Progress is being made on developing flax lines suitable for the northern Prairies, but the 2011 breeding trials weren’t as eye-popping as the previous year.
Average days to maturity for the 132 flax lines tested in the Northern Adapted Flax Variety Development Project in 2010 were 7.8 days earlier than CDC Bethune, which was beyond expectations, according to project co-ordinator SaskFlax.
The lead breeder at that time said he was “absolutely blown away” by the “really incredible” results.
In 2011, average days to maturity were 4.5 days earlier than Bethune.
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“What we saw in 2011 was not as promising as we saw in 2010,” said Bruce Harrison, director of research and development with Viterra.
But while not as dazzling as the initial results, it is still a big leap forward in terms of maturity, which ranged from equal to Bethune to 10 days earlier.
“If you can actually have a competitive (yielding) variety that is three to four days earlier than Bethune, then you’ve really got something,” said Harrison.
Viterra has selected 11 lines out of the 132 to put into registration trials in 2012. It will be the first time northern adapted flax varieties have been entered into a co-op trial.
“Our assessment would tell us that these have a hope in the marketplace once we receive registration,” Harrison said.
Some of the 11 lines matured up to four days earlier than the check varieties and others yielded up to eight percent more seed. The trials will provide further data on maturity and yield.
Although the results are preliminary, researchers are seeing material improvement in stem dry-down with the new varieties compared to the checks, which should make the crop easier to harvest.
The 11 varieties will go through two years of registration trials and a clear winner would be fast-tracked to the marketplace.
However, flax seed can’t be multiplied as fast as canola.
“We’re still a few years off commercializing a product,” said Harrison.
Viterra will also be conducting another set of preliminary yield trials on about the same scale as 2010 and 2011 to identify more candidates for commercialization.
As well, agronomy field trials were conducted in 2012 to help identify best management practices for farmers in northern areas who could soon be growing flax.
Those trials have proven to be a challenge. The plots received too much water in 2010 and some trials in Melfort, Sask., were flooded out
In 2011, it was the opposite. The site in Vegreville, Alta., received too much spring precipitation followed by no rain between mid-June and early August.
Lead researcher Jan Slaski, a plant physiologist with Alberta Innovates Technology Futures, contemplated writing off his plots, but six weeks of steady rain followed by a hot and dry fall rescued a crop that was delayed by three to four weeks.
The 2011 agronomy trials provided useful insights despite the less than ideal weather. Tillage is definitely not recommended to avoid drought damage, and seeding deeper into moisture is a good idea for promoting seed germination.
The trials confirmed a lot of the findings from 2010. Delayed germination in cold soil, spring frost damage and uneven ripening of the stems and bolls reinforced the need for cultivars more suited to the northern climate. Results from the first two years of agronomy research showed that flax can compensate for poor stand establishment caused by disease, drought and improper seeding depth and density.
Test plots delivered the identical yield whether seeded at 20 pounds per acre or four times that density. Plots that were artificially inoculated with disease, causing thin stands, recovered well.
“Flax can compensate for yield by development of secondary boll-bearing branches,” said Slaski.
Researchers were able to confirm grower reports that application of Headline EC provides a significant yield boost even when there is no pasmo disease. Yields jumped 10 to 30 percent despite no visible signs of the pathogen.
“We don’t understand what happens and why,” said Slaski.
That will be the focus of a future research project.
Trials also showed that Buctril M and FlaxMax are safe to use on flax even when applied at two times the manufacturer’s recommended rates.
Agronomy trials will be conducted again this year.
“Hopefully we will hit a weather pattern that is not extreme,” said Slaski.
The following two years will be devoted to refining agronomic recommendations by exploring the interactions between the proposed best management practices.
