As interest in industrial hemp increases, a West Virginia University professor hopes to help farmers and growers better understand the most conducive environments for a successful harvest.
Michael Gutensohn, assistant professor of horticulture in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, will be studying what environmental factors lead to an accumulation of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in the plant.
Because THC is a psychoactive compound, the level allowed in harvested and sold hemp is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That means growing industrial hemp, which can be used for fiber, oil and pharmaceuticals, can be a financial gamble for growers.
“There is enough evidence out there that under certain circumstances even these industrial hemp varieties that should be low in THC accumulate higher amounts than the legal limit. Plants going ‘hot’ — so over the legal THC limit — is a huge problem for the growers. They can’t sell their crop anymore, so either they have to destroy it or they can wait and hope that it will drop again. Of course, there’s no guarantee,” Gutensohn said.
Hemp was once classified as an illicit drug making it impossible to obtain federal funding for research, and that contributes to a lack of knowledge about this crop.
“It’s actually very surprising how little is known about it. Even simple things that we all know about from other crop systems, we don’t know when we talk about industrial hemp,” he said. “There wasn’t much research done before, but now we’ve received funding for such an evolving and emerging crop system and research field.”
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, awarded him a $200,000 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant to study industrial hemp for two years.
Gutensohn is partnering with two former WVU faculty members — Nik Kovinich, assistant professor of systems biology at York University, and Nianqiang Wu, professor of chemical engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Although environment is known to play a role, evidence has always been purely circumstantial and never scientifically analyzed.
“Growers that grow hemp have the same questions, issues and problems of someone that is growing corn. The research and knowledge that is there is the key difference,” he said.
The research will include hemp grown in heat, drought, varying light intensity, too much and too little fertilizer — what all crops in a field would be exposed to. In analyzing the environment’s effects on the production of THC and other cannabinoids, the researchers will also look at biochemical and genetic components.
Once the effects of different environments on THC are analyzed in addition to the crop’s biochemistry, he and his team will attempt to genetically modify the plant.
“We’re going to look at metabolites and consider the underlying genetics. Whenever you see such a response in a plant, it normally means there’s genetic regulation happening. To ultimately solve this problem, we need to have a better understanding of the genetic regulation,” he explained. “Keep in mind this is basic research. We want to understand what leads to this accumulation of certain metabolites. We’ll try to eliminate a gene that is involved in the formation of THC and see if that solves the problem,” he said.
The long-term goal of his research is to develop a new crop system, one that can better weather environmental challenges so as not to accumulate THC. Gutensohn said he’d also like to develop a crop that can produce more of the other non-psychoactive cannabinoids found in hemp, making the crop more profitable for the smaller farms in West Virginia. However, the short-term goal is to help growers with their crops.
“There are farmers and growers out there that are growing or are eager to grow it now, but they have all sorts of questions. That’s the motivation,” Gutensohn said. “We need to do some research so we can answer some of the questions that the farmers and growers have.”
Kwa kuwa maslahi ya hemp ya viwanda yanaongezeka, profesa wa Chuo Kikuu cha West Virginia anatarajia kuwasaidia wakulima na wakulima kuelewa vizuri mazingira yanayofaa zaidi kwa mavuno ya mafanikio. Michael Gutensohn, profesa msaidizi wa kilimo cha bustani katika Chuo cha Davis cha Kilimo, Rasilimali Asili na Ubunifu, atajifunza ni nini sababu za mazingira zinazoongoza kwa mkusanyiko wa tetrahydrocannabinol, au THC, katika mmea. Kwa sababu THC ni kiungo cha kisaikolojia, kiwango kinachoruhusiwa katika hemp iliyokusanywa na kuuzwa kinadhibitiwa na Idara ya Kilimo ya Marekani. Kwa hivyo, kukuza hemp ya viwanda, ambayo inaweza kutumika kwa nyuzi, mafuta na dawa, inaweza kuwa kamari ya kifedha kwa wakulima. Kuna ushahidi wa kutosha huko nje kwamba chini ya hali fulani hata aina hizi za hemp za viwanda ambazo zinapaswa kuwa na THC ya chini hukusanya kiasi cha juu kuliko kikomo cha kisheria. Mimea kwenda <unk> moto <unk> hivyo juu ya kisheria THC kikomo <unk> ni tatizo kubwa kwa wakulima. Hawawezi kuuza mazao yao tena, kwa hiyo ama wanapaswa kuiharibu au wanaweza kusubiri na kutumaini kwamba itashuka tena. Bila shaka, hakuna dhamana, "Gutensohn alisema. Hemp ilikuwa mara moja classified kama dawa haramu kufanya ni vigumu kupata fedha za shirikisho kwa ajili ya utafiti, na kwamba inachangia ukosefu wa maarifa kuhusu mazao haya. <unk>Ni kweli kushangaza sana jinsi kidogo inajulikana kuhusu hilo. Hata mambo rahisi ambayo sisi sote tunajua kuhusu kutoka kwa mifumo mingine ya mazao, hatujui tunapozungumza juu ya hemp ya viwanda, "alisema. "Hakuna utafiti mwingi uliofanywa hapo awali, lakini sasa tumepokea ufadhili kwa mfumo wa mazao unaobadilika na unaojitokeza na uwanja wa utafiti. "" Taasisi ya Kitaifa ya Chakula na Kilimo, mpango kupitia Idara ya Kilimo ya Marekani, ilimpa ruzuku ya $ 200,000 ya Utafiti wa Kilimo na Chakula ili kusoma hemp ya viwanda kwa miaka miwili." Gutensohn ni mshirika na wawili wa zamani WVU walimu wanachama - Nik Kowinski, profesa msaidizi wa mifumo ya biolojia katika Chuo Kikuu cha York, na Nian Kwang Wu, profesa wa uhandisi wa kemikali katika Chuo Kikuu cha Massachusetts Amherst. Ingawa mazingira yanajulikana kuwa na fungu, uthibitisho sikuzote umekuwa wa hali ya chini tu na haujahesabiwa kamwe kisayansi. <unk>Wakulima ambao hukua hemp wana maswali sawa, masuala na matatizo ya mtu ambaye anakua mahindi. Utafiti na maarifa ambayo ni huko ni tofauti muhimu, "alisema. Utafiti huo utajumuisha hemp iliyokuzwa katika joto, ukame, mwangaza tofauti, mbolea nyingi sana na kidogo sana - kile mazao yote katika uwanja yangefunuliwa. Kwa kuzingatia athari za mazingira kwenye uzalishaji wa THC na cannabinoids nyingine, watafiti pia wataangalia vipengele vya kibiolojia na maumbile. Baada ya athari za mazingira tofauti juu ya THC kuchambuliwa pamoja na biochemistry ya mazao, yeye na timu yake watajaribu kubadilisha mmea kwa maumbile. <unk>Tutaangalia metabolites na kuzingatia genetics ya msingi. Wakati wowote unaona majibu kama hayo katika mmea, kwa kawaida inamaanisha kuna udhibiti wa maumbile unaotokea. Ili hatimaye kutatua tatizo hili, tunahitaji kuwa na uelewa bora wa udhibiti wa maumbile, <unk> alielezea. <unk>Kumbuka hii ni utafiti wa msingi. Tunataka kuelewa ni nini kinachosababisha mkusanyiko huu wa metabolites fulani. "Tutajaribu kuondoa jeni inayohusika katika kuundwa kwa THC na kuona ikiwa hilo linatatua tatizo", alisema. Lengo la muda mrefu la utafiti wake ni kuendeleza mfumo mpya wa mazao, moja ambayo inaweza bora hali ya hewa changamoto za mazingira ili si kukusanya THC. Guttenhorn alisema pia angependa kuendeleza mazao ambayo yanaweza kuzalisha zaidi ya cannabinoids nyingine zisizo za kisaikolojia zinazopatikana katika hemp, na kufanya mazao kuwa na faida zaidi kwa mashamba madogo huko West Virginia. Hata hivyo, lengo la muda mfupi ni kuwasaidia wakulima katika mazao yao. "Wanawake na wakulima wengi wanajua jinsi ya kukuza, lakini wana wasiwasi juu ya ""kuzalisha"" kwa sababu ya hali yao." Hiyo ni motisha, "Gutensohn alisema. "Tunahitaji kufanya utafiti ili tuweze kujibu baadhi ya maswali ambayo wakulima na wakulima wana."""