Testing System Strengthens Flax Fiber Foundation

REGINA - Feb 3/04 - SNS -- Optimism remains about prospects for developing a flax fiber processing industry in Saskatchewan, but more effort needs to go into created a strong foundation says Alvin Ulrich, president of Biolin Research Inc in Saskatoon.

This includes more accurate sampling methods and a reliable, rapid and inexpensive testing system. The latter part of the puzzle has been solved through a joint effort by Biolin Research and the USDA's Russell Research Centre in Georgia.

They have developed a system that uses Near InfraRed (NIR) technology to determine the bast fiber content of flax straw samples relatively quickly and cheaply. Bast fiber is the straw component that will most likely lead to a value-added industry with the largest commercial potential, says Ulrich.

The accurate sampling method was more recently developed. Biolin, with support of the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), collected flax straw samples from 17 fields and from bales removed from four fields in the Redvers area. These were tested for fiber content using the NIR system, and more than 100 of these samples were double-checked by water retting and extracting the fiber by hand.

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