during the morning hours and gradually decreases with the noon and afternoon
hours, harvesting is recommended during the morning hours. Within the plant, the
top mature buds may be harvestedfirst and the rest of the immature buds may be
allowed time to mature. Figure3.12a shows afield grown mature, ready to harvest
plants ofC. sativa.
3.3.2.2 Handling, Drying, Processing and Storage
Hygiene of biomass material should be the utmost priority during harvest. If the
biomass is being used as a starting material for pharmaceutical interest, its contact
with the ground should be avoided. Dead leaves may be removed from mature buds
before drying.
Depending on the size of cultivation, drying facility can be selected. For large
scale cultivation, the plants are dried in industrial grade“forced-air”drying barn
(such as BulkTobac, Gas-Fired Products, Inc., Charlotte, NC, USA, Fig.3.12b) and
for the small samples, a simple laboratory oven may be used.
Once the plant material is dried properly, it can be hand manicured. Big leaves,
left form the clipping before drying, should be separated from the buds. These buds
can be gently rubbed through screens of different sizes to separate small stems and
seeds (if any) from the dried biomass. Automated machines designed for biomass
Fig. 3.12 aHarvesting,bdrying,cprocessing ofCannabisbiomass anddprocessedCannabis
biomass in a FDA (food and drug administration) approved barrel
96 S. Chandra et al.