“There are so many people chasing the same type of genetics that the market ends up with everyone producing the same cannabis. The ability to acquire exclusive genetics is a huge plus for producers who are trying to differentiate themselves in a market that makes that very tough,” says David Brough, CEO of Klonetics Plant Science. The company is a tissue culture nursery in Canada, with its genetic library containing over 1500 unique global strains. “Cannabis growers are constantly trying to move with market trends to provide what they think people want. But as producers, it’s also up to us to expose people to new cultivars, take risks, and share unique products that people haven’t seen yet.”
Unique strains
“The main challenge we see right now is that everyone seems to be chasing the same genetics. This isn’t good for the market because it’s over-saturated. Everyone wants 30%+ THC that sounds like a dessert and tastes like candy right now. The uniqueness in the market isn’t quite there yet,” David says. “Producers have a one-time declaration to bring in new genetics without question, so many of the early players are at a disadvantage if they didn’t think about this and brought in mediocre genetics or not enough variety. We are lucky to have such a large genetic library to work from. We spent our time focused on this early on and declared the parental lines, the hybrids, and the breeding stock. We could breed for the next 20 years and never cross anything twice.”
According to David, genetics have really come to the forefront over the last year. “Thankfully, the trend of only producing high-THC cannabis is starting to wane. Our industry was so focused solely on THC percentage that people were overlooking really important factors like terpene profiles and lineage. People are waking up to that now, so we’re starting to see a more meaningful focus on these incredibly important aspects of the product. This will result in better products being produced and sold, and this is where our genetic library really shines. Of course, we have tons of great high-THC varieties, but we have some of the most unique strains around. And we’re excited to share them with the world.”
The benefits of tissue culture
David explains that tissue culture from meristem is the cleanest possible product that you can obtain when you start from the meristem and move to gen zero clones. “This means less potential for loss, better yields, potency, and terpene expression. Mother plants become tired and less potent over time, and tissue culture reinvigorates and controls genetic drift while helping protect from pests, viruses, and pathogens. Cannabis is a crop that wasn’t meant to be cultivated in 1M square feet of indoor space with 50-100K plants at a time. It’s a natural and wild crop, and in order to commercialize and scale this crop, tissue culture is absolutely essential to that work and is how all crops in the world get commercialized.”
Increasing profitability
Klonetics offers RTF Clones, which are 12” Ready-to-Flower plants. “These plants give producers the ability to increase their profitability by upwards of 30% and increase their number of harvest cycles. We have proven this model out, and it is significantly more profitable for producers to purchase RTF plants than it is to grow them out themselves and then turn them over.”
“Our custom flower program is another differentiator that provides a huge benefit to producers looking to add a hang-dried, hand-trimmed craft cannabis offering to their lineup,” David says. “They don’t have to change what’s already working in their facilities and can add a new craft line, expand their floor space and add a new SKU. This is a big win for producers, especially large producers who value the ability to add limited edition batch releases to their product lines. Our custom flower program provides high-quality flower grown by legacy growers who have a history of bringing some of the top retail brands to market.”
Combining legacy with science
“We are a company that is deeply rooted in the legacy and culture of cannabis, combined with a world-class science team and an international reach,” David says. “We have a full EU GMP operation in Portugal and have the largest research program in Canada in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, University of BC Okanagan, and the National Research Council of Canada. Led by our Scientific Director, Prof. Dr. Tim Sharbel, we are currently mapping over 781 lines for genome sequencing, and with Dr. Robert LaPrarie’s work, we are contributing to a number of clinical trials for medical research in areas such as epilepsy, cancer, and inflammatory disease.”
“Being in BC gives us access to the BC legacy crossover market and, of course, the cache that comes along with growing BC Bud," David says. "We are currently one of the largest tissue culture cannabis nursery in Canada at 26,000 square feet, and with our breeder-backed genetic library with 1500+ cultivars, we hold the rights to these cultivars and their brands in multiple countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU.”
“From the ability to provide the cleanest tissue culture clones on the market to RTFs, custom flower, and access to the EU, we truly have a winning formula that results in our clients becoming more profitable,” David adds.
For more information:
Klonetics Plant Science
www.klonetics.com