How Terpenes Affect Pests

If you’re growing industrial hemp, the list of approved insecticidal and fungicidal sprays is short. That’s why fighting pests in as many natural ways as possible is particularly important. You want to protect your plants from pests and avoid contaminating them with potentially harmful chemicals. 

Being aware that how the terpenes naturally present in cannabis may attract or repel pests is one important aspect of using organic, biological pest control.

Common Terpenes Found In Hemp

All industrial hemp plants have naturally occurring essential oils called terpenes. Some of the most common flavor profiles in cannabis sativa plants include Pinene, Myrcene, Linalool, Caryophyllene, and Limonene. These offer flavor to smokeable flower. They also give different varieties varying scents — from pine and thyme to lavender, cinnamon, and citrus. 

Terpene profiles are still being researched as one factor in the potential medicinal uses of cannabis. For the grower, maximizing terpenes may provide positive results for minimizing pests and improving plant strength. For a complex, detailed, scientific explanation of terpenoids, peruse this research. 

Terpenes As Natural Insecticides

One part of a plant’s defense system is the terpenes it produces to resist pests. Plants produce terpenes as a pollinator-attracting and pest-repelling scent.

While there is a growing body of research on CBD, CBG, THC, and the timing and planning of growing industrial hemp for consumable products, research on pests that affect cannabis (and the best natural ways to fight those pests) is still very much in its beginning stages. So how do terpenes affect pests? Some growers have seen good results in minimizing pest quantities by using grow methods that maximize terpene content in their plants. 

As an industrial hemp grower, you may consider researching the effect of various terpene profiles on pests in a controlled study of your own. Work with your local Agricultural Extension as you do any research of this sort, as recording any more detailed information is extremely valuable to the hemp industry. 

Growing to Maximize Terpenes Can Minimize Pests

Some growers have found that outdoor grows do much better in producing terpenes and fending off pests. Growing outdoors to maximize the terpene content can also minimize pests by exposing the pests themselves to the harsher conditions. 

Those same conditions — wind, rain, temperature fluctuation — act as natural environmental stressors on the plants, encouraging plant immune system functions to kick in. This increases terpenes as part of the immune system function, which in turn makes the plants more defensive and better at resisting pests. 

Being outdoors also exposes the pests to rain, wind, humidity, predators, and temperature changes, disrupting their life cycle and making it harder for them to take over or ruin a crop. (So it looks like the outdoor benefits goes beyond just how terpenes affect pests.)

While greenhouse grows allow for more controls, outdoor grows enable farmers to take advantage of nature’s normal processes. This lets plants develop strength against environmental stress while they receive the benefits of natural sunlight, rain, and wind to clean them and work against pests. 

The increase of terpenes in this higher-stress environment works with the environmental factors to repel harmful insects naturally.