Seed production for the pink flowered prairie carnation was strong in 2008, with some fields reporting exceptional yields.
That’s good news for Saponin Inc., the company growing the new crop created from cow cockle.
Chief development officer Michael Oelck said the weed is well adjusted to the Canadian environment.
“That’s our advantage.”
It is not difficult to handle, with the same seed size as canola, and grows well on the Prairies. The kernel weight is 8.6 grams per thousand seeds as opposed to five to six grams for canola.
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Weeds are a major challenge, with herbicides not registered for use on the Prairies. More research will be conducted in Ontario and the northern United States, where herbicide is allowed.
Bayer CropScience recently announced it is creating a unique herbicide that will provide broadleaf weed control for prairie carnation in Ontario. This special formulation of the herbicide Converge will not contain the corn herbicide Atrazin, which will make the product eligible for prairie carnation.
The crop can be direct seeded and grown under no till conditions and has been fall seeded with high yields and good success.
Oelck said the trick is seeding late enough in November so that it doesn’t germinate in winter and then sprouts in April.
“It’s an advantage to farmers as they can seed other crops later in the spring,” Oelck said.
Another advantage is the company’s small size and its continuing interaction with growers.
“We are learning as they are learning,” he said.
Crop trials have taken place with 10 growers in Alberta and Saskatchewan, three of which are organic.
The company is doing environmental and crop protection work with Agriculture Canada and collaborating with the National Research Council, which created the first prairie carnation plants at its Plant Biotechnology Institute in Saskatoon. It is also working with the POS Pilot Plant and bioprocessing and food development centres.
As well, the company is looking for investment while seeking out a partner to do organic research.
Saponin is focusing its efforts on cosmetics, which prefer “clean technology,” and markets for vaccine adjuvants.
“We are producing natural bio products, so that is where we are going,” Oelck said.
He said the crop contains the finest starch of any plant, which makes it suitable for cosmetic and high-tech applications. Saponin hopes to have several tonnes of starch ready for sale by 2009.
Saponins are detergents that bind well to molecules in living membranes. They offer anti-inflammatory properties and beneficial effects because they will bind to cholesterol, which in turn can be filtered out by the liver.
Their use as adjuvants in vaccines is another important market for Saponin. Adjuvants help more of the active ingredient of the vaccine get into the cells.
More research is needed to explore the potential of oil from the seeds and anti-oxidant compounds, which could be added to livestock feed and human food.
Saponin is operating a closed production system, where it retains ownership of the seed.
It pays for crop production, while farmers do the work and are paid whether or not they harvest a crop.
“We are not expecting the farmers to take all of the risk of production,” he said.
“We pay a good price per acre, above average.”
Oelck looks forward to a bright future for this new generation of industrial crops.
“We cannot expect to have large acres like canola, but we can be a large crop,” he said.
