Growing Food: A Guide to Food Production

YIELD

Linseed crops raised for oil are normally harvested when most of the seed capsules
are mature. The stalks are very tough and fibrous and need sharp knives to cut them.
The average yield globally was estimated by FAO at 726 kg/ha in 2004, Tunisia
recording the highest average of 2.14 MT/ha, and Latvia the lowest average of 259
kg/ha.

UTILISATION

• and must be either crushed or softened by soaking and boiling before feeding to


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  varnishes, lino, oilcloth, printing inks, artists’ oil paints, soaps and patent

  
  


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  food it gives them a nice shiny coat, or “bloom”. “Linseed meal” is the crushed,
  unextracted seed and contains about 35%,10% or 3% oil depending on the
  source of the “meal”: ground, unextracted seed, ground linseed cake, or meal
  from the extraction process, respectively. Linseed cake is toxic to poultry,
  unless it makes up less than about 3% of their meal. Toxicity (linamarin) can be
  removed (detoxicated) by soaking the meal in water for 24 hours, or by adding

  
  


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  make it suitable for linen, thread, towels, clothing, fabrics, cigarettes, Bible
  pages, currency, etc.

  
  

LIMITATIONS

• the first weeds have been destroyed. It is, however, very tolerant of most


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• Prussic acid. Immature linseed contains the glucoside linamarin which may be
  released under warm, acidic conditions. This can be toxic to animals, but is


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  rotation.

  
  

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Fibre—stronger than cotton or wool, and with other special qualities which

Straw—this is comparable to wheat or oat straw in feeding value but is not very

Linseed cake - this is often ground up to make linseed cake meal, used as animal

Linseed oil is not palatable and is mainly used in the production of paints,

Seed—contains 30–45% of a drying oil and 20–25% protein. The seed is hard

animals—it is used as a concentrated energy feed for ruminants and pigs.

leather.

pyridoxin, a B-vitamin, to the meal.

palatable.

There should be long breaks—five or six years—between linseed crops in the

The seedbed must be fine and have adequate soil moisture in the upper horizon;

Linseed plants compete very poorly with weeds, so it is often planted late, after

herbicides.

Yields are rather low.

destroyed by heat—ten minutes boiling makes the feed safe.

GROWING FOOD – THE FOOD PRODUCTION HANDBOOK