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8 April 2024 Impact of soil-residual herbicides on industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) phytotoxicity and biomass yield in west Texas
Atinderpal Singh, Rupinder Saini, Arjun Kafle, Manpreet Singh, Sukhbir Singh
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Industrial hemp is a multipurpose crop cultivated for fiber, seed, human food, and animal feed. Hemp legalization in Texas creates a considerable potential to increase its acreage in semi-arid conditions; however, knowledge is limited on growing hemp optimally in Texas. Best management practices, including weed control, require evaluation for profitable hemp production. As little is known about the herbicide tolerance of hemp, field studies were conducted to test several soil-residual herbicides with different modes of action for phytotoxicity to two hemp cultivars, ‘Yuma’ and ‘Jinma’. The experimental units were randomized three times in a blocked split-plot design with hemp cultivars in the main plots and soil-residual herbicides in the subplots. Ethalfluralin, the mixture of sulfentrazone and S-metolachlor, prometryn, and S-metolachlor, resulted in 60% to 90% and 73% to 100% weed control as compared to the nontreated control in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The highest hemp germination, stand count, and plant height were observed with ethalfluralin and S-metolachlor herbicides; however, no significant differences were observed for hemp germination and plant height compared to the nontreated control. S-metolachlor, ethalfluralin, fomesafen, and prometryn resulted in similar hemp biomass compared to the nontreated control. Overall, the results indicate that hemp is tolerant to ethalfluralin, prometryn, and S-metolachlor, and these soil-residual herbicides were effective for weed control in hemp. The mixture of bicyclopyrone plus S-metolachlor, metribuzin plus S-metolachlor, and mesotrione should be avoided, as they caused significant injury to hemp plants. Future research is needed to test the efficacy of different preemergence and postemergence herbicides that can be used in industrial hemp grown under different environments, making sure the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of the hemp is below the legal content restrictions.

Nomenclature: Bicyclopyrone; ethalfluralin; fomesafen; mesotrione; metribuzin; prometryn; S-metolachlor; sulfentrazone; industrial hemp, Cannabis sativa L.

Atinderpal Singh, Rupinder Saini, Arjun Kafle, Manpreet Singh, and Sukhbir Singh "Impact of soil-residual herbicides on industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) phytotoxicity and biomass yield in west Texas," Weed Technology 38(1), 1-7, (8 April 2024). https://doi.org/10.1017/wet.2024.13
Received: 28 September 2023; Accepted: 15 February 2024; Published: 8 April 2024
KEYWORDS
Alternative crop
semi-arid
soil
tolerance
weeds
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