Cluster 4

Suzanne Blatt, research scientist in entomology at Agriculture and Agri-Food Kentville Research and Development Centre

• Sterile insect release for apple maggots can complement current management programs reducing annual pesticide use.
• Modifying landscapes around orchards can reduce bark beetle populations, increase the survival of trees and reduce the need to replant parts of the orchard.
• A biocontrol agent against leafrollers can complement the use of softer pesticide products reducing the likelihood of resistance development and extending the registration life of sustainable products.

John A. Cline, professor of tree fruit physiology at the University of Guelph

• Greater economic and environmental sustainability for fruit tree operations.
• Higher quality fruit production.
• Estimated labour savings of 25 per cent for hand-thinning.
• Increased orchard profitability by 10 per cent per hectare due to improved fruit quality.
• Better ability to estimate yields early in the growing season. 
• Improved flowering and more consistent annual cropping.
• Recommendations for thinning apples using metamitron and 1-ACC, alone and in combination with 6-BA.
• Improved understanding of how chemical thinners impact labour savings, crop returns and risks of mummified fruit due to black rot fungal infections.
• Crop load optimization models for profitability maximization.
• Recommendations for using computer models to increase thinning efficacy and outcomes.

Beatrice Amyotte, research scientist for small fruit germplasm development with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Kentville Research and Development Centre

• Evaluate the regional adaptation of new and existing blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry varieties through multi-year, multi-location trials at agricultural research institutions in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia, as well as through on-farm trials at grower sites in British Columbia.
• Evaluate the economic competitiveness of new and existing berry varieties by assessing fruit yield and quality attributes of the replicated and on-farm research trials.

• Develop novel microbial inoculants to reduce farm inputs without impacting yields.
• Make field vegetable yields better able to fight climate change effects and extreme weather events.
• Develop and transfer monitoring tools to support sustainable ag and IPM.

Renee Priya Prasad, associate professor and department head for agriculture at the University of the Fraser Valley

• Registrations of products (mainly insecticides) that will protect cabbage family crops against cabbage root maggot.
• Give growers more options for rotational crops they can grow from within the cabbage family.
• To provide strong financial returns on cabbage family crops for vegetable growers.

Roselyne Labbe, research scientist in greenhouse entomology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Harrow Research and Development Centre

• Add to the development of a complete system’s approach for applying and commercializing new native biocontrol organisms.
• Establish rates and schedules for introducing native biocontrol agents onto open rearing systems.
• Develop best practices for applying open rearing systems by identifying preferred host plants, supplemental foods and lights.
• Maximize the spreading of information on reducing crop losses and increasing returns for growers to adopt new agents and open rearing strategies in greenhouse vegetable crops.
• Aim to reduce losses from invasive species by applying a selective breeding and open rearing approach to boost predator performance and persistence on crops.

Aiming Wang, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the London Research and Development

• Genetic resistance is the most effective, economical, and sustainable approach for controlling viral diseases. It is environmentally friendly, target-specific, and offers reliable protection without additional labour or material costs during the growing season.
• Unlike resistance from wild tomatoes, which often requires multiple years of breeding efforts to transfer resistance into cultivated tomatoes, novel genetic resistance in elite cultivars can be readily accessible to tomato production.
• The use of genetic resistance provides immediate and accessible solutions for controlling viral diseases in cultivated tomato crops.

Erica Fava, national potato variety trial coordinator and industry liaison; Jen McFarlane, soft fruits IPM coordinator and research coordinator with E.S. Cropconsult; and Katerina Jordan, associate professor at the University of Guelph

• It takes six full years of research for a potato variety selection to reach the variety trial point.
• The focus of the first phase of the variety trial is assessing the performance of these breeding lines.
• The second phase of the variety trial is evaluating the most promising lines from the first phase, along with varieties from other breeding programs, in regional field trials conducted by industry members.
• The adoption of new potato lines by growers depends on their ability to test and observe the performance of these lines in their regional trials.

Claudia Goyer, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Fredericton Research and Development

• By improving soil health there will be better water retention, nutrient availability, soil biodiversity, and functions, and plant growth. The use of RSAPs will improve crop yields and quality.
• Practices such as cover cropping, forages for animal grazing and soil amendments will lead to better soil health and biodiversity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• This research activity will provide knowledge, technologies, and support networks for growers. Growers will be able to learn from experts, collaborate with other growers, and access resources to help them implement sustainable practices effectively.

Mario Tenuta, senior industrial research chair in 4R nutrient management and professor of soil ecology at the University of Manitoba

• Developing environmental and agronomic performance indicators for improved nitrogen
  practices and management for fresh and processing potato production.
• Finding out how high nitrogen use works on efficient potato varieties can reduce nitrous
  oxide emissions and improve agronomic performance.
• Determining the degree to which combined 4R nitrogen management practices can
  reduce nitrous oxide emission and related environmental indicator performance.
• Finding what the potato crop needs when including nitrogen mineralization of soil to
  improve matching fertilizer nitrogen additions.
• Determining how further reductions in nitrous oxide emissions can combine or stack
  with potato genetics and 4R nitrogen management practices.
• Finding out if genetics and 4R nitrogen management practices can provide a greater
  return on investment of fertilizer nitrogen alone or in combination.

This project is generously funded through the Canadian Agri-Science Cluster for Horticulture 4, in cooperation with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriScience Program, a Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership initiative, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, and industry contributors. Projects and final funding are subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement and a Collaborative Research and Development Agreement.