Current Hemp Projects:
As the production of hemp increases across the United States, so have the challenges in pest and disease identification and management. Current research related to emerging pest and disease management in hemp by Nachappa lab includes:
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Building Resilient Pest Management Strategies for Organic Hemp Systems
The long term goal of this project is to create a robust organic hemp production system resilient to arthropod pests, which will provide local growers with management tools to improve crop health and sustainability. This project is supported by the USDA NIFA's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program. To read more on IPM recommendations for organic hemp systems, visit our Organic Resources page. |
Adult cannabis aphid.
Image credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org
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Epidemiology and Management of Beet Curly Top Virus, an Emerging Vector Borne Virus of Hemp in Western U.S.
Curly top disease, caused by beet curly top virus (BCTV), has recently emerging as an important disease affecting hemp production in the western United States. There is a critical need to identify the factoring driving the emergence and establishment of BCTV in hemp in order to reduce disease impact. The long term goal of this project is to improve understanding of BCTV epidemiology in hemp and to identify effective disease mitigation strategies. This project is supported by the USDA NIFA's Crop Protection and Pest Managemnt (CPPM) program. |
Hemp plant infected with BCTV.
Image credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org
Adult beet leafhopper. Image credit: A.C. Magyarosy, Bugwood.org
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Biology and Management of Hop Latent Viroid, an Emerging Pathogen of Hemp
As an emerging hemp pathogen, hop latent viroid (HLVd) has the potential greatly reduce crop quality and yield. The long term goal of this project is to evalutate the impact of HLVd on hemp production and to investigate potential mechanisms of vector transmission. This project is supported by the USDA NIFA's Critical Agriculture Research and Extension (CARE) program. |
Plant infected with HLVd. Image credit: Zamir Punja, Simon Fraser University
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Examining the Adaptive Roles of Plant Defensive Chemistry on Pest Resistance in Cannabis sativa
Cannabinoids found in Cannabis sativa include Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and more than 100 related secondary metabolites. In addition to cannabinoids, C. sativa possesses a wide range of defense mechanisms, including terpenes and phenolic compounds, that are conserved across dicots and well described in other model plant species. The primary goal of this project is to determine how variation in these cannabinoids affect key hemp pests. This project is supported by the Institute of Cannabis Research (ICR). |
Two hemp leaves; One heavily damaged by hemp russet mites (left) and the other healthy (right).
Image credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org
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Examining the Effects of Pesticide Treatments on Pest Populations, Cannabinoid Concentrations, and Pesticide Residues in Cannabis Sativa
Insect pests of hemp can cause significant crop loss through both direct feeding damage and the transmission of plant viruses. Although these pests are commonly manageed through pesticide application, the persistence of chemical residues and the effects of these products on cannabinoid concentrations have yet to be examined. The primary goal of this project is to investigate the effects of pesticide appliation on pest populations, chemical residues in cannabis flowers, and metabolic shifts in cannabinoid profiles. This project is supported by the ICR. |
Winged adult cannabis aphid.
Image credit: Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org
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