Abstract Industrial hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) has been suggested as a broadleaf alternative for diversifying water‐limited cropping systems of the central Great Plains. With little recent production history in the region, our objective was to quantify water use of industrial hemp and its relationship with biomass yield to assess the potential for hemp fiber and grain production in water‐limited cropping systems. Experiments were conducted at four locations in Kansas from 2019 through 2022 to sample a range of potential environments for industrial hemp production. Soil textures ranged from silty clay loams to fine sandy loams, and seasonal precipitation plus irrigation ranged from 400 to 1000 mm at the different locations during the study period. Hemp extracted water from the soil profile to a depth of 1.0–1.7 m and used 250–716 mm of water during its entire growing season, with maximum daily water use values of 4.7–10.7 mm. Although these are similar to values for most other crops grown in the region, cumulative water use at maximum biomass accumulation was consistently less than the 700 mm reported for other fiber crops. Values for water use efficiency estimated when evaporation, runoff, and percolation losses were minimal in these experiments, surpassed 3 g m −2 mm −1 , aligning with previous reports for hemp. These estimates meet or surpass those for other crops commonly grown in the region, supporting the proposition that hemp can be a component of water‐efficient cropping systems.
Roozeboom et al. (Sun,) studied this question.