NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

November 12, 1998

NDSU Releases New Flax Varieties: Cathay and Pembina

The Agricultural Experiment Station at North Dakota State University announces the release of Cathay and Pembina flax. Both of these new varieties have been tested extensively in the Dakotas, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Cathay is similar to McGregor in days to flower and maturity, but Cathay has a larger seed, heavier test weight and about a 1.8 percent greater oil content. Pembina is about one day earlier in days to flower and maturity, and Pembina also has a heavier test weight than McGregor, along with about 1.1 percent more oil.

Both of these new NDSU varieties are resistant to all known races of North American flax rust and have good tolerance to wilt. In research tests, early plantings of Cathy outyielded McGregor by 3 percent, but later plantings of Cathay produced significantly lower yields compared to McGregor. In contrast, early plantings of Pembina outperformed McGregor by 1 percent, but late plantings of Pembina outyielded McGregor by 10 percent.

Named after Cathay, N.D., in Wells County, and Pembina County, NDSU's newest flax varieties were developed under the leadership of Jim Hammond of the NDSU Department of Plant Sciences. Cathay has performed especially well in central North Dakota and is expected to replace significant acreage of several older varieties, including McGregor. Pembina has performed well in all flax-growing regions of the state.

Cathay and Pembina, because the agronomic advantages each possesses, should generate significant additional income for North Dakota flax growers each year, says Al Schneiter, chair of NDSU's plant sciences department. North Dakota's flax acreage more than doubled from 1997 to 1998.

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Source: Al Schneiter (701) 231-8137

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136