In today's competitive cannabis market, commercial cultivators face increasing pressure to maximize yields while maintaining premium quality. As profit margins tighten and energy costs rise, the need for efficient, data-driven cultivation methods has never been more critical. Enter crop steering - a sophisticated approach to plant management that's revolutionising how we grow cannabis.
Originally developed for greenhouse vegetable production, crop steering has emerged as a game-changing technique in cannabis cultivation over the past seven years. By precisely controlling environmental conditions and irrigation strategies, growers can direct plant growth with unprecedented accuracy, leading to significant improvements in both yield and quality.
This comprehensive guide explores the science behind crop steering, its practical implementation, and how it's shaping the future of commercial cannabis cultivation. Whether you're a master grower or new to commercial cultivation, understanding these principles is crucial for staying competitive in today's market.
Crop steering revolves around influencing a plant's natural responses to its environment. Cannabis plants allocate energy to different functions based on cues such as light, temperature, humidity, and water availability. By manipulating these variables, growers can direct plants toward vegetative growth - focused on structural development - or reproductive growth, which prioritises flower production.
Vegetative steering allows the plant to focus on the growth of leaves and stem structure, while steering generatively focuses on flowering and reproduction. This manipulation of environmental conditions and irrigation events allows cultivators to steer the plants' metabolism and hormone balance. Importantly, this should not be confused with the vegetative or flowering growth phases of cannabis, but rather the growth characteristics the plants demonstrate.
When steering vegetatively, growers simulate perfect, stress-free conditions in nature. This signals to the plant that it's safe to thrive, focusing on vigorous leaf growth and root output, while fortifying stem structure. To achieve this, specific adjustments to irrigation strategy and environment are necessary. Warmer air temperatures paired with higher humidity create the optimal vapor pressure deficit (VPD) for vegetative growth. This reduces the plant's transpiration needs and lowers osmotic pressure in the substrate, enabling better nutrient uptake.
The key differences between steering approaches are:
During early flower (stretch phase), generative steering is recommended as it allows the plant to focus energy on forming 'pre flower' bud sites (calyxes). This helps reduce "stretch" and nodal spacing in many varieties, allowing for more even light penetration to colas. Decreasing overall substrate water content and irrigation events during this time signals a drought stress-induced hormonal/metabolic shift in the plant, directing energy toward reproduction.
During mid flower (bulk phase), switching to vegetative steering helps rebalance stress hormones accumulated during early flower. This signals the plant to shift focus from survival back to vigorous growth, nurturing newly established colas while decreasing stress-related issues. The plant continues producing calyxes containing pistils needed for potential pollination, and this stacking forms the dense colas desired by growers. Vegetative steering during this period decreases osmotic pressure in the substrate, enabling higher nutrient uptake and supporting calyx formation.
With proper implementation, growers can achieve impressive results - up to 2 kg per m² of canopy, or 800-900 grams per m², while maintaining high product quality. Precision crop steering enables cultivators to achieve both large yields and premium quality simultaneously.
Successful crop steering requires careful monitoring of several key metrics:
The most common challenges growers face when implementing crop steering include:
Success requires a combination of proper equipment, thorough training, and consistent monitoring. Modern climate control systems and sensors can help maintain precise conditions, while detailed documentation helps track plant responses and optimise protocols over time.
As cannabis cultivation continues to evolve, crop steering will become increasingly sophisticated through the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies will help growers optimise their steering strategies based on historical data and predicted outcomes, leading to even more precise control over plant development.
Success in crop steering requires regular monitoring of plant responses and strategy adjustments as needed. Remember that crop steering is an ongoing process of refinement, requiring patience and consistency for optimal results.
Through Cannavigia's partnership with AROYA, cultivators can access cutting-edge solutions for implementing and optimising their crop steering strategies. Contact us to learn how we can help enhance your cultivation operations.
Stay ahead of the curve with Cannavigia's cutting-edge solutions - because in today's cannabis industry, precision isn't just an advantage; it's a necessity.
