Waldviertler Graumohn g.U.

 
Record number: 8
 
Disclosure date 
First mention of poppies in the land register kept by Abbot Ebro in 1280. 
 

Photo: BMLFUW/A...

Title
Waldviertler Graumohn g.U
(Waldviertler grey poppy PDO) 
 
  
Abstract or claim 
Traditional knowledge of specific production. The poppy’s quality is the result of its geographic environment (extensive hilly landscape, rough climate, heavy dew) including natural and human factors (tradition of poppy cultivation over centuries, small scale farms).
Produced according to the specification as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) pursuant to EC Regulation 1065/97 ECJ L 156/6/97.
  
Name of product, product class
Grey poppy, poppy seeds, Papaveraceae
  
Name of  region
Waldviertel, Lower Austria, Austria 
  
Field of search
Food and agriculture
 
Name(s) of information provider
Waldviertel Tourismus
 
Names of applicant for title 
Waldviertler Sonderkulturenverein 
  
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
Farmers in the defined Waldviertel area
 
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
Waldviertler Sonderkulturenverein
3533 Oberwaltenreith 10
Phone: 02826/7443 
Fax Ext. 50
hof@waldland.at 
www.waldland.at 
 
Descriptors
- History:
The Waldviertler Graumohn g.U. (‘Waldviertel grey poppy PDO’ or ‘Protected Designation of Origin’) was probably introduced into the Waldviertel area by monasteries, since monks cultivated garden poppies from the early Middle Age for their pain-killing and sleep-inducing properties. Evidence of this can be found in the earliest land register kept by the monastery of Zwettl, by Abbot Ebro in 1280. Poppy cultivation in the Waldviertel area is mentioned for the first time in tithe records (‘Zehentbücher’) kept in the second half of the 13^th  century.
Agricultural statistics kept in the Austro-Hungarian Empire show that 1,200 hectares of poppies were being cultivated in 1912. Grey poppies from Zwettl were still traded at the stock market in London as late as 1930.
 
After the Second World War, poppies were gradually replaced in the market by plants that required less manual work, and were therefore easier to grow.
 
The ancient tradition of poppy cultivation in the Waldviertel was only revived from around 1980 onwards thanks to initiatives to promote agricultural alternatives (by organisations such as the ‘Verein zur Förderung von Sonderkulturen’ (the ‘Austrian Society for the Promotion of Specialised Crops’)).
Over 500 hectares of land are now given over to the cultivation of poppies in the Waldviertel area.
 
- Region:
The Waldviertel is part of the Austrian province of Lower Austria.
The Waldviertel, which derives its name from the area’s densely forested nature, is a plateau in the north-west of Lower Austria.
The Waldviertel can be divided into two ecological regions: the higher-situated western Waldviertel (’upper Waldviertel’), and the lower-lying eastern Waldviertel (’lower Waldviertel’).
 
Regions producing the Waldviertler Graumohn PDO include the administrative districts of Zwettl, Gmünd, Waidhofen/Thaya, Horn, Krems/Land (north of the Danube) and Melk (north of the Danube).
 
The Waldviertel covers a surface area of around 4,600 square kilometres.
 
Climate and soil conditions:
The climate of the Waldviertel has a tendency to be dry, and large sections of the area feature a plateau climate with continental influences. Almost nowhere in the area does precipitation exceed 1,000 millimetres per year.
 
Geologically, the Waldviertel makes up part of the Bohemian Massif (primarily granite in the west, gneiss and crystalline chalk in the east, and loess in the Horn Basin).
 
Because weeds are rare in the sandy-loamy soil of the Waldviertel, the area offers the perfect conditions for producing poppies of the very highest quality.
 
- Waldviertler Graumohn g.U.(Waldviertel grey poppy PDO)

Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman

Waldviertler Graumohn PDO belongs to the opium poppy or white poppy variety (Papaver somniferum Linné), and is known as the open capsule poppy. As well as local Waldviertel varieties, it includes the registered ’Edel-Weiß’ and ’Edel-Rot’ varieties.
Although open capsule forms are currently cultivated on a large scale, the closed capsule form may also be grown on a similar scale in future for technical reasons.
 
The open capsule poppy is the variety featuring holes in the seed cases beneath the stigmatic area when ripe.
The closed capsule variety, on the other hand, has closed heads, and its seeds are thick and kidney-shaped with a meshed structure.
 
The poppy is an annual plant with a distinct taproot, and a sturdy, upright and branched stem anything up to 180 cm in length. The bud is wrapped in two sepals and contains the petals, which are folded many times over. The flower features a colour spectrum ranging from white through lilac to red.
The poppy is a self-pollinator, with its seeds located in a fanned seed case.
 
The shape of the seed cases varies depending on the variety of poppy. The inside of the seed case is divided up by a large number of fans. The seeds sit on these partitions; once the plant ripens, the seeds come loose and collect on the floor of the seed case. 
 
The poppy seed of Waldviertler Graumohn PDO is grey, kidney-shaped and, at around 1 - 1.5 mm long and 0.7 - 1 mm wide, relatively large compared to the seeds of other poppy varieties. The surface of the seed is criss-crossed with fine lines.
 
Waldviertler Graumohn PDO as a variety is particularly low in opiates.
 
Waldviertler Graumohn PDO differs from blue poppy varieties through its delicate tegument and its oil content, which is around 2 - 3 % higher than average (between 43.4 and 48.4 %). This gives the Waldviertler Graumohn PDO a distinctly mild and nutty flavour. Waldviertler Graumohn PDO contains an extremely high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (ca. 85 %).
 
The leaves of the Waldviertler Graumohn PDO are softer than those of other poppy varieties, the edges of the leaves slightly serrated and lobed, and the stem lightly covered with hairs. This helps Waldviertler Graumohn PDO make use of the dew caused by the wide temperature fluctuations between day and night in the Waldviertel, contributing to the plant’s optimum development.
 
As well as this, the temperature fluctuations in the area have a special effect on the seeds, which contract in the cold and expand in the warmth. This movement produces a more intense and distinctive flavour. Due to the barren Waldviertel soils, the grey poppy develops slowly apart from this, a factor which also has positive consequences for the quality and quantity of poppy oil produced. The dry harvesting weather is of decisive importance for the quality of the poppy and seed case.
 
Cultivation:
Poppy growing requires a great deal of care, and the ground must be prepared ‘in the style of a garden’ if the plant is to thrive. Since poppies have low susceptibility to frost, the seeds are planted in spring (between the beginning of March and the end of April) to enable the young plants to make full use of the winter moisture as they develop. The soil needs to be kept at a temperature of at least +3 °C if the germination process is to take place uninterrupted within 2 to 3 weeks. Although the young poppy is relatively impervious to low temperatures, experience has shown that late frosts and dryness of the budding plants can cause problems, in which case it may be necessary to cultivate the plants again. The poppy plant needs a great deal of warmth during its main vegetation period.
 
Around 350 g of poppy seeds are required per hectare. Using single-grain seeders, the seeds are pressed around 1 cm down into the soil, approximately 10 cm apart. 
The rows are spaced around 40 cm apart. As a result, one square metre will support around 40 poppy plants.
 
Poppy flower:
Poppies begin to flower around 70 to 90 days after the seeds have been sown. In the Waldviertel, poppies flower from end-June to mid-July. The flower bud stands upright initially, until the stem tilts downwards a few days before coming into bloom, then rises upwards again in order for the magnificent flower to unfold. This single flower only remains open for one to two days, with the stamens and petals often falling off again the very day they flower. This is why the poppy is also described as a ‘one-day flower’. In the vast majority of cases, pollination takes place while the flower is still closed, although cross-pollination by the wind and insects is also possible. Although poppy flowers do not contain any nectar and give off no perfume, they are rich in pollen.
 
Plant protection:
Plant protection products have not yet been officially authorised for poppies. To counter weeds, a triple hoeing process is recommended.
 
Harvest:
Dry harvesting weather conditions and rapid yet careful harvesting is crucial to the quality of the poppy and the seed case.
Once the plant ripens, the seeds come loose and collect on the floor of the seed case.
Another sign that the plant is ready for harvesting is when the seed cases turn brown in colour, whilst becoming hard and dry at the same time. Ripe poppy fields are perceptible for the rattling noise they make.
 
The poppy can either be harvested manually or by machine. As the seed cases of the Waldviertler Graumohn PDO open when ripe, the seeds can be won without destroying the seed cases.
 
The best way of harvesting the poppy is manually. To do so, the seed cases are first cut off, leaving 30 cm or so of stem. Once a bundle of the plants roughly large enough to fill the hand has been picked, the seeds can be shaken out through the holes beneath the stigmatic area into cloths or containers prepared beforehand.
 
For mechanical harvesting, the Austrian Society for the Promotion of Specialised Crops has developed special poppy harvesting equipment.
Since the Waldviertler Graumohn PDO has a relatively high oil content and a delicate tegument relative to other varieties, harvesting it with conventional combine harvesters would cause untold damage, as the poppies were crushed and spoiled, badly affecting the quality of the entire harvest.
 
To ensure the freshly harvested poppy crop does not contain any remnants of stems or seed cases, it is cleaned using special devices such as air separators, graders and gravity separators. To keep poppies in a condition which allows them to be stored, their moisture content has to be controlled. The individual charges are stored separately and prepared to ensure the producer can be determined at any time.
 
On average, the poppy seed yield fluctuates between 800 and 1,000 kg per hectare. Under optimum conditions, yields of up to 2,000 kg can be achieved.
For decorative and ornamental purposes, only seed cases of exactly the right colour and shape can be considered.
 
- Marketing:
The poppies can be sold directly from farms, through gastronomic outlets, grocery retailers, by export to Germany and Switzerland, or through small retailers.
 
Labelling:
If the poppies are not marketed directly through the farmers, but through distributors, then each individual charge is provided with a producer number (or charge number) so the producer can be determined at any time.
 
Poppy growing is extremely important to the Waldviertel agricultural economy, in which small farmers predominate. Its impact on the countryside is also increasingly important, especially for tourism, with the red and white blooms attracting large numbers of holidaymakers to the Waldviertel area every year. Poppies are also traditionally used in regional cookery.
 
Connection with geographical area and traditional knowledge:
- The combination of special, sandy-loamy, barren soils, a dry climate with
  high temperature fluctuations between day and night, and heavy dew provide
  the perfect conditions for growing poppies of the very highest quality.
- Waldviertler Graumohn PDO is known as the open capsule poppy, and includes
  not just local Waldviertel varieties, but also the registered ’Edel-Weiß’ and
  ’Edel-Rot’ varieties, which have adapted perfectly to local environmental
  conditions.
- Special production methods and specific geographical conditions have made it
  possible to produce a Waldviertler Graumohn PDO distinguished by a weak
  tegument, particularly high oil content, low opiate content and an intense,
  distinctive flavour.
- Production of Waldviertler Graumohn PDO is the result of traditional knowledge
  which has been passed down the generations: traditional knowledge and
  experience of poppy growers (adaptation of poppies to local environmental
  conditions, development of local varieties, and traditional cultivation and
  harvesting methods).
 
- Utilisation:
Poppies are traditionally used to produce poppy oil and various baked goods. They are processed into regional delicacies such as ‘Tatschkerln’ (sweet dough parcels filled with poppy seeds) and ‘Zelten’ (a sweet, dark bread containing dried fruits), as well as better-known dishes such as dumplings, strudel and pasta.
 
The pharmaceutical industry attaches great importance to poppies due to the effect of their alkaloids, such as morphine. Dried poppy seed cases are a popular component of ornaments and decorations.
 
- Protection:
The description of the specification for the registration as PDO is located at the Austrian Patent Office (National Application No: 1197-GR/95).
 
Key words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, Lower Austria, region, Waldviertel, poppy, grey poppy, Papaver sp., Papaveraceae, edible poppy oil, poppy bakery products
 
Bibliography/ References
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.Application for registration: Art 17, PDO (National application No:1197-GR/95).
Ditta Rudle, Reinhard Mandl: Waldviertler Graumohn. Pichler Verlag, 1998; ISBN: 3854311737
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/foodname/fruitveg/austria/waldergr.htm  
www.waldviertel.or.at  
www.waldland.at  
www.genuss-region.at  
Waldviertler Raritäten
http://www.waldviertel.at/rare/Deutsch/Leib+See/Kulinari/Mohn/F_manbau.htm
 
All internet references last accessed on 23 June 2009. 

Language code
German

Product of www.genuss-region.at 
Yes

Regional contact
Waldviertel Tourismus
Hauptplatz 4
A-3910 Zwettl
www.waldviertel.or.at
 
Authors: Mag. Eva Sommer, Dr. Erhard Höbaus
 

20.02.2012, Lebensministerium III/4