What is Hybrid Hemp?

The NWG breeding program began working on hybrid hemp genetics to leverage the advantages hybrids have created in other major crop species (e.g. corn, canola, et.) such as higher and more consistent yields, stress tolerance and harvestability. NWG AMPLIFY® hybrids have the added benefit of a skewed percentage of females to 90%, thus creating massive increase in grain yield potential.  But some might be asking, what is hybrid hemp?

What is a Hybrid?

Hybrid hemp refers to the F1 (first generation) seed harvested from a cross between two genetically distinct varieties.  This produces an effect known as heterosis, where the F1 generation outperforms either of its parents for desirable traits such as grain and/or fiber yield, early season vigor, tolerance to environmental stresses, and other agronomic traits. Heterosis has fueled the gains in yield and overall performance that we have seen in corn over the past 100 years. Hybrids will do the same for hemp by significantly improving grain and/or fiber yield potential, yield stability across geographies and overall harvested crop quality compared to traditional Open-Pollinated hemp varieties.

It is important to note that not every hybrid cross results in heterosis (e.g. hybrid vigor: increased yields, tolerance to environmental stress, etc). In fact, most hybrid combinations do not result in heterosis. Well-bred parents in a hybrid breeding program are selected from genetic backgrounds that increase the likelihood of heterosis, as exemplified by crops like hybrid corn and canola. NWG has these background parent pools to drive sustained yield gains for industry growth and sustainability. NWG AMPLIFY hybrids are bred from parent genetics selected over 10 years and myriad generations to achieve hybrid hemp with exceptional agronomic and market traits.

A well-bred hemp hybrid will demonstrate higher tolerance to biotic (e.g. pests, diseases, etc.) and abiotic stresses (e.g. drought, heat, etc.) in addition to higher nutrient-use efficiency, which translates to overall higher yields and yield stability. It also improves the sustainability of production through a reduction in the use of pesticides and other inputs. Developing successful hybrid hemp genetics requires the development and selection of genetically distinct parents for hybridization to ensure the desired traits are inherited by the offspring. In the NWG breeding program, we focus on selecting parent traits with good agronomic traits for ease of production and market traits to provide ease and value to processors.

NWG AMPLIFY® hybrid hemp genetics have been, and continue to be, evaluated in university and industry partner variety trials to assess regional performance and adaptability to different growing conditions and optimize cultivation techniques. NWG AMPLIFY hybrids are commercial in 2024 with select strategic partners.

As discussed, hybrid hemp is the F1 (first generation) seed harvested from a cross between two genetically distinct varieties. The key to successfully commercializing hybrids is to develop a method to scale seed production. A critical element of high-quality hybrid seed is using inbred parent lines in these crosses. Several different breeding approaches are used to create inbred lines and will be discussed in a future blog focused on how hemp hybrids and varieties are bred and selected.

Scaled hybrid seed production has been accomplished using several approaches in other crops. Corn (maize), for instance, uses a method where tassels (the source of pollen on a corn plant) are removed from the variety being used as the female parent in the cross. This leaves only the pollen from the intended male parent available to sire seed on the female plants. In contrast to the mechanical removal of pollen anatomy used in corn, crops such as canola and sunflower have developed genetic systems to remove pollen-bearing tissues (e.g. cytoplasmic male sterility).

The planting design for most hybrid crop production consists of alternating bays of male and female genotypes. Typically, the male is planted at a lower ratio than the female and at a rate that ensures adequate pollen availability while still maximizing the number of female plants. The goal is always to maximize hybrid seed yield and quality. The ratio of male: female in the field is species-dependent but is typically around 1:4.

Thus far, hybrid hemp and cannabis have not followed norms observed in other hybrid crops. Breeders have typically used clonally propagated genotypes as parent lines which are notoriously heterozygous (i.e. NOT inbred). The resulting “hybrids” have low genetic uniformity which leads to low field uniformity. Lack of uniformity among traits such as height, flowering time, and seed maturity creates obvious challenges for successful field-scale crop production.

Additionally, to skew the number of female plants, hybrid cannabis and most hemp production for cannabinoids has relied on the application of silver salts to induce hermaphrodietey and pollen production. (Pollen derived from chemically treated female plants carries an X chromosome, thus all seed created from such pollen results in female plants.) The application of silver salts must be done several times during seed production and is costly. A genetic solution is a much more cost-efficient and scalable system.

In summary, New West Genetics AMPLIFY® hybrids are created using the same standards and approaches employed in traditional hybrid crops like corn, canola, and sorghum. We developed proprietary systems for creating inbred lines with favorable agronomic traits, and we have bred genetics to skew the gender ratio in favor of females. This allows us to create genotypes that are 100% female to be used as the pollen recipient during seed production (akin to detasseling in corn). The male used for the hybrid seed production transmits the trait that skews the gender in the resulting F1 seed.

These methods allow us to produce hybrid hemp seed efficiently while adhering to high-quality standards for seed Certification. The results are a seed you can count on- NWG AMPLIFY hybrids; superior yielding and performing genetics to serve today’s markets.