GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s industrial hemp growers face many challenges when developing a pest management plan. One challenge that if often overlooked, until it is too late, is disease management. While there are currently not many options available for disease control once a crop has been established, it is still important to monitor and identify diseases, so management plans can be developed or modified in the future.
Diseases currently identified in Florida
There are many industrial hemp diseases that have been reported in other states (e.g. Kentucky, North Carolina, etc.) producing this crop and there are still many unidentified diseases (e.g. hemp viruses) too. The industrial hemp pilot program has been established to help understand the crop’s production in Florida, as well as to identify common pest and disease problems throughout the state. So far, a total of 5 diseases have been positively identified on industrial hemp in Florida, with at least 11 observed and requiring confirmation. It is likely that this number will increase as production increases in the state, so it will be important to determine which diseases are most predominant. A list of the foliar, stem, and root diseases observed in Florida can be found in Tables 1 and 2 (click on images to enlarge to full screen). This list will be updated on regular basis. More information on the diseases can be found at the Hemp Diseases of Florida website.
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–Nick Dufault, UF/IFAS