Did you know that there are 19 approved industrial hemp cultivars in NZ?
FIVE of which are generic landrace approved New Zealand cultivars developed by iHemp pioneer Donald “Mack” McIntosh who has been an integral part of the NZHIA as well as the foundations of the industrial hemp landscape in NZ.
Brokered by New Zealand’s leading cultivar creators – Hempseed Holdings Ltd – these are names to learn and remember:
Aotearoa1 – Approved 29 July 2008
A1 Monopurp – Approved 26 February 2019
A1 Comseed – Approved 30 June 2020
A1 MACMono – Approved 30 June 2020
A1 HCFX – Approved 22 September 2021
In this section, we break down some of the most important aspects of each cultivar.
AOTEAROA1
- Dioecious seed fibre production
- Aotearoa1 is the base seedstock for all subsequent cultivars
- It is a better than average cultivar in the breeders view
- However it shows more variation than all other A1 cultivars
A1MONOPURP
- Mildly monoecious very hardy
- Good seeds but not voluminous
- Probably only useful for specific outcome sought i.e oil profile etc
A1 COMSEED
- Commercial seed stock for broad acre farmers
- Seed – fibre production
- Suitable for traditional broad acre farmers
- Breeder has not grown in broad acre context however it should be very useful in that it has one stalk only, low i.e 1.2m –1.5m at 20 –40 ppms, breeders location very heavy seeder
A1 MACMONO
- Commercial seed stock for broad acre farmers and market garden regime of cultivation
- Seed – fibre oil production
- Suitable for traditional broad acre farmers but specifically suitable for market garden regime of production
- High seed yielding multi-branched
A1HCFX
- The A1 ‘super cultivar’
- Large multi-branched heavy seeding plant. Frost, disease, pest resistant
- Large heavy well-aerated seeds. Vigorous growth continuously creating new branches average 50+
- Seed weight per plant is significantly above all other potential lines in MGR spacing
- Very consistent look. Consistent 1.8 – 2+m. Up to 1kg per plant
Tanya Simmonds of Hempseed Holdings Ltd, a speaker at the 2021 iHemp Summit, discusses each of the cultivar attributes in further detail, as well as offering some interesting insight into the hemp industry’s history and progress in New Zealand. Watch Tanya’s presentation to learn more here: vimeo.com/ondemand/ihempsummit2021
There are significant reasons to grow Aotearoa1 and the A1 series of sub cultivars primarily due to their acclimation for NZ conditions. To become an Aotearoa1 grower you will need to become a shareholder and we encourage you to contact Hempseed Holdings directly to gain more information and access to the 2021 Cultivar Presentation.
Hempseed Holdings Ltd
hempseedholdings@gmail.com
www.hempseedholdingsnz.com
Resources:
- What are cultivars, clones and landraces? Read more via Biosciences for Farming in Africa
- Read more about Mack ‘The Godfather’ of NZ hemp in Issue #1 of iHemp Magazine.
- Hemseed Holdings Ltd – Frequently Asked Questions
- Hempseed Holdings – Presentation (Current website version)
- Hempseed Holdings – 2021 Presentation (TBC from Mack)