North America’s first research and development facility focused on cannabis cultivation techniques and systems are now up and running in Kelowna.
The Flowr Corporation and Hawthorne Canada Limited announced that the R&D Center opened on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
The facility includes laboratories, indoor grow suites and training areas all in one building. Flowr will test cultivation systems and techniques using Hawthorne’s lighting, fertilization and irrigation systems, growing mediums, and research protocols.
According to the two companies, Flowr will also focus on researching cannabis genetics and integrated growing systems to meet its goal of delivering premium quality cannabis products.
“We built Hawthorne to help cultivators of all sizes grow quality plants with high levels of efficiency and consistency,” Hawthorne general manager Chris Hagedorn said.
“We will leverage Flowr’s cultivation expertise and our technical capabilities into real-world testing and results that will make a difference to growers.”
Operations at the R&D Center will be led by Dr. Deron Caplan, who is the first person in North America to earn a PhD focused on cannabis cultivation and production, according to Flowr.
Licensing for the centre has been obtained from Health Canada. The facility will operate at full capacity by spring 2021.
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