As new diseases begin to impact the cannabis industry, new methods of detection are needed to help combat and prevent crop damage and loss. In 2017, HpLVd was appearing in cannabis crops in California. The effects of the disease caused concern among industry professionals, and rightfully so.
In order to prevent crop loss and the spread of diseases like HpLVd, new technology is being developed that strives to help solve the problems plaguing growers across the world. Verne Bio is one such company that gives the power of early detection directly to the growers.
According to Diagnosing Hemp and Cannabis Crop Diseases by Shouhua Wang, HpLVd is made up of a circular RNA containing 256 nucleotides and can infect plants through mechanical inoculation. Typically, this inoculation would occur via small plant-devouring bugs called aphids. These bugs are usually transferred from crop to crop via a host (example: human or animal), products like soil, and plant-to-plant contact.
A number of things can happen to a cannabis plant once it has been infected with HpLVd. Visible symptoms include (but are not limited to);
In 2021 alone, California performed genetic testing that found HpLVd affected more than 30% of legal cannabis plants. According to their research, “This translates into more than $4 billion in annual losses for US growers who are forecast to produce more than seven million pounds of legal cannabis in 2021.” These statistics helped put a spotlight on what has become an exponential problem for the cannabis industry on a national level.
Verne Bio was created to help place the power of testing into the hands of the growers. Using state-of-the-art technology, Verne Bio has created high quality pathogen and testing kits to test for diseases like HpLVd. The I-Test and We-Test platforms are designed to combat diseases that impact hemp and cannabis crops, and in turn addressing one of the biggest industry concerns.
Nathan Johnson, Co-Founder of Verne Bio, explains, “I-Test makes use of LARIAT for isothermal amplification down to 3,000 copies. WE-Test makes use of 4D-qPCR, which is a an optimized multiplex qPCR assay capable of single copy detection of the viroid. Additionally, 4D-qPCR has the capability of detecting multiple targets all at once providing upwards of 75% cost savings.”
Put the power of the I-Test and WE-Test in your hands with the help of Verne Bio. Getting started is easier than one may think! Interested individuals can reach out to us using our Contact Us page directly on our website. One of our expert staff members will reach out with an answer to your question and to help you get started with technology from Verne Bio.
It’s easy to make confident decisions when you have the tools for success. Let Verne Bio be a part of that confidence with our I-Test and WE-Test kits. Reach out to us today for one on one assistance!
Works Cited
GPN. “Study: Hop Latent Viroid Drives $4B in Annual Losses to Cannabis Market.” GPN Mag, 16 Aug 2021, https://gpnmag.com/news/hop-latent-viroid-drives-4b-annual-losses-cannabis/. Accessed 6 Feb 2022.
Wang, PhD, Shouhua. “Diagnosing Hemp and Cannabis Crop Diseases.” Diagnosing Hemp and Cannabis Crop Diseases, 2021, https://books.google.com/bookshl=en&lr=&id=xZ4_EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=hplvd+in+cannabis&ots=y5W6fZeZJ_&sig=DhmYQHXkju0613LSb_TfH2CCw#v=onepage&q=hplvd%20in%20cannabis&f=false. Accessed 2 Feb 2023.
Warren, J. G., et al. “Occurrence of Hop Latent Viroid Causing Disease in Cannabis sativa in California.” APS Publications, 12 Aug 2019, https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/full/10.1094/PDIS-03-19-0530-PDN. Accessed 5 Feb 2023.
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