Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs Target Audience:The target audience were hemp growers, industry agronomists, crop consultants, diagnostic labs, researchers, and other stakeholders. Outreach and education were fully integrated into our project at each step of development and execution of the objectives. Diverse and numerous multimedia and presentation strategies were used to reach our most diverse stakeholders. We targeted hemp producers, as well as crop advisors, crop consultants, extension personnel and hemp industry personnel (seed, genetics) with a variety of digital and traditional media. We used three main channels by which this information was disseminated: 1) CSU hemp entomology website (https://www.csuhempentomology.com/), 2) in-person meetings, and 3) publications. The CSU hemp entomology webiste serves as a centralized repository for all extension and outreach materials (posters, factsheets publications etc) and to receive feedback from stakeholders. We gave the following presentations: Schmidtbauer, M., Jessica, P., Szczepaniec, A., Uchanski, M.,Nachappa P. Don't panic, it's organic: Building resilient pest management strategies for organic hemp systems.Entomological Society of America Conference, 2024, Phoenix, AZ. Schmidtbauer, M., Jessica, P., Szczepaniec, A., Uchanski, M.,Nachappa P. Don't panic, it's organic: Building resilient pest management strategies for organic hemp systems. North Central Branch-Entomological Society of America Conference, 2024, Fort Collins, CO. Changes/Problems:We were awarded the grant on September 1, 2022, but we missed the 2022 field season. Hence, we requested a no-cost extension until August 31, 2026, so we can have three field seasons and time to analyze the data and write publications. There is no change in the scope of work, and we will complete all the goals and objectives delineated in the grant. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We trained one Postdoctoral Fellow, one PhDstudent, and one undergraduate student. The postdoctoral fellow has been trained in metabolomics, data analysis, grant and manuscript writing. The MS student has been trained in experimental design, insect identification, metabolomics,statistical analysis, and manuscript writing. The undergraduate student has been trained ininsect identification and data collection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The target audience were hemp growers, industry agronomists, crop consultants, diagnostic labs, researchers, and other stakeholders. Outreach and education were fully integrated into our project at each step of development and execution of the objectives. Diverse and numerous multimedia and presentation strategies were used to reach our most diverse stakeholders. We targeted hemp producers, as well as crop advisors, crop consultants, extension personnel and hemp industry personnel (seed, genetics) with a variety of digital and traditional media. We used three main channels by which this information was disseminated: 1) CSU hemp entomology website (https://www.csuhempentomology.com/), 2) in-person meetings, and 3) publications. The CSU hemp entomology webiste serves as a centralized repository for all extension and outreach materials (posters, factsheets publications etc) and to receive feedback from stakeholders. We gave the following presentations: Schmidtbauer, M., Jessica, P., Szczepaniec, A., Uchanski, M.,Nachappa P. Don't panic, it's organic: Building resilient pest management strategies for organic hemp systems. Entomological Society of America Conference, 2024, Phoenix, AZ. Schmidtbauer, M., Jessica, P., Szczepaniec, A., Uchanski, M.,Nachappa P. Don't panic, it's organic: Building resilient pest management strategies for organic hemp systems. North Central Branch-Entomological Society of America Conference, 2024, Fort Collins, CO. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are in the midst of our third field season, during which we plan to repeat experiments related to Objective 3. We will also disseminate results through various avenues and publish results we have obtained so far.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. In 2023 and 2024, pest and beneficial insect populations were significantly higher in the organic field. A total of 4,098 pests were recorded in the organic plots, compared to 2,583 in the conventional plots. Similarly, natural enemy abundance was elevated in the organic field, with 729 individuals observed versus 184 in the conventional field. Key pest taxa enriched in the organic system included plant bugs (Miridae) (42 ± 9, p = 0.002), leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) (8 ± 2, p = 0.004), and owlet moths (Noctuidae) (4 ± 1, p = 0.003). Grasshoppers (Acrididae) (5 ± 1, p = 0.003) were the only pest taxon found in greater abundance in the conventional field. Prominent natural enemies in the organic field included minute pirate bugs (Anthocoridae) (27 ± 5, p < 0.0001), damsel bugs (Nabidae) (22 ± 5, p = 0.002), and lady beetles (Coccinellidae) (19 ± 3, p < 0.001). A similar pattern was observed in 2024, with 4,014 pest captures and 914 natural enemies recorded in the organic field. In contrast, both pest and beneficial insect counts declined in the conventional field, with only 370 of each observed. Cannabis aphids (Aphididae) (475 ± 170, p = 0.019), thrips (Thripidae) (33 ± 9, p = 0.007), and leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) (21 ± 3, p < 0.001) were significantly more abundant in the organic field. Meanwhile, chalcid wasps (Chalcidoidea) (80 ± 14, p < 0.001), lady beetles (Coccinellidae) (4 ± 1, p < 0.001), green lacewings (Chrysopidae) (3 ± 1, p = 0.003), and syrphid flies (Syrphidae) (2 ± 1, p = 0.010) were also enriched in the organic field. Damsel bugs (Nabidae) (3 ± 1, p = 0.019) were the only beneficials found in greater numbers in the conventional field. Despite increased pest pressure, the organic field consistently produced greater yields across both years. Specifically, yield was assessed using three metrics: total biomass, flower, and fiber. In 2023, fiber yield was significantly greater in the organic field compared to the conventional field (54.6 ± 25.1, p = 0.034), while flower and total biomass were also higher, though not statistically significant. In 2024, all three yield metrics, total biomass (304.6 ± 116.7, p = 0.005), flower (210.5 ± 74.2, p = 0.003), and fiber (94.1 ± 46.5, p = 0.024), were significantly increased in the organic field relative to the conventional field. Phytohormone levels also differed between management systems. Phytohormone analysis was conducted at three developmental stages: vegetative, flowering, and harvest. Salicylic acid levels were elevated in the organic field during the vegetative timepoint (2347 ± 1273, p = 0.049). Abscisic acid was significantly increased in the organic field during both the flowering (25,467 ± 13,217, p = 0.043) and harvest timepoints (39,967 ± 13,763, p = 0.009). Dihydrophaseic acid was consistently higher in the organic field across all three timepoints: vegetative (140,733 ± 47,613, p = 0.008), flowering (25,383 ± 12,661, p = 0.038), and harvest (26,523 ± 9,092, p = 0.009), as was phosphatidic acid: vegetative (13,757 ± 5,638, p = 0.019), flowering (8,083 ± 2,560, p = 0.006), and harvest (6,960 ± 2,211, p = 0.006). In contrast, methyl jasmonic acid (121.7 ± 59.4, p = 0.035) was elevated in the conventional field during the vegetative stage. Additionally, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (20,982 ± 9,530, p = 0.028) and jasmonic acid (4,913 ± 2,009, p = 0.019) were significantly higher in the conventional field during flowering. Finally, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (673 ± 348, p = 0.042) was elevated in the conventional field at harvest. Phytohormone samples from the 2024 season have been submitted, and results are pending. In 2023, cannabinoid profiles showed limited variation between the two field treatments. Of the 18 cannabinoids analyzed, CBCO, CBCV, CBDV, CBL, CBN, CBT, and THCV were not detected. No significant differences were observed between fields in the levels of CBDA, CBD, Δ?-THCA, Δ?-THC, CBCA/CBLA, CBC, CBDVA, CBGA, CBNA, or THCVA. The only significant difference detected was for CBG (0.0033 ± 0.0016, p = 0.033), which was more abundant in the conventional field during the flowering timepoint. Cannabinoid samples from the 2024 season have been submitted, and results are pending. Preliminary results from the 2023 microbiome analysis suggest differences in microbial community composition between the organic and conventional fields. The conventional field exhibited significantly higher Shannon entropy (0.303 ± 0.110, p = 0.011) and observed amplicon sequence variants (ASV) (87 ± 36, p = 0.021), while Pielou's evenness did not differ between treatments. Despite higher alpha diversity in the conventional field, ANCOM (analysis of composition of microbiomes) indicated a greater abundance of nitrogen-fixing microbial taxa in the organic field, which may help explain the observed yield advantages. Microbiome samples from the 2024 season are scheduled for preparation and submission by the end of June 2025. Objective 2. In 2023, all experimental plots experienced comparable levels of cannabis aphid infestation during the flowering timepoint. While some genotypes showed clear resistance, others were severely impacted, with near-total mortality. Due to this uniform infestation pressure, aphid abundance alone was not a reliable indicator of plant quality. Instead, yield performance under infestation was used to identify genotypes with potential aphid resistance. For example, genotype 7550 consistently exhibited high biomass yield compared to genotypes 8259 (169.1±58.9, p= 0.045), 7619 (203.1±57, p=0.024), 4473 (182.9±61, p= 0.040), and 3583 (185.8±56.8, p= 0.031) to name a few. Although aphid counts varied by genotype, 7550 consistently showed lower infestation levels, consistently high biomass yield, and is a strong candidate for transcriptomic analysis to uncover mechanisms of insect resistance. Objective 3. In 2024, insecticide applications affected aphid and beneficial insect populations in the field. Field level aphid counts were recorded across nine sampling timepoints, with corresponding insect samples currently in cold storage. These samples are being processed and will provide greater resolution to support the field observations. Preliminary findings suggest that certain insecticides reduce cannabis aphid infestations while remaining compatible with beneficial insect releases. Although azadirachtin treatments (AzaGuard) appeared to increase overall yield, the increase was not statistically significant compared to the untreated control. Hemp flower samples have been submitted for cannabinoid profiling to evaluate whether pest pressure influences cannabinoid content, or if cannabinoid levels contribute to pest resistance. These trials are scheduled to be repeated in the summer of 2025. ?Objective 4. To foster engagement and promote hemp research, findings from these experiments have been shared at both national and regional Entomological Society of America meetings, as well as the Cannabis Research Conference. To broaden outreach to stakeholders, the Colorado State University Hemp Entomology website (https://www.csuhempentomology.com) was developed to serve as a central repository for research updates and extension materials.
Publications
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