Hemp cultivation’s sustainable assets: neither pesticides or fertilizers required

Sustainable hemp cultivation: with sporadic irrigation and no use of pesticides or fertilizers, hemp takes care of itself

Irrigation and seasonal rainfall in hemp cultivation

Hemp requires low levels of water during its life cycle: it can survive using 3 megaliters of irrigation water per hectare. The variability in water requirements is due to the different climates in which hemp is grown: in areas with lower rainfall than approx 650 millimeters per year, irrigation is necessary.
Italy totaled 730 millimeters of rainfall in 2021, meaning that hemp crops would not need irrigation. Although 2021 was a drought year, the rainfall would still be sufficient to grow hemp without added water, except during germination and initial growth.

Growing Hemp without Fertilizers

Hemp increases in size rapidly, elongating from seven to ten centimeters in a day. Like most crops, hemp can benefit from beneficial nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and fungi in the soil to ensure a healthy yield. Hemp requires less stimulants to grow and it may be sufficient to start with a soil test, adding deficient nutrients to the soil before planting. Fertilizers can be expensive, accounting for nearly one-fifth of farm cash costs in the United States. Fertilizers account for 36 percent of a farmer’s operating costs for corn and 35 percent for wheat, representing a large economic cost.

The benefits of growing hemp

If we were ever to depend on hemp for bioplastic production, its intensive production would not be a problem because of the speed of growth. Hemp cultivation is less risky for marginalized farmers, less expensive due to the minimal inputs it requires, and guarantees quick returns due to its fast growth rates. Italy has the ideal climate for hemp cultivation, and experiments conducted in southern regions demonstrate the success of this crop.

Editorial team