Choice of variety follows the purpose of cultivation, and the purpose follows the buyer. Varieties from the COBORU National Register (Krajowy Rejestr COBORU) or the EU Common Catalogue of Varieties (according to the European Commission, 116 hemp varieties in 2024) with THC content up to 0.3% are admitted to the KOWR register and to ARiMR payments. Seed must be elite or certified category: the invoice addressed to the applicant and the label go to KOWR, and the labels also go to ARiMR.
Polish varieties come from the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants – PIB in Poznań (IWNiRZ): Białobrzeskie (late 1960s), Beniko, Tygra, Wojko, Rajan, Henola; the National Register also includes Glyana (Olimax), Wielkopolskie (KOW-MAR), Matrix, Mietko and Sofia. What is actually grown is shown by the KOWR register: in 2026 Henola covers approx. 833 ha (approx. 40% of the area), followed by Finola, Białobrzeskie and Futura 75.
Henola is IWNiRZ's newest variety, grown for seed: edible oil, food, cosmetics. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MRiRW) gives a seed yield of 1.5–2.1 t/ha, the Hemp Programme brochure gives 12–15 dt/ha, and the institute declares a potential of up to 2.6 t/ha. Seed purchase under IWNiRZ contracting in 2024: PLN 12–16/kg (WODR Poznań). Notices on the agricultural exchange in 2026: PLN 6,700–7,300/t.
Białobrzeskie is a tall fibre variety, also dual-purpose; biomass up to 26.8 t/ha (MRiRW, 2026). Seed purchase under contracting in 2024: PLN 15–20/kg. Tygra is a dual-purpose variety: approx. 9 dt/ha of seed and up to 10 t/ha of straw, according to IWNiRZ with the largest share of long fibre. Beniko: fibre quality; Wojko: early, for technical uses and essential oils. Rajan: late, for biomass, but excluded from ARiMR payments since 2023 due to THC exceedances in 2021–2022.
Imported varieties: Finola (Finland): low-growing, oil-type, for seed and biomass; excluded from payments in 2021–2022, readmitted from 2023. Futura 75 (France): seed, inflorescences and fibre, THC below 0.12% according to sellers; Fedora 17, Felina 32, Santhica 27/70 (CBG, not useful for CBD), USO-31, Kompolti are available from Polish distributors. According to the trade press, domestic varieties give 4–6% CBD in inflorescences versus 15–18% for specialised foreign varieties; if the aim is biomass for extraction, the variety is set by the buyer.
Sowing rates according to IWNiRZ (Hemp Programme): seed plantations 10–15 kg/ha (rows 50–60 cm); seed crops 25–30 kg/ha; textile fibre 60–70 kg/ha; technical uses (shives, biomass) 40–50 kg/ha. Fertiliser for fibre: N 90–120, P₂O₅ 70–100, K₂O 150–180 kg/ha. Dense sowing gives tall, weakly branched stems with long fibre; sparse sowing gives branched plants with high seed yield.
Where to buy and at what price. IWNiRZ / Hemp Programme (Poznań, ul. Wojska Polskiego 71b): elite and certified seed of Białobrzeskie, Tygra, Henola, Rajan with contracting and guaranteed offtake; enrolment for 2026 opened in March; in April 2026 the institute advertised Henola at PLN 60/kg for orders from 10 kg. Specialist shops: Futura 75 at PLN 1,300 for 25 kg (PLN 52/kg, 2026), Finola, Kompolti, Santhica in similar ranges. Seed cost per hectare at PLN 52–60/kg: approx. PLN 600–900 for a seed plantation, PLN 1,300–1,800 for seed, PLN 3,100–4,200 for fibre (calculation from sowing rates, not a quotation). The German processor Hanffaser Uckermark calculates EUR 350/ha for seed at a rate of 50 kg/ha in its own costing.
Seed without an invoice and label does not exist for KOWR or ARiMR. Photograph the label from every bag before sowing: after the season the bags go to compost, and the labels must be submitted by 1 September. How to submit the application: step-by-step hemp cultivation registration; how the variety affects the harvesting technology: harvesting fibre hemp.