Abstract
Shallow arable soils (<35 cm depth) are classified as marginal for common agriculture but may still support biomass production from industrial crops like fiber hemp, which has a low indirect land-use change risk. However, little is known about hemp’s performance under such conditions. Therefore, this study investigated the biomass yield and quality of fiber hemp and other crops on a shallow (<35 cm), stony (>15% stone content), and clay-rich (>50% clay content) soil at 800 m above sea level in Southwest Germany (2018–2021). A randomized field trial tested different row widths and nitrogen (N) fertilization levels to assess low-input options for the given type of marginal land. Across years and row widths, hemp achieved average grain dry matter (DM) yields of 1.3 Mg/ha at a fertilization rate of 40 kg N/ha and 1.6 Mg/ha at 120 kg N/ha (with on average 30.9 ± 1.4% crude fat content across treatments). The average stem DM yields accounted for 5.11 Mg/ha (40 kg N/ha) and 6.08 Mg/ha (120 kg N/ha), respectively. Reduced N fertilization (40 kg/ha) lowered DM yields by up to 16% compared to full fertilization (120 kg/ha), but the effect was not significant and weaker at wider row spacing (45 cm). Additionally, maize reached acceptable DM yields (>17 Mg/ha). These findings suggest that shallow soils classified as marginal require reassessment, as they may offer viable opportunities for sustainable industrial hemp cultivation and contribute to a bio-based economy.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Hemp grain dry matter yield averaged 1.3 Mg/ha at 40 kg N/ha.
- Taxon
- hemp
Cannabis sativa subsp. sativae0 - Treatment
- 40 kg N/hae0
- Outcome
- grain dry matter (DM) yieldse0
- Value
- 1.3 Mg/hae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“hemp achieved average grain dry matter (DM) yields of 1.3 Mg/ha at a fertilization rate of 40 kg N/ha”
Claim · model-written summary
Hemp grain dry matter yield averaged 1.6 Mg/ha at 120 kg N/ha.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Treatment
- 120 kg N/hae0
- Outcome
- grain dry matter (DM) yieldse1
- Value
- 1.6 Mg/hae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“1.6 Mg/ha at 120 kg N/ha”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
e1“grain dry matter (DM) yields”
Claim · model-written summary
Hemp grain had 30.9 ± 1.4% crude fat content on average across treatments.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Outcome
- crude fat contente0
- Value
- 30.9 ± 1.4%e0
- Qualifier
- across treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“30.9 ± 1.4% crude fat content across treatments”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
Claim · model-written summary
Hemp stem dry matter yield averaged 5.11 Mg/ha at 40 kg N/ha.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Treatment
- 40 kg N/hae0
- Outcome
- stem DM yieldse0
- Value
- 5.11 Mg/hae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“stem DM yields accounted for 5.11 Mg/ha (40 kg N/ha)”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
Claim · model-written summary
Hemp stem dry matter yield averaged 6.08 Mg/ha at 120 kg N/ha.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Treatment
- 120 kg N/hae0
- Outcome
- stem DM yieldse0
- Value
- 6.08 Mg/hae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“stem DM yields accounted for 5.11 Mg/ha (40 kg N/ha) and 6.08 Mg/ha (120 kg N/ha)”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced nitrogen fertilization lowered hemp dry matter yields by up to 16% relative to full fertilization, without a significant effect and with a weaker effect at 45 cm row spacing.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Treatment
- Reduced N fertilization (40 kg/ha)e0
- Outcome
- DM yieldse0
- Direction
- lowerede0
- Value
- up to 16%e0
- Qualifier
- weaker at wider row spacing (45 cm)e0
- Comparator
- full fertilization (120 kg/ha)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced N fertilization (40 kg/ha) lowered DM yields by up to 16% compared to full fertilization (120 kg/ha), but the effect was not significant and weaker at wider row spacing (45 cm)”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize achieved dry matter yields above 17 Mg/ha on the trial soil.
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“maize reached acceptable DM yields (>17 Mg/ha)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest reassessing shallow marginal soils as potentially viable for sustainable industrial hemp cultivation.
- Taxon
- HempCannabis sativa subsp. sativat0
- Outcome
- viable opportunities for sustainable industrial hemp cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“shallow soils classified as marginal require reassessment, as they may offer viable opportunities for sustainable industrial hemp cultivation”
t0“Fiber Hemp”
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See all 14 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.