# Yield

> Yield is the dry weight of usable flower harvested, usually expressed per plant, per square metre of canopy (g/m²) or per watt of light (g/W).

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/yield.html
- Also written: harvest weight, dry yield, yields, g/m², grams per square metre, grams per square meter
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Established
- 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"

Yield is the amount of harvestable product, by convention the [dry weight](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dry-weight.md) of trimmed flower. It is reported per plant (g/plant), per area of canopy (g/m² or g/ft²) or per unit of electrical light (g/W). For comparison between grows, per-area figures are the most meaningful, because per-plant numbers depend heavily on spacing.

## In practice

Indoor yields are driven mostly by light: across trials, flower yield rose roughly linearly with [photosynthetic photon flux](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ppf.md) up to very high intensities. Genetics, [plant density](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/plant-density.md), [veg time](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/veg-time.md), root-zone management and climate set the rest. A meta-analysis of cannabis yield studies identified light intensity, plant density and nutrient supply among the strongest factors.

Indicative ranges: [home grows](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/home-grow.md) commonly report 300-600 g/m²; dialled-in high-light rooms report more. [Wet weight](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/wet-weight.md) is roughly four to five times dry weight.

## Units and formula

- g/m² = total dry grams / [canopy area](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md) in m² (1 m² = 10.76 ft²; 1 oz = 28.35 g).
- g/W = total dry grams / light wattage drawn at the wall.

## Don't confuse with

- **Potency**: [cannabinoid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabinoid.md) percentage; high yield and high potency are separate traits.
- **Wet weight**: weight before drying.

## Related terms

[Grams per watt](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/grams-per-watt.md), [Plant density](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/plant-density.md), [Canopy](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md), [PPFD](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ppfd.md), [Pot size](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pot-size.md)

## Read more

- [PPFD and DLI by stage, with the evidence](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/environment/ppfd-dli-by-stage.md)

## Sources

1. Backer R, Schwinghamer T, Rosenbaum P, et al., 2019. Closing the yield gap for cannabis: a meta-analysis of factors determining cannabis yield. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:495. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00495
2. Westmoreland FM, Kusuma P, Bugbee B., 2021. Cannabis lighting: Decreasing blue photon fraction increases yield but efficacy is more important for cost effective production of cannabinoids. PLOS ONE 16(3):e0248988. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248988
3. Vanhove W, Van Damme P, Meert N, 2011. Factors determining yield and quality of illicit indoor cannabis (Cannabis spp.) production. Forensic Science International 212(1–3):158–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.06.006