18 GERMINATION.CA MARCH 2018 Cannabis sativa, crossed with Cannabis ruderalis. He harvests his owns seeds, then selects the best plants for next season. “Seed viability is good for two years at room temperature. It’s best kept cold and dry, of course,” he says. Kerrivan, who has a business degree, says that while grow-it-yourself technologies are improving, he’d like to see more work done in terms of new varieties designed for the home market. Once the Cannabis Act is approved by the Senate, adults in Canada will be allowed to cultivate up to four plants in their own resi- dence, according to Health Canada. Business Opportunities Cannabis seed is currently avail- able for licensed medical users in Canada. Once the Cannabis Act is passed, outlets like Newfoundland’s The Seed Company by E.W. Gaze hope to be able to sell seed varie- ties developed for home use. The cannabis sector represents a busi- ness opportunity for companies both large and small, says the store’s assis- tant manager, Jackson McLean. The store was founded in 1925 by Ernest Walter Gaze and was the first of its kind in Newfoundland. Specializing in vegetable and flower seeds, the store quickly became the go-to spot on the island for gardeners and farm- ers alike. It recently signed a contract to supply vegetable and flower seed racks at popular grocery store loca- tions in Atlantic Canada this spring. “Getting a good yield from the flower takes some know-how. Anyone can drop a seed into dirt, but you won’t necessarily get what you want out of it unless you really know what you’re doing,” says McLean. The Seed Company joins a plethora of businesses eager to play a role in the space. Segra believes that the close integration of molecular biology and genotyping capabilities with its new cannabis micropropagation facility in B.C. will be not only a critical dif- ferentiator in the expanding cannabis market, but also essential to success. An important puzzle piece, Myles says, is to put in place the same breeding system for cannabis that is already in place for other crops in Canada. “It takes time to recruit people who’ve been breeding other crops to come into your industry to give advice on how to do this properly,” he says. “You’ll see the industry adopt technologies used in corn and rice to accelerate the breeding of marijuana. Thousands of very smart scientists work day and night to improve corn and wheat and barley and rice — crops that feed the world — and they’re the same people who are going to be working to improve cannabis.” In fact, many of the diseases that affect food crops like corn also affect cannabis. Segra’s business develop- ment manager, Kevin Mehr, has devel- oped a method to detect fusarium infections in cannabis plants. The Canadian Seed Growers’ Association is working to partner with the Government of Canada, like it did with hemp, to explore seed certifica- tion services for cannabis, notes CSGA executive director Glyn Chancey. In the meantime, breeders and others will continue to make new discoveries in the cannabis realm and ensure the crop evolves with time. “It’s exciting for the agricultural community to have something new to sink their teeth into,” Davidson adds. Ian Davidson serves as chief agriculture officer for the Richmond, B.C.-based Segra, a tissue culture company specializing in cannabis. Sean Myles is research chair in the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University. Jackson McLean, assistant manager for Newfoundland’s The Seed Company by E.W. Gaze, says the cannabis sector represents a business opportunity for companies both large and small.