Zamir Punja, PhD is a Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Simon Fraser University in Canada. His research interests include the etiology and management of plant diseases on vegetable and horticultural crops, and the applications of plant biotechnology for disease management. Since 2018, his work has shifted to researching cannabis, where his group has described a range of previously unreported pathogens affecting the crop and has evaluated various methods for disease management.

His team just published the results of a 3-year study that identified several factors related to growing, drying, and trimming cannabis that have a direct effect on Yeast and Mold levels. This is important because when growers fail for microbial testing, yeast and mold is most often the reason. So if you are a grower who has struggled with total yeast and mold, perhaps these findings can help you get back on track. I’ve put a link to the paper in the show description, and if you are watching on YouTube, I have added several figures and images from the paper throughout the conversation.

We covered:

• The different species of yeast and mold that are commonly found on cannabis and which are potentially harmful to humans
  
• The value of TYM testing as an indicator of product safety and quality
  
• What is a reasonable threshold for Total Yeast and Mold
  
• How Cannabis genotype affects TYM levels
  
• Why leaf litter drives up TYM levels
  
• Why hang drying is a better method than wet trimming
  
• The drawbacks of irradiation
  
• And more
  

Thanks to This Episode’s Sponsor: Agilent Technologies

Whether you manufacture or test cannabis, you face the challenge of delivering high-quality products, increasing sample volume, and meeting emerging regulations. Agilent offers best-in-class cannabis and hemp analysis solutions featuring robust instruments, software, services, and consumables. Their team of experts can develop, implement, and optimize methods to get you up and running quickly. Learn more at agilent.com

Additional Resources

• Total yeast and mold levels in high THC-containing cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) inflorescences are influenced by genotype, environment, and pre-and post-harvest handling practices
  
• 5 Factors Causing Cannabis to Fail Total Yeast and Mold
  
• Review the Podcast!
  
• CannMed Archive
  
• CannMed Community Board [Facebook Group]