Agri-tech business Roots Sustainable Agricultural Technologies (ASX:ROO) says its crop-cooling technology continues to gain traction with commercial cannabis producers.

The Israeli-based company released results from the operation of its Root Zone Temperature Optimisation (RZTO) platform, with a California-based client the company signed up over the US summer.

The client, Canndescent, reported that in some cases the yield of cannabis dry flowers more than doubled, Roots said.

Markets reacted positively, sending ROO shares up more than 10 per cent. But the stock is still well off its 12-month high of almost 30 cents reached at this time last year:

Staying cool

Roots finalised the sale of its RZTO to Canndescent in May and completed installation in June, at the start of the US summer.

The technology acted to “stabilise the roots of cannabis plants at an optimal temperature of 21 degrees celsius” within the Canndescent greenhouse, Roots said.

Temperatures within the climate-controlled greenhouse climbed to 30 degrees, while outside temperatures rose above 30 degree celsius.

While higher temperatures can damage crops, Roots said its RZTO was applied to two separate crops — one of 400 plants and one of 200 plants — and increased crop yields by between 30 and 118 per cent.

Canndescent’s Agronomist Daniel McClure said the RZTO technology complemented its existing cooling methods to improve both the quantity and quality of its cannabis crop.

Stockhead has contacted Roots for comment on its outlook for the US market, and whether it’s flagged further sales of its RZTO platform in the 2020 financial year.

 

In other ASX health news today:

Medicinal cannabis company Althea Group Holdings (ASX:AGH) released its quarterly 4C filing and provided a trading update to the market. The company said unaudited revenues climbed to $755,385, up from $411,663 in Q2, while total patient prescriptions climbed above the 2500 mark. It follows a $30m capital raise in July, to finance the acquisition of Canadian cannabis producer Peak. Shares in AGH edged higher to 6.5 cents.

In pharma, brain-treatment company Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU) got some more preliminary good news out of the US. The company announced that its NNZ-2591 drug — used in the treatment of Phelan-McDermid syndrome and Pitt Hopkins syndrome — was given an orphan drug designation by the US Food & Drug Administration. Shares in NEU climbed 6.25 per cent to $2.55.

And speaking of milestones, medical pot stock, MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:MXC) also cleared a new hurdle, passing the 600 prescription-mark for its cannabis products to patients in the UK and Australia. Shares in MXC also edged higher to 3.5 cents.

 

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While MGC Pharmaceuticals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.