Light spectral quality alters glandular trichome architecture more strongly than cannabinoid accumulation in Cannabis sativa

Abstract

The glandular trichomes in Cannabis sativa, found predominantly on female flowers, produce and store a variety of unique phytocannabinoids, increasingly studied for their use in medicinal applications. Maximizing yield and cannabinoid profiles requires the optimization of the environmental factors that regulate plant growth. Light plays a prominent role, both as an energy source but also as an important developmental signal. Thus, optimization of lighting strategies, particularly through customizable light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures, has become a major focus of controlled-environment cannabis research. Here, we focus on the effect of blue-enriched and far red-enriched light spectra on the morphological traits and biochemical profiles of two THCA-dominant varieties: Pineapple Cough and Rocky Fire #7. Spectral composition exerts modest and genotype-specific effects on the plant development, inflorescence biomass, and cannabinoid concentration but we demonstrate a positive correlation between total yield and plant height in both varieties, regardless of spectra. We also show that growth under far-red enriched light affects the visible pigmentation in both varieties with significantly lower chlorophyll levels and paler fan and sugar leaves. Finally, we demonstrate that far-red light consistently increased the trichome stalk length in both varieties, suggesting that spectral composition can alter trichome development and morphology. Our data offers insights into cannabis development and secondary chemical profiles in response to different light spectra, allowing growers to adjust light spectra to obtain desirable cannabis traits for industrial production.