Recent progress in monoecious hemp variety for seed, obtained in Romania

Abstract

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a multifunctional crop that can be processed to obtain many different products like food, feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, recyclable and compostable biomaterials, energy, while having a positive effect on the environment. As the world market for industrial hemp seeds and oil is on rise, research has been carried out in the climatic conditions of Central Moldova in order to obtain a new genotype of monoecious hemp in accordance with the requirements of the European market and beyond. Olivia is a new monoecious hemp variety for seed, created at Agricultural Research and Development Station Secuieni Neamț, being homologated in 2020. It was patented in 2021 and is registered in the Official European Catalog of Varieties. It was obtained by repeated hybridization (dioecious form Chi65 - female partner and monoecious form Z59 - male partner), isolation in space and repeated selection. This new variety is characterized by stems with a length of 2.6-3.2 m. The yield is of 9.5-11.0 tha-1 of stems and 1600-2000 kgha-1 of seed.