Welcome to 420Forums, the South African cannabis community powered by smokyb420.com. Dive into our community where growers connect to share regional insights, cultivation strategies, and expertise. Explore forums for each local terroir of our country, from the Cape Winelands to the Limpopo Valley, engaging in discussions on cultivation, extraction, genetics, soil, and water management. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting, our community encourages meaningful connections and knowledge exchange. Stay updated on industry news, trends, and events. Join 420Forums.co.za, where local cannabis wisdom takes root, and let us grow together.
A new study mapped 227 terpenes and the genes behind cultivar smell
A paper out this year in Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B mapped the terpene synthase gene family in Cannabis sativa and found 227 volatile terpenes across six cultivars: 88 monoterpenes and 139 sesquiterpenes. The team sampled 28 points across the plants' development, week by week, and combined genome data, terpene profiling, and gene expression work.
The takeaway for growers is that a cultivar's smell isn't one compound. It's a mix of dozens, and the mix changes by tissue, by week, and by cultivar. Two plants can share the same dominant terpene and still smell different, because the minor compounds underneath are pulling different weight.
That matters when you're pheno-hunting. Nose selection catches the loud notes and misses the quiet ones. A plant that smells dull at week six can open up at week eight. And the environment plays in too: the same clone grown on granite-derived Cape soil can carry a different terpene balance than the same clone under lights, since terpene production responds to temperature, light, and soil minerals.
The full paper is on ScienceDirect: "Expansion and functional diversification of terpene synthases shape volatile terpenoid landscape in Cannabis sativa."
What do you actually select on in a hunt, and how much of the smell do you put down to genetics versus the grow?