When it comes to cultivating cannabis plants, it is important to have a good understanding of the nutrients needed for a plant to thrive to the best of its potential. One of the dominant nutrients required by a cannabis crop is potassium. While we may associate this nutrient with the leg cramps we get when we don’t consume enough potassium, cannabis plants need it just as much as we do.
Potassium is one of the main nutrients cannabis plants need to survive and thrive, no matter their environment. This particular nutrient plays a large role in the photosynthetic activity and the growth of the plant. Without it, cannabis plants cannot properly function.
According to information from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, “K+ has a fundamental role in stomata-opening control, allowing adequate gas and water fluxes. Adequate K+ concentration in chloroplasts is also necessary to facilitate a well-structured stroma lamellae in chloroplasts, thereby supporting chloroplast integrity and light-absorption efficiency.”
Cannabis plants require potassium for several reasons. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, potassium is “involved with enzyme activation within the plant, which affects protein, starch and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. The production of ATP can regulate the rate of photosynthesis.”
In layman’s terms, this means that potassium plays a key role in photosynthesis and the production of chlorophyll. To refresh what we all learned in science class, photosynthesis is the process by which plants take carbon dioxide and water from the soil and air around it and use it to produce oxygen and the glucose plants consume as their food source. The chlorophyll is a key part of the photosynthesis process.
If a cannabis plant lacks the required potassium, it can suffer. Depending on the stage the plant is in during its lifecycle, the damage may be reversible. When a cannabis plant lacks the potassium it requires, it disrupts the photosynthesis process.
When the photosynthesis process is disrupted a plant will begin to virtually starve and begin to die. This can be seen in the symptoms of potassium deficiency. If a plant is in the vegetative stage of its lifecycle, a potassium deficiency can be reversed with minimal to no damage to the plant if caught quickly. However, plants with a potassium deficiency in the flowering cycle may experience more damage. This is why it is important to be able to identify a potassium deficiency early on. Let’s take a look at what to look for next.
A cannabis plant will let its grower know it has a potassium deficiency by giving several signs. The first sign is in the leaves. Older leaves may turn pale in color. Both new and older leaves will often begin to burn around the outside edges, leaving a “rusty” appearance.
The second sign is weakened, sometimes brittle, stems. These stems will not be able to support the plant as it grows. This often leads to stunting and limb breakage, opening the door to other serious problems.
In flowering plants with a potassium deficiency, the buds will not fully form and could be light in texture and weight (often called larf). As many growers know, this will lead to a subpar harvest with low yield numbers.
Ready to learn more about the nutrients that cannabis plants need? Verne Bio places this knowledge directly at our readers’ fingertips with our Knowledge Center.
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Works Cited
Jane, Ryon. “✍️.” YouTube, 30 August 2022, https://loudclouds.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/marijuana-deficiency-chart-jorge-cervantes.jpg. Accessed 30 September 2023.
Kaiser, Daniel E., and Carl J. Rosen. “Potassium for crop production | UMN Extension.” University of Minnesota Extension, 2018, https://extension.umn.edu/phosphorus-and-potassium/potassium-crop-production. Accessed 30 September 2023.
Sardans, Jordi, and Josep Penuelas. “Potassium Control of Plant Functions: Ecological and Agricultural Implications.” NCBI, 23 February 2021, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7927068/. Accessed 30 September 2023.
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