Introduction

To start a grow and see how it goes. We had to start somewhere, and some seeds in the ground on the farm seemed a good place to begin gathering data and seeing for ourselves what the situation was.

What we knew was all stories, and there was no data, now gradually the aim is to create some data long-term for use in future projects. Project 2: Seed to Seedling and Compost Research, produced the eight surviving HN 1-8 plants in this project.

 

Aims and Objectives

This phase began with germination at another site, so the first theory to be tested was; Is transplanting possible?

We aim to document a growth cycle and gather data on the farm from this data we would see; what kind of plant variation exists in common seed found in Eswatini; we will gather some data on how plants actually grow at the farm and begin building a relationship with the farmer.

We further aim to see what grows and how it goes; Gather data on ‘losses’ of different types at the farm and test some theories on what goes on in practice. We anticipate an exchange of knowledge about fertilizers, practical farming methods, local growing environment and techniques.

 

Data Collection

Plant Name: HN1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 26/6/21

Observations:

• First of the field to finish
• Grew faster than all the other but stopped at 1 meter tall 
• the flower produced was fat and healthy
• Unique in the field 
• 64 grams flower, -7 grams lost as crush in seed hunt 
• 60 grams stalk 
• 9 seeds so far 
• THC 16%

 

Plant Name: HN2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 9/7/21
Observations:
Second in the field to finish
Grew 1.5 meters tall
well spaced flowers
healthy side branch broth producing good flower pattern
Purple gene!! which has faded with drying.
44 grams flower
10 grams stalk
2 seeds so far
THC 13%
grew mouldy in jar discarded 29/1/22

Plant Name:HN3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 9/7/21
Observations:
Third in the field to finish
Grew to 90cm tall
Large central flower with a few side stems
34 grams flower
17 grams stalk
8 seeds so far
THC15%
Grew mouldy in jar discarded 29/1/22

 

Plant Name: HN4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 20/7/21 cut and trimmed
Observations:
1.6m tall
Unfortunately, this plant suffered some issues with the top flower, so had to be topped
Great side branch growth
120 grams flower
100 grams stalk
10 seeds so far
THC 14%

 

Plant Name: HN5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 20/7/21 cut and trimmed
Observations:
40cm tall
16 grams flower
2 grams stalk
0 seeds so far
THC 14%

 

Plant Name: HN6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 20/7/21 cut and trimmed
Observations:
1.3m tall
Purple G
100 grams flower
72 grams stalk
5 seeds so far
THC 13%

 

Plant Name: HN7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 20/7/21 cut and trimmed
Observations:
80cm tall
42 grams flower
20 grams stalk
0 seeds so far
THC 14%

 

Plant Name: HN8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest Date: 20/7/21 cut and trimmed
Observations:
1.3m tall
Purple G
96 grams flower
49 grams stalk
13 seeds so far
THC 14%

Results Summary

Plant ID	Harvest Date	Height at Harvest (m)	Weight of Flower (kg)	Biomass Weight (kg)	THC % Test 1 (2/8/21)
HN1	26/6/2021	1.00	0.064	0.06	0.16
HN2	9/7/2021	1.50	0.0439	0.01	0.13
HN3	9/7/2021	0.90	0.034	0.017	0.15
HN4	20/7/2021	1.60	0.12	0.1	0.13
HN5	20/7/2021	0.40	0.016	0.003	0.14
HN6	20/7/2021	1.30	0.1	0.072	0.13
HN7	20/7/2021	0.80	0.042	0.02	0.14
HN8	20/7/2021	1.30	0.096	0.049	0.14

 

Partnership Programme

In this project the management of the grow by the farmer according to hemp nations plan allowed him to start growing the plant in a different way than the way he has been growing. The idea of researching while growing made him more receptive to the different ideas, fertilizers and planting styles.

 

Conclusion

Results show that genetic variation proved to be very high. Results also displayed that seed contamination was high, but inconsistent in the field, some plants had many seeds and some plants only had a few.

Issues with pests both known (cutworms) and unknown caused considerable losses. HN 1-8 are only 8 out of over 50 planted (53 from the table above). Some plants (almost half) were removed during the sexing of the plants and others were lost due to pests.

Variation was also high in height, weight and biomass even though THC levels were quite similar (only 3% variation). N.B. The tester we used is yet to be verified by lab results.

We also noticed that winter grow affected growth and yield negatively. This shows that reduced yields are a real concern in winter. Initial growth is believed to have been stunted because of low light conditions and too much rain, Average temperatures were low for the season.

Male pollen contamination at Mgadlela farm is relatively low this season judging from the number of seeds in harvested female plants.