The Effects of Irrigation, Topping, and Interrow Spacing on the Yield and Quality of Hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) Fibers in Temperate Climatic Conditions

Ivana Bajić, Borivoj Pejić (), Vladimir Sikora, Mirjana Kostić, Aleksandra Ivanovska, Biljana Pejić and Bojan Vojnov
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Ivana Bajić: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Borivoj Pejić: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Vladimir Sikora: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Mirjana Kostić: Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandra Ivanovska: Innovation Center of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Biljana Pejić: Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Bojan Vojnov: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: The study was aimed at determining the most suitable irrigation schedule program for hemp grown for fibers by using evaporation from the free water surface (E o ), measured by a Class A pan and related crop plant coefficient (K c ). The experiment, carried out in Vojvodina, a northern part of the Republic of Serbia, included three irrigation regimes: I 1 , I 2 , and I 3 corresponding, respectively, to daily evaporation from an open water surface (E o ), two interrow spacings: RS 1 (12.5 cm) and RS 2 (25 cm), and topped (T) and not topped (NT) variants. The K c values used for the calculation of daily evapotranspiration (ET d ) were 0.42 for April and May and 1.00 (I 1 ), 0.80 (I 2 ), and 0.60 (I 3 ) from June to the harvest. In addition, the nonirrigated (I o ) control variant was also included in the trial. The dioecious fiber hemp variety Marina was used for the trials. Irrigation was carried out by a drip irrigation system and was scheduled based on the water budget method. It started when readily available water (RAW) in the soil layer of 0.4 m was completely depleted by the plants. In the first year of the study, irrigation did not influence the yield of hemp fiber, but in the second one, the best result was achieved for the irrigation variant I 1 . Interrow spacing did not have a statistically significant effect on both the hemp fiber yield and the quality. The topping of plants significantly decreased the yield of hemp, and it is not recommended when the hemp is cultivated for fibers. The quality of the hemp fibers was not influenced by irrigation, inter-row spacing, and topping. The rate of hemp evapotranspiration was in an interval of 312 mm (ET a ) to 520 mm (ET m ). The highest values of IWUE and ETWUE in both years and the bark yield in the first year were detected for the I 3 irrigation variant, which suggested that the crop plant coefficient (K c ) of 0.6 could be recommended for the correction of E o values in the calculation of the daily evapotranspiration of hemp (ET d ) from June to August. The yield response factor (K y ) with values of 0.22 and 0.60 for the total growing season reveals that, in rainy years, hemp for fiber production could be grown without irrigation in the temperate climate of the Vojvodina region. However, such years are rare. Without doubt, irrigation of fiber hemp is recommended in the mentioned region in order to obtain high yields of good quality product.

Keywords: irrigation; fiber quality; hemp; row spacing; topping; yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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