlin

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P4-0077
• Name: Kmetijske rastline - genetika in sodobne tehnologije

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: I0-0022
• Name: Mreža raziskovalnih infrastrukturnih centrov Univerze v Ljubljani (MRIC UL)