Student/presenter: Preetaman Bajwa, MS student, Agronomy and Crop science
Format: Poster presentation
Title: Evaluating the potential of hemp varieties in the West Texas conditions
Preetaman Bajwa, Sukhbir Singh, Manpreet Singh, Ved Parkash
Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science
In the declining water situation of the Ogallala Aquifer and for increasing crop diversification, emphasis is growing on exploring alternative, water-efficient crops in the Southern High Plains (SHP). Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a summers annual multi-purpose crop grown for seeds, fibers, and cannabidiol oil. It is an excellent rotational crop that uses approximately 40-60% less water than cotton and corn. During the summers of 2020 and 2021, field experiments were conducted as an initial effort to evaluate the adaptivity and productivity potentials of several imported hemp cultivars. In 2020, three varieties (Henola, B-Lab, Jinma) were evaluated in a RCBD design. In 2021, two planting dates and six varieties (Fibranova, Carmagnola Selezionata, Eletta Campana, Yuma, Jinma, Anka) were evaluated in a split-plot design. The highest biomass yield was recorded for Jinma in 2020, which was almost 180% higher than the average biomass of the two Polish cultivars Henola and B-Lab. In 2021, the highest biomass was recorded by Jinma, followed by Yuma, Eletta Campana, and fibranova, and results for biomass, plant height, and IWUE followed the same trend among varieties, The germination experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of six temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 ⁰C) on seed germination capacity and results illustrated that percentage germination remained similar from 10 ⁰C to 30 ⁰C but decreased by 20% at 35°C compared to 30°C. Jinma, Yuma and Eletta Campana performed substantially better compared to other varieties but first two had high THC. Therefore, Eletta Campana can be a potential variety for the West Texas region. Despite the claims of hemp being a low water-demanding crop, there is a lack of fundamental knowledge about its planting time, planting density, weed management, and water requirements under highly variable weather conditions of the SHP.