# Dry weight

> The weight of cannabis after drying (and usually trimming), the basis growers use for yield; it is typically about 20-25% of trimmed wet weight.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dry-weight.html
- Also written: dried weight, final dry weight, cured weight, dry bud weight, dry mass
- Glossary category: Harvest, drying and curing · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Dry weight is the mass of harvested flower once it has been dried to a stable, jar-ready moisture, generally around 0.55-0.65 [water activity](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/water-activity.md). When growers quote yield in grams per plant, [grams per square metre](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/yield.md) or [grams per watt](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/grams-per-watt.md), they mean dry, trimmed bud.

## In practice

Dry weight keeps falling a little during the cure, because curing is a slow decline in moisture, not holding it constant. A few percent loss over the first weeks in the jar is normal. That's why weights are most comparable when taken at the same stage (at jarring, or after a set cure time) and at a checked water activity.

Watch out for false gains. Buds jarred too wet weigh more but risk mould, and they lose the weight anyway. Buds over-dried weigh less and smoke harsh. Neither is a better yield.

Precision matters in trials. GenetixBay [Bay Trials](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bay-trials.md) should record dry weight with the water activity or equilibrated [jar RH](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/equilibrium-relative-humidity.md) at weighing, so comparisons between growers are fair.

## Units and formula

Typical dry ≈ trimmed wet × 0.20-0.25. Yield per area = dry weight / [canopy area](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md) (g/m²).

## Don't confuse with

- **Wet weight**: fresh weight at harvest.
- **Dry-weight basis**: lab correction for [cannabinoid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabinoid.md) % at 0% moisture.
- **Bone-dry weight**: oven-dried with all water removed, a lab figure.

## Related terms

[Wet weight](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/wet-weight.md), [Moisture content](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/moisture-content.md), [Yield](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/yield.md), [Curing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/curing.md)

## Read more

- [Drying cannabis: the 60/60 method and water activity](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/harvest-cure/drying.md)

## Sources

1. ASTM D8197. Standard Specification for Maintaining Acceptable Water Activity (aw) Range (0.55 to 0.65) for Dry Cannabis Flower. ASTM International. https://store.astm.org/d8197-22.html