How Autoflowering Cannabis Cracked The Code For Affordable Cultivation

By William Hancock

Growers have been searching for low-cost solutions to produce high-quality cannabis products since the dawn of commercial cannabis cultivation. Autoflower cannabis seeds may have cracked the code.

Autoflowering cannabis provides a method to replace increasingly antiquated techniques, further advancing cannabis tech and pushing newer, superior growing practices to the forefront. Bringing these fresh ideas about autoflower into the mainstream can help to promote initiatives and innovative farming practices that position the industry for the future and create a more equitable cannabis industry for all. Here's the breakdown of what we've learned about how autoflower cannabis is cracking the affordable cultivation code.

Photoperiod vs Autoflower: Harvest More Intelligently with Auto

Harvesting is the most expensive and labor-intensive portion of cannabis cultivation. Currently, most cannabis cultivars are derived from photoperiod plants, which are heavily guided by specific light cycles, and require extensive up-potting in prop and pruning and trellising techniques to allow the plants to thrive in the field.  With autos, plants remain a manageable size, meaning there is an economy of space used in the canopy, and the leaf to bud ratio is far more efficient.  This means laborers will spend only a few snips to harvest a plant and remove its flowering sites.  With photos, much of the lower canopy is often useless or is ridden with larfy buds that are difficult to harvest by hand. Since the majority of the market need is driven by biomass consumption through vapes, extracts, and edibles, figuring out ways to reduce costs at the harvest step is key to success. One of the most promising ways to meet this market need is mechanization. 

Mechanization Relieves Financial Strain

Autoflower cannabis is driving the movement toward affordable harvests. The cannabis is easy to manage outdoors with simple drip lining and tractor power. Tractors commonly bring down the cost as these mechanical implements can help with everything from field preparation, to water wheel transplanting, to mechanized harvesting for biomass. This limits the need for hand labor, and the ability to equip with fresh, popular tools such as a stripper header. We believe the industry is moving towards hybrid cultivation practices, incorporating hand-cutting methods for finished “tops” flower, while also factoring in mechanized solutions for the “lowers” bound for extraction. This way, customers can get an excellent, appealing crop, while farmers can relieve potential financial pinches. 

Autoflower Avoids Seasonal Challenges

Autoflower cannabis operates in shorter cycles, often allowing for two harvests throughout the season. Since autoflower cannabis has a shorter harvesting cycle, these plants can grow in diverse climates. They can be timed more efficiently to avoid seasonal challenges like rainy seasons and mold caused by the damp. Autoflower cannabis can also aid in mitigating frost concerns due to the shortened growing cycle. This adjustability allows farmers to plan during typically unpredictable weather conditions, and plant earlier or later in the season accordingly to optimize the crop.

Autoflower cannabis can also be planted in succession like many other staple crops to assist farmers with timing. Each of these advantages can alleviate concerns that put an enormous financial strain on farmers, such as losing crops due to unforeseen circumstances. Autoflower offers a path to affordable cultivation because operators can harvest cannabis plants swiftly, as the cycles often last up to, but not exceeding, 65-95 days, depending on the season. 

Using Autoflower Cannabis Seeds is a Wise Move

Understanding the value of these tips is vital to spark a movement toward autoflower cannabis. This starts by sharing knowledge with growers, cultivators, and people on the agricultural side of cannabis. Autoflower cannabis seeds can help reconcile financial strains and provide farming operations with new ideas and technologies to invigorate the agricultural space. By cracking the affordable cannabis cultivation code, autoflower will allow farmers to have more tools at their fingertips to keep a diverse operation and lean model afloat in a competitive marketplace.  

About the Author:

William Hancock, Director of Sales of Atlas Seed