First Field Trials of Borage (Borago officinalis L.) in Andalusia (Southern Spain) as a Source of “Biological” Gamma Linolenic Acid

SUMMARY

Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is cultivated in the north of Spain for fresh edible production and is gathered from natural populations for its fresh flowers with saline, cucumber-like flavor. It is considered as a weed in the rest of Spain. Nevertheless, the agroecological mediterranean conditions in the south of Spain are adequate for growing borage as an oilseed crop for γ-linolenic acid (GLA) production.

One ha of borage was sown on a farm in the Guadalquivir Valley in the Autumn of 1999. The farm was located in Carmona (province Seville) and cultivated under biological production conditions, controlled by the “Comité Andaluz de Agricultura Ecológica” (CAAE), the Andalusian biological control organization (an IFOAM member).

The crop was developed by dry farming, fertilized with common vetch, and false technical sowing was employed to avoid weeds. The harvest was collected mechanically and the seed was produced using densimetrical method. A yield of 544 kg of clean seed/ha with 27.3–33.3% oil content was obtained. This yield is similar to that obtained under conventional agronomic conditions.

That it is possible to cultivate borage under biological conditions in the south of Spain for GLA commercial production with biological label quality has therefore been demonstrated.

KEYWORDS:

• Borage
• gamma-linolenic acid
• GLA
• fatty acids
• oilseeds