Non Technical Summary
Industrial hemp is a multifaceted crop that is long associated with humans. Recently, hemp has generated a significant market in the USA mainly in fiber, seed grain, and phytochemicals. Out of them, grain-type hemp has expanded the consumer demand in terms of many products such as processed food (e.g., salad dressing, non-dairy milk, bread, nut butter, beverage, etc.), de-hulled raw seeds, nutritional supplements (e.g., gamma-linolenic acid supplements, protein powder), cosmeceuticals, and animal feed (e.g., pressed seed cakes for mammalian livestock).Hemp germplasm has special needs compared to the other crops because it should meet legal criteria, diverse end-utility, and high production parameters. The main requirement of the grain type hemp industry is the development of high-yielding cultivars to increase the competitiveness of hemp seeds compared to the other oil seeds. While the focus of the fiber type is to increase the quality and quantity of fiber production in the plants the focus of grain-type hemp is to increase seed size, nutrient content and shattering issues.The proposed research project aims to identify elite industrial hemp cultivars through phenotyping and multi-omics approach and develop new breeds through less time-consuming speed breeding methods for various end usages (CBD, fiber, or seed grain) of industrial hemp. The objectives of this project are to: 1) select and phenotype/genotype the best hemp cultivars for fiber and seed grain, 2) study the genetics of inheritance for fiber and seed production, 3) train undergraduates and researchers in phenotyping and breeding strategies, and 4) communicate research outcomes to breeders, farmers, and industries. With this project, we expect to: advance the basic science of industrial hemp through building capacity through research, training of professional workforce as well as students from underrepresented groups; strengthening PVAMU's relationship as an 1890 institution with the Texas hemp industry as well as the USDA Cotton Structure and Quality Research Unit, New Orleans in several areas of mutual interest; enhance and strengthen the quality of teaching, research and extension services for the fiber and seed grain hemp industry in the higher education system and all stakeholders in Texas; and attract, inspire and retain engaged and motivated researchers and students to join the agricultural workforce in Texas.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
202	0430	1060	25%
102	1730	1040	50%
205	0210	1081	25%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 202 - Plant Genetic Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0430 - Climate; 0210 - Water resources; 1730 - Hemp;

Field Of Science
1040 - Molecular biology; 1060 - Biology (whole systems); 1081 - Breeding;

Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of the project is to develop new industrial hemp breeds for fiber and seed grain production in Texas. We will focus on a two-tiered approach to hemp breeding, involving the characterization of filial (F1) hemp cultivars through phenomic, genomic, and metabolomics approaches. We will conduct parental selection for genetic studies, bi-parental crossing, and genetic analysis using North Carolina II and diallel analyses to study the genetics of inheritance for fiber and grain quality. We will also emphasize registering new plant varieties and seed certification arising from this breeding program.

Project Methods
Germplasm acquisition and cultivation in greenhouse and field plotsCollect phenomic, genomic and metabolomic datasetsSelecting elite genotypes as breeding candidates for fiber and seed grain productionConduct speed breeding experiments and evaluate stable genotypesField cultivation of new breeds to collect agronomic dataDissemination and outreach