What is the Hop Latent Viroid (HLVd)

What is the Hops Latent Viroid? How does it work? Can it be cured? These questions (and more) are answered in this video. Enjoy! MUSIC: https://soundcloud.com/akacarpenter SOURCES: https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/6716035 /watch/EKna0pV9B8W9a /watch/0PwWSW3k9-nkW TRANSCRIPT: The vice industry relies heavily on the plants in the cannabacae family. With Humulus lupus, or “hops” we make our beer. With Cannabis sativa, which you may also know as “marijuana” or “hemp”, we… well, you know. Over the past few years, something terrible has been happening to these plants. They aren’t dying, but they’ve begun growing stunted and malformed, and the harvests have been terrible. For a while, nobody knew what was happening or how to stop it. I’m going to tell you all about the Hop Latent Viroid. What is the Hop Latent Viroid? Hop: Even though this disease is called a “hop latent viroid”, it can actually affect other plants. Even though it’s become a big problem in the cannabis industry, we won’t be changing the name. It was first spotted in hops plants, so we’ll keep calling it the Hop Latent Viroid. Latent: Speaking of which, let’s talk about the word “latent”. It’s a synonym for hidden or concealed. When you’re calling a viroid latent, it means that it lies dormant within a cell until it finds itself in the right circumstances. Viroid: Unlike viruses, which have RNA and genes, a viroid is only made of RNA. It’s so small that it can live inside plants, or even inside specific branches. Their shape means that they can’t replicate themselves, but they are extremely difficult to kill. What does it do? When the Hop Latent Viroid enters your grow operation, it will affect the growth of your plants negatively. Not only that, but it also affects terpene development. You’ve seen and smelled good marijuana flower before. It’s sticky, with a strong smell that might be cheesy or skunky or citrusy or floral. Fresh hops have a bright, sharp smell and rich oils that flavor your beer. That all comes from terpenes. When a plant is affected by the Hop Latent Viroid, it won’t have those strong smells and intense flavors, and it will be a much worse product. What does it look like? Because the Hop Latent Viroid doesn’t always affect the whole plant, it can be really difficult to spot. Before the your cannabis plants begin to flower, you can keep an eye out for weak, brittle stems and variegated, malformed leaves. The plant might also show signs of etiolation, or “stretching”. It’s easier to find symptoms when the plants have already put out buds, though you won’t want to wait that long. You’ll see poor flower formations and fewer visible trichomes. It won’t look frosty, and it won’t have all the terpene oils that you want your harvest to have. How do you prevent it? Even seeds that come from sick plants can have this disease, so you have to be really careful here. The most reliable way to eradicate the Hop Latent Viroid is by using tissue culture, which you can learn more about on my channel. By pairing tissue culture with hot or cold chemical treatments, you can definitely save your farm, but it will take a lot of money and time—usually at least six months. Ultimately, it’s all about prevention. Most people want to keep a dense canopy in their grow rooms, but that’s a really bad idea. Give your plants their own space. Make sure to keep everything clean, too. Pruning shears are most likely the main method of transmission for this disease, so try to sanitize your tools as much as you possibly can. [interlude] Big thanks to Dark Heart Nursery, Future Cannabis Project, and A. Bektas et al. If you’d like to see my sources for this video, check out the links in the bio. Thanks for watching. If you have any questions about this topic or cannabis in general, let me know in the comments. See you next time! In the meantime, have a good one.

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