Flax Fertility and Fungicides: An Update from IHARF

Though we have yet to see prairie flax acres meet the pre-2009/pre-CDC Triffid-incident era, the purple flowers are making a steady return to our landscape. With this return comes an increasing interest in the plants agronomics.

Typically seen as a fairly low input crop, flax certainly still requires nutrition and Chris Holzapfel, research manager at Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF), cautions growers not to be too stingy on fertility inputs.

“We’re managing our soils for the long-term and this crop (regardless of how it responds to fertilizer) is removing nutrients,” explains Holzapfel, “so if you want to maintain those levels, I think a little bit of phosphorous fertility is always important.”

Related:
The Canadian Flax Industry Looks Ahead After Triffid
Can Flax Make a Comeback in 2013?
Flax-Fed Cows: Increasing Polyunsaturated Acids in Beef

In this video, Holzapfel provides an update on some of the research being done on flax at IHARF, including: fertilizer response, seed placement and fungicide trials.

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