Hemp to Be Subject of Scientific Studies

Hemp to Become Subject of Scientific Research Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's declaration of a nationwide mobilisation on hemp cultivation, licensed hemp growing has been permitted in 19 provinces, including Yozgat. Hemp is used across a wide range of sectors, notably pharmaceuticals, textiles, paper, fuel, cosmetics, food, animal feed and automotive. Academics at a greenhouse established by Yozgat Bozok University will contribute to bringing hemp into the economy and increasing seed and seedling diversity. Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Karadağ stated that the university was designated in 2020 as a specialised university focused on regional development and hemp research. Karadağ noted that Bozok University has begun overseeing the process of bringing industrial hemp into the economy, and said the university has entered into collaboration with industrialists on the use of hemp in industry. Karadağ stated that the greenhouse was built to allow hemp to be grown 365 days a year, saying: "We are talking about what may be the first greenhouse established in Turkey specifically for industrial and medical hemp. This will be a highly functional greenhouse focused on rapid production and research into hemp varieties. With this greenhouse, we will begin work both on increasing the diversity of domestic seeds, particularly medical hemp and industrial hemp, and on cultivation based on 365-day operation in controlled environments."

Domestic hemp seed will be produced

Emphasising that they will make medical hemp valuable for the economy, Karadağ said: "The greenhouse covers 1,200 square metres. It will serve as a research and development centre. If we can produce tangible results from what we obtain here, dozens of greenhouses will be established both within our university campus and throughout the region." Karadağ noted that the primary focus of the process of bringing hemp into the economy is seed, stating: "First and foremost, hemp needs to be produced, planted and cultivated. The main focus here is seed. If you do not have national seeds and local seeds, you cannot pass this on to the future or make it sustainable. From that perspective, the diversity of local seed varieties in our country needs to be increased. As far as I know, 3 local seeds have been registered. As a specialised university, our primary focus initially is to register 2-3 local seeds. While managing the process of bringing hemp into the economy on one hand, our university is also responsible for training human resources in this field, producing knowledge and managing the process of connecting this knowledge with technology and industry. From that perspective, Yozgat Bozok University will also provide opportunities for studies such as doctoral theses in its field of specialisation." Vice Rector and Faculty of Agriculture Academic Member Prof. Dr. Güngör Yılmaz stated that they will begin developing new hemp varieties needed by Turkey in the hemp greenhouse that has been established. Explaining that crossbreeding will be performed on the plant during breeding work, Yılmaz said: "Our aim is to be able to perform crossbreeding under controlled conditions in one of our units and obtain hybrid plants. We will then multiply their seeds in a controlled manner without pollen from elsewhere. Subsequently, we will carry out other breeding processes and selection stages here as well. Additionally, seedling production units will be established within this greenhouse. These seedlings may be from seed, they may be artificially produced seedlings in a laboratory environment, and we will grow them to certain sizes in pots or other soilless media. In other words, from the seedling production unit we will continue to multiply, monitor and collect data on them in soil-based or soilless environments." Source (AA)