UC to present hemp research at field day on Sept. 22

Hemp grows in breeding plots at UC Davis in late August of 2019. Charlie Brummer and Daniel Pap of UC Davis will discuss hemp breeding efforts and crop ideotypes for improved CBD, fiber and grain at the industrial hemp field day on Sept. 22

UC Cooperative Extension will host its first industrial hemp field day at UC Davis on Thursday, Sept. 22. The meeting will be held at the UC Davis Agronomy Field Headquarters on Hutchison Drive in Davis.

Industrial hemp is defined as Cannabis sativa L. and required not to exceed 0.3% THC, the intoxicating substance in marijuana.

University of California research on industrial hemp – which can be grown for oil, seed and fiber – began after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the production of hemp as an agricultural commodity and removed it from the list of federally controlled substances.

At the field day, UC researchers will share research data and participants will explore field plots and learn about the agricultural practices commonly used for this crop.

“There is an abundance of potential end uses with hemp, and this is still very much a new crop with many research needs,” said Kadie Britt, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside and member of the management team for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Hemp Agroecology Network. “Growers are working to find their niche in this new and developing market.

UC Cooperative Extension specialists Bob Hutmacher and Dan Putnam will discuss the irrigation needs of industrial hemp, shown growing at West Side Research and Extension Center in Fresno County.

Hemp is used as fiber for fabrics and textiles and its seed for oil and food. The cannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol, or CBD, have medicinal and recreational uses.

Registration for the free event will start at 7:30 a.m. From 8 a.m. to noon, attendees will hear from speakers representing the University of California, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Beneficial Insectary and Marrone Bio Innovations.

Topics will include hemp agronomy, weed pests, pathogen pests, insect pests, biocontrol use, pesticide use, pesticide resistance avoidance, and California hemp laws and regulations.

All interested people are encouraged to attend. Continuing education credits will be offered for California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Certified Crop Advisers, and Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Plan.

The agenda and more information about the field day are at https://ucanr.edu/sites/hemp/Events. 

Registration is preferred, but not required: http://tinyurl.com/fielddayhemp.