Renewed interest in natural fibres, decreasing subsidies to European producers, and high production costs have led the move to reintroduce fibre flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) production into eastern Canada. Research was conducted at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Que´bec, Canada in 1998 and 1999 and at Winchester and Kemptville, Ontario, Canada in 1998, to assess the performance of seven European fibre flax cultivars. Parameters evaluated included plant density, branching ratio, stem diameter, fresh and dry biomass, and mean harvest height. Data from all sites and years were subjected to a pooled anova where appropriate. The cultivar main effect was detected for all parameters measured, with the exception of mean fresh weight and mean height at harvest. There was also a site main effect for all parameters except for branching ratio. A cultivar-site interaction was found for all parameters except for mean stem diameter and mean dry weight. Results indicate a strong potential for producing fibre flax in eastern Canada using currently available European cultivars.

Research was conducted at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University (Que´bec, Canada) at three sites in 1997 and one site in 1998 to determine the effects and interactions of seeding depth (0, 1, 2, 4 or 6 cm) and seedbed preparation (i.e. soil rolling): none, rolling before or rolling after seeding on fibre flax (cv. Ariane) establishment, growth and yield. Seedbed preparation had little impact on the parameters measured while seeding depth had a variable effect on plant density, plant height, stem diameter and retted straw yield. Seeding depths of 1-4 cm provided consistently good establishment, growth and yield results. In 1997, there was an interaction between seeding depth and seedbed preparation on plant height, branching ratio and retted straw yield, although results were generally variable and tended to be site-specific. In 1998, there was an interaction between seeding depth and seedbed preparation on plant height and stem diameter prior to harvest, with the results varying for all seeding depth-seedbed preparation treatment combinations except for the 2-cm depth treatment. Rolling of the seedbed before seeding on lighter soils and at a depth of 2 cm on most soils can improve establishment, growth and yields of fibre flax under eastern Canadian growing conditions.

The feasibility of producing fibre flax in minimum tillage or zero tillage (ZT) systems was investigated. The results were variable between the sites, which differed in soil type and previous cropping history. Tillage regime had no impact on fibre flax phenological development including number of days to emergence, days to flowering and days to harvest at either site. However, tillage regime had a significant effect on mean stem diameter, dry matter content and plant height at all three sampling dates at the sandy loam site, and a significant effect on mid-season plant height at the clay site. At the sandy loam site, ZT plots had the highest populations of plants with the finest stem diameters, the lowest branching ratios, but the shortest plants by the end of the season. Overall, plant densities were greater, stem diameters thinner, and biomass production higher in the heavier soil of the clay site. These results indicate that under the growing conditions present in 1998, fibre flax can successfully be grown in minimum or ZT systems on different soil types in Eastern Canada. Moreover, the growth of fibre flax in these systems does not compromise the proportion of tall plants having thin stems and minimal branching, a critical quality parameter for fibre flax production.