Harrison Meekins, an M.S in Environmental Horticulture, and Austin Erickson, a B.S in Chemistry, are researching heavy metal uptake and contamination in hemp. Heavy metals are heavily regulated by the EPA as a contaminant and pose a significant threat to hemp growers because it tends to accumulate heavy metals.
Harrison and Austin are working to develop methods that growers can use to determine the presence of heavy metals in their crops accurately and reliably.
One method that they are working on is developing a bioassay that can be used to track the uptake of heavy metals into plant tissue.
Additionally, they are comparing different soil testing methods by their ability to extract and detect the presence of heavy metals in growing media. This will provide hemp growers with more knowledge to detect and combat heavy metal contamination of their plants.
For more information:
Floriculture research alliance
www.floriculturealliance.org