Steep Hill Labs is one of the most trusted names in cannabis lab science. A leader in cannabis biotechnology, research, and analysis, Steep Hill has worked for years to give patients and cultivators throughout California the tools to better understand the cannabis products they grow and consume.
One such tool, the Steep Hill GenKit, helps commercial and amateur growers alike to streamline the early stages of a cannabis plant’s grow cycle.
With the GenKit, Steep Hill can offer the earliest possible identification of male cannabis plants, so growers aren’t wasting time on plants that ultimately won’t produce flower — or that might even sabotage their entire harvest. According to the company, the male identification test is 99% percent accurate and only a cross contamination could result in a legitimate error. The GenKit can also help identify CBD-rich varietals before they have even flowered.
“At its core, GenKit is a genetic sex-testing kit for cannabis cultivators that saves time and labor — using only a tiny snippet of a leaf sample, GenKit allows our team of scientists to identify male and CBD-rich seedlings in a matter of days, as opposed to forced flowering. The whole idea [behind GenKit] was to have it be one piece of a bigger plan. That bigger plan will allow breeders to get to stable phenotypes much faster,” said Reggie Gaudino, Steep Hill’s VP of Science and Genetics.
But the GenKit is more than a useful tool for determining a seedling’s sex — it can also help to safeguard a unique cannabis strain, or prove that it is truly unique, by documenting and recording its genetic makeup. This is especially important if you plan to seek a patent or other protections for your intellectual property.
“GenKit is the cultivator’s best ally in the protection of their intellectual property because they might not realize how special their strain or varietal is it is until it’s too late to stake a claim to the IP they bred,” said Gaudino. “Here at Steep Hill, we try to not only have the best science and the best testing, but we’re actually trying to help breeders find better traits, breed better strains, but also to have a concerted package of tools they can use, so they can grow better and faster, and hopefully that will help them put that stick in the sand and allow them to really get to the point where they have IP.”
Additionally, Steep Hill updated the GenKit’s packaging this year to be more efficient and user-friendly, while also offering additional protections to help preserve the integrity of samples they receive. A web-based integration system also allows users to track their samples through the testing process and see their results as soon as the analysis has been completed.
The GenKit is available for $99 online and in participating grow stores throughout California. The company plans to someday accept GenKit samples from any U.S. state but, until federal prohibition has been lifted, it remains illegal to ship cannabis products of any kind across state lines.
Visit SteepHill.com to learn more.
End