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This study aims to analyze important factors affecting hemp retting, such as hemp harvest date, weather conditions during retting, type of soil under hemp mulch, and their interactions under agricultural field conditions.

The dynamics of the biomass dry matter and the characteristics of the bast tissues show that the kinetics of retting follow similar evolutions whatever the type of soil for the two harvest date scenarios. The kinetics are strongly linked to the air temperature, expressed in number of days normalized at 15°C, and to the cumulative radiation, and to a lesser extent with the cumulative rain and dew. . Analysis of the rods by rapid and non-destructive methods revealed a strong relationship between colorimetric and infrared characteristics. This study paves the way to the development of operational tools for the monitoring of retting and the management of fiber quality by farmers and industrials.

This work was carried out thanks to a collaboration between FARE laboratory and FRD technical research center as part of the Rightlab project coordinated by La Chanvrière with the support of ADEME, the Grand Est region and Troyes Champagne Metropole.

Read: Chabbert B*, Philippe F, Thiébeau P, Alavoine G, Gaudard F, Pernes M, Day A, Kurek B, Recous S*. How the interplay between harvest time and climatic conditions drives the dynamics of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) field retting. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023, 204, 117294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.117294

Contacts: brigitte.chabbert@inrae.fr, sylvie.recous@inrae.fr