Deciding Which Flax Variety to Seed

Oilseed flax has a significant percentage of long tough stem fibers that decay slowly over time. This makes it difficult to incorporate flax straw into the soil after harvest since the fibers wrap themselves around and/or plug disks, wheels and shovels. In the past, coping with flax straw included dropping it in windrows after the combine and burning or harrowing and/or raking it into piles and then burning it. Today, this practise is discouraged for a number of reasons:

1. It may have a damaging effect on air quality and human health;
2. It can increase the risk of soil erosion and soil degradation;
3. It will destroy any possible economic value of the straw;
4. It presents safety concerns related to open fires

To help raise awareness of alternatives to burning flax straw, the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SFDC) is working with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada on an Agri-Environmental Group Plan (AEGP) for straw management. In deciding how to manage their straw, producers need to consider two streams of alternatives:

• Stream 1: Minimizing problems with straw residue in the field.
• Stream 2: Utilizing the straw as a source of fiber.

Variety Selection by Fiber Content

Many factors influence the quantity and quality of flax straw produced on a given field in any given year. One of these factors is which variety is seeded. Some flax varieties are known to have a lower or higher fiber content relative to others. The relative amount of fiber in the flax straw may impact whether a producer chooses to chop and spread their flax straw, or whether they decide to bale it and sell it.

The following list shows the fiber content of the most commonly-seeded flax varieties.

Main characteristics of Flax Varieties, 2006