Integrated pest management in hemp cultivation

Hemp production is an ever-evolving landscape. As acreage increases, records of arthropods found in the crop will also increase. This will provide more opportunities to evaluate damage caused by pests, identify beneficial organisms, and investigate management strategies. Several insects and mites have been identified as pests of hemp either by directly damaging the plant (i.e. chewing buds, leaves, or stems) or indirectly by transmitting pathogens and altering cannabinoid levels (McPartland and Hillig, 2003). Economic injury levels and economic thresholds are yet to be developed for hemp. At this point, it has been a challenge both to determine the extent of crop loss caused by specific pests and to assign a monetary value to the crop. This does not mean that economic loss caused by insects and mites has not been observed in hemp. There have been scenarios where pests have caused significant damage to the crop, causing a reduction in yield (Bakro et al., 2018; Cranshaw et al., 2019; Hu et al., 2021). There are key approaches needed to understand pest damage in hemp and to improve pest management in hemp. Identifying pests and associated damage is a necessary starting point that will guide pest management decisions.