Current Applications, Approaches and Potential Perspectives for Hemp: Crop Management, Industrial Usages, and Functional Purposes

Current Applications, Approaches and Potential Perspectives for Hemp: Crop Management, Industrial Usages, and Functional Purposes presents the latest in the rapidly growing interest for hemp cultivation and its sustainable applications for humans. This book gathers research and review chapters that analyze research trends and current agricultural issues. It then proposes alternative solutions and describes current and future applications for this raw material. This book will be extremely beneficial for researchers, academics, policymakers, technicians and other stakeholders interested in this crop development and its applications.

Cannabis sativa is considered as a proper and alternative crop because of its wide range of applications and marketability, especially when developed for biomedical applications. Thus, many producers and technicians are trying to find relevant information about this crop development and usages in order to be considered viable in the future.

• Presents research and review chapters that analyze current trends and agricultural issues
• Details the growing and diverse applications for hemp fibers, seed grain and essential oils due to its pharmacologically beneficial properties
• Describes the current and future applications for this raw material

Iván Francisco García-Tejero started his research activity in 2005, in the Andalusian Institute of Teaching and Agricultural research, obtaining a PhD degree in 2010. He was then employed in this same institution for different projects related to the irrigation water management, achieving a Post-Doc contract in 2012 for 5 years. Once finished, he continued working in other research projects for this same institution, and finally, got the titular research position in 2019, within the “Agriculture and Environment” department and the research line “Water Use Efficiency”. During his career as researcher he has acquired a wide experience about the water use efficiency in Mediterranean woody crops, such as citrus, almonds or olives. Moreover, he has developed significant works relayed to conservation agriculture practices in rainfed systems by means direct drill strategies or plant covers management. Moreover, he has been research coordinator of eight projects related to the introduction of Cannabis sativa L. for biomedical purposes.

Víctor Hugo Durán Zuazo has participated as coordinator in research projects in the area of natural resources at regional, national and EU level. He is the head of the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Soil, Water & Biodiversity in Agricultural Systems CUSABA (AGR-144). He deals with land- and water-management interventions in Mediterranean agroforestry systems, with the aim of preventing, reducing or recovering losses of soil, water, and biodiversity. In terms of knowledge and research, the focus is on sustainable land management, specifically: land-degradation processes; conservation measures and interventions at both field and watershed scale; and the harmony of sustainable management practices that encourage productivity, climate-change mitigation, soil quality, and water-use efficiency. Agricultural Engineering at National Agricultural University Ukraine, 1993; Doctor, University of Almeria Spain, 2001; Post-doc researcher at Wageningen University, Netherlands, 2003―2004; at National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory (NSERL), Agricultural Research Service USDA-ARS-MWA, West Lafayette IN USA, 2007-2008; staff researcher at IFAPA Centro “Las Torres-Tomejil” since 2009.