The medical potential of cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is based on the complex chemical profile, comprising hundreds of secondary metabolites including cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids. Cultivation conditions were demonstrated to affect plant development, function and production of secondary metabolites in cannabis. Understanding regulation of plant response to environmental conditions is key for development of optimal chemical profile for modern medicine. We have recently demonstrated sensitivity of the secondary metabolite profile in medical cannabis to mineral nutrition, with considerable responses to N, P, and K nutrition. Therefore, knowledge on the cannabis plant response to fertigation schemes is essential for the optimization of cultivation for production of high quality standardized material for the medical market, as well as for development of plant products containing specific desirable phytochemical profiles. In the talk, we will discuss our recent results concerning the potential of additional macronutrients and micronutrients to regulate plant development and the profile of active secondary metabolites in ‘drug-type’ medical cannabis. In pot experiments under controlled conditions, we demonstrated differential induction of changes in the cannabinoid and terpene profiles in ‘drug-type’ medical cannabis also by Ca, Mg, Zn and Mn. Furthermore, rate of uptake and deposition in the plants of individual macronutrients and micronutrients changes between the vegetative and the reproductive developmental stages, and along the reproductive phase.
