AUTHOR=Seemakram Wasan , Paluka Jakkapat , Suebrasri Thanapat , Lapjit Chanon , Kanokmedhakul Somdej , Kuyper Thomas W. , Ekprasert Jindarat , Boonlue Sophon 

TITLE=Enhancement of growth and Cannabinoids content of hemp (Cannabis sativa) using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.845794

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.845794

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to promote growth and cannabinoid yield of <italic>Cannabis sativa</italic> KKU05. A completely randomized design (CRD) was conducted with six replications for 60 days. Two different species of AMF, <italic>Rhizophagus prolifer</italic> PC2-2 and <italic>R. aggregatus</italic> BM-3 g3 were selected as inocula and compared with two non-mycorrhizal controls, one without synthetic fertilizer and one with synthetic NPK fertilizer. The unfertilized non-mycorrhizal plants had the lowest performance, whereas plants inoculated with <italic>R. aggregatus</italic> BM-3 g3 performed best, both in terms of plant biomass and concentrations of CBD and THC. There were no significant differences in plant biomass and cannabinoid concentrations between non-mycorrhizal plants that received synthetic fertilizer and mycorrhizal plants with inoculum of <italic>R. prolifer</italic> PC2-2. Our data demonstrate the great potential for cannabis cultivation without risking deterioration of soil structure, such as soil hardening and increased acidity, which might be induced by long-term use of synthetic fertilizer.</p>