Abstract
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a bast-fiber crop well-known for the great potential to produce sustainable fibers. Nevertheless, hemp fiber quality is a complex trait, and little is known about the phenotypic variability and heritability of fiber quality traits in hemp. The aim of this study is to gain insights into the variability in fiber quality within the hemp germplasm and to estimate the genetic components, environmental components, and genotype-by-environment (G×E) interactions on fiber quality traits in hemp. To investigate these parameters, a panel of 123 hemp accessions was phenotyped for 28 traits relevant to fiber quality at three locations in Europe, corresponding to climates of northern, central, and southern Europe. In general, hemp cultivated in northern latitudes showed a larger plant vigor while earlier flowering was characteristic of plants cultivated in southern latitudes. Extensive variability between accessions was observed for all traits. Most cell wall components (contents of monosaccharides derived from cellulose and hemicellulose; and lignin content), bast fiber content, and flowering traits revealed large genetic components with low G×E interactions and high broad-sense heritability values, making these traits suitable to maximize the genetic gains of fiber quality. In contrast, contents of pectin-related monosaccharides, most agronomic traits, and several fiber traits (fineness and decortication efficiency) showed low genetic components with large G×E interactions affecting the rankings across locations. These results suggest that pectin, agronomic traits, and fiber traits are unsuitable targets in breeding programs of hemp, as their large G×E interactions might lead to unexpected phenotypes in untested locations. Furthermore, all environmental effects on the 28 traits were statistically significant, suggesting a strong adaptive behavior of fiber quality in hemp to specific environments. The high variability in fiber quality observed in the hemp panel, the broad range in heritability, and adaptability among all traits prescribe positive prospects for the development of new hemp cultivars of excellent fiber quality.
Highlights
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a well-known bast-fiber crop with evident phenotypic diversity in plant morphology between genotypes
A panel of 123 hemp accessions was used to study the variability in hemp fiber quality and to enlighten key components of this variability
Accessions IWRNZ-902 and WU-111 exhibited several of these phenotypes and have a considerably higher quality fiber compared to many other accessions. These accessions indicate valuable germplasm to include in breeding programs, aiming to improve hemp fiber quality
Summary
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a well-known bast-fiber crop with evident phenotypic diversity in plant morphology between genotypes. A range of flowers of the opposite sex determined by the genetics can occur in dioecious hemp, and the ratio of female-to-male flowers in monoecious plants is highly variable (Faux et al, 2013; Faux et al, 2014; Faux et al, 2016). A range of studies revealed that sex determination of hemp is strongly sensitive to external factors, such as accumulation of Cu++, Zn++, and Pb++ ions or hormonal treatment (Chailakhyan and Khryanin, 1978; Freeman et al, 1980; Soldatova and Khryanin, 2010; Galoch, 2015; Faux et al, 2016). The sexual variation in hemp is expected to be influenced by genetic and environmental components
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
