Maintenance Breeding of Polish Hemp Cultivar Beniko

Abstract

Rigbt after World War II, only dioecious cultivars of hemp were grown in Poland. Since 1956 Ihe work has begun at tbe In.stilute of Natural Fibers (!NF) to obtain monoecious cullivars. The first Polish monoecious cultivar of bemp-^Bialobrzeskie-^was registered in 1968. Further breeding work focused on straw yield and fiber content increase and reduction of A'^HC content. Tbe further work resulted in 1985 in registration of cultivar Beniko, which was developed at tbe INF Research Station in Wojciechow. Beniko bus bigbcr (by aboul 2%) fiber content than that of Bialobrzeskic cultivar und higb yields wbile ihe (race tclrahydrocannabinol content (A'*THC< 0.2%) poses no narcotic threat. Bcnikt) is also cbaracterized by higb degree of nionoeciousncss and yielding stability In respect of siiaw and seed. High economic value of tbis cultivar resulted in cultivar cmollivient in Pi.>lish National List of Varieties of Agricultural and Vegetable Plants in Poland as well as in Commonwcaltb Catalogue of Cultivar Plants (CCA). Breeding work tbat lasted more than twenty years resulted in development of maintenance breeding method lor hemp. This method allows botb maintaining basic economics of the cultivar antI systematic improvement of these features. L. Grabowska, H. Burczyk. P. Baraniecki and M. Strybe (m.strybe@inf piiznan.pl) are aliilialcd witb the Institute of Natural Fibres, Poznan, Poland. J. Kozak is affiliated witb tbe Experimental Farm, Tbis metbod allowed for obtaining the cultivar Beniko, which is competitive to the best European cultivars. Additionally, tbe breeding research is carried out al tbe INF to obtain new cultivars suitable for different uses of industrial bemp.