Argentinians develop bioinoculants with bacteria for medical cannabis

Date:11-13-2024

A team of scientists from the Andean Patagonian Center for Forest Research and Extension (CONICET) has developed bioinoculants to improve the medical cannabis industry. 

This project seeks to increase the production and accumulation of metabolites of interest in medicinal varieties of Cannabis sativa, thus promoting the phytotherapeutic sector.

The initiative is called the "Project and Scaling of Patagonian Rhizospheric Bacterial Bioinoculants to Increase Yield and Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites of Interest in Medicinal Varieties of Cannabis sativa."

María Laura Vélez, Project Director and CONICET researcher in the area of Phytopathology and Applied Microbiology (CIEFAP), explained: "The team has been working on the development of bioinoculants for fruit and vegetable species, and after the enactment of the Medical Cannabis Law, proposed to develop customized bioinoculants for this species, surveying bacteria from our forests that have characteristics related to growth-promoting activity and demonstrate this effect on the plants."

The project team consists of Dr. Micaela Pescuma, Dr. Ariel Marfetan, Dr. Omar Ordoñez, and Dr. Ana Laura Gallo. "The large-scale cultivation of this plant involves various challenges, mainly from an agronomic point of view, with fertilization being crucial to obtain good yields and adequate metabolic profiles. We propose as an alternative the use of products based on plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria obtained from Patagonian soils," Vélez added.

CIEFAP has established an inter-institutional collaboration with the Patagonian National Center (CENPAT) and the private company "Gallardon, Subtratos & Bioinsumos," based in El Hoyo. At CENPAT, Dr. Gregorio Bigatti and Dr. Yanina Idaszkin lead a team working with medicinal cannabis varieties, which will be the testing field for the bioinoculants developed by CIEFAP.

This project is funded by the Federal Innovation Project (PFI) and promoted by the Federal Council of Science, Technology, and Innovation (COFECYT). The province of Chubut highlights it as a priority and promotes it at the national level.

The project, currently in the initial phase, is focused on the research and development of relevant microorganisms. In the coming months, tests will be conducted on the plants using the substrates provided by the provincial company in El Hoyo.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)