Tetrahydrocannabinol content increases with the age of plant, reaching the
highest level at the budding stage and achieve a plateau before the onset of
senescence. The maturity of the crop is determined visually and confirmed based on
the THC and other cannabinoids content (using GC-FID) in samples collected at
different growth stages of the plants. Since the whole plant does not mature at the
same time, mature upper buds are harvestedfirst and other branches are given more
time to achieve their maturity. Field cultivatedCannabisplants are generally bigger
and contain higher biomass compared to indoor grown plants.
Other thanfield plantation, cuttings can be grown in hydroponics systems.
Hydroponics cultivation is less labor intensive and produces a cleaner harvest as
compared to cultivation in soil (Fig.3.11).
3.3.2.1 Harvesting
Identifying the optimum harvesting stage is a critical an important step inCannabis
cultivation. Daily monitoring of the THC content allows harvesting material with
the desired THC content. Since it is observed that the levels of THC is higher
Fig. 3.11 Outdoor hydroponic cultivation ofCannabis sativaawell rootedCannabisplant with
clean roots,bplant wrapped in rockwool ready to be planted in hydroponics system,cplants
mounted in hydroponics systems (Tower Garden,www.towergarden.com) anddfully grown
Cannabisplants at vegetative stage
3 Cannabis sativaL.: Botany and Horticulture 95