** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRODUCTS AFRI FARM BILL PRIORITY AREA. THE GOAL OF THIS WORK IS TO INFORM SUSTAINABLE CULTIVATION PRACTICES OF HEMP USING BIOSTIMULANTS TO MAXIMIZE PLANT GROWTH WHILE MINIMIZING FERTILIZER INPUTS AND CROP LOSS DUE TO ROOT PATHOGENS. HEMP GROWERS CURRENTLY HAVE LITTLE DATA BASED FERTILIZER RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES. THIS WORK SEEKS TO REDUCE EXCESS FERTILIZER INPUTS BYINCORPORATING BENEFICIAL MICROBES INTO PRODUCTION SYSTEMS THAT ENHANCE NUTRIENT UPTAKE. IN OTHER CROPS, THE BENEFICIAL MICROBES BEING USED IN THIS PROJECT, KNOWN AS BIOSTIMULANTS, ENHANCE NITROGEN UPTAKE, INCREASE ROOT GROWTH, AND SUPPRESS SOILBORNE PATHOGEN INFECTIONS. HERE WE SEEK TO TEST TWO BIOSTIMULANTS IN HEMP: BACILLUS AMYLOLIQUEFACIENS AND TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM. BOTH ARE COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE TO GROWERS CURRENTLY. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT WILL TEST THE ABILITYOF THE BIOSTIMULANTS TO ENHANCE NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN HEMP BY GROWING HEMP IN NO, LOW, AND STANDARD FERTILIZER TREATMENTS WITH AND WITHOUT A BIOSTIMULANT. PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT WILL BE QUANTIFIED AS A RESPONSE TO THE TREATMENTS. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE WILL TEST WHETHER THE SAME BIOSTIMULANTS CAN EFFECTIVELY CONTROL TWO COMMON FUNGAL DISEASES OF HEMP: DAMPING-OFF AND POWDERY MILDEW. BOTH BIOSTIMULANTS ARE ALSO BIOFUNGICIDES AND HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO MANAGE THESE DISEASES IN OTHER CROPS. FINALLY, WE WILL STUDY THE PLANT'S RESPONSE TO TREATMENT WITH A BIOSTIMULANT BY ANALYZING WHICH GENES ARE TURNED ON IN THE PLANT. THIS WILL HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THESE PRODUCTS WORK, WHICH IS CRUCIAL BOTH TO DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS BUT ALSO TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO MANAGE PLANT DISEASES. THIS PROPOSED WORK CAN BE USED BY HEMP GROWERS IMMEDIATELY AFTER DISSEMINATION, BUT IT ALSO HAS BROADER IMPLICATIONS AS WELL. RESULTS FROM THESE EXPERIMENTS CAN INFORM FERTILIZATION AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN OTHER SIMILAR CROPS. IF BIOSTIMULANTS CAN LEAD TO REDUCTIONS IN FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS, LESS NITRATE FERTILIZER POLLUTION WILL ACCUMULATE IN SOILS AND WATERWAYS. THIS WILL IMPROVE ECOSYSTEMS WHILE ALSO MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY IN GROWER OPERATIONS.