The possession and consumption of recreational cannabis will become legal in Canada in July, spurring the start-up of multimillion-dollar production plants as well as discussion of ideal horticultural practices for indoor cannabis production.

University of Guelph professors Mike Dixon and Youbin Zheng are researching ways to improve cannabis plant production by determining the lighting and soil conditions that will enable producers to grow different varieties of the plant.

The researchers published the first scientific paper on the topic and are currently working with medicinal cannabis production companies to help develop research-based growing techniques in an industry that until now was operating underground.

Currently, the researchers are investigating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and how manipulating the light can change the colour, taste and medicinal properties of cannabis as well as other types of plants used as medicine.

Their expertise in cannabis production has garnered national media attention. Zheng was featured on CBC The National Jan. 17 in a story about LED lights and how they can be used to grow cannabis faster, smarter and cheaper. Zheng talked about how indoor farming enables producers to grow more plants in smaller spaces. He said that as agricultural land becomes increasingly limited, more crops will be grown indoors, and the technology being developed to produce cannabis can be transferred to a wide variety of plants.

Both researchers are available for media interviews.

Prof. Mike Dixon
Director, Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility
mdixon@uoguelph.ca

Prof. Mike Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. Youbin Zheng
School of Environmental Sciences
yzheng@uoguelph.ca

Prof. Youbin Zheng