2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Industrial hemp is extremely versatile and can be incorporated into many goods such as textiles, paper products, food, molded plastics, construction, and livestock feed. Hemp has been shown to even increase yields of other crops within its rotation, and exhibits a wide range of environmental tolerances. In 2014, it became legal for farmers in Tennessee to cultivate hemp for industrial purposes. The profitability of the crop is increasing interest among farmers. However, it is important that the most efficient means of hemp production are made available to the growers. Currently, many seeds ordered from available sources can come in unfavorable forms. Seed size, maturity, completeness, and viability can vary significantly between seed lots. Our objectives were to develop protocol that will remove the faulty seeds before germination. A seed cleaner at varying air velocity settings and float tests of varying durations were used to evaluate separation of the viable seeds from the less mature or damaged ones. Hemp seeds were divided equally, by weight (2 lbs), into 6 treatments, each replicated three times. We used three different calibrations for the seed cleaner and three float test durations and compared germination and emergence with uncleaned seeds. Half of the seeds were germinated using the paper towel method and the other half were germinated in field soil simulating the typical farmer’s germination process. Among all groups, both the seeds refused by the separator and those accepted were subjected to testing. Minimal differences were observed among the different air velocity settings of the seed cleaner. Seed separation was more pronounced in the float tests. Germination of the resulting seeds demonstrate the differences between methods and provide useful information for hemp growers.