Impact of far-red lighting in tissue culture micropropagation of hemp
With the rapidly changing landscape of Hemp and Cannabis legislative policy in the United States and many countries around the world, its social and economic impact as an agricultural crop is rapidly expanding. With this expansion there are many discoveries. Some of these discoveries come in the form of new pests, viruses, and pathogens for which hemp and cannabis are susceptible. The tissue culture micropropagation of hemp and cannabis can be used to eradicate these viruses, pests and pathogens from the plant. Once sterile and virus free explants can be multiplied exponentially. The stage ii multiplication and stage iii rooting of these propagules is the focus of this research. It is widely accepted that hormone treatments within the tissue culture media signal different types of growth within the explants. It is also accepted within the science community that light quality and quantity signal different types of growth within plants. This project aims to gain some insights on the interactions between far-red light and the hormones BA (6-Benzylaminopurine) and IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid) in tissue culture micropropagation of hemp in three different hemp cultivars. The results of this experiment show that the far-red lighting treatment produced some of the tallest explants, and longest roots. There was great variability across cultivars. Some cultivars produced more nodes with IBA than BA. The genetic diversity in Cannabis s. justifies the need for more research in tissue culture micropropagation with many more cultivars.