A Cornell researcher will lead a weed-management study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture to develop best management practices for weed control in hemp crops.
Lynn Sosnokie, assistant professor in Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science, is collaborating with researchers at several other universities on the $325,000 weed management study for hemp, along with a $2 million research project on electric weed control in perennial fruit crops.
Both projects began this month and will run for three years at multiple universities. The hemp study will include:
- Cornell University.
- Virginia Tech.
- Southern Illinois University.
- North Dakota State University.
- Clemson University.
The hemp research project aims to provide growers with “evidence-based, location-specific recommendations” for weed suppression to help improve yields.
“We’re going to be in different regions, different production environments, different soil types, different rain patterns,” Sosnoskie told the Cornell Chronicle.
“By banding together to do this work, we’ll be able to understand the similarities in our systems and highlight the differences.”
Because of the limited research on hemp, the study will involve “fundamental and wide-ranging work” to determine best management practices weed control, including studying and developing recommendations based on variety selection, planting timing, cultivation, cover crops and other strategies.
Sosnokie said she hopes the research will help fill in more details for growers on weed management beyond the current general recommendations used for the crop.
