It’s not from Jerusalem, it’s not an artichoke and up till now many have considered it a weed. But Jerusalem artichoke could now offer new opportunities for Alberta producers, says Jan Slaski, senior researcher at Alberta Innovates Technology Futures in Vegreville.
“This crop can be a truly multi-purpose crop because you can extract value from every single part of the plant,” Slaski told the Opportunities in Agriculture Symposium at the University of Alberta.
Jerusalem artichoke is native to the Great Plains and can be found as far south as Georgia and as far west as the Saskatchewan border.
Read Also
Low yield allowance adjusted to support farmers in Alberta
Alberta farmers can move more quickly to salvage poor crops for feed, after the federal and provincial governments announced increases to AFSC’s low yield allowances for the 2025 crop year.
The crop was domesticated in Europe after its introduction in the 17th century. Ten years ago, Slaski brought European cultivars to the Vegreville research station. He said they have good agronomic properties, but retain some advantageous natural properties such as frost resistance.
Slaski collected 42 genotypes from cultivars developed in Europe, Asia and Africa, found six that were ideal for Alberta growing conditions, and obtained the rights for these cultivars in both North and South America. Three of the cultivars are early maturing which produce excellent tubers, while the other three are late-maturing forage cultivars that produce fewer tubers. However, the forage cultivars produce between 25 and 30 tonnes of dry matter biomass per hectare. “In good years, we are getting 50 tonnes of dry matter biomass per hectare in 90 days every year in perennial cultivation,” Slaski said.
Tuber propagation
Jerusalem artichoke is a cousin of the common sunflower. The difference between the two is that Jerusalem artichoke develops small flowers that do not set viable seeds.
“Many cultivars in Alberta do not set off flowers at all, because they cannot complete the life cycle,” Slaski said.
Unlike sunflowers, Jerusalem artichokes develop tubers, which are sometimes used as a vegetable. Tubers can easily survive Alberta’s cold winter temperatures, allowing for perennial cultivation. They contain inulin rather than starch. Inulin, which is also stored in the stems, is a dietary fibre that can be used for industrial use, in medicine and in processed foods. It also has potential for use as biofuels and biopolymers.
“When I first learned about Jerusalem artichoke, it was known as the best feedstock for the production of fuel ethanol,” said Slaski.
He has collaborated with a team from Olds College to extract purified inulin from different artichoke tubers and stems. A company called Novagreen has commercialized the technology and will be creating a plant in the Killam area to extract inulin from Jerusalem artichoke.
High yields
Jerusalem artichoke is a high-yielding plant that in Alberta can grow about four metres tall in less than 90 days. The plant develops roots that stretch deep into the earth, reaching water in layers not normally accessed by shallow-rooting crops like cereals.
It can also be used for phytoremediation or land reclamation. Tubers of some cultivars of Jerusalem artichoke are set on long underground stems which form a net-like structure that can stabilize soil.
“It’s also a great plant form for molecular farming because it transforms fairly easily, has been used several times and there is lots of interest. It generates huge volume of biomass where genes were inserted or farmed in this crop,” Slaski said.
The crop was commonly used in Europe before the Second World War, but was abandoned afterward. Slaski thinks it fell out of favour due to poor post-harvest storability. Tubers have a thin skin, which resulted in crop losses during storage.
Jerusalem artichoke can be used to feed cattle, pigs, horses and sheep. Slaski said one study rated the crop as comparable to corn silage in feed value. His team conducted studies that determined the plant has excellent non-digestible fibre, digestible nutrients, a good calcium-to-phosphorus ratio and protein balance.
“The amount of digestible energy for cattle is four times higher than typically used material in Alberta,” he said. “We’re talking about barley silage and barley greenfeed, for example.”
