The country is still without signed legislation regulating industrial hemp, but that's not stopping Costa Rica's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) from starting hemp trials.
The trials, which represent the first authorized planting of hemp in Costa Rica, aim to check how hemp varieties will adapt to climate, rainfall, length of daylight hours, soil conditions and susceptibility to pests and diseases.
A total of 12 hemp varieties will be planted in greenhouses at the Los Diamantes experimental station at Guápiles in the northeast part of the country, and at the Enrique Jiménez Núñez experimental station in Cañas, 200 kilometers to the west. The two sites are in different micro-climates – humid tropics and dry tropics. Countries at tropical latitudes have struggled to find hemp varieties that will flourish in hot, humid conditions where the daylight hours are long.
“This will shorten the learning process, and let us transfer the results in an agile way to those interested in developing the crop,” the ministry said in a statement announcing the trials.
Hemp cultivars to be tested include ones for fiber, seed, and flower production. A full report of results is expected in six months, by which time the Costa Rican Congress is also expected to have passed legislation authorizing the production of hemp for food and industrial uses.
Read the full article at https://hemptoday.net