The status, problems and development trend of China’s industrial hemp

This article reviews the historical evolution, current status, existing problems and development trend of China’s industrial hemp industry. The paper plays a role in promoting the healthy and sustainable development of China’s industrial hemp industry.

Industrial hemp(Cannabis sativa.l) is a traditional crop in our country,it contains Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of 0.3% or less,grown in most provinces,has a wide range of uses and utilization value. It is a multipurpose crop that could be grown for its fi ber,seed, oil, food, and medicinal properties.The whole plant can replace wood for papermaking and construction materials. seeds for making food and feed,oil for chemical raw materials and fuel ,Chinese medicinal materials, etc, and byproducts such as hemp hurds have been fully utilized abroad.
The added value of its derivative products has increased signifi cantly with the extension of the industrial chain,Hemp replenishes the soil and has been proven to remediate contaminated soils ,The hemp grown for fi ber is tall, and its roots grow deep into the soil about 45-90 cm. This enables the plant root to penetrate deep and increase the effi ciency of removing widespread contamination as compared to other plants with a shallow root system, back in 1986 hemp was planted to help decontaminate the soil around the site where the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster occurred [1][2][3]. Generally, it is considered as a crop that could be grown without any pesticides [4] for certain varieties [5]. Hemp has the potential to suppress weeds effi ciently and can fi t well in a crop rotation [6].
Additionally, some residues of hemp can be used as botanical insecticides, miticides, or repellants within programs of pest management in organic farming [7].

China's industrial hemp planting is relatively concentrated
The largest growing area is in Heilongjiang Province, According to statistics from the China Agricultural Statistical fi ber products at home and abroad, domestic industrial hemp planting has begun to recover. In 2015, the total planting area nationwide increased to 27,500 ha (including 12,000 ha for seeds). In 2016, reached more than 40,000 ha [8]. In recent years new hemp varieties with very good quality and less 0.3% THC content were released ,for example,fi ber cartivars -Long dama 3,Qingma1,seed cultivars-Jin ma 4, Jin ma 5, medical varieties-Long dama 5,Yunma 7 ect Table 1.

Existing problems
The main problems for fi ber: One is short of fi ne varieties of industrial hemp and the low hemp yield. The fi ber rate of existing varieties is generally around 18%, which is more than 5% lower than that of foreign varieties. The yield of retted straw per hectare is about 6 tons, which is much lower than that in west countries. This results in low effi ciency for growers, low enthusiasm for planting. Second, lack of supporting high-yield cultivation techniques , planting and processing standards.The third is the lack of fi ber processing capacity and the lack of coordination between planting and processing. In Heilongjiang Province, where fi ber hemp accounts for more than 80% of the domestic share. So far, there is only one enterprise above

Development trend of China's industrial hemp industry
Introduce industrial hemp management system and allow CBD extraction and processing: Under the premise of strengthening supervision, the production management rules of the hemp industry will be promulgated, the extraction and production of effective ingredients such as CBD will be permitted, and the qualifi ed enterprises will be clearly given processing qualifi cations, the agricultural department is responsible for the identifi cation of industrial hemp varieties ,guarantee the legal source of seeds [10,11].   Establish a standardized industrial hemp production system: Establishes an industrial hemp production standard system, formulates planting quality management procedures and other corresponding standards [12].

Encourage scientifi c and technological innovation:
Strengthen investment in scientifi c research, and improve the research and development capabilities of terminal products.
Carry out in-depth research on practical technologies such as plant protection, biological degumming, harvesting and processing machinery, primary processing technology, and extraction of medicinal ingredients, and expand the research and development of deep processing technologies for multipurpose products from hemp hurds and seeds [13,14].