Study: Soil Types Can Alter Cannabinoid Concentration 

A study published last month in the *Journal of Medicinally Active Plants *suggests
that the type of soil hemp is cultivated in can significantly alter
cannabinoid concentration. The researchers, from the Penn State College of
Medicine, Penn State plant biology program, and Keystone State Testing
Laboratory, compared hemp grown in conventionally tilled fields to hemp
grown using no-till cover crop methods and found that the hemp grown in
conventional soil produced THC levels up to six times higher than plants
grown in cover crop fields.

“Poor soil quality appears to result in higher levels of THC production,
whereas higher soil quality may result in higher levels of the precursor
cannabinoid, CBG.” — Impact of Soil Quality on Cannabinoid and Terpenoid
Content of Cannabis sativa L, *Journal of Medicinally Active Plants, *
11/30/2025

The researchers also found CBD levels 1.5 times higher in
Tangerine cultivars cultivated in conventionally tilled fields and two
times higher in cover crop no-tillage fields. CBDA levels were 6.3 times
higher in Tangerine cover crop grown extracts and 2.2 times higher in
conventional field-tilled extracts of CBG Stem Cell. CBG levels were
3.7 times higher in CBG Stem Cell extracts from no-tillage grown
plants, while THC levels were 6 times higher for conventional tillage field
grown Tangerine extracts.

“Differences in terpene composition were observed between the cultivars
grown in the [conventional tillage fields],” the authors note, “but not
between those grown in [cover crop no tillage fields.]”

The authors add that the study is the first “to show differences in extract
composition of outdoor cultivated hemp grown in different soil conditions.”

The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National
Institute of Food and Agriculture and medical cannabis company PA Options
for Wellness.