MJBiz - August 2023 - 32

applied
Science
days-and changes are more likely as
you get closer to the end of the cycle.
By testing those different samples,
you can see " how they are doing
chemically " Malatrasi said.
" Everything that we're looking for is
in the ripening curve and finding that
sweet spot of when to harvest. ... If you
still have a lot of CBG, a precursor to
THC, you're probably still early. If you
have more-than-usual CBN, you're
running late, " Malatrasi said.
His preferred measuring instrument
is high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC), but that can
be expensive. Less expensive tools
exist, such as Purpl Pro, a handheld
potency tester, and a tabletop potencytesting
apparatus from Orange
Photonics.
Using these instruments, growers
can study marijuana flower's
cannabinoid profile.
" Principally, you're looking for CBN
and CBG, because one's a precursor
and one's after the fact. That's cueing
my potential. For example, if I do
a reading at week seven and I have
a certain THCA percentage, that's
great, but how do I know it's going to
increase? Well, that's where I'm looking
at the CBG percentage, " Malatrasi
explained.
It's also important to look at
trichome density. For that, Malatrasi
likes to use a microscope and a socalled
Secchi disc.
" You can use them in the field.
They're good, thorough and quick,
which is important when you're
harvesting a few thousand plants per
week, " Malatrasi said.
When inspecting trichomes,
cultivators favor those with big,
bulbous heads and-in terms of
extraction purposes-those that have
long stems that make them easier to
knock off. It's also important that there
be a high density of trichomes on the
flower and that their color be what
growers typically describe as " milky. "
Too clear, and they are underripe; too
32 August 2023 | MJBizMagazine
Trimmers prepare marijuana
flower for freezing.
Photo by Marvin Sandoval
milky or amber in color, and they are
getting overripe.
For research and development
purposes, Malatrasi often will
" sacrifice " one or two plants by letting
them become overripe because it tells
him when " the plant starts to fall off. "
But taking samples to test before
harvest might be complicated in some
states because of their seed-to-sale
tracking systems and compliance
requirements.
" We have to track each individual
plant separately, so it becomes really
hard to, say, take one little chunk off
the plant and then weigh that and then
track the rest of it separately. It creates
this compliance risk, and it's just a
nightmare of data for us to maintain
that. So, we harvest the plants full, and
we dry those plants in a full-plant hang
that are still individually tracked by
RFID (radio frequency identification)
plant tags, " Robertson said.
Jushi's evaluation processes at all of
its cultivation sites include " harvest
walks " throughout the harvest room,
bringing together leaders from the
site's cultivation and processing
departments " and even maybe a
manufacturing individual, " said Ryan
Cook, executive vice president of
operations at Jushi.
" These reports guide us ... so Josh
MJBiz - August 2023

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