On the front lines of cannabis innovation, Joshua Andersen, owner of SKöRD growery in Battle Ground, seeks strains of the plant to elevate the customer experience. The process of pheno-hunting involves research, advanced agricultural practices, and many cloned plants. The hope, Andersen said, is to discover a unique strain that can be marketed to dispensaries.
It's not easy, however, especially since the cannabis industry has grown as more states have legalized the plant. "Finding something truly unique was a lot easier 10 years ago," Andersen said. "It was really easy to come out with something nobody had seen before when we first started."
Andersen said the whole pheno-hunting process begins with the seed. SKöRD stores thousands of seeds, each with the possibility of blooming into a commercially desirable plant that could become part of the business's exclusive in-house lineup.
"With the cannabis plant specifically, every time a female plant is pollinated, it develops seedlings, each with the same genetic lineage but their own unique characteristics [or phenotypes]," SKöRD's website states. "This means that when each seed sprouts, the plants may develop differently in their vigor, foliage, bud structure and, ultimately, the aroma, taste and effect of the final product."
Read more at thereflector.com