New and Emerging Crops Program

Projects

Below is a list of recipients and project awards for the 2018 Grant Cycle:

• NCSU Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources: The Silviculture of Populus for Veneer. Hybrid poplar clones suitable for veneer have been identified as a result of research conducted in previously funded Bioenergy Research Initiative projects. The goals of this New and Emerging Crops project are to study the feasibility and development of Populus plantations for veneer production and develop Silviculture recommendations and enterprise budgets for such plantations.

• NCSU Department of Horticultural Science: Optimal Hemp Planting and Harvest Dates. This project will help identify the ideal planting and harvest periods for optimizing floral yield of industrial hemp grown in outdoor production systems. The much-needed production information generated from this study will be disseminated through reports, scientific and extension publications, and through field days where growers will have the opportunity to gain hands-on learning experience.

• North Carolina Biotechnology Center: Feasibility of Purple Carrot Production. A potential marketing opportunity exists for food ingredient crops to be grown and used for natural food colorants. This project will address the feasibility of North Carolina producers to grow a high-yielding purple carrot variety that is of favorable extraction quality to the natural food colorant industry. This will be accomplished by identifying top performing varieties, evaluating the best soil types and growing locations for production, determining the optimal planting and harvest periods, and evaluating colorant quality of top performing varieties.

• NCSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences: Nitrogen and Potassium Rates for Industrial Hemp Production. North Carolina growers have an immediate need for research-based fertility recommendations for industrial hemp grown for CBD. The goals of this project are to develop nitrogen and potassium fertility recommendations to maximize yield, establish plant tissue nitrogen and potassium sufficiency ranges, and evaluate if nitrogen, potassium and plant maturity impact floral tissue chemistry.

• North Carolina Biotechnology Center: Hemp Fungal Disease Management. North Carolina producers growing industrial hemp for CBD have experienced significant crop losses due to disease. Disease management using cultural practices has been ineffective and there are currently limited fungicide control options. This project will evaluate the impacts of several biological, organic and conventional fungicides on disease control, yield, and CBD oil quality. Results from this study will be used to support an IR-4 study to obtain fungicide registrations for use in this new and emerging crop.