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Planting Rhodiola – how is it done?

How do you . . .

Plant Rhodiola rosea? 

The seedlings are ready.  They’ve grown in their cells for a year or more.  Their roots are well established, crowns are developing, and they are filling up all the room they have in the nursery.

Is it time to plant them out into the field?  While the seedlings grow, the farmer must prepare the land to receive the seedlings.  In Alberta (Canada), the weed pressure is high to extreme, and Rhodiola rosea will not compete well with weeds.  Yield loss due to weeds can be as high as 95%.  That means lots of tilling and/or herbicides.  The crop bed must be weed-free to give the Rhodiola seedlings a head start.

Now are we ready to plant?  Maybe.  Check the weather.  Is there a rain in the forecast?  Yes!  Let’s go!

Time to lay the plastic and make raised beds.  Then pop the seedlings out of their trays in the nursery and hook up the transplanter.  Now fill up the water tanks and start planting.  The transplanter pokes a hole in the plastic and fills the hole with water.  Stop and go as all holes receive a healthy plant.  The end result – rows of Rhodiola and many promises to keep the field well tended and the weeds at bay. 

There are many ways to plant from highly specialized GPS-driven automatic planters to shovels and forks.  Either time and lots of money, or vice versa.  Each farmers’ story is different and each farmer makes many decisions for his Rhodiola.  And that’s just the start.  Next step – weed and weed some more – for five years.

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Planning for the Harvest

It’s the first day of spring, the vernal equinox, and ARRGO is planning for our Spring Harvest 2021.  Facility repairs and maintenance speed along, supplies are ordered, and schedules are set up.  The operations crew strategize on efficiencies for receiving and handling the freshly harvested roots.  Customer orders have been received and there is anticipation for the best harvest yet.

In the field the Rhodiola still hibernates, solidly frozen in the ground.  Snows are melting, though, and the water sinks into the earth – a good sign that winter’s hold is breaking and the soil is warming. 

The colors of winter linger and the eye searches for hints of green.  In colder latitudes the strengthening sun of early spring can often cause water runoff from early snowmelts.  Instead of sinking into partially thawed soil, the water pools into low areas or draws, creating temporary ponds and swelling streams and rivers.

This winter seemed less snowy than normal.  The cover of snow is now peeled back to reveal the soil, compressed vegetation, and all the projects that were left undone last fall.

The Rhodiola buds remain tightly closed, but the warmth of early spring will soon swell the buds.  Shoots and leaves will quickly follow, and the Rhodiola harvest will be in full dig.

Each year the ARRGO farmers uncover a few more of Rhodiola’s secrets.  And some of them are not what we want to hear.  We’ve known since the beginning that the roots weigh less in spring, and now we can quantify it.  As the buds and shoots develop, the roots give up some of their mass.  Farmers will lose between 6 and 13% by weight in spring compared to their fall harvest.  Although the root volume does not change from fall to spring, the roots are actually less dense while the shoots are actively growing.  If only we could harvest before they start the transition to bolt.  But that would mean dynamite and chunks of flying frozen dirt.

So while we plan for the harvest, we also question how to do it better.  When is the best time to harvest?  What influences growth and yield?  What creates the highest levels of beneficial compounds?  Time to plan to get some answers!

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What do you do with all the dirt?

ARRGO is celebrating the close of another successful harvest and processing season for our Rhodiola rosea.  Now it’s time to clean up and get ready for the next season.

When the freshly dug Rhodiola is delivered to the ARRGO Processing Facility, some of the ‘field’ comes with it.  The dirt, weeds and rocks still cling to neighboring roots.  The crew at the Processing Facility are the experts at separating the good root from all the clingers that wrap around and sometimes pierce through the thick fleshy Rhodiola.

At the end of each day, the crew has a bin full of dirt and bits of rhodiola and weeds that must be disposed of.  It used to be that the dirt and weeds were hauled off to the nearest facility that handles toxic waste.  Yes, that’s right – agricultural soil is considered toxic waste.  But now there’s a much better solution.

ARRGO is fortunate to own the land adjacent to our Processing Facility.  Now all the bins of dirt are spread out on the land.  The dirt is tilled and worked in, and the weeds are killed after a few times of being turned under.

Last year ARRGO grew a test plot of Rhodiola rosea on top of the dirt.  We plan to do that again this year, too.  After that our plan is to turn the area into a Community Garden for the town.  Expensive problem solved and many people will benefit!

Bins of dirt stacked at the ARRGO facility will soon be added to the ARRGO test plot
From agricultural waste to community garden
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Rhodiola rosea seedlings: Tiny seeds make tiny seedlings

It’s early March, and spring is still about 6 weeks away for farmers here in Alberta Canada.  We need to hit the ground running when the growing season starts.  While the snow covers all the jobs that had to be left when fall turned to winter, it’s a great time to plan for the months to come. 

Meanwhile as the farmers plan, the Rhodiola has been seeded into trays and waits for the snows to melt.  By mid-April the trays start to show green specks, but which ones are the Rhodiola rosea?  Small and bluish-green, two cotyledons appear (primary leaves before the first true leaves).  They are round and smooth and plump with a linear crevice in between. The white balls in the picture are perlite, which is found in many types of potting mixtures.

Experience says that the Rhodiola germinates early, but the plant is small and vulnerable.  If conditions are right, the tiny seedling will continue to grow, putting out one or two green shoots.  Simultaneously the seedling starts developing a small ball where the shoot meets the soil.  This is the crown where new buds will develop and energy is stored before winter comes.

The farmer tends his seedlings 6 months to 2 years before they are ready to transplant to the field.  The bigger the seedling at transplant time, the better the chance of survival. 

Will greenhouse practices or hydroponics improve the chances of survival?  Will these practices produce a larger more robust seedling in a shorter amount of time?  Research is underway in Alaska and in Canada and in time we will know and probably have even more questions!

Rhodiola rosea seedlings – April
First year and second year Rhodiola seedlings – August
Volunteer seedlings in the field – early May

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Rhodiola seed – Tiny Survivors

The seed of Rhodiola rosea has many unique characteristics, the first being its size.  1-2 mm is it for stature, shiny reddish-brown, and 1200 of them weigh out at a whole gram.  The tiny seed carries an immense amount of genetic diversity and robust viability. Also within the genetics is the sex of the future plant. 

The shell of the rhodiola seed has a protective coating which must be broken by freezing winter temperatures in order for germination to occur.  Growers and botanists call this breaking of the seed’s dormancy ‘winter stratification’.  Other ways to ready the seed for germination are to place the seed in air tight bags in the freezer or to apply a natural hormone called Gibberelic acid.  The latter method requires frost-free conditions as the seedling must build up its tolerance to colder temperatures.

ARRGO farmers normally obtain germination rates of 85 – 95% under the right circumstances.  Germination in the wild is noted to be low, in the range of 20-30%. 

Why the difference?  It’s part of Rhodiola’s survivor instincts.  The seed requires light before it will germinate.  Rhodiola farmers note that the tiny seeds germinate in early spring as soon as the snows melt away.  The plants grow slowly and may be only a few inches tall after a full growing season.  As the farmer weeds the seedlings, more Rhodiola seeds are exposed to sunlight and the farmer may find that a new set of seeds will germinate.

In addition, sufficient rainfall and cool summer weather are key to seedling survival – too hot and too dry = no Rhodiola.  The seed is viable for many years though, and if all conditions are met ? – yay!  

Rhodiola seed – tiny and delicate-looking, but in reality built to survive cold Canadian winters and thrive in our summers.

Rhodiola rosea seed
Rhodiola rosea seed
Rhodiola seedlings after first growing season
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Harvesting Rhodiola Part Two

In our first video we saw Craig Park’s organic Rhodiola rosea field in full bloom in early May 2019.  It’s time for harvest, and Craig uses his potato digger to bring up the entire plant.  Dirt, rocks, weeds and Rhodiola come off the back end of the potato digger and the combination of everything is left in large piles.  The piles are heavy and require either lots of muscle and/or mechanization to sieve out the Rhodiola.

Craig uses his backhoe to break up the piles.  Workers on the ground separate out the rhodiola and place it into piles.  Workers then use the backhoe bucket to gather the roots, all the time shaking dirt, plastic and weeds from the Rhodiola.

Next stop, the backhoe dumps the plants onto tables where workers shake and break out more weeds, dirt and rocks.  The Rhodiola then goes into new tote bags which can hold up to 1200 pounds.  Craig’s tote bags are a little lighter due to the spring top growth.

Forks are added to the backhoe and the full bags are lifted onto a flatbed trailer.  The bags are covered and strapped down for their 2-hour trip to the ARRGO Processing Facility in Thorsby, Alberta.

The Rhodiola rosea is handled many times in the process of harvesting.  Once the Rhodiola is out of the ground it is vulnerable to contamination.  All equipment and tools must be cleaned prior to entering the Rhodiola field.  Clothing, gloves and boots must be washed and free of contaminants.  Even though it is hard work, the farmers must take great care not to bruise or pierce the roots in order to avoid entry of foreign materials, oxidation and decay.

Getting the Rhodiola ready for delivery to the ARRGO Facility is exhausting work for the farmers.  They are so glad when the job is done.  Thank you ARRGO farmers!  You are truly hard workers!

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Springtime Rhodiola rosea Harvest – Part One

ARRGO Member Farmers are creative and inventive when it comes to growing and harvesting Rhodiola rosea.  They use forks and spades, or pull furrow blades behind a tractor.  They use potato diggers and sometimes even potato harvesters.  Whatever it takes to dig up the entire plant and keep it intact.

Any breaks in the root will cause oxidation.  More importantly, a break in the skin or husk of the root could be an avenue for contamination.

The Rhodiola needs to grow for at least five years in the cold Canadian Prairies before it is mature enough for harvest.  In five years’ time, the soil will settle and compact, and the weeds will grow a great network of roots to create major resistance to being turned over.  On top of that, many growers will plant their Rhodiola in plastic mulch to help with weed control.  So at harvest time, the dirt, the rocks, the plastic, the weeds, and the Rhodiola are lifted and shaken up, usually with major effort and some horsepower.

Enjoy our video of harvesting cultivated Rhodiola rosea in the springtime in Alberta.  Craig Park and his crew use a 60-inch potato digger to do the uprooting.  The blade at the front of the digger pushes into the soil, and plants, weeds, rocks and dirt are moved onto the rotating chain belt and table.  The digger is held at an angle to make the plants bounce and roll and shake off some of the soil and weeds.  Watch the video as the rhodiola in its springtime splendor makes it way up and over the top of the table to fall in jumbled piles.  The hard work comes next, but we’ll save that for a future video.

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The Importance of Testing

Fall harvested Rhodiola root ready for processing

ARRGO puts each grower lot of Rhodiola rosea through a series of analyses to ensure quality and purity.  Each lot comes with its own Certificate of Analysis (COA), and all testing is done at third party labs.

Our Rhodiola lots are tested for yeast, molds, E-coli and total microbials.  The raw root can be high in micro’s, comparatively.  Once dried and after a period of several months the micro count drops, but does not approach levels necessary for human consumption.

Micro testing is done when the root has just been processed – washed, chipped and dried.  Any visible mold is thrown out, and the chipped root goes through a final rinse of dilute hydrogen peroxide before entering the dryer.

The lots also go through a battery of heavy metals testing – lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium.  Alberta’s wide-open spaces, pure air and green fields yield Rhodiola root with low levels of heavy metals.

Some areas of Alberta were native prairie and rolling hills prior to the current generation of farmers breaking the land.  Organic farmers in certain locations can produce roots with no detectable signs of pesticides.

HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the testing method used for all analyses of the most important phenylpropanoids – rosin, rosarin, rosavin and salidroside.  The three rosavins are analyzed separately and the value listed on the COA is the summation, and is called Total Rosavins.  For customers who need the breakdown, the full set of compounds analyzed is available.  The full set also includes tyrosol and cinnamyl alcohol.

Currently there is no standard analytical method for Rhodiola rosea.  For ARRGO that means we must be consistent in our testing and method of analysis. Our customers frequently run their own analyses, and the comparison is within the ranges stated on our COA.

Our roots earn their COA through the hard work our ARRGO members, who ensure the highest standards are met for quality, traceability and purity.  Our rigorous testing proves they are doing it right.

[embeddoc url=”https://arrgo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ARRGO-Certificate-of-Analysis-Fall-Harvest-2020-Lot-LEE-173-20.pdf” viewer=”browser”]

[embeddoc url=”https://arrgo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/LEE-173-20-HPLC-analysis.pdf”]

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Changes in Rosavins levels with temperature and root conditions

ARRGO has been observing changes in rosavins levels which may correlate to temperature and dormancy conditions in Rhodiola root.  It may be possible to use this information to simulate conditions which will affect the rosavins levels in harvested crop.

ARRGO tests each grower’s crop before the grower can deliver their Rhodiola for processing.  The pre-harvest test must meet minimum criteria for rosavins.  Once this minimum is achieved the grower is given the ‘go’ to start digging.

In past years the rosavins levels have showed some change between the pre-harvest test and the final production test.  ARRGO is now taking a deeper look into the reasons behind those changes.

The weather during autumn in Alberta can be unpredictable as we move from warmer to colder temperatures.  Fall 2020 was no exception.  Fall is also the time when ARRGO asks its members to harvest.  Last fall Southern Alberta temperatures in mid-October went from balmy +20 deg C to chilling nighttime lows of -20 C for a period long enough to send frost several inches into the ground.  In late October and early November nighttime temperatures rebounded to +7 C, and the Rhodiola harvest was resumed for some farmers.

The early onset of colder weather in October 2020 may have caused rosavins levels to fall well below the pre-harvest test numbers.  Some root was delivered in a frozen state.  ARRGO recognizes that the root is still very much alive when it is delivered, and that the condition of the root may indicate its state in the cycle of dormancy and growth.

ARRGO noted that early production tests of crop harvested after the cold snap in October were significantly lower than pre-harvest tests. ARRGO Operations Manager, Stephanie Cain, felt that the fast freeze had induced a dormant state and suggested that ARRGO should allow the harvest to undergo simulated winter in our refrigerated storage.

Fast forward to January and the crop is brought out of cold storage and allowed to slowly thaw for one week.  Growth buds start to swell and the crew starts processing the crop for our customers.  After one week production tests show that the rosavins have rebounded, but are still below the pre-harvest levels.  After one more week, the buds are bolting and green (as pictured) and rosavins have jumped 10% from the previous week’s production test.

What is really happening? Only the Rhodiola knows. . .for now.  But possibly the seasons can be simulated to provide the best results for our customers.

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Experts call for control of international wild supply of Rhodiola rosea

Stephen Daniells, Editor-in-Chief at Nutraingredients-USA writes about the need to increase the cultivation of Rhodiola rosea and raises concerns over increased demands which threaten wild populations.  His article includes quotes from author, Josef Brinckmann, and highlights opinions from ARRGO, the Alaska Rhodiola Growers and the American Botanical Council.

Stephen’s article is shown below and can be downloaded by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.[embeddoc url=”https://arrgo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Rhodiola-supply-article-Nutraingredients-1.21.21-copy.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”browser”]