Israeli scientists engineer “turbo cannabis” to maximize use of limited farmland

An Israeli company is unveiling a new technology designed to make medical cannabis cultivation more uniform, stable and productive, claiming it can increase harvest yields nearly twentyfold.

At the centre of the development are advanced hybrid cannabis seeds created by crossbreeding different strains to improve consistency, disease resistance and overall output, as Israeli media highlight.

The technology was developed by RCK, an Israeli company specialising in cannabis breeding and customised medical strains. The firm is set to present the breakthrough at the “Sowing the Future” agricultural technology conference in Israel this week.

According to the firm, the hybrid seeds enable more reliable cultivation while dramatically increasing productivity. RCK says the technology led to a 17.5-fold rise in production and reduced manufacturing waste by roughly 70%, significantly improving profitability for the company, which is based in Kibbutz Ruhama.

Dr. Silit Lazare, the company’s chief scientist, said the project focused on adapting hybrid-seed techniques commonly used in other agricultural sectors to cannabis cultivation.

“Most industrial crops use hybrid seeds, such as tomatoes and peppers, but the cannabis genome is very different,” she said. “People laughed at us and said it was impossible to create hybrid cannabis seeds.”

Lazare said the development process took seven years, followed by the creation of a commercial-scale seed production system.

“It was a bit like reinventing the wheel because almost nobody produces hybrid cannabis seeds,” she said. “We are one of only four companies in the world, and one of those companies even signed an agreement with us to manufacture seeds for them. We are now in the commercial pilot stage and shipping seeds to customers around the world.”

She added that her interest in medical cannabis research began after seeing prescribed cannabis help ease her mother’s suffering during cancer treatment.

RCK says the technology could help the medical cannabis sector meet rapidly growing demand while improving the quality and efficiency of agricultural production.

Efficient cultivation methods are particularly important in Israel, where land dedicated to medical cannabis farming remains limited. According to government figures, the country has roughly 35 hectares allocated to medical cannabis cultivation, operated by 33 licensed growers.

To help address rising demand and labour shortages, Israeli authorities recently approved — for the first time — the employment of foreign workers at medical cannabis farms. The decision involved coordination between police and the ministries of agriculture, health and national security.

Although recreational cannabis remains illegal in Israel, medical cannabis is widely used under strict regulatory oversight.

By Nazrin Sadigova