02/14/07 Value added mustard, canola

University of Idaho biochemist Matt Morra knows all about that hot, spicy taste you get when biting into a mustard seed or green. MORRA "So what you're doing by breaking that tissue or biting into the mustard seed or mustard leaf is releasing this isothiosyinate which gives you a hot taste on your tongue but also can be used to kill different plant pests and be used as a natural pesticide." Morra says mustard and canola meals can be used to fight anything from nematodes to weeds. Most farmers know this, yet they don't plant a mustard or canola crop. MORRA "The growers would plant this, plant the mustards if they could make money but if you can't pay them enough they're going to plant wheat." Morra says farmers could make a profit if they had a canola crop that was harvested for its oil and potential biodiesel use in addition to using the meal as a biofumigant. That's why he's put three years of study into some organic crops. MORRA "We have some information about carrots and strawberries and we've done some things with lettuce and a few other crops but we need detailed information so that we can stick it on the label and say 'look this is what you can use it on, this is how you use it.' We don't want to kill off somebody's crop or cause some kind of damage." So what happens next? That part of the story tomorrow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott