STRICTLY BUSINESS: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE NOT TRUE ARTICHOKE

That sunflower you see growing on the farm of Gerald and Brad Williams near Cardwell is not a sunflower.

It resembles a sunflower, it grows to be 12 feet tall, it bears yellow flowers, similar to but not quite as seedy as a sunflower. But the plant is really a "Jerusalem artichoke."

The Jerusalem artichoke is a plant native to North America. It is not, however, an artichoke.

Confusing?

The Jerusalem artichoke plant gets its "artichoke" name from the potato-like tubers it produces underground. The tubers taste somewhat like artichokes, except they have a smoky flavor.

Whatever, the Jerusalem artichoke, now being tested in Southeast Missouri's sandy soil of the Bootheel, could be an attraction for a new food-processing plant that would extract "inulin," a non-caloric food-bulking agent from the artichoke.

The Bootheel's soils and climate make it "an ideal location to raise the Jerusalem artichokes," say Tim Baker, University of Missouri extension horticulturist at Kennett, and Stanley Keys, a University of Georgia horticulture professor.

Baker and Kays are working on projects to introduce Jerusalem artichokes to Bootheel farmers.

New processing plant?

The project is being funded by a private company that may build the processing plant in the area. The company, which requests anonymity, has invested a lot of money in the project, and has number of research chemists working on the project, said Baker. The company is trying to develop new products from the artichoke.

The Jerusalem is not noted for its taste, said Baker. It does have a smoky flavor, but it is noted for inulin, which can be used in a variety of products.

This could be another big crop for Southeast Missouri farmers, said Baker. "We have available land, and farmers can do well, financially, with the crop."

Inulin, a polymer fructose, has no caloric value because it is not digestible by human beings. But it can be processed to produce a granular material almost identical to sugar, except with only a hint of sweetness.

Besides its value as a bulking agent, inulin also has health benefits, said Kays, adding that it is a fiber and can decrease blood cholesterol and help prevent colon cancer.

"It's a very healthy thing to have in your diet," said Kays. "It can also be hydrolyzed to produce a high-fructose syrup for use in soft drinks."

Good yields in Bootheel

Jerusalem artichokes appear to like Missouri soil.

"We've had better yields here than anywhere else," said Baker. The plant is not adapted to the Deep South as a number of diseases affect the plant in the South.

Although the artichokes also grow well farther north, the sandy soils of the Missouri Bootheel "are less susceptible to freezing," said Baker. "The soil here also makes the tuber a lot easier to harvest and clean. It just takes a little light rinsing."

Baker said as many as 15,000 acres would be required in the area to supply the processing plant with enough Jerusalem artichokes.

Baker is studying 10 acres of the artichokes being raised near Cardwell.

"We've had good yields here," said Baker, "but we're still looking at research and breeding. We haven't really worked out all the details of fertilization and irrigation yet."

The 10 acres near Cardwell are probably one of the largest single fields in the country, noted Kays.

Most of the inulin from Jerusalem artichokes comes from Europe. But there are more than a half dozen companies interested in established a processing plant in the United States, according to Kays.

Jerusalem artichokes can be a lucrative crop, said Kays. "We're looking at production costs of only $150 an acre."

It really doesn't take too much to grow the artichokes, said Baker. "In fact, Jerusalem artichokes sometimes grow so well they can become a weed problem."

Recently, Baker and Kays started growing the tuber in rotation with Round-Up resistant soybeans.

A promising new crop

"This looks promising," said Baker ... "real promising."

The outlay for growing the crops is minimal, and farmers can use the same type of machinery used for other crops."

The only big thing would be harvesting, said Kays, "and the processing plant will provide that."

Just what can Bootheel farmers realize from the crop, financially.

"You're looking at 20 to 25 tons an acre," said Kays. "That's 40,000 to 50,000 pounds. Figure that at 2.5 to 3 cents a pound, and it's not a bad return for a crop that costs about $150 an acre."

Kays said the most common source of inulin at the present is the chicory root, but "the expense is almost prohibitive -- $3 a pound. He thinks the inulin from Jerusalem artichokes could be produced for 25 to 30 cents a pound.

The big difference, he said, is that chicory has to be harvested and processed within three to four weeks.

But if you spread the harvest time out, you can build a smaller plant, and run it over a longer period of time, said Kays. In Missouri, with the sandy soils, we can leave the Jerusalem artichokes in the ground and harvest them all winter, while they are in their dormant period.

"We're looking at a harvest period of three to four months.

The difference in Jerusalem artichokes and the regular "globe artichokes," which are commercially harvested, chiefly in California?

The globe artichokes are large, thistle-like plants that produce edible flower buds. The scales and hearts of the buds are eaten as vegetables, and the hearts are often canned or frozen.

The globe plants are large, 3 to 5 feet tall, and the buds may weigh up to a pound.

We'll keep tabs on the future of Jerusalem artichokes in the Bootheel.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.