Disease risk to budding growth sector
HORTICULTURE: Threat to medicinal cannabis a ‘big heads-up’, reports Jamie Morton.
Scientists have launched a homegrown effort to tackle a disease damaging cannabis crops around the world — and just discovered in plants here. Called Hop Latent Viroid, or HLvD, the viroid poses a major headache to the multibillion-dollar global cannabis industry.
Mainly spread through pruning shears or other tools, HLvD can leave a plant with curled, yellowed leaves and fewer flowers — but in other cases it can be present without ever causing symptoms.
New Zealand's first-known case happened to be spotted by Ikaika ‘Kai’ Keli'iho'omalu, the cultivation manager for biotech company Helius Therapeutics.
As cannabis seeds are imported here, it was only a matter of time before HVLd was identified locally.
Scientists suspect HLvD — originally discovered in hops and present here since the 1980s — had probably been affecting cannabis crops here for years.
But its detection came at a time a domestic industry was taking off, on the back of new laws allowing medical professionals to prescribe cannabis for health purposes.
In dollar terms, the stakes for keeping the disease under control are high.
AgriBusiness Group has suggested that, if 1 per cent of Kiwis used medical cannabis, the local market could be worth $379 million a year.
And within four years, the worldwide legal market could be valued at well over $100 billion.
“HLVd has been prevalent throughout the United States, stunting yields as much as 40 per cent, so when Kai recognised one of the crops wasn't doing so well, we acted,” Helius chief executive Carmen Doran said.
“The research then began as did our process improvements to avoid any future occurrence, contamination or spread.”
The company is now teaming up with Crown research institute Plant and Food Research to find new ways of diagnosing and managing it and learn more about how it spreads within and between plants.
There are plans to develop new real-time testing methods, along with measures to treat plant material to remove any of it before cultivation.
“Early detection of a disease is a major factor in minimising its effects on a sector,” Plant and Food Research chief scientist Dr Richard Newcomb said. “By identifying the disease early in New Zealand we can work with the industry, and the associated hemp industry, to develop diagnostic and management techniques that work for the New Zealand sector.”
Helius has also partnered with agritech company, BioLumic, to test for HLVd on its behalf.
The two firms have been working together, with BioLumic developing a unique ultraviolet technology to stimulate cannabis growth in trials at its Palmerston North facility.
BioTechNZ executive director Dr Zahra Champion saw the first local report of HLVd was a “massive” learning opportunity for the budding industry.
“This viroid is highly transmissible and could have been devastating if New Zealand's commercial cultivation was underway at significant scale,” she said.
“This early discovery and the research now under way will undoubtedly save our medicinal cannabis sector down the track.”
Tim Aldridge, managing director of medicinal cannabis company Puro NZ, said HLVd's confirmation had come as a “big heads-up” to the sector.
“We were fully aware of HLVd's prevalence overseas, and have put in place measures to keep it out of our growing operations,” he said.
“In particular, the risk of HLVd was a key consideration when selecting Puro's preferred seed suppliers.”