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Commercial Echinacea Production

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Commercial Echinacea Production Commercial Echinacea Production Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Commercial Echinacea Production Published by: Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Information Packaging Centre 7000 - 113 Street Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6H 5T6 Editor: Carolyn King Production Editor: Chris Kaulbars Graphic Designer: John Gillmore Page Production: Sherrill Strauss Copyright © 2005. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta (Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the Information Packaging Centre, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. ISBN 0-7732-6074-9 Copies of this publication may be purchased from: Publications Office Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Phone: 1-800-292-5697 (toll-free in Canada) (780) 427-0391 or see our website <www.agric.gov.ab.ca/publications> for information about other publications, videos and CD-ROMs Contents Acknowledgements ................................................... iv Field Production Systems .................... 16 Abbreviations .............................................................. v Site selection ............................................................. 16 Light ...................................................................... 16 Introduction ...................................................... 1 Soil ........................................................................ 16 Purpose of this guide .................................................. 1 Drainage ............................................................... 19 Previous crops and crop rotations ........................ 19 ....................................................... 2 Background Water for irrigation ............................................... 19 Alberta’s echinacea industry ..................................... 2 Microclimate ......................................................... 19 Echinacea in the natural health products market ... 2 Organic considerations ......................................... 20 Sources of echinacea .................................................. 3 Site and soil preparation .......................................... 20 Wild harvesting ....................................................... 3 Pre-planting weed management ........................... 21 Cultivated echinacea .............................................. 3 Pre-planting soil fertility management ................. 21 Botanical history of echinacea .................................. 4 Organic considerations ......................................... 21 Folklore ....................................................................... 4 Seeds vs. transplants ................................................. 23 Historical uses of echinacea in North America ....... 4 Other considerations ............................................ 23 Native tribes ............................................................ 4 Seed considerations ................................................. 24 Settlers and physicians ............................................ 4 Varietal purity and botanical identification ......... 24 Modern health claims ................................................ 6 Seed weight ........................................................... 24 Seed germination .................................................. 24 The Echinacea Plant ................................. 7 Treatments to improve germination ..................... 24 Echinacea species ....................................................... 7 Organic considerations ......................................... 26 Ensuring the botanical identity of echinacea ........... 7 Direct seeding ........................................................... 26 Taxonomy of echinacea .......................................... 7 Spring vs. fall planting .......................................... 26 Active ingredients ....................................................... 9 Seeding density ...................................................... 26 Compounds with immunostimulatory activities .... 9 Seeding depth ........................................................ 27 Other compounds ................................................. 10 Mulches ................................................................. 27 Latitudinal effect ...................................................... 10 Organic considerations ......................................... 27 Transplanting ............................................................ 27 Preliminary Considerations ............... 11 Transplant characteristics ..................................... 27 Business basics .......................................................... 11 Transplant type and production timing ................ 27 Business and production plans ................................ 11 Planting date ......................................................... 28 Markets ..................................................................... 11 Plant spacing ......................................................... 28 Contracts ................................................................... 12 Transplanting depth .............................................. 29 Breaking the traditional farming mentality ........... 12 Transplant establishment and survival ................. 29 Just because it looks good on paper… ................... 12 Planting bed design ............................................... 30 Labour ....................................................................... 12 Organic considerations ......................................... 30 Other considerations ................................................ 13 Fertility management ............................................... 30 Organic production .................................................. 13 Organic considerations ......................................... 32 Key considerations ................................................ 13 Organic certification ............................................. 14 i Irrigation ................................................................... 32 Financial risk management ..................................... 55 Irrigation system options ...................................... 34 Cash flow projections ........................................... 56 Irrigation timing and amounts ............................. 34 Risk management strategy: a five-year Other considerations ............................................ 34 rotation ............................................................... 58 Organic considerations ......................................... 35 Risk management strategy: reduce the Pest management ..................................................... 36 cost of plugs ........................................................ 58 Diseases ................................................................. 36 Discounted cash flow ........................................... 60 Insect pests ............................................................ 40 Break even analysis ............................................... 60 Vertebrate pests ..................................................... 40 Sensitivity analysis ................................................ 63 Weed management ................................................ 40 Financial benchmarks .......................................... 64 Nutrient deficiencies ............................................. 41 Organic considerations ......................................... 41 Business and Marketing ....................... 66 Over-wintering .......................................................... 41 Marketing vs. business ............................................. 66 Winterkill .............................................................. 41 Value of market research ......................................... 66 Improving winter survival ..................................... 42 Conducting market research ................................... 66 Organic considerations ......................................... 43 How to market .......................................................... 67 Estimating plant populations ............................... 43 Market requirements ............................................... 67 Seed harvest .............................................................. 44 Selling root, seed and/or herb ................................. 67 Collection .............................................................. 44 General requirements ........................................... 68 Cleaning ................................................................ 45 Value-added options ................................................ 68 Seed numbers per gram ........................................ 46 Seed production per hectare ................................. 46 Greenhouse Production Traceability ............................................................ 46 Systems ................................................................ 70 Organic considerations ......................................... 46 Transplant production .............................................. 70 Production timing ................................................. 71 Color Section ...........between pages 46 and 47 Growing medium .................................................
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