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Triffid-free flax seed available in 2014

Feb. 8, 2013, Saskatoon, SK - Flax growers will have access to a reconstituted, Triffid-free seed supply in 2014.

The European market was closed to Canadian flax in 2009 after traces of the genetically modified variety Triffid were found in Canadian shipments.

After finding very low traces of Triffid in their breeder seed lines, breeders at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon are in the process of developing flax seed that is 100 percent Triffid-free.

Will Hill, president of the Flax Council of Canada, says the reconstituted seed is a major step toward ending the stringent testing procedures that have been in place for farmers and industry for the past three years.

The reconstituted varieties will represent 60 to 80 percent of the flax grown in western Canada -- CDC Bethune 14, CDC Sorrel 14, CDC Sanctuary and CDC Glas.

 

February 8, 2013  By The Canadian Press


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