Alberta test plots | API Labs plans to look at irrigated and non-irrigated land, row spacing and weed control for thebaine poppies
It turns out poppies grow well in southern Alberta, at least according to early results from API test plots in the Lethbridge area.
Glen Metzler, managing director of API Labs, told a recent Alberta Institute of Agrologists meeting that the region’s climate and long hours of summer sunshine are just what poppies prefer.
The company is trying to obtain approval for commercial production of thebaine poppies from which to manufacture analgesic drugs. It intends to plant 200 acres of poppies this year and 20 quarters in the year after if it receives the go-ahead from government departments.
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The ultimate goal is to plant 25,000 to 50,000 acres and supply domestic and export markets.
This year’s acreage request is de-signed to help researchers learn more about the agronomics of poppies using conventional, southern Alberta production methods.
It appears that poppies should follow a cereal crop. Poppy seeds are about one-tenth the size of canola, so they might best be seeded along with a bulking agent, such as cornmeal, at less than one pound of seed per acre and at no more than half an inch deep.
Metzler said experience in other countries shows poppies can be grown under irrigation or on dry land acres. The crop seems to require slightly less water than canola.
However, trials planned this year will experiment with both irrigated and non-irrigated land to gauge optimum conditions and learn more about acceptable row spacing, plant density and weed control.
The poppies that API Labs have grown under scientific research approval have shown good response to the prairie climate, Metzler said.
“This actually seems to be one of the best places in the world to grow poppies,” he said.
“We’re seeing double the industry standards in the amount of alkaloids that the poppies are producing here.”
He said southern Alberta weather conditions result in pod counts of five to 12 per plant compared to two or three pods per plant typically seen in Australia and the United Kingdom.
The region’s frequent wind also limits development of downy mildew, a problem in other countries where three to five fungicide applications are needed to control it.
