Screening hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) biomass and chemical composition as influenced by seed rate and genotype

Abstract

Nowadays the industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) becomes an attractive plant due to its multiple uses. In 2016 the cultivated area of this plant in Lithuania was close to 2.5 thousand hectares. The main interest areas in this plant are valuable seeds, fibre and hurds, cannbinoides and essential oils, and, of course, energy potential. The investigation of hemp biomass and chemical composition was carried out at the Upytė Experimental Station of LRCAF in 2014. The data showed that both factors had significant influence on hemp fresh and totally dry above-ground biomass. Notwithstanding that the amount of C, N, C/N, S, K, Na, crude ash and the calorific value were evaluated, the tested factors did not show any significant influence on the tested parameters (chemical composition)