Students train to enter hemp industry

A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant has opened the door for University of Maryland Eastern Shore students to receive the training they will need to successfully compete for jobs in the hemp industry. Funded by a $100,000 1890 Center for Excellence in Student Success and Workforce Development grant, the project provides training in hemp production and marketing for students at UMES and Central State University.

“Two of the students in last year’s inaugural cohort at UMES were hired by hemp companies on the Eastern Shore for summer employment on account of the training they received through the project,” said Dr. Sadanand Dhekney, professor of plant breeding and biotechnology in UMES’ Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences. “We will continue to train students in various aspects of hemp cultivation and expect to see a positive outcome in them obtaining hemp-related jobs in the future.”

UMES’ Industrial Hemp Program, of which Dhekney is the coordinator, said the program “involves faculty expertise in hemp agronomy, breeding and biotechnology, pest management, processing and marketing.” In addition to an indoor facility for the study of hemp propagation and indoor cultivation, there was also a 1-acre field trial established in 2021 for research.

Hemp is harvested after 120 days and is transferred indoors for post-harvest processing, Dhekney said. Students on the project collect flower samples that are sent to a commercial lab for THC and CBD analysis. They also dry, trim, buck and strip the hemp to convert the flower into value-added products.

At the close of the experience, UMES and Central State University interns completed a one-week reciprocal visit. Additionally, students presented their research at professional conferences, such as the Cannabis Science Conference.

Carissa is shown in where students experience aspects of growing hemp, including weed management, identifying male plants for roguing and canopy management operations such as pinching, thinning shoots and leaves, and shoot training. They are also versed in identifying plant diseases and insect pests, and physiological disorders in hemp at different growth stages

In the lab, Michael Foland, an agricultural technician, trains undergraduate researchers in clonal propagation of hemp using cuttings under soil and in aeroponic conditions. They work with feminized seed production where different concentrations of silver thiosulfate are sprayed on female hemp plants to produce male flower production and seeding through self-pollination. Another technique the researchers are involved in is using plant tissue culture for production of clean plants.