Recipient Organization
RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
3 RUTGERS PLZA
NEW BRUNSWICK,NJ 08901-8559
Performing Department
Plant Biology
Non Technical Summary
Up until the early 1900s industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was a major agronomic crop in the U.S., but was banned from production for at least seven decades. The 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills reintroduced it as a regulated legal crop, and there is now an urgent interest to have sound recommendations and best management practices that will allow for successful production, harvesting and postharvest handling of this crop variants (grain, seed oil, fiber and buds or flowers), as well as the different approaches to drying and industrial processing for raw and processed hemp products, including seeds, fiber, flowers and cannabinoids like Cannabidiol (CBD). Participation of agricultural researchers and extension educators in a cooperative multistate project offers opportunities for quickly sharing information and coordinating activities and resources that will maximize impact for the greatest number of agricultural and industrial stakeholders.In 2020, New Jersey' Department of Agriculture began licensing the productions of hemp crops for CBD, fiber and seed. Rutgers received permits to conduct research on hemp production in that first year as well as to conduct analytical chemistry to track the levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD. Field and greenhouse research and demonstration sites were established at two of the NJ Agricultural Experiment Stations in southern and northern parts of the state. In this first year we also compiled a database of scientific and potential grower and processors, to begin dissemination of useful information about hemp production and management. These research and extension activities include identification of best type and quality of plant materials to use, their growth in relation to soil and substrate characteristics, and best management practices for irrigation, fertilization and the identification and control of the many pests and diseases found in greenhouse and field hemp. The supportive analytical studies and assays in our newly-established Rutgers hemp laboratory are evaluating postharvest hemp quality and chemical quality, including compounds including cannabinoids, terpenes, oil and fatty acid profiles. Inherent in these studies is the evaluation of the origin and genetics of the hemp sources used, and how these are modulated by climate and management practices.
Animal Health Component
70%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
70%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
Agronomic practices -Determine effects on grain, fiber, or dual-purpose productivity as functions of * Cultivars - including suitability to growing conditions/regions. This entails evaluating and developing adapted, improved, monoecious cultivars for grain, fiber, dual purpose (grain + fiber), and essential oil production systems across the USA.
* Soil types
ÿ¿ÿ Suitability/adaptability to varied soil types, including disturbed and marginal soils
* Establishment practices
ÿ¿ÿ Conventional tillage vs. no-till establishment
ÿ¿ÿ Planting date ÿ¿ÿ¿ variety interactions
ÿ¿ÿ Planting rates (and depths) appropriate for fiber and seed crops
ÿ¿ÿ Row spacing
* Fertilization practices
ÿ¿ÿ Application rates
ÿ¿ÿ Application timing (especially relative to different production outcomes (grain, fiber, dual purpose (grain + fiber), and essential oil production systems)
* Canopy management
ÿ¿ÿ Utility/timing of topping during growing season to induce multiple tillering
* Water use and demand
ÿ¿ÿ Irrigation ÿ¿ÿ¿ variety interactions
ÿ¿ÿ Evapotranspiration and water demand
ÿ¿ÿ Timing availability effects
* Insect, pathogens, and other pest management.
ÿ¿ÿ Pest and pathogen sensitivity
ÿ¿ÿ Efficacy of seed fungicide and insecticide treatments
ÿ¿ÿ Effects of late-season fungicide applications on grain yield and quality
ÿ¿ÿ Economic thresholds for insect and other pest control
* Weed management
ÿ¿ÿ Pre/post emergence herbicides for weed control
ÿ¿ÿ Herbicide sensitivities
* Harvest and handling practices
ÿ¿ÿ Evaluate efficacy of field desiccation (e.g., using diquat or glyphosate) for grain crops
ÿ¿ÿ Develop best practice protocols for retting both in fiber and dual purpose hemp systems
ÿ¿ÿ Determine engineering needs for harvest, handling and processing
* Suitability for crop rotations
ÿ¿ÿ Evaluate potential for use in rotations or mixtures with other crop
ÿ¿ÿ Measure hemp performance and weed/insect/disease incidence following corn, cotton, soybean, tobacco, forage/pasture/range/fallow
ÿ¿ÿ Determine hempÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿s effects on disease/pest cycles of other crops
Crop quality - Assay plant material from above for corresponding fiber, grain and cannabinoid traits * Stem and stem fiber properties characterized on the macro, micro, and micron scale
* Grain quality, including oil and protein levels and fatty acid and amino acid profiles
* Other potential uses (e.g., as a biofuel feedstock, as chemical adsorbents or as fresh/ensiled forage crops for livestock)
* NIRS equation development for rapid quality assessment
Genetics- Identify genes for advanced traits of interest including * Photoperiodicity
* Yield components - fibers, hurd, oil, protein, etc.
* Pest and pathogen resistance
* Abiotic stress (drought, cold, heat) resistance
* Relatedness of existing hemp varieties and genetic diversity
Project Methods
In our first year when receiving NJ was allowed to move ahead with hemp, Rutgers was also issued processor and handler permits and established a new hemp analytics laboratory in June, 2020 which became operational in August, 2020. The new lab has SOPs for each step in quantification of delta-9, delta-8 and total THC, the major CBDs using an Agilent LC; and for examining the aromatic terpenes and fatty acids from the hemp seed oil we use a Shimadzu GC/MS. For more detailed chemistry beyond what is needed for legal determination of hemp to be hemp, we also have an UPLC/QQQ/MS and additional HPLCs. The lab also features moisture analyzers, grinders, and special drying units and specialized equipment for postharvest and accelerated ageing studies. Below are the specific methods which we will be following for each objective we are studying in both the field and our lab:Objective 1. Agronomic Practices. Floral (CBD, CBG) hemp cultivars, both clonal and seed-propagated, will be field-grown under greenhouse (hydroponics, container substrates) and intensive field production methods (including plastic-mulch covered raised beds) with fertigation (combined drip irrigation and fertilization). Fertilization and irrigation management ("dry" vs "wet" treatments) will be included in these cultivar evaluations. All experimental treatments will be replicated, using the experimental design most suited to each study. Total and flower biomass yields will be assessed, along with mineral nutrient status and cannabinoid content. Other hemp crop performance evaluations (like leaf physiology and plant water status) will be carried out with field and laboratory instrumentation (including tensiometers, pressure bomb, diffusion porometers, specific-ion meters, chlorophyll index and fluorescence meters, etc.), along with field and diagnostic-laboratory assessments of weed, insect and disease incidence.Objective 2. Crop Quality. Cannabinoid and terpene concentrations and profiles will be evaluated in an analytical laboratory (with instrumentation including that includes spectrophotometers, HPLC, GC, etc.) on hemp tissues (flowers, leaves) collected from field and greenhouse-grown hemp cultivars, and evaluated with respect to regulatory limits, and in response to managements practices (irrigation and fertilization), weather patterns and soils/substrates. Other properties and quality traits of interest to be evaluated oil and protein levels and fatty acid and amino acid profiles.Objective 3. Genetics. The origin and genetics of the cultivars evaluated in field and greenhouse studies will be used to help assess general and specific crop yield and quality responses to the imposed environmental conditions, natural biotic and abiotic stresses and imposed management treatments.