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INVESTIGATOR: Jessup, R.; Trostle, CA, .; Dasilva, JO, .

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS 77843-0001

COMPLIANT HEMP ACCELERATED IMPROVEMENT NETWORK (CHAIN)

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Despite global industrial hemp markets exceeding USD $5 billion annually, expansion throughout the U.S. has been severely limited. The majority of current industrial hemp cultivars were developed in Europe or northern latitudes and have strong photoperiod responses that induce reproductive growth as days shorten. This leads to premature flowering at southerly U.S. latitudes (37°N and lower) and crops with little to no value. The 60+ year U.S. ban on C. sativa has until recently further prevented any formal improvement of the crop, and the newly formed NPGS hemp germplasm collection currently includes only a handful of accessions--none of which are fiber or grain types. The goal of the Compliant Hemp Accelerated Improvement Network (CHAIN) is to publicly release and evaluate a collection of novel accessions produced by Texas A&M University's Hemp Conversion Program (HCP) alongside other candidate materials in order to identify germplasm well adapted to the southern U.S. The project establishes a north-south transect of three locations from 26.2°N to 33.5°N. Twelve fiber and six grain cultivars plus selected HCP accessions will be tested at four planting dates per location. The state extension hemp specialist will develop a team of extension colleagues across southern states to provide information on management of hemp photoperiod responses. The diverse, public HCP germplasm collection incorporates the majority of genetic variation across all Cannabis spp. (C. sativa, C. indica, C. ruderalis) and will benefit farmers with high yielding cultivars, refiners with reliable feedstocks, customers with quality end-products, and society with beneficial ecosystem services.

OBJECTIVES: Objectives1. Southern U.S. Public Germplasm Collection--Develop and distribute a significant array of southern adapted hemp accessions from the HCP program including fiber, grain, cannabinoid, and multi-use ideotypes across universities, extension services, and private organizations.2. Germplasm Testing--Evaluate the initiation of reproductive growth in fiber and grain industrial hemp cultivars from commercial sources and the companion southern U.S. breeding program at three coordinated Texas A&M AgriLife test sites which will develop into a self-supporting fee-based testing program after two years:A. A range of southern latitudes (26.2 to 33.5ºN--a north-south transect of ~600 miles.B. Test four planting dates (28-day intervals) from early spring to early summer.C. Determine THC concentrations at designated pre-harvest conditions to further eliminate unsuitable cultivars.3. Extension--Make ongoing results quickly available online after data collection and summary for immediate Extension reporting to stakeholders. A preliminary guide for cultivar responses will be prepared with other southern state hemp colleagues, followed by a scientific review of prior southern testing results and the photoperiod response impact.4. Type-V Cannabinoid-free hemp-Develop novel Type-V (nil cannabinoid) hemp via traditional breeding (and E-beam mutagenesis as a contingency), followed by entry into the HCP to generate THC-compliant, southern adapted Type-V accessions.