Innovation & Research

TERRE DE LIN is a main actor of flax/linen innovation for 60 years. Its works benefits the entire flax/linen sector. The main lines of research are focused on plant breeding, agronomy and composites.

  • The smartphone application Appli'Lin

    • Terre de Lin launches Appli'Lin, an application dedicated to flax producers. Its contains:

      • A news area
      • A discussion area where the flax farmers can exchange about technical subjects
      • A varietal choice system
      • A description of main flax diseases
      • A calculator to forecast flax maturity
      • A calculator of the sowing density

       

    • Appli'Lin is the first application to offer all these services to flax farmers. It is free. It can be downloaded from the App Store and the Play Store.

       

  •  

  • Flax/linen breeding

    • In TERRE DE LIN's team, seven people, including two research doctors, are involved in flax/linen varietal improvment.

      Plant breeding is done by natural cross between two parent lines. The selection will then operate on their descendants for ten years. This work is done in greenhouses then in the field.

      The main improvment fields are :

      • Fibers yield
      • Rusticity varieties in terms of resistance to lodging and diseases
      • Oil content and composition in Omega 3 for varieties of linseed
      • Study of different pathologies
      • TERRE DE LIN has also an expertise in the selection with molecular markers. Accurate mapping of the DNA of the plant is used to identify the genes responsible for various agronomic criteria. The use of markers for these genes accelerates the selection. The presence of genes is located before its agronomic expression in the field.

       

    • This method does not modify the plant genome. There is therefore no GMOs.

      The main varieties grown today are TERRE DE LIN's varieties. Discover our varieties.

  •  

  • Agronomy

    • Agronomical research is an important part TERRE DE LIN's work. Agronomic itinerary of flax/linen has a significant influence on the yield and fiber quality.

      The main developments are:

      • Study of sowing conditions
      • Input rationalization
      • Crop management technique
      • Improvment of harvesting methods
      • Diagnostics on retting
      • Improvement and transmission of our know-how

       

    • Flax/Linen is environmentally friendly. Its growth cycle is short. The respect of preparations of soil and crop rotations, the accurate knowledge of flax/linen cycle and daily observation of the fields are the main agronomic responses.

  •  

  • Composites

    • TERRE DE LIN is one of the founding members of the FIMALIN association. The composite chain actors came together for the development of of flax/linen uses.

      The aim is to set up a chain from cultivation to the production of composite materials. The ambition of FIMALIN is to lead flax/linen to the third composite fiber.

      The benefits of flax/linen in composites are numerous:

      • Low density (1.5 vs. 2.54 for the glass fiber)
      • Higher specific stiffness than glass fibers
      • Better vibration absorption than that of carbon and glass fibers
      • Thermal insulation higher than that of carbon fibers
      • Acoustic insulation higher than that of carbon and glass fibers
      • Lower footprint than that of fiber glass.

       

      The opportunities are numerous: design, sport and industrial parts. Composites in flax/linen can replace those based on non-natural fibers such as fiberglass or carbon.