Variability of economically important traits of hemp depending on the region of cultivation

Increasing the area under a given agricultural crop largely depends on the adaptive potential of new cultivars or those in production. The objective of this study was to comparatively assess the variability of economically important traits in hemp cultivars of the Central Russian ecotype ‘Nadezhda’, ‘Lyudmila’, ‘Surskaya’, and ‘Vera’ in the Middle Volga region and the western part of the Central Non-Chernozem Zone of Russia. In 2023-2024, the research was conducted in experimental fields at the Federal Scientific Center for Bast Crops in the Penza and Smolensk regions. The agroclimatic conditions of the regions varied significantly in terms of moisture availability. The sum of active temperatures in the Penza Region was 2397°C in 2023 and 2234°C in 2024, with precipitation of 177 mm and 156 mm, respectively. In the Smolensk Region, the sum of active temperatures was 2299°C in 2023, and 2385°C in 2024, with precipitation of 236 mm and 358 mm, respectively. The favorable climatic conditions during the two years of testing allowed for a significant realization of the cultivars’ potential, as observed under the conditions of the originator. In the Smolensk Region, maximum plant height reached 191 cm, technical length 162 cm, and seed weight per plant was 7.8 g. In the Penza Region, these values reached 281 cm in height, 262 cm in technical length, and 18.7 g in seed weight per plant. Variability of economically important traits in all studied cultivars depended on heat and moisture availability. In the conditions of the western part of the Central region, the level of variability of the main economically important traits was higher, namely, the variation coefficient reached 16.2% for plant height, 13.9% for technical length, and 27.0% for stem diameter. In the Middle Volga region, the maximum variability values were noted at 13.6% for plant height, 13.4% for technical length, and 19.8% for stem diameter. Economically important traits characterizing the generative structure are more variable than vegetative ones: the maximum level of variability was recorded at 46% for seed weight per plant in the Penza Region and 63.9% in the Smolensk Region. Using mathematical analysis methods, it was established that among the studied cultivars ‘Vera’ exhibited high plasticity: the linear regression coefficient for environmental conditions according to Eberhart and Russell (b_i) was 1.4, and low stability: the weighted average of absolute scores (WAASВ) was 54.4; and the yield and stability balance index (WAASBY) was 50.0. Cv. ‘Surskaya’ demonstrated high stability with WAASВ=19.7, and WAASBY=52.7, and cv. ‘Vera’ demonstrated the highest seed yield in both test zones.

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