Evaluation of Eleven Industrial Hemp Cultivars Grown in Eastern Canada

Abstract

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a multipurpose crop for which there is growing interest in Canada. There is, however, currently limited information on the adaptation and production potential of government approved cultivars in eastern Canada. Eleven cultivars were evaluated in terms of biomass and seed yields and composition, when grown in seven contrasted environments in the province of Québec. Dry matter yields varied considerably across cultivars and environments, ranging between 172 and 8837 kg ha−1 (average of 3226 kg ha−1) for biomass, and between 47 and 3781 kg ha−1 (average of 1315 kg ha−1) for seeds. Despite the presence of cultivar × environment interactions for both biomass and seed yields, the cultivars Anka, Ferimon, and Jutta consistently produced high yields across environments. Averaged across environments, these cultivars respectively had biomass and seed yields of 4591 and 1397, 5827, and 1878, and 4096 and 1408 kg DM ha−1. Limited variation was observed among cultivars in terms of composition. Cellulose was the largest biomass constituent (average of 562 g kg−1 DM across cultivars and environments), followed by hemicellulose and lignin (averages of 123 and 93 g kg−1 DM, respectively), while seed crude protein (CP) and oil (ether extract) concentrations averaged 237 and 288 g kg−1 DM, respectively. Considerable variation in yield potential and adaptation were observed among the cultivars of industrial hemp evaluated in the province of Québec; while biomass yields were moderate, the seed yield potential appears to be high locally compared to western Canada.Core Ideas Biomass and seed dry matter yields of the 11 industrial hemp cultivars evaluated varied considerably across cultivars and environments. Despite the presence of cultivar × environment interactions for biomass and seed yields, some cultivars consistently produced high yields of both biomass and seeds. Limited variation was observed among cultivars in terms of biomass and seed chemical composition.

Planting Density and Fertilization Evidently Influence the Fiber Yield of Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

“…Hemp has attracted much attention from the market and from researchers due to its multiple uses, therefore, improving the production of hemp fiber through research will help promote the promotion and competitiveness of hemp products [26,27]. Many studies have focused on the effects of N fertilizer application rate and planting density on the growth and fiber yield of hemp [15,18,28], but the current study is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of the effects and interactions of NPK fertilizer application rates and planting density on hemp fiber yield.…”

Endophytes of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativaL.) cultivars: identification of culturable bacteria and fungi in leaves, petioles, and seeds

“…Seeds of three multi-use hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars approved for production in Canada were used for endophyte discovery. CRS-1 (seed use), and Anka and Yvonne (dual use; seed and biomass) under the terms specified in licenses delivered to Jean-Benoit Charron by Health Canada #12-C0142-R-01, 13-C0142-R-01 and 14-C0142-R-01 (Mayer et al 2015) Aubin et al (2015Aubin et al ( , 2016. Cultivars were seeded in mid-May of 2013 and grown in plots 1.3 m x 5 m, containing 7 rows, spaced at 18 cm apart.…”

“…No herbicide was applied, and manual weeding was done on all plots throughout the growing season. Only naturally occurring precipitation and light exposure were used throughout the plants' growth (Aubin et al 2016).…”

“…Much of the Québec growing climate is similar to Northern Ontario that has yielded an average stem yield of 6.1 tons per hectare (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, 2011). Considering that demand appears to be continuing on a positive D r a f t trend, knowledge on selection of high-performing cultivars in terms of biomass and seed yield (Aubin et al 2016) and agronomical recommendations and guidelines (Aubin et al 2015) has been documented.…”

Hemp Yields and Its Rotation Effects on Wheat under Rainfed Mediterranean Conditions

“…On the other hand, little is known about the seed yield of hemp in southern Europe, which has been proposed as a suitable region for dual-purpose hemp production (Stutterheim et al, 1999). Most previous studies concerning hemp seed yields were conducted in central and northern Europe (Meijer et al, 1995;Mediavilla et al, 1999;Vogl et al, 2004;Maļceva et al, 2011, Faux et al, 2013, Delauran and Flengmark, 2005, in Mediterranean area with irrigation (Tang et al, 2016) or Canada (Girouard et al, 1999;Vera et al, 2004;Aubin et al, 2016). Moreover, residual soil nitrogen in hemp is not quantified in the bibliography to date.…”