1. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y WP 1 Task 1.2 : Potential of bast fibr e s crops Task leader: Krzysztof HELLER Crops2Industry “Non-food Crops-to-Industry schemes in EU27”

2. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y WP1 Non-food crops (CRES, UNIBO, INF&MP, NCPRI, ACCIONA) The main target of this WP is to explore the potential of non-food crops, which can be domestically grown in EU27 countries, for selected industrial application. Fiber crops INF&MP – bast fibers UNIBO – fruit and leaf fibers CRES – seed and wood fibers 2 Task 1.2

3. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 1. Objectives WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Task 1.2 Fibre crops: 1.Fibre flax 2.Hemp 3.Kenaf 4.Nettle

4. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Flax (Linum Usitatissimum) Diameter of elementary fibre: 15 – 22 [µm]:

5. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Diameter of elementary fibre: 17 – 24 [µm]:

6. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) Asia Africa America Europe Diameter of elementary fibre: 13 – 20 [µm]:

7. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Nettle (Urica dioica) Asia Africa America Europe Diameter of elementary fibre: 13 – 20 [µm]:

8. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 1. Objectives WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Task 1.2 Fibre crops (topics): 1.Plants morphology and anatomy 2.Area of origin and current cultivation 3.Growing conditions – input requirements 4.Logistics (harvesting – handling) until the industrial plant gate 5.Yield 6.Quality 7.Applications; current- potential 8.Factors restricting growth and yielding potential 9.Research gaps

9. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 2. Progress of work 1.Fibre flax – ok.! 2.Hemp – ok. ! 3.Kenaf – first version for consultation 4.Nettle – first version for consultation

10. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 3. Results WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Task 1.2 Fibre crops (topics): 1.Bast fibers plants anatomy 2.Area of origin and current cultivation 3.Growing conditions – input requirements 4.Logistics (harvesting – handling) until the industrial plant gate 5.Yield 6.Quality 7.Applications; current- potential 8.Factors restricting growth and yielding potential 9.Research gaps

11. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 1. Fibre flax morphology & anatomy 11 Seed Stem (morphology and anatomy) Leaf Root system Inflorescence, Flower Fruits

12. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Fibre flax anatomy parenchyma cortex epidermis xylem fibre bundles meristem tissue pith channel Fibre flax anatomy Fiber is present it the stem in the form of rings of fiber bundles. Transverse section through a fibre flax stem

13. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 2 Area of origin and current cultivation of b ast fibrous p lants

14. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Ad Topic 3. Growing conditions of bast plants – input requirements Varieties Place in rotations Soil requirements Weather conditions Soil cultivation Fertilization Seed sowing (time, technique) Post emergent cultivation – plant protection Harvesting (time, methods)

15. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y No.VarietyCountry of originNo.VarietyCountry of origin 1 Ada RO17CosminRO 2AdriaRO18DangiaiLT 3AgathaBE, CZ, FR, NL19DelphineNL 4AlinRO20DianeFR 5AlizeeFR, LT21DrakkarFR, LT 6AminaBE, FR, NL22ElectraBE, CZ, FR, NL, SK 7ArethaFR, NL23EliseNL, 8ArianeNL24EscalinaNL, SK 9ArtemidaPL, LT25EvelinNL 10AtenaPL26FerdinandRO 11BazilRO27HelmiFI 12BetalisaRO28HermesBE, FR, NL 13BonetCZ29IlonaNL, CZ, SK 14BonitaBE, FR, NL30JitkaCZ 15Caesar AugustusNL,31 Jordan CZ, SK 16CodrutaRO32JosephineNL List of fibrous flax cultivars enrolled on the Register of European Union.

16. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y List of fibrous flax cultivars enrolled on the Register of European Union. No.VarietyCountry of origin 33KastyciaiLT 34LauraNL, AT 53SelenaPL 54SelinPT 55SnaigiaiLT 56SofieBE, FR, NL 57SumuleuRO 58SuperSK 59SuzanneBE, FR, NL 60TaborCZ 61TemidaPL 62TexaSK 63VasilelinRO 64VenicaCZ 65VestaFR, NL 66VikingNL 67ViolaNL

17. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Environmental conditions needed for fibre flax growing temperature, water (precipitation, soil, air humidity) soil forecrop - (position in the Rotation Cycle) Fibre flax Linseed (oil flax) Topic 3. Growing conditions of bast plants – input requirements

18. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Fibre flax weather condition needs Water The effect of soil moisture on fibre flax plants growing 10% Field Water Capacity 15 % FWC 20 % FWC 30 % FWC 35 % FWC 45 % FWC (FWC)

19. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Position in the Rotation Cycle forecrop – the best for flax are cereals (oats, wheat) Fusarium wilt – flax after 6-7 years at the same field soil – the best for flax are fertile soils in a high culture, medium compacted and compacted, high humus clays and clay sandy soils, of soil valuation class at least IVa, the risk of lodging is very high in the rainy weather and at high level of N fertilisation

20. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Optimisation of cultivation technologies treatments:  sowing density – 24-26 million of seeds per 1 ha (120-130 kg/ha),  right-on-time and quality of plant protection treatments of flax plants (e.g.. earlier application of herbicides allows for decreasing of a preparation doses),  time of flax pulling – beginning of green-yellow maturity of flax,  correct dew-retting of flax

21. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 21 BBCH 00 10 11 12 14 16 36 55 65 75 83 85 TRIPS FLAX FLEA BEETLE HARVESTING WEEDS DISEASES Post emergent cultivation – plant protection

22. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Fibre bundles very well formed Flax fibres well formed gain x 1000 (Stems are yellow to 1/3 of height, leafs fallen off from the bottom to 1/4 of height. Bolls of flax begin to turn yellow) BBCH 83 - green-yellow maturity of flax Time of flax pulling - beginning of green-yellow maturity of flax

23. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 4. Logistic (harvesting – handling) until industrial plant gate Technologies of harvesting and handling fibrous flax (Machines for harvesting - handling)

24. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 5. Yields 1.Yielding potential of fibre flax in Europe 2.Practical (commercial) yielding of fibre flax in Europe 3.The reason, why the practical (commercial) yielding of flax is lower than potential 4.The recomendation, how to increase the practical yielding

25. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Specification Belarus Czech Rep. France The Netherlands PolandRussia Total yield [t/ ha] 12.488.2711.416.1 c/d11.757.5-8.0 Ginned (deseeded) straw yield [t/ha] 11.58 8.00 c/d 10.766.010.305-6 Seed yield [t/ha] 2.011.270.550.10.901.8 Total fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 43.737.633.3240.022.045 Long fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 26.024.126.7622.516.924 Short fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 17.7n/a6.5617.55.111 Yield of total fibre [t/ha] 5.0602.513.5842.42.2662. 5 Yield of long fibre [t/ha] 3.0111.662.8791.351.7401. 6 Yield of short fibre [t/ha] 2.0490.850.7051.050.5250.9 Cultivated area average [ha] 75 0004 82270 883 1 4 516.7 1 5 091 3 111 930 4 Potential yields of fibrous flax in flax producing countries in Europe Topic 5. Yield

26. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y. Commercial yields of fibre flax in Western and Eastern Europe Specification Years 2002200320042005200620072008Average Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe 1 Ginned straw yield [t/ha] 4.495.403.235.203.574.953.854.453.564.753.4648.0036.2056.036.8349.9 2 Seed yield [t/ha] 0.821.000.600.980.700.920.800.830.650.890.600.900.731.050.700.93 3 Total fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 30.0035.3030.2036.1033.6033.9031.1031.8030.8031.2028.8032.3030.7032.1030.7433.50 4 Long fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 18.9022.6018.5025.0022.4021.8019.5021.3019.6020.6018.7020.8020.702519.7622.50 5 Short fibre content in ginned straw yield [%] 11.1012.7011.7011.1011.2012.1011.6010.4011.2010.5010.1011.5011.007.1011.1311.00 6 Yield of total fibre [t/ha] 1.3501.9050.9801.8751.2001.6801.2001.4151.1001.4801.0001.5501.1501.8001.1341.675 7 Yield of long fibre [t/ha] 0.8501.2200.6001.3000.8001.0800.7500.9500.7000.9800.6501.0000.7501.4000.7231.130 8 Yield of short fibre [t/ha] 0.5000.6850.3800.5750.4000.6000.4500.4650.4000.5000.3500.5500.400 0.4110.545 9 Cultivation area [ha] 5 20015 3153 00019 3066 34519 8236 00018 6704 24316 3542 05614 6301 99112 0304 11916 590 Source: The data in the above table are based on the data achieved in the commercial scale, in the flax industries of Poland and Belgium.

27. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 5. Yields Factors restricting fibre flax optimal yielding capacity Objective factors: Climatic (weather) conditions Soil Anthropogenic factors: Level of agronomy forecrop – the best one for flax are cereals (oats, wheat), sowing material – certified; seed dressing is the practice which enables the effective fibrous flax cultivation sowing date – a simple positive correlation was found; the earlier sowing, the higher yield of straw, fiber and seed of fiber flax, sowing density – 24-26 million of seeds per 1 ha (120-130 kg/ha), sowing quality - depth 2 cm, row spacing 8-10 cm level of weed infestation– it was found that higher infestation with weeds causes decrease in number of flax plants per square unit resulting from higher thinning. right-in-time and quality of plant protection treatments of flax plants (e.g. earlier application of herbicides allows for decreasing of a preparation), time of flax pulling – beginning of green-yellow maturity of flax, controlled dew-retting of flax.

28. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 6. Quality The following quality parameters of raw materials were evaluaeted in INF&MP: Long flax fibre for hackled yarns Short flax fibre for carded yarns Flax wool-like homomorphic fibre for blended yarns Flax cotton-like fibre for blended yarns Green decorticated fibre Flax fibre used in disinfection mats The expectations regarding flax fibre quality features depend on the final destination of fibre.

29. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 6. Quality Raw material Fibre length [mm] Fibre thinness [tex] Flax long scutched fibre 300-14004,0-6,0 Flax hackled scutched fibre 350-7001,4-3,3 Parameters of flax scutched and hackled fibre Fibre thinnes [tex] - linear mass (shows the mass of 1000 m in grams)

30. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 6. Quality Raw material Fibre length [mm] Fibre thinness [tex] Scutching tow80-1403,5-5,5 Matted tow140-2504,5-6,5 Parameters of flax tow Fibre thinnes [tex] - linear mass (shows the mass of 1000 m in grams)

31. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 7. Application current - potential

32. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Non-deseeded raw straw Biomass for bio-fuel Deseeded raw straw Seeds Dew-retted straw Shives & dust Technical fiber Short fiber scutched tows Short fiber matted tows Special carded yarn Weaving Carded yarn Bedlinen fabrics Decorative fabrics Cottonized fiber Special carded yarn Weaving carded yarn Ropes Long scutched fiber Special carded yarn Cleaning material Combing waste fiber Carded yarn Bedding material Insulating matarial Paper production Felts Threads Technical and decorative fabrics Nets and others Ropes Long combed fiber Special combed yarn Spinning waste material Weaving carded yarn Paper production Bedding material Nonwovens Nets and other Sowing seed 32

33. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 8. Factors restricting growth and yielding potential High differentiation of flax cultivation conditions (weather, cultivation technology) and dew retting (weather) is the factor limiting obtaining high lots of good quality fibre Average area of flax field in EU is too small to obtain high lots of good quality fibre The main factor limiting yielding capacity of fibrous flax in the EU is global warming (rainfalls and high air temperatures) Lack of fibrous flax cultivars resistant to drought and high temperatures Lack of flax cultivation technology adapted to climate change (high temperatures, drought)

34. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Topic 9. Research gaps Basic research Development of Linum gene map, identification of genes responsible for fibre yield and its quality Applied research Breeding of flax cultivars with higher resistance to drought and high temperature Flax cultivation technologies suitable for global warming Environmental friendly methods of fibrous flax cultivation Optimization of dew retting methods of flax

35. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 5. Difficulties encountered WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Ad. 6 Quality – it was hard to divided what should belong to WP1 and what to WP3. We decided that the main material will be presented in WP3 ad. 7 Applications; current- potential – the similar situation as in topic 6. It was hard to divided what should belong to WP 1 and what to WP3. We decided that the main material will be presented In WP 3

36. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 5. Difficulties encountered WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Kenaf - we decided to send draft raport to KEFI and to National Energy Research Centre, Amman, Jordan for consultation Nettle - draft raport was sent to KEFI for estimation

37. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y 5. Difficulties encountered WP 1 - Potential of non-food crops Nettle – problems with some topics particularly with: Logistics (harvesting – handling) until the industrial plant gate Yield Quality Applications; current- potential Factors restricting growth and yielding potential

38. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Plans for the next 6 months - Gantt chart for INF&MP Description of work 10.10. 2010 15.12. 2010 05.01. 2011 30.01. 2011 Final version of WP 1 rapport for f ibre flax, hemp Final version of WP 1 rapport for Kenaf Final version of WP 1 rapport for Nettle Raport for WP 1 rapport task 1.2.1 Bast fibre crops 38

39. C R O P S T O I N D U S T R Y Thank you for attention !