Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2022-2023).

Cannabis sativa is one of the oldest cultivated plants by humankind. Arguably, it is also one of the mostx000D
versatile plants that are able to provide us with high-quality food, feed, medicine, clothing and shelter. At thex000D
same time, due to years of restriction, hemp is severely understudied at all levels including genetic andx000D
phenotypic variations. As a result, genetics-assisted breeding of new cultivars is significantly hampered. Wex000D
are partnering with Terramax Corporation, one of the largest hemp seed producers in Canada, to studyx000D
variations in genomics and phenomics of various hemp cultivars and to develop efficient genotyping andx000D
epigenotyping techniques as well as genetics- and epigenetics-assisted breeding approaches. We aim to initiatex000D
breeding several hemp varieties with improved traits, such as seed yield, biomass, the oil and protein content,x000D
pathogen and drought tolerance among others. The project has several important intellectual, economic, social,x000D
educational and environmental benefits. It will contribute to the development and promotion of one of the mostx000D
sustainable agricultural and health products associated with Cannabis, including food (oil, proteins, fiber),x000D
structural materials (fibers), medicines (oils infused with alkaloids) and many other products.