Hemp4Circularity publishes initial findings
13/08/2024
Growers learnt that alternating tuber crops like chicory or potato, harvested in wet conditions, can affect soil compaction and negatively affect hemp development.
Wet weather conditions also delayed the harvest in all fields in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in 2023. Because of this, the plants were larger, making harvesting difficult.
Although the literature suggests the best time to harvest textile hemp is during the flowering stage, this is not always possible due to adverse weather conditions or limited availability of machinery, so the partners assessed various harvesting times.
Results show harvesting earlier than the 50% flowering stage leads to significant yield losses in biomass and bast fibre yield, but not for long fibre yield. Harvesting in a later stage does not show significant yield differences, but the quality of the fibres appears to be coarser.
Overall, the optimal combination of both fibre yield and fibre quality is only achieved when harvesting at 50% flowering stage, said organisers. However, the trial will be repeated to clarify the findings.
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