Click here for a printer-friendly version of this document.
Authors
George Stack, Jacob Toth, Craig Carlson, Rebecca Wilk, Jamie Crawford, Ali Cala, Glenn Philippe, Jocelyn Rose, Don Viands, Chris Smart, Larry Smart
The most important consideration when buying seeds or plants is uniform and stable low THC content (below 0.3% total potential THC). Cannabis can have two active THCA synthase genes (marijuana-type), two active CBDA synthase genes (hemp-type), or can be an intermediate with one active copy of each. Many available hemp seed lots are NOT stabilized for low THC production and contain some plants with active THCA synthase genes. Our breeding program is in the process of selecting novel and uniform hemp-type cultivars for NY with stable low THC production.
Locations and production methods
We tested 50 hemp cultivars for cannabinoids at the end of the 2018 growing season. The plants were in three different trials: CBD production trial (Geneva and Ithaca), grain/fiber/dual purpose trial (Geneva, Ithaca, Freeville, Chazy, Riverhead), and the pollination study (9 sites in Geneva).
The graph below shows one of our analyses from the 2018 CBD hemp trial. The plants we tested separated into three marker groups which correlated with CBD to THC ratio. High CBD (blue), equal CBD:THC (green), and high THC (red).
Cultivars/lines in our 2018 CBD variety trials
| Cultivar/Line | Company source | Breeder/Provider |
| UltraRich CBD#1 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#2 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#3 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#4 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#5 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#6 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| UltraRich CBD#7 | Ultra Rich CBD, Las Vegas, NV | Hector Abrica |
| AC/DC | Winterfox Farms, Eagle Point, OR | Edgar Winters |
| Otto II* | Winterfox Farms, Eagle Point, OR | Edgar Winters |
| Wild Horse* | Winterfox Farms, Eagle Point, OR | Edgar Winters |
| A2-R4* | Winterfox Farms, Eagle Point, OR | Edgar Winters |
| RNF | JDMI Limited, Talent, OR | Eric Cerecedes |
| Cherry | JDMI Limited, Talent, OR | Eric Cerecedes |
| Futura 75 | AssoCanapa via Schiavi Seeds | FNPC, LeMans, France |
| Felina 32 | AssoCanapa via Schiavi Seeds | FNPC, LeMans, France |
Pollination distance trial results
(For background, please see our handout, “Quantifying industrial hemp pollen movement.”)
We planted a ~3 acre field of the monoecious cultivar ‘Anka’ as a pollen source, surrounded by microplots with female plants of three CBD cultivars (see * above) at 0 m (control), ~200 m (N,S,E,W), ~400-500 m (N,S,W), 1,500 m (E), and 2600 m (W). Male plants and male parts on female plants were removed.
1. Plots further from the pollen source had less seeds. Results could vary across NY due to weather and topography.
2. Plants with more seeds tended to have lower total potential CBD content and lower total cannabinoid content (not shown).
3. Plants farther from the pollen source tended to have higher CBD content. The low number of plants in the 1500 m plot due to theft confounds the analysis.