Italy-grown hemp: yield, composition and cannabinoid content

Following the program of the Italian Administration for the reintroduction of hemp cultivation in Italy, many problems arose concerning the agricultur al aspects, the processing of the raw material (usually hemp roundbales) an d the presence of cannabinoids in the hemp crop, This study was set in orde r to answer some of these questions. In 1998, eight hemp varieties (three d ioecious Italian genotypes and five monoecious French genotypes) were grown in Ferrara province, Italy by the AASM. The hemp was harvested at two diff erent periods. The stems were analysed and dry-mechanically treated at the Centro Tecnico Industriale of IPZS in Roma and the cannabinoid content anal ysis was performed at the ISCI, Bologna. No significant difference was foun d for the biomass production neither between the eight varieties nor betwee n the two different harvesting periods. The dry-mechanical treatment is ver y effective in removing the relatively low-value fractions of the crop (lik e the top sections of the stems). The eight hemp varieties perform differen tly at the dry mechanical separation treatment and give different percentag es of bast, core and dust. Cannabinoids do not accumulate in the dust fract ion thus showing that the dry-mechanical treatment does not increase the co ncentration of harmful substances in by-products. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.