RESOURCES

Deron Caplan, one of the first researchers to earn a PhD in indoor cannabis cultivation, shares his journey. He explains how his passion for systems design merged with plant science, creating a career that focuses on building efficient, high-precision HVAC, irrigation, and fertigation systems to empower growers globally.

A comprehensive guide to controlled-environment cannabis cultivation, covering biology, breeding, propagation, environmental optimization, nutrition, training, pest management, and post-harvest practices, with insights that update and challenge outdated methods.

A successful cannabis facility starts with solid financial modeling. Define your design concept—scope, workflow, cultivation method, and equipment—then map capital and operating costs. This clarifies overhead, yields, and ROI, helping ensure efficiency and profitability.

Deron Caplan explains the pour-through method for monitoring EC and pH in cannabis root zones. By collecting 50–100 mL of displaced solution after irrigation, growers can track root-zone conditions over time, adjust fertigation, and improve irrigation accuracy.

In this video we explain how to irrigate cannabis by reaching container capacity, ensuring 30–50% daily dryback, matching pot and plant size, and using phased irrigation (P1–P3) to avoid waterlogging, protect roots, and maintain crop quality.

Philipp Matzneller explains canopy management as balancing pruning, de-leafing, and training to optimize light, airflow, and uniformity. He highlights leaf area index, source–sink dynamics, and airflow as key factors in maximizing cannabis yield and quality.

In this interview Deron explains why some grower traditions fall short. Cutting leaf tips actually reduces rooting, fertilizer past optimum dilutes cannabinoids, and stress must be applied carefully—yet drier flowering media and controlled drought can boost yield quality.

Insights on canopy management, cloning, and mother plant care, highlighting techniques for maximizing light, maintaining uniformity, preventing disease, and optimizing yields in cannabis cultivation worldwide.

Researchers and cannabis producers are engineering “designer weed” to target specific effects, like easing anxiety or aiding sleep, by manipulating cannabinoids, terpenes, and breeding. Advanced extraction and cultivation aim for consistent, safer products with potential medical benefits.

Cannabis production has long lacked scientific validation due to prohibition. This article argues for evidence-based cultivation practices by leveraging decades of horticultural research. It highlights challenges faced by legal growers and the need for research-industry collaboration.

Controlled drought stress can boost cannabis potency. A University of Guelph study showed a single drought event increased THCA and CBDA by over 12%, with even greater gains per area. Key tips: watch for wilting, apply stress in late flowering, and avoid overdoing it for best results.

Fertigation at scale is complex—but data offers a path to control. Sostanza Global’s Philipp Matzneller outlines how systematic data collection, from EC and pH to leaf tissue testing, helps optimize nutrient uptake. For cannabis growers, data isn’t optional—it’s the foundation of continuous improvement.

In a crowded cannabis market, Sostanza helps growers stand out—offering solutions for fertigation issues, pest outbreaks, and disorganized data collection. By improving crop health and highlighting traits beyond THC, growers can differentiate their products and boost long-term success.

Cultivar choice sets the ceiling for THC, but skilled horticulture helps push it higher. This article explores how stress techniques, harvest timing, and precise nutrition influence THC production—and why growers shouldn’t chase THC at the expense of flavor, aroma, or overall product quality.

In this article by MMJ Daily, Deron Caplan discusses the unique advantages and opportunities of the Thai cannabis market.

Review of this 10-chapter handbook offers indoor cannabis growers a comprehensive guide to controlled environment cultivation—from lighting, fertigation, and pest control to canopy management and post-harvest. Includes contributions from Sostanza on key cultivation practices.

In this CBC video, Deron discusses fertilization, growing medium, drought, and propagation in cannabis cultivation.

Five organic nitrogen rates were tested during cannabis’ vegetative stage in two coir-based substrates. No substrate differences were found. Optimal yield occurred at ~389 mg N/L, and peak THC at ~418 mg N/L, suggesting a similar range maximizes both biomass and potency.

This study used a 23-SNP assay to analyze 420 North American cannabis accessions, revealing five genetic clusters tied to hemp, THC-rich types, and terpenoid profiles. Findings highlight diversity patterns, population structure, and tools for breeding, traceability, and regulation.

This study investigated how different soilless growing mixes—particularly those based on coconut coir—affect cannabis plant growth and yield in an indoor setting. The goal was to determine which substrates perform best from early growth through to flowering and harvest.

Caplan’s 2018 PhD thesis tested how leaf number, tip removal, cutting position, rooting hormones, substrates, fertilizer rates, and drought timing affect cannabis propagation, yield, and cannabinoid production in controlled environments.

If you're cloning cannabis using stem cuttings, you’ve probably heard a lot of conflicting advice—how many leaves to leave on, whether to cut the leaf tips, and what kind of rooting hormone to use. This study took a scientific look at all of those factors to figure out what actually works.

In this paper, researchers tested five rates of organic fertilizer on cannabis grown in two coir-based substrates. The drier mix (U2-HP) outperformed the wetter one, producing higher yields and cannabinoid content. Optimal rates ranged from 212–261 mg N/L.