Biennial Caraway - Production and Management

• Field Selection
• Seeding
• Fertilizer
• Weeds
• Insects
• Diseases
• Pollination
• Harvesting
• Estimated Cost of Production

Field Selection

Biennial caraway is most commonly produced in Manitoba. Annual-type caraway is available but is considered too late-maturing for Manitoba. Biennial caraway may produce a second harvest in year three, from plants that did not flower in year two. Yields can range from 700 to 1,000 lb/acre. Yields up to 1,700 lb/acre have been reported.

Seeding Caraway

Dates
Biennial caraway is seeded with a nurse crop in late April to mid May. Caraway is slow to germinate and emerge.

Rates
Seeding rate is 10 to 12 lb/acre. The nurse crop should be sown at 1/2 normal seeding rate. Seed weight/bulk density is approximately 35 to 40 lb/bu.

Seeding Depth
0.5 to 1 inch in a firm, moist seed bed.

Fertilizer Recommendations for Caraway

Fertilizer trials have not been conducted in Western Canada. Suggested guidelines:

Weed Control

Caraway is a poor competitor with weeds. Perennial weeds (thistles, dandelions) and winter annuals (stinkweed, flixweed) are difficult to control. Weeds cause yield losses and excessive dockage losses. Few products are registered for weed control.

• Weed identification, scouting techniques, economic thresholds
• Weed Seedling Identification Guide

Insects

Grasshoppers and leafhoppers can damage caraway. Grasshopper heads and parts in the harvested crop can result in down-grading. Leafhoppers can spread aster yellows.

• Scouting for Insect Pests
• Insectidentification, scouting techniques, economic thresholds.

Diseases affecting Caraway

Damping-off and root rot cause yellowing and death of emerging seedlings in year one. In year two, affected plants have slow development, stunting, yellowing at the flowering state and a poor seed set.

Phoma blight is seed-borne, affecting the stem and head with raised grey to black lesions.

Aster yellows is a disease carried plant-to-plant by leafhoppers. Infected plants at flowering time have their flowers turn yellow and grow tattered. Plants do not set seed.

• Scouting for Diseases
• Crop disease identification, scouting techniques, economic thresholds.

Pollination

Yield increases have been reported with the use of honeybees for pollination.

Harvesting Caraway

Swath when approximately 75 per cent of the seeds turn brown. Swathing too early results in shrivelled, immature seed. Shattering occurs if swathed too late. Thresh when seeds are all light brown with dark valleys between lighter ridges. Caraway threshes easily with settings similar to canola and mustard.

Storage
Store at less than 10 per cent moisture. Hot air drying is not recommended. Moisture-metre charts are not available. Limited information suggests the canola chart is comparable.

Quality
Downgrading or rejection can result from insect parts, rodent droppings, weed seeds, other foreign material and overly dark colour. Cleanouts of 15 to 20 per cent are typical. Quality is judged according to aroma and colour. Colour is preserved by ensuring the crop is not in the swath too long. Aroma is preserved by proper curing and storage.

• Grain Drying and Storage of Damp Grain
• Prevention and control of insects and mites in farm stored grain

 

Estimated Cost of Production (2002)