Effects of short-term environmental stresses on the onset of cannabinoid production in young immature flowers of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

BACKGROUNDS: Cannabis sativa L. produces at least 120 cannabinoids. Although genetic variation is the main factor in cannabinoid production, the effects of short-term environmental stresses in the early flowering stage remains largely unknown. METHODS: To investigate the effects of short-term environmental stresses on the onset of cannabinoid production in young immature flowers, a hemp variety, Green-Thunder (5–8% CBD/mg of dry weight), was treated with mechanical damage, insect herbivory, extreme heat, or drought stress for 5–7 days during the first 2 weeks of flowering. Three hemp tissues, including flowers, leaves, and stems, were collected from hemp grown under these stress conditions at multiple time points during the first 2 weeks after transition to the short photoperiod and analyzed using high pressure liquid chromatography to quantify phytocannabinoids including cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), cannabidiol (CBD), Δ-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabinol (CBN). RESULTS: The 5 days of mechanical wounding did not affect the production of any of the cannabinoids during the initial stage of flowering. However, after 5 days of herbivore treatment, there was a significant difference in concentration between day 1 and day 6 of CBGA (control: 308 μg/g; treatment – 24 μg/g), CBG (control: 69 μg/g; treatment: 52 μg/g), and CBD (control: 755 μg/g; treatment: 194 μg/g) between the control and treatment plants. The 7 days of heat treatment at 45–50 (o)C significantly reduced the production of CBGA during this observed window (control: 206 μg/g; treatment: 182 μg/g) and CBG (control: 21 μg/g; treatment: − 112 μg/g). Notably, the largest change was observed after 7 days of drought stress, when plants showed a 40% greater accumulation of CBG (control: 336 μg/g; treatment: 622 μg/g), and a significant decrease (70–80%) in CBD (control: 1182 μg/g; treatment: 297 μg/g) and THC amounts (control: 3927 μg/g; treatment: 580 μg/g). CONCLUSIONS: Although this observation is limited in the early flowering stage, the common field stresses are adequate to induce changes in the cannabinoid profiles, particularly drought stress being the most impactful stress for hemp flower initiation with the altering the cannabinoid production by decreasing CBD and THC accumulation while increasing CBG by 40%. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42238-021-00111-y.