Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Multistate characterization of agronomic performance of hemp cultivars, including sterility of
new triploid cultivars
DURATION OF PROJECT
Start Date: 05/01/21 End Date: 4/30/22
Duration: 12 months
BUDGET TOTALS
Total FFAR Ask: $78,576
Total Cash Match: $52,826
Total In-Kind Match: $25,750 (value of seed donations)
Total Match: $78,576
Total Project Budget: $157,152
PROJECT COLLABORATORS
Check all institutions that will participate in the proposed work
?Cornell ?NC State ?University of Kentucky
List all institutional PIs participating in the proposed project. If other consortium members are
participating, please list them as well.
Dr. David Suchoff – NC State
Dr. Hsuan Chen – NC State
Dr. Lawrence Smart – Cornell
Dr. Jocelyn Rose - Cornell
Dr. Bob Pearce – University of Kentucky
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PROJECT ABSTRACT/SUMMARY
Include a project abstract/summary of 200 words or less suitable for dissemination to the public.
Increased field production of grain and fiber hemp results in significant amounts of winddispersed
pollen. Pollination of floral hemp grown for cannabinoid extraction can result in
drastic yield loss and unmarketable quality due to the presence of seeds. Consequently, farmers
growing floral hemp require tools to minimize the threat of pollination. The proposed project
seeks to characterize newly developed triploid (3n) hemp cultivars for sterility and agronomic
traits over two growing seasons. Field trials will be conducted in North Carolina, New York, and
Kentucky. Each location will have a pollen-challenged and pollen-free site. Three triploid hemp
cultivars and their corresponding diploid (2n) equivalent (n=6 cultivars) from Oregon CBD will
be used in these field trials. Cornell will test three additional triploid cultivars that do not have a
direct diploid equivalent. Data generated in these trials will include time of flowering and
harvest, seed production, floral biomass, and cannabinoid concentrations. The results generated
from these trials will allow for a better understanding of the use of triploid cultivars in hemp
production and lead to improved production recommendations for farmers across the nation.
PROJECT CONTENT
PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The executive summary should be an overview of the proposed project that is informative to
others working in the same or related fields and understandable to a technical reader. It should
be a brief, high-level description of the full scope of work, including project objectives,
anticipated outcomes, potential impact, budget, collaborators, and timeline. (1 page limit).
As new genetics and processing capabilities become available, the agricultural landscape is
poised to contain diverse hemp production systems including floral, grain, and fiber. The latter
two types of hemp produce significant amounts of wind-dispersed pollen that poses a serious risk
to farmers producing floral hemp for cannabinoid extraction. Optimum floral biomass and
cannabinoid concentrations are obtained by producing only female plants in the absence of
males/pollen. For example, Meir and Mediavilla (1998) demonstrated that unpollinated female
plants produced approximately 2.5-fold more extractable oils than pollinated plants. Also, the
presence of seeds is unacceptable in smokable flower, so even a small amount of pollination and
seed set will cause smokable floral hemp to be unmarketable. Consequently, floral hemp farmers
will require tools to avoid inadvertent pollination and help ensure maximum productivity and
profitability.
Induction of polyploidy (>two sets of chromosomes per cell) is both a naturally occurring
phenomenon and a technique often used by plant breeders. Plants containing more than two sets
of chromosomes (>2n) often show enhanced traits such as improved yield and/or quality (Sattler
et al., 2015). The production of triploid (3n) cultivars by crossing a tetraploid (4n) parent with a
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diploid (2n) parent is a strategy used to create sterile and seedless crops, some of which are still
capable of producing a seedless fruit, such as watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) or banana
(Musa). Hemp is diploid (2n = 20) and the development of tetraploid (4n) and triploid lines has
been documented (Kurtz et al., 2020); however, the performance and sterility of triploid hemp
under field conditions with and without pollen pressure has not been investigated. As such, the
objectives of the proposed research are to: 1) determine seed production of three triploid
cultivars in comparison with their diploid equivalent (n=6 cultivars) grown in environments with
significant pollen pressure; 2) quantify the effects of pollination on floral biomass and
cannabinoid production and; 3) characterize agronomic performance, floral biomass yield, and
cannabinoid content from those same diploid-triploid pairs of hemp cultivars in a pollen-free
environment. This work has the potential to allow farmers to produce floral hemp without
concern for inadvertent pollination and consequent degradation of final product. This issue has
already led to numerous lawsuits (“Oregon industrial hemp litigation”, 2018), which could be
avoided through the use of triploid hemp cultivars.
Collaborative field trials will be initiated May 2021 in North Carolina (Suchoff and Chen) and
Kentucky (Pearce) and in June 2021 in New York (Smart). Three floral hemp diploid-triploid
pairs will be provided by Oregon CBD for investigation: ‘Lifter’ (2n), ‘Lifter Seedless’ (3n),
‘White CBG’ (2n), ‘White CBG Seedless’ (3n), ‘Suver Haze’ (2n), and ‘Suver Haze Seedless’
(3n). All six cultivars will be planted in a pollen-free and pollen-challenged environment in
replicated small plot trials within each state in methods typical of the growers in each region.
Pollen challenge will be provided by grain and fiber hemp planted as a border around the trial or
in an immediately adjacent trial. Data collected will include periodic height measurements, time
of flower initiation, whole plant wet weight, dry floral biomass yield, and cannabinoid content.
When present, total seed count and weight per plant will be determined. Floral samples
(including seed if present) will be collected at 21 days after initiation of flowering, at the time of
harvest (full maturity), and from a subset of whole plant dried, stripped floral biomass. Plant
samples will be dried and milled at each site using a common protocol and subsamples will be
sent to Cornell for cannabinoid analysis in the lab of Joss Rose. Results will be analyzed within
six months after harvest of each trial.
Data collected will help determine if triploid cultivars remain sterile in the presence of pollen
challenge and are an effective means to mitigate inadvertent pollination of floral hemp. We will
also characterize the relative agronomic performance of triploid cultivars compared with their
diploid equivalents a pollen-free environment. Outcomes generated from this trial will include
farmer recommendations for the use of triploid hemp to be integrated within each state’s
respective Extension program as well as refereed scientific journal publication(s).
Cornell will also be evaluating performance of autoflower varieties direct seeded in three
different spacings and photoperiod sensitive varieties direct seeded in one spacing density. Those
small plot trials will be harvested with an 8 foot stripper header. Results will be shared with
other participants collaborating with Oregon State University with partial funding from USDA
ARS.
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Funds are requested to cover field labor needs, field trial and sampling supplies, cannabinoid
analysis at Cornell, travel costs to field sites and Consortium meetings, and publication fees.
References:
Kurtz, L. E., M. H. Brand, & J. D. Lubell-Brand. 2020. Production of tetraploid and triploid
hemp. Hortscience 55:1703-1707.
Meier, C. & V. Mediavilla. 1998. Factors influencing the yield and the quality of hemp
(Cannabis sativa L.) essential oil. J. Intl. Hemp Assoc. 5:16-20
Oregon industrial hemp litigation: Won’t you be my neighbor? (2018, September 8). Retrieved
from https://harrisbricken.com/cannalawblog/oregon-industrial-hemp-litigation-wont-you-bemy-
neighbor/
Sattler, M. C., C. R. Carvalho, & W. R. Clarindo. 2015. The polyploidy and its key role in plant
breeding. Planta 243:281-296
PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
List the objectives by month or year for the duration of the project along with specific
measurable actions that will be taken to achieve the corresponding goal.
Objective 1: Determine seed production of three triploid cultivars in comparison with their
diploid equivalent (n=6 cultivars) grown in environments with significant pollen pressure .
Goal 1: Assess triploid cultivars as a means to reduce the risk of inadvertent pollination and seed
production.
Measurable Actions: Floral samples will be collected at harvest and any seed produced will be
counted and weighed.
Objective 2: Quantify the effects of pollination on floral biomass and cannabinoid production.
Goal 2: Improve our understanding of the effects of seed production on floral hemp yield and
quality.
Measurable Actions: Floral biomass yields will be determined and cannabinoid content analyzed
with or without seeds present.
Objective 3: Characterize agronomic performance, floral biomass yield, and cannabinoid
content from those same diploid-triploid pairs of hemp cultivars in a pollen-free environment.
Goal 3: Determine if triploid cultivars have agronomic benefits over diploid relatives in pollenfree
environments.
Measurable Actions: Agronomic performance, floral biomass yields and cannabinoid content
will be analyzed.
APPROACH
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A detailed account of the procedures/methodology used to achieve the goals and supporting
objectives.
Six Oregon CBD cultivars will be started from seed at each institution in early or mid-May for
an early or mid-June transplant date. The pollen-challenged site will be located adjacent to each
institution’s grain and/or fiber variety trials. The pollen-free site will be incorporated within each
institution’s floral hemp variety trials. Both the pollen-free and pollen-challenged sites will be
arranged in a randomized complete block with four blocks in a design typical of regional
production practices with five- or 10-plant plots of each cultivar randomly assigned within each
block. In-field data collection will include periodic height measurements and disease surveys,
time of flower initiation, time of harvest, and final plant dimensions. At 21 days after initiation
of flowering and again on the day of harvest, the top 20 cm of the main floral stem from three
plants per plot will be collected and pooled, dried in the dark at temperatures below 38°C), and
milled to an appropriate size for cannabinoid analysis via HPLC or GC-MS and shipped in
scintillation vials. The wet weight of five whole plants will be determined for each plot. One
plant per plot typical of the performance in that plot will be dried, floral and leaf material
stripped to determine total biomass production on an individual plant basis, and if present, any
seed cleaned from that biomass with a Clipper seed cleaner or equivalent. That seed will be
counted and weighed.
Results will be presented at the FFAR Hemp Consortium annual meeting, then at annual national
scientific meetings (such as ASA-CSSA-SSSA and/or ASHS), as well as state-wide or county
extension meetings and field days. Extension materials will be created for each state to guide
farmers on the use of triploid hemp cultivars. Finally, at least one manuscript will be written and
submitted to an appropriate refereed journal.
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES OR OUTPUTS
Describe the potential impacts of this project on the hemp industry, including any potential
commercialization of results.
Results from this project will help elucidate the efficacy of triploid cultivars as means to
maintain seedless production even in the presence of hemp pollen. If effective, this will allow
floral hemp farmers to produce a crop without concern of inadvertent pollination from
neighboring grain or fiber hemp. Furthermore, the relative performance of triploid cultivars
compared with their diploid equivalents will be determined by this project may help floral hemp
producers maximize profitability.
BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
The amounts requested for each budget line item should be documented and justified
NC State:
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Salaries and Wages $13,602
Summer hourly - 35% FTE ($10,000/year) + 9.05% Fringe x 2 year
Technician – 5% FTE + 30.73 Fringe + 3% annual raise x 2 years
Supplies: $2,000
Field supplies including, but not limited to, fertilizer, pesticides, stakes, bags.
Shipping: $200
Shipping of samples to Cornell for analysis.
Travel: $1,000
Gas required for fleet vehicles for travel to field sites.
Publications: $600
F&A $1,934
FFAR limited rate of 10%
TOTAL $19,336
Oregon CBD in kind match: Seeds $4,500
Cornell University:
Salaries and wages: $56,973
Smart – Salary recovery + Fringe (64%) x 2 years
Smart - Technician – 25% FTE + Fringe (64%) x 2 years
Rose – Technician – 10% FTE + Fringe (64%) x 2 year
Supplies: $9,000
Field trial and sample collection supplies, cannabinoid standards, filters, vials sufficient for
sample analysis from 6 varieties x 8 plots x 3 sampling times x 3 sites = 432 samples x $8 per
sample = $3,456 for sample analysis x 2 years = $7,000
Travel: $4,000
Travel to Raleigh for FFAR Annual Meeting
Indirect costs: $7,774
TOTAL $77,747
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Oregon CBD in kind match: Seeds $18,250
University of Kentucky:
Salary & Wages: $14,355
Pearce - 0.50% effort salary + fringe x 2 years
Pearce Technician – 2.08% effort salary + fringe x 2years
Student Hourly Labor – 20.83% effort salary + fringe x 2 years
Supplies (plus 0.9% mandatory recycling fee): $2,825
Field supplies including, but not limited to, fertilizer, pesticides, stakes, bags.
Travel: $400
Local travel to plot locations:
F&A $1,756
FFAR limited rate of 10%
TOTAL $19,316
Oregon CBD in kind match: Seeds $3,000
TIMELINE
Provide a brief timeline for project activities including anticipated outcomes or outputs.
May 2021: Seeds started in greenhouse
June 2021: Hardened transplants planted in field locations.
July-August 2021: Height measurements and disease surveys
September – December 2021: Harvest data collected, samples prepped and shipped for
cannabinoid analysis.
January - March 2022: Cannabinoid analysis conducted and data analyzed.
April 2022: Results will be shared with Oregon CBD and FFAR consortium and synthesized into
scientific publication(s) and appropriate Extension materials.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 11/1/21 → 10/31/23 |
Funding
- North Carolina State University: $19,482.00
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