Hemp growers face many challenges, none more important than having a good pest management plan that includes disease prevention and control.
Currently, once a hemp plant becomes infected with a disease, there is no cure. Complete removal and destruction of the plant is the only option. Therefore, preventative measures are critical to maintaining a healthy crop.
There are many industrial hemp diseases that have been reported in other states (e.g., Kentucky, North Carolina, etc.) producing this crop and there are still many unidentified diseases (e.g., hemp viruses) too. The industrial hemp pilot program has been established to help understand the crop’s production in Florida, as well as to identify common pest and disease problems throughout the state. So far, a total of 5 diseases have been positively identified on industrial hemp in Florida, with at least 11 observed and requiring confirmation. It is likely that this number will increase as production increases in the state, so it will be important to determine which diseases are most predominant.
More information on diseases can be found at the Hemp Diseases of Florida website.
Read the full article at http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu
