Echinacea interest growing in Alberta

摘要

Echinacea angustafolia seed broke the l,000 dollar-a-pound barrier in 1997, according to Dr. Mohyuddin Mirza of the Crop Diversification Centre North (CDC North) in Edmonton, Alberta. Seed prices have soared as a result of consumer demand for immune enhancing products, the most popular being products made from echinacea (also known as purple coneflower). This demand has encouraged established growers in the prairie provinces to diversify into growing echinacea and has also provided an opportunity for new growers to enter a market which currently promises a high financial return.