Developing Production Guidelines for Baby Leaf Hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) as an Edible Salad Green: Cultivar, Sowing Density and Seed Size

Renyuan Mi, Alan G. Taylor, Lawrence B. Smart and Neil S. Mattson
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Renyuan Mi: Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
Alan G. Taylor: Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell AgriTech, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA
Lawrence B. Smart: Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell AgriTech, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA
Neil S. Mattson: Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Scientific literature is lacking on cultural practices of baby leaf hemp production even though hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) is a widely grown crop for fiber and grain. The objective of this study was to develop a standard protocol to optimize yield and quality of baby leaf hemp production: cultivar screening, sowing density and seed size. Fresh weight (FW) and germination percentage was significantly affected by cultivars. Cultivars ‘Picolo’ and ‘X-59’ had a greater FW mainly due to greater germination percentage. In the sowing density experiment, ‘Ferimon’ and ‘Katani’ were evaluated at five seed densities, 0.65, 1.2, 1.75, 2.3 and 2.85 seeds·cm −2 (42 to 182 seeds per cell). The FW and FW per plant (FWPP) had a positive quadratic response and negative quadratic response, respectively. Regarding seed size, cultivars ‘Anka,’ ‘Ferimon’ and ‘Picolo’ had the largest percentage of seeds, 26% to 30%, within the medium width size between 3.18 and 3.37 mm. Using the largest sized seeds (3.77 mm) increased FW by 34%, 26% and 23% as compared to non-sorted ‘Anka’, ‘Ferimon’ and ‘Picolo’ seeds, respectively. Overall, a greater understanding of cultivar selection, sowing density and seed-size distribution can promote greater yield and quality of baby leaf hemp as an edible salad green.

Keywords: baby leaf hemp; cultivar selection; sowing density; seed-size distribution (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: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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