The West Coast has been struggling to handle the unprecedented heat bubble engulfing it. June and July saw stretches of extreme heat, with record highs beaten every day. Portland, Oregon reached a high of 108 F. Another town in Canada saw a high as high as 121 F. Cities work to keep their infrastructure up and working. Under these circumstances, cannabis and hemp growers struggle to keep their plants happy and healthy in the extreme heat.
New Protocols
In order to protect outdoor workers, both Oregon and Washington state have enacted heat protocols. Not only do workers need expanded access to shade and cool water, they also need extended breaks. There’s also a potential for shifted work hours to keep them out of the strongest heat of the day. Unfortunately, this didn’t help a 38 year old Oregon farmworker who collapsed and then passed away after working in 115 F temperatures in an open field.
For cannabis and hemp companies, many have already started these new regulations to keep their workers safe. Some companies adjusted workers’ hours to first light until noon to avoid being out in the hottest part of the day. Others purchased large tents to cover outdoor areas. Workers can access shade and cool water as often as possible.
Plant Protection
Hemp and cannabis companies are working equally as hard to protect their product from heat stress and death. Plants receive deep waterings in the early morning hours with drip systems working through the night. Large tents and shade cloths are used to lessen the direct sunlight on the plants.
Researchers are also looking into tweaking the genetics of hemp and cannabis plants to better handle the regional temperatures. Temperatures can range from colder winter temperatures to extreme heat in the Northwest.
When cannabis and hemp plants suffer from heat, they can wilt, droop, curl their leaves, slow their nutrition uptake and not produce as large of flowers or leaves as normally. Some companies are even looking at local orchards that have been established for generations to see how they can use some of their techniques for cannabis plant protection.
Current Changes
Plants are already seeing the effects of genetic change and regional temperature adaptation through the plants’ water uptake. California farmers are also experiencing a drought amongst the heat bubble hovering over Oregon and Washington state. The University of California Berkeley Cannabis Research Center released a report recently saying that cannabis and hemp farmers may not need to water their plants as much as they initially thought.
Researchers found outdoor growths of cannabis and hemp typically use the same amount of water as traditional crops, like tomatoes. But since cannabis farmers are smaller than other farms, they are using much less water to water their crops.
Former California Cannabis Growers Association Director Hezekiah Allen said the new research was a sort of ‘I told you so’ moment in an interview with High Times.
“This report is a landmark moment in that it advances sound science and is realistic about the impacts of cannabis irrigation. Notably, that cannabis cultivation is a water-light crop. But even so, reliance on hydrologically connected groundwater is a real threat to sensitive and threatened rare upland aquatic habitat.”
Future
With droughts and climate temperatures increasing, taking care of cannabis growers, workers, and the plants is important for businesses to thrive in the growing cannabis industry.
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