Researchers at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, claim to have published the first scientific paper on marijuana cultivation in North America.
"Growing marijuana has been illegal for so many years that there has been hardly any scientific research up until this point on how to produce this crop," Youbin Zheng, an assistant professor of environmental horticulture, said in a news release. "There has been no science guiding this industry."
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Zheng and his colleagues tested a variety of fertilizer application rates and soil-free substrates to identify the ideal indoor growing conditions for medical marijuana. The test results revealed two ideal substrates and a superior rate of fertilizer application for high yields of plants rich in cannabidiol and THC, the prize components of medical marijuana.
The researchers published their findings in the journal HortScience. A second paper, focusing on ideal indoor growing conditions during the marijuana plant's flowering stage, is scheduled to soon be published in the same journal.
Zheng and his research partners are now investigating how different types lighting and irrigation rates effect cannabis yields.
