Abstract
Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) has served as a valuable medicinal plant for thousands of years and is experiencing a resurgence in cultivation and research due to recent legal changes. However, the resource-intensive nature of cannabis cultivation, particularly water and energy demands, poses significant environmental challenges. Outdoor cultivation in a semi-controlled environment can reduce those energy demands but necessitates irrigation. Drip irrigation (DI) is the most commonly used irrigation method but is often criticized for its susceptibility to water losses through evaporation and the risk of surface runoff. Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) provides a sustainable solution by minimizing evaporation losses while maintaining or increasing yields, thereby enhancing water use efficiency. In this study, we compared the effects of DI and SDI on weed infestation, total water usage, inflorescence yield, and water use efficiency of three CBD-rich cannabis chemotype III genotypes (Kanada, Terra Italia, FED) in an outdoor foil tunnel cultivation system. SDI resulted in a reduction of irrigation water usage by 18.6% compared to DI. Remarkably, weed dry biomass was reduced by 93.2% in SDI. Concomitantly, inflorescence yield increased by 5% and CBD concentration by 9%. Overall, the water use efficiency of inflorescence yield and CBD concentration was significantly higher in SDI than in DI. Our results indicated that implementing SDI instead of DI can significantly decrease irrigation water use and reduce weed infestation while increasing inflorescence and CBD yield, thus reducing the environmental challenges associated with cannabis cultivation.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
SDI used 18.6% less irrigation water than DI.
- Taxon
- Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativat0 - Treatment
- SDIe0
- Outcome
- irrigation water usagee0
- Direction
- reductione0
- Value
- 18.6%e0
- Comparator
- DIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“SDI resulted in a reduction of irrigation water usage by 18.6% compared to DI.”
t0“Cannabis sativa L.”
Claim · model-written summary
SDI reduced weed dry biomass by 93.2%.
- Taxon
- Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativat0 - Treatment
- SDIe0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed dry biomasse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 93.2%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“weed dry biomass was reduced by 93.2% in SDI.”
t0“Cannabis sativa L.”
Claim · model-written summary
Inflorescence yield increased by 5% under SDI.
- Taxon
- Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativat0 - Treatment
- Subsurface drip irrigationt0
- Outcome
- inflorescence yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 5%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“inflorescence yield increased by 5%”
t0“Subsurface drip irrigation reduces weed infestation and irrigation water use while increasing inflorescence and cannabinoid yield in an outdoor tunnel Cannabis sativa L. production system”
Claim · model-written summary
CBD concentration increased by 9% under SDI.
- Taxon
- Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativat0 - Treatment
- Subsurface drip irrigationt0
- Outcome
- CBD concentratione0
- Direction
- increasingt0
- Value
- 9%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“CBD concentration by 9%”
t0“Subsurface drip irrigation reduces weed infestation and irrigation water use while increasing inflorescence and cannabinoid yield in an outdoor tunnel Cannabis sativa L. production system”
Claim · model-written summary
Water use efficiency of inflorescence yield and CBD concentration was higher under SDI than DI.
- Taxon
- Cannabis sativa L.
Cannabis sativat0 - Treatment
- SDIe0
- Outcome
- water use efficiency of inflorescence yield and CBD concentratione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- DIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“water use efficiency of inflorescence yield and CBD concentration was significantly higher in SDI than in DI.”
t0“Cannabis sativa L.”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · molecular: metabolites · Cannabis sativaPositive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- positive
irrigation · yield · Cannabis sativaPositive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
2 papers more in this group
See all 6 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.