This is the second consecutive year where hemp grew and successfully produced yield at the North Peace Applied Research Station. Biomass (P=0.8217) and yield (P=0.4195) were the same across all varieties. Canda and Joey varieties seemed to produce less yield but more biomass, whereas CFX-1 seemed to be more yielding than fibre producing. Macronutrients were not significant across varieties except Calcium (P=0.0454). There was more calcium content in the X59 variety compared to CRS-1 were less Ca was found. This is our last year in researching if hemp could be an alternative for crop rotation. In Alberta hemp can produce between 750 to 890 lb acre-1 of average seed yield and average fibre production from dual varieties is 2009 to 4018 lb acre-1. In terms of seed yield varieties close to this range are CFX-1 and X59 and in terms of fibre none of the varieties grown are close to the aforementioned range. Thus hemp would be a difficult plant to grow especially for fibre production in this area as varieties have struggled for three years to even get off the ground. Hope is standing for new varieties able to withstand the weather conditions here in the North Peace.
The 2021 growing season was the third attempt to successfully grow hemp varieties at the NPARA farm. In the growing seasons of 2019 and 2020 not a single seedling converted into a mature stand. In this year, there were more emergent plants per square foot from the CFX-1 variety compared to the Joey variety which had less (P≤0.0001). Grandi was one of the most vigourous (P=0.0003) varieties with the greatest number of standing individuals (P≤0.0001) whereas the X-59 hemp variety was the least both in vigour and number of standing individuals per square foot. Along with Grandi, other vigourous varieties were CFX-1, Katani and CRS-1. The least vigourous varieties, on the other hand, were Joey and Canda, aside from X-59. The hemp variety with the highest moisture content was Canda while lowest moisture content was found in the CRS-1 variety. The most productive hemp variety was CFX-1, whereas the least productive was Joey (P=0.0003). Under the right conditions, the CFX-1 hemp variety could be considered apt to be grown as a rotational crop. On a similar note, hemp varieties such as Katani and Grandi could also yield high as they showed to be as productive as CFX-1. Hemp varieties such as Joey or Canda may not be the best choices as yield is below par the aforementioned. It is ambitioned that next year we can grow hemp varieties and compile results for a better approach in yield differences among them.
