Effect of the Cultivar on the Development Hemp Stem and Textile Fiber in the East of France

Historically, the textile hemp fiber was cultivated in the East of France until the 1930s. Since a decade, textile hemp cultivation has been re-examined because hemp is a great water and fertilizer consumer. So, SADEF, specialist in the plant nutrition and analysis, produces and studies hemp growing in the East of France. The hemp genotype has evolved, so four cultivars (Férimon 12, Santhica 27, Santhica 70 and Fibror 79), whom three are used for the fiber production, are studied at different development stage (development, before and after flowering and seed maturity). The study is the stem characterization (color, height, fresh mass and yield) carried out by SADEF and fiber characterization (apparent diameter and mechanical properties) carried out by LPMT, laboratory of physical and mechanical textile. During the hemp cultivation, the fiber stress, strain and Young’s modulus increased like the stem height. However, the fiber diameter decreased between June and October. The fresh stem mass decreased at the cultivation end. The optimal cultivation duration was October in the East of France. The cultivar Fibor 79 has stunted growth and a yellow stem color. But, there is no significant difference in morphological and mechanical properties between the different cultivar along the cultivation. Cultivar selected for the dual-production (Férimon 12) produced the same fiber quality than cultivar selected for the fiber production (Santhica 27, Santhica 70 and Fibror 79). So, the four cultivar were adapted to the East of France hemp cultivation.