Nutritional requirements

Hemp serves as a beneficial alternative to cereals in crop rotation, as it has lower fertiliser needs. The recommended nitrogen application for hemp is 110 units per hectare, whereas wheat may demand up to 250 kg/ha of fertiliser. For phosphate and potassium, 80 kg of phosphate (P₂O₅) and 140 kg of potassium (K₂O) are recommended per hectare. Fertilisers should be applied before sowing. This reduced need for fertilisation allows for the reallocation of fertilisers to other crops (van den Oever et al., 2023).

When hemp is planted for textile applications, it requires even lower levels of nitrogen, ranging from 70-100 units of active nitrogen (N), along with 40 kg of P₂O₅, 110 kg of K₂O, and 30 kg of MgO per hectare. Generally, hemp thrives when nourished with organic fertilisers, such as pig, cattle, or chicken manure. A recommended approach is to use 20% of the total fertiliser as a fast-acting one during the initial growth phase to promote rapid development. Nitrogen absorption primarily occurs within the first 6 to 8 weeks, whereas phosphorus and potassium uptake predominantly happen later in the growth cycle, before flowering and seed development (van den Oever et al., 2023).