Foliar sprays of silver thiosulfate produce male flowers on female hemp plants

Abstract

Interest in hemp (Cannabis sativa) for its medicinal compounds, cannabidiol (CBD), and D-9-tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), continues to increase. Maximizing yield of CBD and/or THC requires female plants because female inflorescences accumulate significantly greater concentrations of these compounds than male inflorescences. Production of all female seed requires induction of female plants to develop male flowers that produce genetically female pollen. Growers would like access to feminized seed to produce all-female crops. We evaluated the efficacy of 0, 0.3, and 3 mM silver thiosulfate (STS) applied as a foliar spray (on three occasions 7 days apart) to produce male flowers on four strains of female hemp (having a THC concentration of ≤0.3%), designated CBD hemp A, CBD hemp B, CBD hemp C, and industrial hemp. Silver thiosulfate at 3 mM was the most efficacious treatment for all strains. The majority of inflorescences had 100% male flowers at 3 mM STS, and terminal inflorescences had ≥95% conversion to male flowers. Silver thiosulfate at 0.3 mM produced partial conversion to male flowers, whereas most inflorescences had around 50% male flowers, except for CBD hemp A, which demonstrated greater levels of masculinization. At 0.3 mM STS, terminal inflorescences of CBD hemp A had 91% conversion to male flowers. This study demonstrates that male flowers can be produced easily and consistently on female plants through application of foliar sprays of STS under short-day conditions.