asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will make a statement on the flax-growing trials which were carried out in County Cork.
Written Answers. - Flax-Growing Trials.
39.
Two pilot trials on flax-growing were carried out in County Cork in 1985. One trial, which consisted of half-acre plots on five separate farms, was designed to test the effectiveness of new developments in regard to flax-growing. This trial also assessed the effectiveness of glyphosphate as a retting agent. Samples of the harvest crop were sent to Belgium for an assessment of fibre quality.
The second trial at Clonakilty college compared a number of varieties of flax. Allowing for the unusually poor weather conditions last year the results obtained were reasonably encouraging.