HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L.) HAS BEEN GROWN AS A CROP FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS FOR ITS ESSENTIAL OIL, SEED, AND FIBER. THE RENAISSANCE IN DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL HEMP CULTIVATION REQUIRES INTENSIFICATION OF CROP IMPROVEMENT FOR VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS, INCLUDING END-PRODUCT TRAITS, AGRONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, AND BROAD STRESS TOLERANCES. CURRENTLY, NO PUBLIC HEMP GERMPLASM COLLECTION EXISTS IN THE US. WE PROPOSE TO ACQUIRE, CHARACTERIZE, AND EVALUATE RELEVANT GERMPLASM ACROSS FOUR DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS IN WA, OR, AND CA AND TO PROVIDE GERMPLASM AND ASSOCIATED DATA TO THE NATIONAL PLANT GERMPLASM SYSTEM. CO-PD STANSELL IS THE CURATOR OF THE HEMP COLLECTION AND THIS COLLABORATION WILL ENSURE OUR DATA CONFORMS TO THE GRIN-GLOBAL HEMP DATA STANDARDS UNDER DEVELOPMENT. HEMP REFERS TO ANY CANNABIS GERMPLASM WITH A CONCENTRATION OF D9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC) < 0.3% DRY WEIGHT AND ALL EVALUATED MATERIALS WILL ADHERE TO THAT STANDARD. IN ADDITION TO EVALUATION OF GERMPLASM ITSELF, WE WILL DEVELOP PRE-BREEDING GERMPLASM POOLS THAT REPRESENT BROAD-BASED POPULATIONS FACILITATING RECOMBINATION AMONG THE INDIVIDUAL ACCESSIONS, RAPIDLY INTRODUCING WIDE PHENOTYPIC DIVERSITY FOR DOWNSTREAM BREEDER SELECTION. THESE POOLS, OR SYNTHETIC POPULATIONS, ONE FOR EACH OF THE THREE MAIN MARKET CLASSES, WILL BE DEPOSITED IN THE NPGS SYSTEM AND MADE FREELY AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL ALSO ASSESS VARIOUS METHODS TO STORE POLLEN TO FACILITATE HYBRIDIZATION AND SEED PRODUCTION OF MANY HEMP ACCESSIONS AND POPULATIONS AT ONCE. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES PRIORITY AREA B. INDUSTRIAL HEMP:1. GERMPLASM COLLECTION FOR INCLUSION IN THE USDA HEMP GERMPLASM REPOSITORY.

University Of California, Davis

Investigators