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The ability to compete with weeds is low during the early stages of growth but increases steadily. Before the crop reaches the stage of full ground coverage, there is a risk of weeds becoming dominant. (Desanlis et al., 2013). Concerning diseases, existing hemp varieties are heterogenous populations in terms of their resistance to pathogens. As a result, only a minor portion of plants are truly impacted by health threats, and major disease outbreaks are uncommon. Hemp is usually minimally impacted by insects. However, wild animals like rabbits and wild boars can sometimes cause problems for farmers. For example, rabbits living near hemp fields might eat the plants, and wild boars might dig holes in the ground, making it harder for farmers to harvest their crops.
Hemp life cycle and growth stages. Image adapted from North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension, 2021
To reduce the attractiveness of hemp seeds for birds, they can be treated with bird repellent. Hemp seeds are prone to being blown away by the wind once the plant matures because they easily detach. Some hemp varieties, like Finola and USO, can help prevent this. When deciding when to harvest, farmers must consider this risk. In practice, they often start harvesting before all the seeds are fully mature to minimise the chance of losing them (Desanlis et al., 2013).
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