Enhancing Midwest Hop Productivity Using Photoperiodism

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: hops

Practices

• Crop Production: lighting system

Hops are a recently revitalized crop in Ohio. Hop production in the state has increased over the past decade in response to rapid growth in the craft brewing industry and interest in “knowing your farmer” and local food systems. However, Ohio farmers face multiple challenges to sustainable hop production, including growing conditions. One such challenge is day length during the growing season, which is shorter than the most productive hop producing regions of the U.S. Day length is an important factor in flowering timing for hops, which is a major factor determining yield.

This project installed lighting and measured the impacts of a lighting system to extend the photoperiod for hops. The goal was to improve the pre-flowering vegetative growth of the plants in order to increase yields and hop quality in a manner that has potential to not rely on increasing amounts of synthetic fertilizers. An additional goal of the system is to improve the long-term economic sustainability of hop production in the region.

In the first growing season of the project (Season 1) using the lighting system, pre-flowering vegetative growth was increased substantially. Additionally, hop yield was substantially increased compared to the prior growing season. Fertilizer and water usage were measured for Season 1 and fertilizer use was compared to a control hop yard in the region. Additionally, electricity usage and cost were measured for Season 1 and compared to the prior year, as the lighting system added a new input cost to the hop operation. While the initial indications from Season 1 are that vegetative growth and hop yield were increased, the cones harvested in Season 1 were substantially smaller than prior seasons and had lower acid content than industry standards. Because acid content is very important to commercial brewers, these issues with quality were substantial enough that the cones harvested in Season 1 were not adequate for brewing and thus could not be sold as pelletized hops. An important learning from Season 1 was that the timing of nutrient availability will be important for increasing cone size while using a lighting system.

In the second growing season of the project (Season 2) the hops had substantial pre-flowering vegetative growth and there were many cones on each plant. However, these cones were visibly smaller than cones produced without lighting. Inputs including fertilizer, electricity, and water usage were tracked and compared to Season 1 and the 2021 production at the hop yard at The Ohio State University South Centers. Season 2 yielded a similar, although slightly lower yield compared to the control yard’s production in 2021, but used less fertilizer. The quality of the Cascade hops harvested in Season 2 were comparable to industry standards. Although there were $340 in sales from Season 2 as of this report, there are an estimated 120 lbs.- 150 lbs. of hop pellets in storage for sale from the 2022 harvest. The lighting system also allowed for control of the timing of harvest, including the ability to stagger harvest, to better match resource availability on the farm. While it appears that there are potential advantages to utilizing a lighting system in hops based on this project, there are also challenges associated with the system.

1. Evaluate the installation and operational costs of an LED lighting system for photoperiod extension in commercial-scale hops production;
2. Evaluate the production and economic effects of an LED lighting system for photoperiod extension in commercial-scale hops production; and
3. Share findings with other producers and Extension professionals through a field day, social media outreach, a summary video, and a conference presentation.