Fig. 2 Field plot studies of milkweed, Asclepias speciosa and A. syriaca , as a row crop, were initiated in 1985 at Garden City, Kansas. Potential cultivars and interspecies hybrids were evaluated for their floss production potential. Approximately 227 pods were required to produce a kilogram of floss. The only plant component used in quantity to date is floss, which emerged as the most feasible alternative to replace kapok when imported supplies during World War II were halted. At present, milkweed floss is being utilized to blend with white goose down or synthesized polypropylene in insulative batting for such products as comforters, sleeping bags, and arctic apparel.
Inadequate information exists on the production potential of milkweed as a cultivated crop.
However, we found no evidence that replicated production evaluations of milkweed germplasm strains were ever conducted. By providing an alternative cash crop, milkweed farming could strengthen the agricultural diversity and economy of the western Great Plains. Plots were established from seed collected through efforts funded previously by the Standard Oil Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Seeds that had been repeatedly water soaked and dried to break dormancy were planted in 76.2 cm rows in a Keith Silt Loam type soil on May 30, 1985. A John Deere 71 flex-planter with cone seeding units and disk openers with depth bands was used to plant all plots with seed placed 1.27 cm deep.