Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
West Australian researchers are developing a genetic breeding program to make hemp a more viable and lucrative option for producers around the country.
Hemp has long been tipped to become a billion-dollar industry because of its many uses and growing international demand, but it is also considered risky to grow and tightly regulated.
Hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant that contains low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical associated with psychoactive properties in marijuana.
It is legal to grow hemp in Australia under a licence, but the product may not be used for consumption.
Nannup hemp grower Glenn Ossy-Orley is in his third growing season and is the chair of Industrial Hemp Western Australia Association, known as iHempWA.
To his frustration, his plants' level of THC has been increasing, meaning his hectare of herb may be unusable.
"My THC is steadily rising and has been rising for the last three years," Mr Ossy-Orley said.
"So if I go above 0.35 per cent this year which all indicators show, that means I don't have a seed crop for next year because it will be too high.
"I am the only seed grower in the state at the moment that is giving that seed to other growers with licences."
THC levels in some hemp varieties are inconsistent and can change depending on stresses on the plant including weather and growing conditions.
Researchers work to stabilise THC levels in crop
Researchers from Murdoch University are working across WA's South West and Christmas Island to develop a breed of hemp with consistently low levels of THC, to make it a more attractive and safe option to produce across different climates.
PhD researcher Luca de Prato said the project could help the whole hemp industry thrive.
"It is difficult to invest money and have a good return when the product is not stable," he said.
In a research and development field in Nannup, there are more than 70 hemp plants that have all been sown, watered and fertilised differently.
As a result, the plants have grown with markedly different features, from their stems to their leaves, and this will inform the genetic breeding program.
"We will do phenotype selection, so select the best individual plants and then we cross them over," Mr de Prato said.
"From that point, we can actually produce a stable variety that will have a low level of THC that is below the legal limit so that won't create a problem for the growers."
Hemp useful for medicinal use even without THC
Dr Dominic Reynolds from ChemCentre WA said early research was showing "great promise" that hemp could be used by the medicinal cannabis industry, which would reduce the need for expensive security on site.
"The product that the hemp industry is growing with low THC has huge potential to be used in the medicinal side," he said.
"The number of different chemicals in hemp or cannabis is quite large, but THC or the actual drug which is reduced in hemp, they still have the other components that are of medicinal value."
Dr Reynolds said there was a lot more research needed to study each chemical compound.
"In cannabis there are hundreds of chemical compounds, so we need to look at each of them individually, it's quite a complex scenario," he said.
Hemp production in WA is expanding from niche farms to large-scale fields under irrigation.
Australian hemp growers and a consumer body are currently lobbying the Government to overturn the restrictions on hemp consumption.
Mr Ossy-Orley said he hoped he would be able to expand his 3-hectare field of cannabis grown in a commercial potato crop in Manjimup next year.
"If the seed falls below 0.35 per cent we should obtain 4-5 tonne of seed off it, that would be enough seed for 200 hectares next year," he said.
Hemp can be processed into environmental friendly textiles, paper, building material, plastics and biofuels.
Mr Ossy-Orley said there was growing demand for the many manufacturing and industrial uses for the plant domestically and overseas.
But without a processing facility in WA, high-value products like hemp concrete have to be imported.
"I have two decorticators in my shed, but they are only small," he said.
"To have a big decorticating plant situated in the south west would encourage growers if they knew they could sell their plant to a factory."
Mr Ossy-Orley said in the short term there needed to be a reduction in red tape and a uniform standard on THC limits nationally.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: West Australian Researchers Hope To Stop High THC Levels Returning To Hemp Crops
Author: Laura Gartry
Contact: ABC News
Photo Credit: Laura Gartry
Website: ABC News
Hemp has long been tipped to become a billion-dollar industry because of its many uses and growing international demand, but it is also considered risky to grow and tightly regulated.
Hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant that contains low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical associated with psychoactive properties in marijuana.
It is legal to grow hemp in Australia under a licence, but the product may not be used for consumption.
Nannup hemp grower Glenn Ossy-Orley is in his third growing season and is the chair of Industrial Hemp Western Australia Association, known as iHempWA.
To his frustration, his plants' level of THC has been increasing, meaning his hectare of herb may be unusable.
"My THC is steadily rising and has been rising for the last three years," Mr Ossy-Orley said.
"So if I go above 0.35 per cent this year which all indicators show, that means I don't have a seed crop for next year because it will be too high.
"I am the only seed grower in the state at the moment that is giving that seed to other growers with licences."
THC levels in some hemp varieties are inconsistent and can change depending on stresses on the plant including weather and growing conditions.
Researchers work to stabilise THC levels in crop
Researchers from Murdoch University are working across WA's South West and Christmas Island to develop a breed of hemp with consistently low levels of THC, to make it a more attractive and safe option to produce across different climates.
PhD researcher Luca de Prato said the project could help the whole hemp industry thrive.
"It is difficult to invest money and have a good return when the product is not stable," he said.
In a research and development field in Nannup, there are more than 70 hemp plants that have all been sown, watered and fertilised differently.
As a result, the plants have grown with markedly different features, from their stems to their leaves, and this will inform the genetic breeding program.
"We will do phenotype selection, so select the best individual plants and then we cross them over," Mr de Prato said.
"From that point, we can actually produce a stable variety that will have a low level of THC that is below the legal limit so that won't create a problem for the growers."
Hemp useful for medicinal use even without THC
Dr Dominic Reynolds from ChemCentre WA said early research was showing "great promise" that hemp could be used by the medicinal cannabis industry, which would reduce the need for expensive security on site.
"The product that the hemp industry is growing with low THC has huge potential to be used in the medicinal side," he said.
"The number of different chemicals in hemp or cannabis is quite large, but THC or the actual drug which is reduced in hemp, they still have the other components that are of medicinal value."
Dr Reynolds said there was a lot more research needed to study each chemical compound.
"In cannabis there are hundreds of chemical compounds, so we need to look at each of them individually, it's quite a complex scenario," he said.
Hemp production in WA is expanding from niche farms to large-scale fields under irrigation.
Australian hemp growers and a consumer body are currently lobbying the Government to overturn the restrictions on hemp consumption.
Mr Ossy-Orley said he hoped he would be able to expand his 3-hectare field of cannabis grown in a commercial potato crop in Manjimup next year.
"If the seed falls below 0.35 per cent we should obtain 4-5 tonne of seed off it, that would be enough seed for 200 hectares next year," he said.
Hemp can be processed into environmental friendly textiles, paper, building material, plastics and biofuels.
Mr Ossy-Orley said there was growing demand for the many manufacturing and industrial uses for the plant domestically and overseas.
But without a processing facility in WA, high-value products like hemp concrete have to be imported.
"I have two decorticators in my shed, but they are only small," he said.
"To have a big decorticating plant situated in the south west would encourage growers if they knew they could sell their plant to a factory."
Mr Ossy-Orley said in the short term there needed to be a reduction in red tape and a uniform standard on THC limits nationally.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: West Australian Researchers Hope To Stop High THC Levels Returning To Hemp Crops
Author: Laura Gartry
Contact: ABC News
Photo Credit: Laura Gartry
Website: ABC News
