TUMI Genomics Partners With Growers to Find Solutions

Problem: In mid-2020, the team at Haze Valley recognized their plants were not looking healthy and they had spotted “stunted” plants in the facility next door. After finding a few positive test results for hop latent viroid in their crop, the team realized their facility was suffering from a pathogen outbreak. Unfortunately, the search for solutions was not reliable.

TUMI Solution: With guidance from the TUMI Genomics team, the Haze Valley cultivation team was confident in their results and developed a clean mother stock program complete with custom operating procedures. In 10 months, the nursery reduced the level of HLVd-infected plants from 30% to under 5% and saved over $80,000 on fees for inaccurate testing and lost revenue.

Problem: In the spring of 2021, a flower room at Evōk Cannabis showed stunted growth and brittle branches, abnormalities that staff suspected were HLVd but they were not 100% certain. After hearing TUMI’s Chief Science Officer discuss hop latent viroid on a podcast episode, Evōk ordered 25 test kits and soon confirmed a severe HLV outbreak in their facility.

TUMI Solution: After unreliable testing forced Evōk to discard nearly 3/4 of an infected harvest (worth nearly $100,000), the company turned to TUMI’s continuous testing programs. Eight months later, thanks to reliable monitoring that allowed for the removal of infected plants, Evōk was able to finally record a crop that was entirely HLVd-free. With TUMI’s help, they were also able to implement many custom SOPs throughout the facility to maintain crop health.

Problem: The cultivation team at Green Valley Farms* had some bad runs in early 2022, with yields reduced by about 30%. They started looking for the cause but couldn't identify it. Improvements in nutrition, air quality, and irrigation did not help yields.

The Result: After hearing about hop latent viroid from a nursrey, Green Valley decided to test for HLVd with TUMI. The initial results showed a range of 20% to 25% positivity. Once the sick plants were removed, yields began to improve quickly. Tim now believes, “Anybody that doesn't include testing for viroids in their plants is hurting themselves.” 

*Business name changed to protect privacy