CURRENT RESEARCH in Wales could lead to a wide range of previously unseen crop species appearing in fields.

Gareth Edwards-Jones, head of Bangor University‘s School of Agricultural and Forestry Science, predicts that the face of farming will change radically over the next 100 years.

He says work at the institution‘s Henfaes Farm will provide farmers with a blueprint for the successful and profitable cultivation of novel crops like crambe, borage, sunflowers, calendula, flax and hemp.

Potential growers attending an open day on the farm heard that the trials would look at all husbandry aspects under field conditions, and evaluate the commercial potential of alternative species.

EU Objective 1 money was funding a project that looked at the cultivation and industrial use of fibre crops, including correct planting times, seed and fertiliser rates and the timing of harvest.

This had already led to large increases in fibre yield and quality of flax and hemp crops.

“The advances gained in the knowledge and understanding of the agronomy of these fibre crops will allow for commercial production on Wales farms, when the industrial economic situation is favourable,” said researcher Dr Aarita Bennett.

This would mean the use of the fibre within the motor industry – for door panels, dashboards and shelves – and for horticultural and amenity applications such as soil stabilisation, weed suppression and the manufacture of hanging basket linings.

Other novel crops could be used in a number of industrial processes, including the production of pharmaceuticals.