Cannabis fertigation

Fertigation is the process of delivering plants nutrients and water to produce a quality crop with higher yields. For traditional horticulture and commercial agriculture, fertigation is common, and its application in the production of cannabis is growing.

Automated fertigation has been seen to make a difference in grow facilities over 10,000 square feet, cutting fertilizer and labor costs dramatically (McConnon, 2014). CBS News aired a segment that interviewed Meg Sanders, the CEO for Colorado medicinal and recreational cannabis producer, Mindful. Water and nutrient systems are used to feed the cannabis plants in their cutting edge, 44,000 square-foot marijuana factory (Whitaker, 2015).

“Horticulturally speaking, there is no difference between the fertigation requirements for cannabis and other commercial crops”, says David Flood, greenhouse technologist for Argus Control Systems (part of the Conviron Group of companies), “The principles and techniques are the same.”

There are two common ways to supply fertilizers through an irrigation system for cannabis production: dilute tank control and in-line injection.

Some automated systems only manage the nutrient dosing equipment while other systems are capable of integrating irrigation scheduling with nutrient dosing activities. An automated fertigation system can be integrated with the facility’s environmental control system where it can be monitored and managed from a centralized user interface along with all the other controlled processes within the grow operation.

Fertigation systems vary with each application and should be capable of adapting to the design and operation of the overall facility.

Read more in the Cannabis TechTalk below.