Canna edulis

Canna edulis "Queensland arrowroot" was grown for commercial starch production in subtropical Australia before industrialisation of agriculture. It is currently grown extensively in south east Asia in marginal mountain regions unsuitable for other crops for the production of cellophane noodles. The crop is hardy and adaptable in low frost climates and produces one of the largest and most digestible starch grains, separated from the tuber by wet milling and settling. Traditionally the crop is grown by vegetative propagation, requiring considerable hand labour and making it more difficult to scale up the crop between seasons. This project seeks to develop a strain of achira that can produce high quality tubers when grown from seed. Crops have been reliably established by direct seeding. The large seeds are incredibly tough and withstand prolonged storage under non-ideal conditions, potentially making them useful as a food security resource. The green tops of the crop are a high nitrogen fodder for livestock and the seeds are also edible. A seed grown strain might allow the crop to be grown seasonally in regions with cold winters. The genus contains about 30 species from a variety of habitats. The cultivated clones are believed to be descended from C. discolor but their origins are uncertain. The Queensland arrowroot clone rarely sets seed but has been found to produce viable pollen that germinates in vitro. The pollen has been found to lose viability when desiccated and/or frozen, much like banana pollen. This clone typically flowers later than other species, making cross pollination uncommon. Strategic cutting back of plants of other species can cause them to flower at the same time as the Queensland arrowroot clone, allowing direct hybridisation. The flowers are naturally bird pollinated but can be easily hand pollinated and netted. This project has obtained around a half dozen wild species of Canna, including the likely ancestor C. discolor, the common weedy C. indica, and several ornamental strains that have dwarfing traits. These are being hybridised with the Queensland arrowroot strain to create a large F1 generation for field trials. From these trials and plants demonstrating enlarged tubers will be selected for further breeding work. Seed of self pollinated species, excess F1 seed and cuttings of the Queensland arrowroot clone will be available to those interested in participating.