Traditional European hop production areas are the Hallertau in Germany, the Žatec region in Czech Republic, Kent in the South East of England, the Lublin region in Eastern Poland, Savinja Valley, Ptuj, and the Koroška region in Slovenia, Alsace in France, the Poperinge area in Belgium. For that reason, in Europe, hop cultivation historically developed in both continental and temperate regions, characterized by Dfb and Cfb climate (humid continental climate and oceanic climate, respectively), according to the Köppen–Geiger classification system. Moreover, for optimal growth, yield, and cone quality, hop plants need particular climatic conditions such as exposure to low temperatures during dormancy, mild temperature in spring, sufficient moisture from irrigation or rainfall throughout the season, and dry weather during harvest time. Due to these considerations, including Ethiopia (which lies between the 3° N and 15° N Latitude) among the main hop producing countries, is an incorrect information. The lowest latitudes at which a commercial production is feasible are approximately 34–35° in both hemispheres and, even here, there are problems for the too short day length. Hop cultivation area is limited mainly by the photoperiodic needs of the plant. The present review aims to fill a void still existing for this topic in the literature and to give directions for farmers that want to face the cultivation of such a challenging crop. The objective of this article is to provide an overview of possible uses, phenology, and agronomic aspects of hops, with specific reference to the difficulties and opportunities this crop is experiencing in the new growing areas, under both conventional and organic farming. Overall, while many studies were conducted globally on phytochemistry, bioactivity, and the genetics of hops, results from public research activity on basic hop agronomy are very few and discontinuous as well. In these relatively new environments, a complete knowledge and expertise of hop growing practices is lacking. Particularly, in Europe this resulted in a movement towards southern countries such as Italy, which added itself to the already existing hop industry in Portugal and Spain. Moreover, the recent success of the craft beer sector all over the world, made the cultivated hop come out from its traditional growing areas. Although hops are predominantly grown for hopping beer, the increasing interest in natural medicine is widening new interesting perspectives for this crop.

Actually, the variety of compounds present in almost all plant parts were (and still are) used to treat or prevent several ailments and metabolic disorders, from insomnia to menopausal symptoms as well as obesity and even cancer. However, the very first interest towards hops was due to its medicinal properties. The common hop ( Humulus lupulus L.) is a dioecious perennial climbing plant, mainly known for the use of its female inflorescences (cones or, simply, “hops”) in the brewing industry.

Yield from 1 hop plant