The Performance and Potentiality of Monoecious Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivars as a Multipurpose Crop

Abstract

Given the growing interest in multipurpose hemp crop, eight monoecious cultivars were compared in a two-year trial for quantitative and qualitative yield in a Mediterranean environment characterized by a temperate and humid climate with hot summers. All hemp cultivars were evaluated for yield potential of (i) seed plus stem at seed maturity, and (ii) essential oil yield from inflorescences harvested at full flowering. The second goal was set to test the ability of cultivars to supply new seeds after the removal of inflorescence at full flowering. Among the cultivars, Fedora obtained the best results for seed (0.79 and 0.52 t ha−1) and vegetable oil yield (0.17 and 0.09 t ha−1) normally and with inflorescence removed plants, respectively. Futura, conversely, showed the best results for inflorescence (3.0 t ha−1), essential oil (9 L ha−1), and stem yield at seed maturity (8.34 t ha−1), as means across the two years. The cultivars studied generally reached the grain-filling stage during a period that was drier and warmer than the average of the same multi-year period, and this negatively affected seed quality. The oil fatty acid composition was mainly composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids (75% on average) and not affected by the cultivar. In conclusion, although the hemp grower should always clearly know the main production objective of the crop, the monoecious cultivars available today allow a multipurpose use of hemp crop, improving the sustainability of the cultivation activity.

Impact of Growth Stage and Biomass Fractions on Cannabinoid Content and Yield of Different Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Genotypes

“…In addition to seed and fibre production, recently, hemp genotypes registered within the EU, have been cultivated for inflorescence to finally extract non-psychotropic cannabinoids [9]. The utilization of harvested inflorescence for cannabinoid extraction, seems to exclude seed production at the same time as plants are harvested at full-flowering stage, thus limiting the full exploitation of the hemp crop [7]. However, threshing residues of inflorescence obtained at seed maturity might offer a unexploited high-value product for the extraction of cannabinoids [21].…”

“…It is widely cultivated and historically used for fibre production, human nutrition and, medicinal purpose [3][4][5][6]. Based on the versatility of hemp, high-quality cellulose can be gained from the stems, nutrient-rich oil, and proteins generated out of seeds, as well as valuable essential oils and resins from inflorescence and leaves with abundant glandular trichomes [7,8].…”

Yield and Quality of Essential Oils in Hemp Varieties in Different Environments

“…Moreover, the essential oil concentration seems to be inversely related to the single inflorescence biomass [27] and despite dioecious varieties being higher than that of monoecious varieties, the latter could be preferred because they provide a larger inflorescence yield per hectare [11]. For these reasons, the choice of monoecious varieties is undoubtedly preferable, because if the inflorescences are harvested at full flowering of female flowers, slightly earlier than the above-mentioned optimal period, the plants react by issuing new inflorescences that can provide a satisfactory seed production, improving the sustainability and a multipurpose exploitation of the crop [28]. Hemp essential oil, although considered a product with high value added and a promising marketing potential [29,30], has received little attention from the scientific and industrial community [13].…”

“…Hemp essential oil, although considered a product with high value added and a promising marketing potential [29,30], has received little attention from the scientific and industrial community [13]. The multipurpose exploitation of the hemp crop, as already highlighted in a previous trial [28], is the main objective of this experiment, in which the evaluation of the effect of different environments (2 years and four locations of Northern Italy) and three hemp monoecious varieties on the production and quality of EOs were evaluated.…”

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Dairy Farms Rearing the Italian Simmental Dual-Purpose Breed

“…The purchase of corn and soybean were adjusted in order to maintain the same energy and protein levels of the animals' diets, as in the BASE Scenario. The data for hemp cultivation, field residues, biomass and hempseed cake production were taken according to Baldini et al [43] and Amaducci et al [44,45]. The apportionment of emissions from hempseed to hempseed cake was performed using the economical allocation; specifically, the allocation ratio was 80:20 hempseed oil/hempseed cake.…”