When the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the cultivation and sale of industrial hemp and its extracts, farmers all over the country were finally given access to a high reward cash crop. The first batch of farmers started growing hemp under pilot programs, and soon, one thing became abundantly clear: we know very little about hemp cultivation.
The crop had been outlawed for decades after all, and this had prevented any sort of research into hemp. This made it even harder to thrive in the industry, where farmers were facing punitive federal legislation, among other issues.
Kansas State Research and Extension researchers ran hemp trials in 2019, and they presented their findings at the first K-State Industrial Hemp Conference on February 4. Here are some of what they found.
Pest Control. According to Raymond Cloyd, professor, and extension specialist in horticulture, entomology, and plant protection, keeping pests like mites and insects away requires daily scouting and prevention plans. Hemp seems to be quite attractive to pests, including beet armyworms, grasshoppers, and cannabis aphids, and he says these pests can cause a lot of stress.
“When insects feed on plants, they produce secondary compounds that change the composition of the plant. THC and CBD content may also change in the plant in response. An extensive and aggressive plant protection program early on, in my experience in Colorado, is what works,” he says.
Planting and cultivation practices are also discussed, primarily cultivating in fields and high tunnels. According to Cory Richard of the Olathe Horticultural Center, their question was whether the production system used impacts CBD and THC content. Some of the methods tried were using black and white plastic mulches, planting onto a no-till, using rolled spring oats as cover crops as well as high tunnels.
They found that CBD hemp ought to be planted early, so it has enough growth by summer to support flowering. Hemp grown on the white plastic mulch fared better than those grown on black plastic mulch. Additionally, hemp grown on the no-till system did better with a fall-planted cover crop instead of a spring one.
Feral hemp is also an issue, and some states have alleviated this by outlawing the cultivation of male hemp plants to reduce the pollination of the female plants.
Growing for grain and fiber is quite different from growing for CBD. According to Jason Griffin from John. C Pair Horticultural Center, you can’t wait until the crop is entirely matured because it will shatter. The center aimed at planting 30 pounds of seed per acre at about half an inch deep, and the plants were harvested at 75% maturity.
The seeds cannot be planted any deeper than half an inch, as they won’t push through. “It’s kind of a wimp, it doesn’t want to be too deep, and it needs just enough moisture,” says Griffin.
Industry watchers say that hemp companies, such as Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP), may know all too well how damaging it can be if farmers disregard any of the agronomic recommendations shared by the KSU researchers.
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