b'Brandle notes that cannabis isnt just about THC anymore.the most bang for their buck, so to speak. Thats largely because Awareness around CBD and other cannabinoids is building, andits early days in this industry. The same thing happened with consumers are beginning to appreciate the different flavors andalcohol prohibition. Youre going to see a much more sophisti-aromas present in different cultivars. cated approach among cannabis consumers in terms of selecting Canopy continues to invest in innovation to develop strainsproducts, which is going to take some time, Pick says.capable of producing flower for direct consumption and areAs consumer preferences shift, so will the way cannabis is working to refine the way that people experience cannabis. produced. Currently, the crop is propagated through cuttings, That includes developing varieties that directly meet thebut researchers are actively working to change as genetics needs of consumers with specific desired effects, because weevolve. Issues with disease are significant, and producers are believe that is the future of how people will interact with canna- extremely limited in terms of herbicides. Moving away from cut-bis, Brandle says. tings to seed will help solve that, says BauteThis will include products that can support people to achieveMoving to seed is the next step in the evolution of growing. their desired state whether thats connecting, focusing, manag- That shift will remove a lot of the pathogen issues, Baute says.ing stress, unwinding or sleeping. Aurora is working full-time on genetic resistance to disease. Canopy is also in a position to increase bud production at theThe company is taking part in a large powdery mildew resistance same time as improving consumer quality. This includes under- project in conjunction with the University of British Columbia.standing genetic diversity and using crosses between diverseThe improved cannabis cultivars will result in reduced losses strains to take advantage of hybrid vigor. to pathogen contamination and increase product quality. The In line with that, we are also improving our production sys- breeding pipeline itself will also be used in the future to identify temsfertility, irrigation, disease and insect pest managementother important production and higher-value traits and intro- so that genetic potential can be fully realized. duce them into cannabis cultivars. The long-term goal, of course, is scaling up production.Refining the Experience Given that we are in the early stages of the legal cannabis According to Pick, the changing experience among consumersindustry, we are still identifying how to grow cannabis at scale. will only continue and will help spur new innovations in cannabisCannabis is one of the most heavily regulated industries in as those consumers focus less on THC content and consider theCanada, and with that, we are always leaning on our teams crea-full range of qualities exhibited by the plant. tivity and past agriculture experience to develop and implement Yes, a lot of consumers still focus on THC content. They wantnew best practices, Brandle adds.SWIs Your QualityLABQuantitative?Is Your Operation Really Data-Based?Every lot started with a count per pound for planning, was processed, and ended with a count per pound for packaging. But in a world of Precision Ag you can know so much more.Since you need count per pound data anyway, why wouldnt you get it from a vision system? .from a system that also gives you information on physical properties such as size, shape, colour.from a process that presents the sample settled to a uniform orientation on the imaging stage.from an image that makes comparisons from seed to seed and image to image truly meaningful. What can you Harvest from your data to improve your operation?We make data collection seamless. For more information or to schedule a demonstration, contact us at info@processvis.com PROCESS 804-514-9189281-276-3600 V I S I O N processvis.com satake-usa.comS E E D S O L U T I O N S58/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2021'