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. 2023 Jan 13;13(2):284.
doi: 10.3390/ani13020284.

Physical Characterization of Ten Hemp Varieties to Use as Animal Bedding Material

Sheyla Arango  1 , Rosa Greco  2 , Nadia Guzzo  1 , Emiliano Raffrenato  1 , Massimo Montanari  3 , Lucia Bailoni  1
Affiliations

Physical Characterization of Ten Hemp Varieties to Use as Animal Bedding Material

Sheyla Arango et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) hurds, the inner bark of the stem, are a poorly appreciated part of the plant that typically represents waste. The aim of this experiment was to describe the physical characteristics, including moisture (M), water absorption (WA), and ammonia absorption (AA), of 10 hemp varieties (Fibranova, Codimono, USO31, CS, Futura 75, Eletta Campana, Carmaleonte, Felina 32, Santhica, and Ferimon) cultivated in Italy. Samples of hemp hurds were ground to 8 mm obtaining hemp shives. Values of M, WA, and AA were determined following the official procedures. The results showed an average of 7.78%, 251.9%, and 50.0% for M, WA, and AA, respectively. Data of M and WA were similar among varieties, whereas a significant difference was found for the AA, varying from 45.0 to 55.5% for the Fibranova and Ferimon varieties, respectively. In conclusion, hemp shives have good physical characteristics, similar to other commercial bedding materials (i.e., wood shavings) but other parameters and on-farm trials will be required to make a full assessment of hemp.

Keywords: bedding material; hemp; hemp shives.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Hemp sample treatments, (a) fiber removal; (b) hemp shives.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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