2 min read
Of the many emerging technologies in the cannabis market currently gaining steam in the North American market is called tissue culture.
Tissue culture itself is not a new technology. Many fruits grown around the world use this same technology. Tissue culture means that growers are creating a seed that has known genetics. Using known genetics ensures that the apple or banana a customer buys at a grocery store in New York is the same as the apple or banana a customer would buy at a grocery store in LA. Tissue culture ensures that things like taste and ripening time remain consistent across the board.
Most cannabis is grown using mother plants. At the end of each 4-month harvest, the growers clip the top of the plants. These clippings are planted as seedlings to produce the next crop, and so on. The problem with this is, you can’t determine whether the mother plant has consistent, stable genetics from one growth cycle to another. There has been so much genetic drift over thousands of years of growing cannabis. In turn, you can’t have an infused drink or chocolate bar without knowing that the genetics is stable.
This is where tissue culture comes into play. Growers are looking to technology to ensure that the plant:
- Tastes the same every time
- Works the same every time
- Grows the same every time
While the tissue culture trend is just starting to emerge in the cannabis space, and it will likely become a standard means of growing soon. Today, most consumers are no longer purchasing cannabis to smoke the flower. Instead, they are purchasing cannabis-infused products where consistency is critical. Due to this shift in the market, we are likely to see the cannabis industry turn more toward tissue culture so that suppliers can ensure that customers are receiving a consistent product.
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Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group
