Flax and relatives - The Manual of Seed Saving - page 124

The blue flowers of flax are nearly as heavenly as the sky.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS In general, the faster the development of young plants, the more
likely the plant will produce seeds.
• oilseed flax: high number of seeds (plants richly branched, many capsules)
• fiber flax: height, length, and lack of branchiness of primary stalk
DISEASES AND PESTS Wait five to seven years to grow flax at the same location again. Several fungi
( Sclerotinia , Fusarium , Pythium , Rhizoctonia ) can attack roots and shoots and cause stunted growth.
Many fungal diseases can also be seed-borne. Prevention: do not harvest seed from sick plants, long
crop rotation, not following legumes or sunflowers in crop rotation.
CULTIVATION HISTORY Flax was the first crop plant used for weaving clothing. The oldest archaeolo-
gical finds of gathered wild flax (9200-8500 BC ) and domesticated flax (6250-5950 BC ) are from
Syria. Ancient Egyptians wore clothing made of flax fibers. In Neolithic settlements around Lake Con-
stance and lakes in Switzerland, charred linens and knotted fishing nets have been found; there are
finds from the later Neolithic in present-day Poland and southern England. Flax cultivation began in
Ireland and Scotland after the Bronze Age (1800 BC ). Flax is found in many paintings and descriptions
of crop plants from the Middle Ages. By the 19th century, flax was the most important fiber plant in
Germany and Austria, but since the turn of the 20th century, it has taken a back seat to cotton.