Development of field management protocols for Atlantic rose hip production

Roses of the genus Rosa are found growing wild throughout the Atlantic Provinces in a multitude of different habitats. Rose hips, the marketable product from these roses, are a rich natural source of bioactive compounds useful in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2004, two wild rose field experiments were established in Prince Edward Island. Experiment ;Mulching had a positive impact on several aspects of rose plant growth, resulting in larger shoots (length, diameter, and number of branches) and greater plant spreads for rose plants than no mulch. Mulching did not increase the number of shoots per plant, and in some instances had the opposite effect. Straw and bark mulches also improved plant nutrient uptake of P and N, but had no effect on rose hip yields in either experiment. Straw mulch was the most effective in-row mulch treatment for promoting plant vegetative growth in experiment ;Fertilized plants in experiment ;Tilled inter-row areas led to a larger mean increase (from May to September, 2005) in shoot lengths, diameters, and plant spreads than for the inter-row sod treatments. Biological yield of rose hips was also significantly lower in inter-row sod treatments when compared to tilled treatments in experiment ;The experimental design for experiment ;In general, the results from this study showed that wild roses responded very well to agricultural management. There was excellent survival of wild plants after transplanting, with only 2 deaths from the more than 1300 rose plants grown in these experiments. Regardless of the original collection source of wild plants, the plants displayed a similar growth pattern with few phenotypic differences under Prince Edward Island growing conditions. When these wild plants were removed from their natural habitat and grown in an agricultural setting, they established well and most began rose hip production in their second season, earlier than in published reports from other countries. The creation of a rose hip plantation is a long-term venture, and the rose plants used in this study are expected to reach full yielding potential only after four or more years of non-irrigated growth. The knowledge gained from this research will be a part of a long term project for establishing wild roses as an alternative agricultural crop for Atlantic Canada.