RESEARCH 2019

May 15, 2019-Planting

Image of a no till drill used for planting hemp in a field that was recently tilled A no-till drill (Great Plains) was used to plant hemp into a firm seedbed.
This image shows the cone planter used to plant small amounts of hemp seed. The cone planter is used for small plot research.
Image of volunteer hemp plants that germinated earlier in the spring. Hemp was direct seeded on May 15th but volunteer hemp plants germinated much earlier in the spring. These were seeds dropped by the 2018 hemp crop.
Image of a green cannabis aphid under a microscope. Cannabis aphids were collected from volunteer hemp plants in early spring.
Image of an aphid mummy that was attacked by a parasitic wasp. This aphid mummy was caused by the attack of a parasitic wasp on the aphid.
Image of a black and orange parasitic wasp under the microscope. This is the parasitic wasp that emerged from the aphid mummy.

May 22, 2019–Heavy rain and compaction delayed or prevented germination in some plots.

Image of hemp seedlings and areas where seedlings did not emerge due to rainfall and compaction Hemp seeds are sensitive to excess rain and soil compaction. This often leads to areas where there are no seedlings or blank areas within the rows.
Image of a blank areas within the row with no hemp seedlings growing. Areas of higher compaction or where water pools result in low germination.
Image of healthy hemp seedlings within a row. These seedlings were able to germinate and emerge despite some unfavorable conditions successfully. They have developed their first pair of true leaves at this stage.
Image of a planted hemp field with some seedlings emerging. This is the hemp field 7 days after planting with a seed drill.

July 2, 2019-Some of the hemp research plots had to be replanted on June 15th. The weed pressure resulted in a lot of manual removal of weeds

Image of a hemp research plot that was replanted. Excess weeds can be observed within the plot. Excessive weed pressure can result in poor plant establishment.
Image of hemp plots with more weed species than hemp plants. Weed control is especially challenging without registered herbicides for use in hemp fields. Mechanical cultivation may be an option depending on plant row spacing. These plots had excessive weed pressure and resulted in poor stand establishment in plots within the poorly drained portion of the field.

August 13, 2019

Image of three different varieties in 5 foot wide plots. They each vary in height. The height goes from tallest to shortest from left to right. Hemp plots were successful in the well-drained portions of the field. Three different varieties can be observed. The leftmost plot is an Italian variety, the central plot is a Chinese variety, and the rightmost plot is a Polish variety.

September 9, 2019

Image of a female hemp plant on the right and male hemp plot on the right. This hemp variety is dioecious, Female plants are developing seeds at this stage while male plants have shed most of their pollen and are dying off.
Image of a hemp plants that have grown over 6 feet tall. These hemp plants have grown over 6 feet tall and will continue to drop leaves as they mature.
Image of a single hemp variety that is beginning to yellow as male plants die off. These plots are ready to be harvested.
Image of three different varieties in 5 foot wide plots. They each vary in height. The height goes from tallest to shortest from left to right. Hemp plots were successful in the well-drained portions of the field. Three different varieties can be observed. The leftmost plot is an Italian variety, the central plot is a Chinese variety, and the rightmost plot is a Polish variety.