Date: Monday, April 29, 2024
Time: 3:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. Luping Qu & Dr. Jeanine Davis
Title: Hop Breeding for North Carolina – Results and Potential

Location (Hybrid): 121 Kilgore Hall
Join Zoom Meeting: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/98343697073?pwd=NjROVWloWHFsMzlWU3hRRnZ4YUxZZz09
Meeting ID: 983 4369 7073
Passcode: 048156

 Seminar_Luping Qu+Jeanine Davis_4.29.24.pdf

Hops are not a traditional crop grown in North Carolina. Yields of popular hop varieties grown in North Carolina are about one-fifth of that in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Hops are a photoperiod sensitive plant. A major factor for the low yields is because market acceptable hop varieties are poorly adapted to North Carolina which is close to the southern geographic limit (latitude 35o N) considered appropriate for commercial hop production. These varieties, bred and selected in the PNW, suffer from poor vegetative growth and/or low flower production in North Carolina. Adjusting cultivation methods, such as cutting down new growth in spring to delay flower initiation, helps to control the timing of flowering but has limited impact on improvement of cone yield. We started hop breeding in 2016 for the purpose of developing hop varieties that will grow and develop well in North Carolina with high cone yield, good brewing qualities, and acceptable disease resistance. We have made several selections that can produce yields comparable to the average commercial yields in the PNW. Some of our selections have been used by a number of North Carolina breweries to brew test beers. Feedback on these beers by the brew masters and consumers has been very positive. Compared to the PNW, several environmental factors in North Carolina, including high humidity, rainfall, and temperatures, are also unfavorable for the growth of hop plants. Preliminary evidence indicates that hop varieties bred and selected in North Carolina have the potential of broader adaptations in the US to grow well in the other southern states and the states further north.