| Arable
UBC research aims to help Canadian flax farmers
A UBC professor’s flax research could one day help Canadian farmers grow a car fender.
n a recent study,
UBC researcher
Michael Deyholos
identified the
genes responsible
for the bane of
many Canadian flax farmers’
existence; the fibres in the plant's
stem.
“These findings have allowed us
to zero in the genetic profile of the
toughest part of this plant and may
one day help us engineer some of
that toughness out,” says
Deyholos, a biology professor at
I
UBC's Okanagan campus. “With
further research, we might one day
be able to help farmers make
money off a waste material that
wreaks havoc on farm equipment
and costs hundreds of hours and
thousands of dollars to deal with.”
As part of his research,
Deyholos and his former graduate
student at the University of Alberta
dissected thousands of the plant’s
stem under a microscope in order
to identify which genes in the
plant's make up were responsible
for the growth of the stem, and
which weren’t.
Due to the length of the
Canadian prairie’s growing
season, where flax is grown,
farmers typically burn the stems,
known as flax straw, as opposed to
harvesting the material. In many
European countries, flax straw is
used as an additive in paper,
plastics and other advanced
materials such as those used in
the production of automobiles.
Currently, Canadian flax is used
only for the value of its seeds,
which can be eaten or broken
AHDB Horticulture provides vital
Diamondback moth control
A new 120 day EAMU (Extension of Authorisation for Minor Use) has been authorised for
'Benevia 10OD’ for use as an insecticide on Brussels sprout, broccoli, calabrese,
cabbage and cauliflower for the control of Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella).
he Chemicals
Regulation
Division played an
important role to
ensure that
authorisation was
identified as a priority and rapidly
evaluated for UK Brassica
Growers.
Diamondback moth is a pest of
Brassica crops including oilseed
T
rape. It is a relatively small moth so
the eggs can be hard to find.
Newly-hatched caterpillars burrow
into the foliage to feed but then
come out onto the leaf surface as
they grow larger and cause
characteristic ‘windowpane’
damage.
The AHDB-funded Pest Bulletin
has been monitoring
Diamondback moth, identifying
14 | Farming Monthly | September 2016
high numbers during June and
July. The Pest Bulletin is updated
each week and provides valuable
oversight on 13 different pests and
the information has allowed the
growers to plan control measures
ahead to mitigate yield losses.
Commenting on the Pest
Bulletin, and associated Pest Blog,
Dr Rosemary Collier, Director of
Warwick Crop Centre said, “This is
down into flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil
is used in the manufacturing of
paints, linoleum, and as a key
element in the manufacturing of
packaging materials and plastics.
According to the Flax Council of
Canada, Canada is one of the
largest flax producers in the world
with the nation’s prairie provinces
cultivating 816,000 tonnes of the
plant in 2014/15 on 1.6 million
acres of land.
Deyholos’ research was
recently published in the journal
Frontiers of Plant Science.
an important service for growers
and we have been providing key
intelligence on the major pests of
vegetable crops by forecasting
and monitoring fluctuations in pest
numbers. This information
provides guidance for growers as
to when specific control measures
need to be put in place.”
Vivian Powell, Crop Protection
Senior Scientist (Pesticide
Regulation), helped organise the
EAMU working with members of
the Brassica Growers Association
said, “It is great that we worked
with growers, regulators and the
manufacturer to obtain use of this
new product that will help them
alleviate issues with Diamondback
moth. Our work is all about finding
the solutions to problems that
work effectively and efficiently and
which can be integrated into IPM
strategies.”
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk