Like most Canadians, I have a strange fascination with all things weather related. I can talk at length about the joys and fears of riding on the back of our neighbour’s snowmobile from elementary school to home during the blizzard of 1977 or yap on for at least four hours about the tornado that ravaged my family’s farm in the summer of 1979. But this spring’s weather has most Canadians waxing poetic more often than usual.
As I write this editorial, it is a balmy 28 C outside and the sun is shining so brightly, I have to wear sunglasses to protect my poor eyes, still programmed for the light levels of Ontario’s non-winter of 2011/2012. It’s not even April yet and the old pear tree in my backyard is starting to bloom, the weeds are going nuts, and the lawn needs to be mown. My horses are going insane, rubbing their shaggy winter coats on anything they can find and rolling in the mud to cool off. Small clouds of mosquitoes are starting to form and my son can be found screaming in terror in the backyard as he runs from anything that buzzes (bee phobia). And I’ve been having a hard time sleeping, thanks to the extremely loud chorus of frogs singing in our slightly damp hay field.
Did I mention it’s not even April yet?
I’m not alone in my weather wonder if the messages I’ve been receiving through Twitter are anything to measure by. Photos of apricot trees in bloom, snapshots of apple buds bursting, floating row covers being placed over strawberry blossoms, acres and acres of peas being planted, sweet potatoes in the ground, the talk of growing degree days (GDD) being in excess of 200 units by the end of March
How about that weather!
(normal is around 45), potatoes being planted on March 16, and, the big shocker, sweet corn and field corn being planted in southern Ontario, well in advance of the crop insurance window, which begins April 15.
In Manitoba, crop advisors are urging farmers not to plant spring cereal crops in March, despite the warm weather, warm soil temperatures and excellent planting conditions.
Apple growers are being urged to keep up with their scab control programs on susceptible varieties, a gamble considering they might lose that spray investment if a hard frost hits. Of course, an optimist would say it will all equal out, considering there will be no need for a thinning spray.
May 3, 2012 – QMI-SAI Global Food Safety Symposium, Empire Landmark Hotel, Vancouver, B.C. www.saiglobal.com
May 9-11, 2012 – SIAL Canada, Palais des Congres, Montreal, Que. www.sialcanada.com
May 27-29, 2012 – Canadian Institute of Food Science & Technology National Conference, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.cifst.ca
“The reason? It’s MARCH,” states Pam de Rocquigny, a cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, in a report to growers.
Meanwhile, the worrying has started. Rabbit’s feet are being rubbed, four-leaf clovers hunted for, and prayers whispered as sprayers trundle through orchards. What happens to temperature-sensitive crops if there’s a late spring frost?
According to some weather watchers, a spring frost is as certain as death and taxes. Perhaps it has already occurred in the lag between the writing of this editorial and its publication. Here’s hoping it hasn’t and the warm weather has prevailed, as it has been forecasted to do.
But let’s be honest – there’s really not a lot growers can do but go with the weather. Dig out the solid set irrigation, the big guns or the sprinklers, just in case. Most crop advisors are urging strawberry, blueberry and even grape and apple growers to be prepared to pour on the water in case of a freeze event. If you have a wind machine, be ready to crank it on.
July 11, 2012 – Potato Growers of Alberta Gold Tournament, Paradise Canyon Golf Resort, Lethbridge, Alta. www.albertapotatoes.ca
July 12, 2012 – FarmSmart Expo, Elora Research Station, Elora, Ont. www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart/expo
But it’s all part of that grand career path known as being a farmer. I can remember my father questioning himself about why he would want to visit Las Vegas, especially when he gambled every year with Mother Nature. “The odds are better there,” he used to laugh.
If growers manage to dodge the bullet of a spring freeze, there will be many other challenges ahead for the 2012 season. Given the mild winter many in Canada had, there will most likely be an over-abundance of insect pests roaming about. According to vegetable specialist Elaine Roddy, corn flea beetle and Stewart’s wilt (they go hand in hand) may be a problem in 2012.
“The actual impact of the corn flea beetle and Stewart’s wilt on the 2012 growing season is yet to be seen,” said Roddy in a report to growers. “The mild winter is a concern. However, the risk of infection will also depend on the population levels leading into fall 2011, spring soil conditions and heat accumulation during the early growing stages.”
And when it comes to disease pressure in 2012, it’s unknown if it ever became cold enough to kill off some disease spores.
One thing is for sure – 2012 is shaping up to be an interesting growing season.
July 12-14, 2012 – Canadian Fruit & Vegetable Tech X-Change, 1195 Front Road, St. Williams, Ont. www.fruitvegtechxchange.com
August 16-18, 2012 – Quebec Produce Marketing Association Annual General Meeting, Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau, Que. www.aqdfl.ca/en
September 11-13, 2012 – Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Canada’s Outdoor Park, Woodstock, Ont. www.outdoorfarmshow.com
Growers have some unusual traditions — things they do every year to ensure a successful growing season. From the hula girl one grower pulls out at planting, to the barn dance another grower throws after every harvest, you go with what works. Just like the products that come through for you year after year, why mess with a good thing?
Thanks for putting your trust in our products. For more information, visit www.gowithwhatworks.ca or call 1-866-761-9397 toll free.
Tools to wage war on sweet corn pests
By Ronda Payne
Aphids, beetles and weeds are not new annoyances to sweet corn growers, but those who have successfully fought the battle with these trouble-makers may find it’s time to go to war again. Let the battle-leader in you take comfort that there are a few new weapons to launch into the field.
In a joint presentation at the Pacific Agriculture Show held in Abbotsford, B.C. in late January, Tracy Hueppelsheuser of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Grant McMillan of ICMS, spoke about pest management and treatment tools for sweet corn. Because both experts are based in B.C., their observations took place in the region, but treatment options apply to crops across the nation.
Aphids are not a friend to sweet corn – they are the enemy. They are persistent, sap-sucking, destructive and prolific. Because they ride wind currents easily, even a cornfield previously free of the pests may become a feeding ground with the aid of an ill wind.
The bird cherry oat aphid is a species that particularly enjoys B.C. corn. While it is incapable of over-wintering in Canada, every year it hitches a ride on the winds coming up from the warmer regions of the United States. Farmers obviously are challenged in their war with the aphid as prevention is difficult, if not impossible, for a pest that comes when it pleases.
The bird cherry oat aphid can be dark green or black in colour, winged or un-winged (youth are always un-winged) and range in
size from 1/32 of an inch up to 1/8 of an inch. Not only can they impede pollination, fertilization and impact cob quality, but their presence and the black, sooty mold their honeydew leads to, is unattractive to retail buyers.
Although the aphids have natural predators – like lady bird beetles, green lacewings, syrphid fly larvae and parasitic wasps –these biocontrols are unlikely to be successful in adequate aphid control because their populations do not build up quickly enough to prevent crop damage. “Larger artillery” is generally required if aphids take hold during crop pollination and fertilization stages, which, if left unchecked will cause incomplete kernel development.
“They (the bird cherry oat aphid) are attracted to flowering corn, the tassels and silks, from June to September,” noted Hueppelsheuser. “They create tonnes of honeydew, which contaminates the tassles and husks.”
According to Hueppelsheuser, control of the pests at the tasselling stage will help prevent aphid damage based crop losses and will enable proper cob development. Two common, registered insecticides mentioned in her portion of the presentations are either ineffective or are no longer being manufactured. However, she noted the Group 4 insecticide, Assail (acetamiprid), delivers adequate control for one to two weeks.
“Assail is registered now that Pirimor is no longer available,” she stated. “It is best used early on (in the infestation).”
Assail is also registered on a variety of fruit and vegetable crops for other pests. It works through contact and ingestion. Thorough application of the product, ensuring good coverage of plant foliage, is the best way to ensure effectiveness.
One drawback of Assail is that it is toxic if sprayed directly onto bees, so growers must take care when applying it. It is also toxic to aquatic organisms. Hueppelsheuser recommends visiting the searchable pesticide label site of Health Canada at http://pr-rp.hc-sc.gc.ca/ls-re/index-eng. php to read the label and determine if the spray is right for your field. She encourages producers to keep watching the website for new products.
An occasionally returning soldier in the battle of the cornfield is the dusky sap beetle, which has a preference for cobs that may have been damaged by birds or other insects. About six millimetres in length, a “standard” cylindrical beetle body appearance and generally brown to black in colour, they are easy to spot on the surface of corn. The trouble is, because these pests are drawn to decaying plant material, like browning silks, the adults and larvae burrow their way into the cobs to dine on the kernels within where adults lay their eggs.
“The sap beetle shows up once in a while,” Hueppelsheuser said. “Keep and eye out for it.”
There are no registered pesticides for
the dusky sap beetle, in Canada; however there are non-chemical practices to make use of to aid in beetle management. Unlike the aphid, the beetle does over winter in cornfields, so ploughing crop debris under to eliminate that home is effective. Choosing varieties of corn that have tightly packed kernels and long husks can also be effective in deterring the pests.
A new herbicide has been registered for use on sweet corn to assist with weeds. BASF agreed to apply the product Integrity to sweet corn, in addition to their testing of the product on field corn, McMillan noted as he took the stage.
As a result of the testing, this newly registered tool is labeled as a safe herbicide for sweet corn. Integrity is a mixture of Kixor and Frontier and was tested on six cultivars in fields in Abbotsford and Yarrow, B.C., resulting in 80 per cent or greater control of weeds.
In his presentation, McMillan detailed that 1/4 to 1/2 inches of moisture is required within seven to 10 days of product application to ensure efficacy in control of grasses and broad leaf weeds. Even though it is a broad spectrum weed control product, Integrity was tested at a double spray rate and was found safe.
This is good news for producers as it ensures no crop injury will occur in the case of overspray or an accidental second pass of the product on corn.
As is the case with any good weed management practice, McMillan concluded his presentation with the note, “You must rotate products through the (herbicide) groups to prevent weed resistance and mutation.”
Certainly going to the battlefield can be daunting, but with the right weapons in hand, you may just win the war for your sweet corn.
An example of a bird cherry oat aphid (left) and English grain aphids (right). A large colony of aphids on a corn plant.
An example of an adult bird cherry oat aphid.
An example of a dusky sap beetle on corn.
Photo by Joe A. MacGown, Mississippi State University
Photo by Frank Peairs, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
Photo by Frank Peairs, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
Photo by Keith Weller, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org
OBGA presents Becky Hughes with Award of Merit
By Margaret Land
University of Guelph researcher Becky Hughes was surprised and “very, very honoured” to be the recent recipient of the Ontario Berry Growers’ Association (OBGA) Award of Merit presented during the organization’s annual meeting held in mid-February.
“I’d like to thank you very much,” she said after coming forward to accept the large trophy. “I’m very honoured. I would have to say of all the groups I work with, I really enjoy working with the Ontario Berry Growers’ Association. Not only are you very organized but you’re enthusiastic and it’s a young group who’s willing to innovate. I’ve really enjoyed working with you over the last 25-some years.”
Hughes, who has a bachelor of science in ornamental horticulture and a masters degree in plant physiology, both from the University of Guelph, is the manager of the Northern Horticulture Research Unit, known to the berry industry as the SPUD unit, at the New Liskeard agriculture research station in New Liskeard, Ont. She has been with the SPUD unit since it began producing nuclear seed potatoes for the Ontario seed potato industry in 1984.
John Cooper of Strawberry Tyme Farms, located near Simcoe, Ont., presented the award to Hughes and shared some of the work she has done with the OBGA over the years.
“It is under the leadership and guidance of Becky Hughes that the OBGA has been able to achieve the status it has in the micro-propagation industry in North America,” said Cooper.
In the mid-1990s, the propagation program for small fruit in Ontario had become very fragmented. Parts of the program were being carried out in Harrow, Ont., and Vineland, Ont., as well as a bit in New Liskeard, Cooper explained. The OBGA approached Becky to see if the organization could move the facilities it was using in Harrow and Vineland to New Liskeard and amalgamate everything in one location.
“A deal was worked out and the OBGA invested in a screen house facility at the site in New Liskeard so Becky could take full control of the beginning stages of the propagation program, said Cooper. “Since this move to New Liskeard, the OBGA –along with input from Becky, Pam [Fisher] and [Dr.] Adam [Dale] – have designed a program that is second to none anywhere in the world.”
At the New Liskeard facility, Hughes is responsible for heat-treating, virus indexing, tissue culture production, DNA testing and storage of cultivars that are no longer being used in the OBGA strawberry breeding program.
“She has designed a program that is industry leading and this program has been adopted by the Florida Strawberry Growers’ Association as the model with which they want to move their industry forward,” said Cooper.
Hughes has also been involved in numerous small fruit research projects as
part of the berry research team in Ontario.
“My first contact with the Ontario Berry Growers’ Association was [John Cooper’s] dad [Gary Cooper], when he was chair of the research committee for the OBGA and I was a researcher in Northern Ontario looking for some funding to put in an observation trial,” recalled Hughes. “I hate to say how many years ago that was but I’ve been doing the observation trials since 1983.”
Hughes has been involved in many published projects and research showcased on poster boards at conferences across North America. “In fact, she’s been involved in so many projects that I couldn’t list them all here because it took six pages when I printed it off,” said Cooper.
The OBGA does not present the Award of Merit every year. The award is presented on the occasions when a member of the industry performs a job or service that demands recognition.
John Cooper (left) presents Becky Hughes (right) with the Ontario Berry Growers’ Association Award of Merit during the association’s recent annual meeting.
Photo by Margaret Land
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Nova Scotia’s 2012 Golden Apple Award winner – A family affair
By Margaret Land
In a perfect world, six Golden Apple Awards would have been presented at the 2012 Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association’s annual convention to Cynthia, Douglas, Aylesa, Janelle, Angela and Jennifer.
Instead, five of the six Penner children watched their father, Rene Penner, receive the 2012 honour from Kevin Brost of Chemtura Agrosolutions (formerly Uniroyal).
Each of Rene and his wife, Janice’s, children was given their own orchard row to manage on the family’s Welsford, N.S., farm.
“Their response when they found out their father would be receiving this award was: ‘What, they think that dad did this?’” said Brost during the award presentation, held in early February.
This year, the award was presented for the best managed block planted under the Honeycrisp Orchard Renewal Program, a five-year, province-wide apple replant program funded by the NSFGA and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture.
The Penners moved to Nova Scotia from Western Canada in the early 1990s and purchased a local farm in 2004, which consisted of pasture land and about 18 acres of old apple orchard.
“Since then, all but seven acres have been replanted,” said Brost, adding that Honeycrisp was one of the first varieties planted by Penner, followed by Jonagold, Ambrosia, Gala and Sweet Tango. “The tree fruit acreage on the farm has grown from about 15 acres to 25 acres, almost doubling in size.”
This is a big accomplishment considering Penner had no previous experience growing apples.
“He dove right in, putting his electrical business on hold for a year while getting the apple growing enterprise underway,” said Brost. “He began attending as many grower meetings and field days as he possibly could and, with the advice of specialists, learning to the very best of his ability.”
Penner has done some experimenting on his farm and has an apple tree that’s been grafted with 13 different apple varieties as well as a plum, pear and peach.
Rene Penner (far left) shared his 2012 Golden Apple Award win with his family, which includes (left to right) wife Janice, and children Angela, Aylesa, Jennifer, Douglas, and Janelle (oldest daughter Cynthia was absent for the photo). The award was presented by Kevin Brost (far right) with Chemtura Agrosolutions.
“He has had reasonable success with his grafting,” said Brost. “In addition to a good apple crop, the tree produced two pears.”
He also went against the advice of industry specialists and planted two hectares of marginal land – described as totally unsuitable for an orchard – to Gala and Sweet Tango. Extensive land preparation was carried out, including subsurface drainage, deep ripping and ridging, which “changed the site rather dramatically,” said Brost.
“That site used to be classified as a wetland,” one grower heckled from the audience to a loud burst of laughter.
Combined with the selection of highquality nursery stock, building a proper support system, careful attention to fertility, tree training and crop load management, the orchard block has become “an outstanding success,” said Brost.
The Golden Apple award has been presented annually in Nova Scotia since 1969. It began as a series of awards from Uniroyal that were presented every year
for the top quality in every crop group – from apples to wheat. Golden Apple Awards are also presented in other regions where apples are grown in Canada, including Ontario and B.C.
A number of Nova Scotia growers were nominated for the 2012 award. During the 2011 growing season, the nominated orchard blocks were visited by industry specialists who looked for the following attributes:
Had the trees filled in their allotted spaces
Tree uniformity across the field Tree vigour
Pruning.
Crop load management
Fruit size uniformity
Colour
Vegetation control
Support system
“These are the things that go into managing an orchard,” said Brost. “You want to have a good, all-around orchard.”
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British Columbia fruit growers weathered their second growing season with spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in 2011. Cool, wet weather kept SWD levels low across most of the province and slowed infestations in some crops, but in the end SWD arrived in all of the fruit- and berry-growing areas of the province.
Researchers from across the Pacific Northwest region gathered at the Pacific Agriculture Show in January to share what they learned over the past season. Industry, academics and governments on both sides of the border have been working together to learn more about the pest to better inform control and management strategies.
Spotted wing drosophila, or Drosophila suzukii, is a small fruit fly that lays its eggs in ripe fruit on the vine. It is a
To build a better fly trap
The 2011 research season posed some challenges for SWD researchers, particularly when it came to catching the flies in traps.
In 2010, B.C. growers had two types of traps available to them, a commercially produced trap from Contech, and an improvised cup trap created by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Sheila Fitzpatrick.
Since then, researchers have been trying different configurations and baits that will help trapping numbers more accurately reflect what’s going on in the field.
“Trapping worked well in the hot summer of 2010 when SWD were numerous in B.C. berry fields,” says Fitzpatrick. “However when SWD are less numerous, like in a cool rainy spring, we may need a different approach.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researcher Jana Lee from Corvallis, Ore., found that SWD prefer the colour red in the lab and field, and that traps with lots of entry surface caught the most flies.
2011 yields new lessons about SWD in B.C.
threat to virtually all soft fruit and berries grown in British Columbia.
The alarm was raised when the pest was first discovered in a Fraser Valley berry field in the fall of 2009. It was initially believed that it would not survive the cold of winter. That was disproven when the pest emerged in the spring of 2010.
Researchers have found that the adult flies overwinter in the hedgerows and natural vegetation surrounding fields. The flies have proven resilient to temperatures below -10 C, taking cover in the understory and ground debris to keep from freezing.
As temperatures warm, SWD populations start to build in the trees and wild hosts before they move into the borders of fields. The results of a study done by entomologist Tracy Hueppelsheuser
Others have developed traps with canopies, mesh tops, mesh side panels, and sticky bands. To date, no one has found the perfect design.
“Trap efficacy is climate-specific, and to some extent crop-specific,” says Fitzpatrick, who plans to continue work on trap design in 2012.
The number of traps, where they are placed and even the weather play a significant role in trapping success.
“In SWD, flies are seen resting in the canopy,” says Fitzpatrick. “Bushy crops provide humidity and shade so the insects don’t fly as much, but in open canopy crops they move more, and we find more in traps.”
Ultimately, the challenge is finding a bait that is as or more attractive to flies than the ripening fruit around them. Apple cider vinegar is the standard, and is particularly effective in the early season before fruit ripens. Adding a drop of dish soap to the bait lowers the surface tension of the
By Tamara Leigh
from the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands showed a clear progression of SWD from the hedgerows into crop fields over the season.
“In blueberries, we caught flies in the hedgerows first, then about a week later in the field edge. That was in late May,” she says. “The field middle catches started in August, mostly during and after harvest.”
Results were similar in raspberries, where SWD was trapped in hedgerows and edges at the same time, but didn’t emerge in the middle of fields until two to three weeks later.
One of the most interesting findings for Hueppelsheuser was the delayed movement of SWD into berry crops. In a study looking at a comparison of trap catches of SWD to levels of fruit infestation, she found that early season fruit was
liquid and catches more flies.
Another promising bait is a 40:60 combination of two per cent apple cider vinegar and 7.8 per cent red wine. Others have experimented with sugar and yeast combinations, as well as corn-based baits.
free of SWD infestation. The results were consistent across all berry varieties in the trial, wild and cultivated.
“It was a surprise to me. I expected to see more flies as the season got later, but consistently with each variety, we did not see fruit infestation until mid-way through harvest,” she says.
“We had a pretty thorough monitoring system and collected a lot of fruit,” Hueppelsheuser explains. “I am confident in what we’re seeing, but I would like to see another year of this kind of data before I change the management recommendations.”
The late arrival of the flies could be a boon for growers looking to reduce pesticide applications. Currently, the recommendation to growers is to spray as soon as flies appear in traps, or the fruit starts to colour.
A comparison of trap catches to fruit infestation emphasized the importance of using different tools to monitor SWD. Trap catch rates were shown to be highly variable within and between fields, including some sites where no flies were caught but larvae were still found in the fruit.
“Don’t rely on the traps entirely to make your management decisions,” says Hueppelsheuser. “Traps are an important supplement, but making management decisions should be based on a variety of factors including crop development, time of year, monitoring methods and field history.”
The most accurate way to determine fruit infestation level is to put samples of ripe fruit in a sugar or salt solution. After 10 to 15 minutes, larvae will leave the fruit and float to the surface, where they can be collected and counted.
Results gathered from the fruit infestation study supported the conclusions
of the trapping work. They showed higher levels of SWD infestation in fruit collected from the edges of fields compared to the middle of the fields. The highest levels of infestation were found in fruit that remained in the field after harvest.
In addition to the variation within fields, there is significant variation in the level of infestation among different crops and varieties.
“The Elliott variety of blueberry appears to be much less susceptible to SWD – it had much lower rates of SWD than other late-season varieties,” says Hueppelsheuser. “Variety comparisons will be really important for growers to figure out how to risk-manage this thing. We will be doing more of that in 2012.”
Researchers also looked at strawberries for the first time in 2011, and the results are promising for growers. As with the other fruit, there was very little evidence of infestation until late in the season. On the whole, however, SWD was not a major concern.
“We found more Drosophila of other species than we did SWD in strawberries. Not every little white worm in a straw-
berry is an SWD larva,” Hueppelsheuser offers as a reminder to growers.
Growers looking for concrete results to base their management strategies on for the next season won’t find a silver bullet in the results of the past year. After a year of intensive fruit sampling and monitoring, the results showed that generally well-managed fields pay off with better fruit quality and less SWD.
Hueppelsheuser advises growers to consider weed management, mowing, drainage and access for harvesting, plant management and spraying, as part of their SWD management strategy.
“There are a lot of factors, but that’s what we saw,” she says. “When growers had bumpy fields, overgrown bushes or fruit on the ground, they tended to have more SWD.”
Once again, provincial extension specialists are encouraging an ongoing monitoring, holistic and region-based approach for effective SWD control. To keep up to date on monitoring and management information for growers for B.C., including pesticide registrations for 2012, visit http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/swd.htm.
An example of a male spotted wing drosophila with the tell-tale wing spots.
Spotted wing drosophila larvae in a strawberry.
An example of a female spotted wing drosophila on a leaf.
Photos by Hannah Burrack, North Carolina State University, Bugwood.org
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Every
year, E.S. Cropconsult co-ordinates the potato variety trials, planting and evaluating 50 different varieties of potatoes.
Student chefs in B.C. bring new value to potato variety trials
By Tamara Leigh
Aproject in B.C. school kitchens is part of an important change in the way B.C.’s vegetable sector thinks about their products. They aren’t just helping pick the best potatoes; they are modelling the highest possibilities of a collaborative value chain.
Student chefs in four B.C. schools are taking the annual potato variety trials to the next level by evaluating them for different uses in the kitchen
The schools became involved through their participation in the Take a Bite of B.C. program, co-ordinated by B.C. Agriculture in the Classroom. In 2010, four secondary school chef instructors attended the potato field day as part of a field trip to learn where their ingredients come from. It was the chefs who came up with the idea to provide culinary feedback on the potatoes.
Heather Meberg is president and director of grower services with E.S. Cropconsult and co-ordinates the annual potato variety trials. Now she is incorporating input from the student chefs into her analysis.
“The culinary evaluation was missing until we started working with the schools last year,” says Meberg. “First, we gather the agronomic information on developing and new varieties. Then we need to know how they perform from a culinary perspective.”
Each year Meberg and her team plant and evaluate 50 different varieties. They collect samples from the variety trials and deliver them to the four schools, where student chefs test and comment on every single variety against an industry standard using culinary and sensory analysis.
“We are getting very valuable information about the varieties we are looking at,” says Meberg. “If the agronomic performance for a potato is good but the culinary performance is poor, we’ll look at it again.”
“The students are having a ball with the program,” she adds. “Now we are progressing towards including working kitchens in the assessment process.”
Students working on the project are learning to work with different variet-
ies, and how to choose the best potato for the job. It’s the kind of work that Martin Gooch from the George Morris Centre thinks the industry can do more of.
“The fact they are using chefs to get feedback on what varieties work, and what format, is something that traditionally we have not done in agriculture,” he says.
Gooch is director of the Value Chain Management Centre, and has recently authored a paper on adopting a value chain approach to increase the competitiveness of B.C.’s vegetable sector.
“How much development in agriculture has been done without talking to consumers? They determine value!” he says.
“If you’re in business, you are part of a value chain because ultimately you are in the business of creating value for your customer,” he adds. “The factors that will continue changing your industry are consumer driven and are not going to diminish.”
Gooch identifies five elements that are critical to value chain management: Focus on what consumers want
and customers value. Everyone in the value chain has to keep the needs of the end-user in mind while attending to the immediate needs of their client, be that a supplier, producer, processor or retailer. Get the product right every time. Anything that someone produces that is not right the first time, that does not meet consumer expectation, is essentially waste. Ensure effective logistics and distribution. How well a value chain operates depends on how well the businesses involved are managed, and how well they interact.
Have effective information and communication strategy among the partners of the value chain. Build and sustain effective relationships that sustain the value chain.
The levels of integration between the businesses in a value chain can vary widely. The development moves along a spectrum from an alliance of segmented businesses
to a collaborative chain
with significant interaction between partners. What changes is the level of co-operation and strategic co-ordination between partners in the chain.
“The greatest opportunity to innovate is between businesses, not within industries,” says Gooch.
While there has been a push to build closer relationships and develop value chain initiatives in B.C., the number of closely aligned chains remains relatively low. Getting there will take an attitude shift for some producers as they move
Now student chefs in four B.C. schools are taking the annual potato variety trials to the next level by evaluating them for different uses in the kitchen.
toward a more customer-centred approach to business.
“Typically in agriculture we have not adopted that mindset yet,” says Gooch. “No business is an island. You are always impacted by businesses at other levels of your chain or in competing chains.”
Gooch advocates value chains as a way for the B.C. vegetable sector to reduce risk and bring down the cost of doing business. From a consumer perspective, value chains can help differentiate B.C. vegetables in the marketplace, increasing the demand for B.C. produce and the premium that consumers are willing to pay.
All of that relies on developing the best possible product for the market, and right now there is a small army of student chefs helping B.C. potato farmers hit the mark, and getting ready to take their place in the value chain.
You do whatever it takes to get the job done. And you should be rewarded for it. With the Hot Potatoes® Rewards Program, every qualified purchase you make in 2012 and 2013 will earn you Hot Potatoes reward points. At the end of the season, those points can be redeemed for great rewards like cash rebates, a group trip to Hawaii or maybe even both.
Visit Hot-Potatoes.ca to
up or call 1 877-661-6665
On-farm food safety manuals updated for 2012
The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC)’s CanadaGAP On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) manuals have been updated for 2012.
The revised OFFS manuals have been reviewed and the changes approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The documents are available as a free download on the CanadaGAP website at www.canadagap.ca.
Documents summarizing commodityspecific differences and changes made from previous versions of the manuals are available at www.canadagap.ca/en/manuals/offsmanualdownloads.aspx.
Five commodity-specific manuals (used by operations producing, packing and storing field, orchard and vineyard-grown crops) have been consolidated into one manual, called the Fruit and Vegetable OFFS manual. The Greenhouse OFFS manual continues to be a standalone module.
This change was made to consolidate the program materials and facilitate implementation of the manuals by the many companies that grow, pack or store multiple commodities within their operations. Merging the manuals also ensures ongoing alignment of requirements that are common to all crop groupings. Where differences exist, commodity-specific requirements are clearly outlined.
“At least 90 per cent of the program requirements are the same across all crop groupings, so amalgamation of the manuals has been a natural progression and longtime goal of the CanadaGAP (CHC OFFS) program and its users,” said CanadaGAP national program manager Heather Gale.
“The hazard analyses remain commodityspecific, which ensures that any issues or scientific developments affecting an individual commodity will continue to be addressed with the appropriate technical rigour,” added CanadaGAP technical manager Amber Bailey.
In general, requirements for all crop groupings remain largely unchanged for 2012, except where additions were needed to meet new requirements of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), to which CanadaGAP is benchmarked. Otherwise the majority of revisions to the manuals are editorial in nature, to clarify or further explain existing requirements.
For certification purposes, the new manu-
als take effect on April 1, 2012. A corresponding update to the CanadaGAP audit checklist will be issued prior to that effective date. www.canadagap.ca
Serving up some cool hops
Growth in the microbrewery business in Canada has resulted in a new demand for locally produced hops and malting barley.
Hops are the flowers of a plant of the hemp family. An indispensable ingredient for the brewing industry, hops give beer its distinctive flavour and bitterness. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientist Aaron Mills is testing a handful of hops varieties this summer in a demonstration project that will provide local farmers with the information on how to grow a valuable new niche crop.
Mills has four varieties of hops growing on a low trellis system at in plots at AAFC’s farm in Harrington, P.E.I., to see how they do in the Atlantic climate and soil conditions and how they react to pests and diseases.
Growing hops on a low trellis system is more economical for startups than the traditional 20-feet-high trellis system.
Most commercial hops production comes from a few world regions such as Germany, some areas of the U.S, and the Czech Republic. Poor weather and a jump in disease levels in some producing areas caused a massive hops shortage around the world in 2007-2008 and saw the price of hops go through the roof.
The brewing industry realized it was a good idea not to rely on just a few regions
to grow hops and are looking for local sources. This demand provides a new opportunity for local farmers.
Barley, the main ingredient in beer making, is also under the microscope at Harrington, P.E.I.
Brewers are looking for local sources of malting barley. In Atlantic Canada, there are several challenges to growing malting barley, including its tendency to sprout pre-harvest in our wet climate and its susceptibility to Fusarium head blight, a fungus that can infect the grains and produces toxins that render the barley unsuitable for malting (and also useless as a livestock feed).
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists are working on developing malting barley varieties adapted to different regions of Canada. In P.E.I., Dr. Richard Martin has been collaborating with barley breeders in studying malting barley to find strains that are resistant to Fusarium head blight.
Aaron Mills is testing some of the more promising varieties, as recommended by Dr. Martin and malting barley breeders out West, to see how they fit into the P.E.I. crop production system.
The goal is to be able to grow quality malting barley in the existing potato rotation to add value to crops produced by farmers, and provide a local product for microbrewers.
UAP to distribute Rovral wettable powder in Canada
UAP Canada Inc. and FMC Agricultural Products recently reached an agreement that will see UAP serve as the exclusive distributor of the wettable powder formulation of Rovral fungicide in Canada.
FMC acquired Rovral from Bayer CropScience last year.
The wettable powder formulation of Rovral has a good fit with a number of highvalue fruit and vegetable crops and is registered for use on cherries, grapes, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, garlic, ginseng, lettuce and onions, among others.
In addition to its disease control properties, Rovral also delivers a number of other benefits to fruit and vegetable growers, including improved stability in crops such as cabbage and cauliflower. As a Group 2 fungicide, Rovral can be a good rotational product on fruit and vegetable crops that typically receive multiple treatments.
The active ingredient in Rovral is iprodione and the wettable powder formulation can be applied using aerial, field, knapsack, orchard or small sprayers.
www.uap.ca
CleanFARMS looks at options for BC ag packaging
Reducing, reusing and recycling agricultural and horticultural packaging waste, including plastic containers and bale wrap, will soon be a legal requirement in British Columbia.
As a result of amended legislation under the B.C. Ministry of Environment that requires all “packaging material” as defined by the province to be responsibly recycled, CleanFARMS is studying options to manage agricultural waste plastics.
This research project is being administered through the B.C. Agricultural Research and Development Corporation (ARDCORP) and the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. Funding for this project is provided by the Investment Agriculture Foundation through the Agri-Food Futures Fund, a trust funded from money under the former federal-provincial safety nets framework.
As it currently stands, there are either limited or no recycling options for many agricultural plastic waste products in B.C. products such as seed and fertilizer bags, twine and net wrap, silage and hay bale wrap, and cardboard, among others, will be covered by the new regulations.
By May 19, 2014, packaging producers must provide for collection of packaging waste from residential premises and municipal property that is not industrial, commercial or institutional property. Several commercial businesses, such as those represented by CleanFARMS, are making plans to collect all the packaging that they produce in anticipation of the future requirements.
CleanFARMS’ research will examine how much agricultural waste packaging is generated, who is responsible for managing it and what kind of programs could be implemented to do so.
A steering committee made up of a cross-section of stakeholders, including industry and government players, will guide CleanFARMS’ research. The next steps will be to communicate the results to the industry.
U of G, VRIC announce collaboration
Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) and the University of Guelph have announced a new research partnership for the Canadian horticulture industry.
Researcher Dr. Youbin Zheng is the new Vineland/University of Guelph Chair in Environmental Horticulture. It is hoped this position will improve collaboration across Canadian research networks and speed access to new technologies and innovations for industry.
“Dr. Zheng will be splitting his time between Vineland and the University of Guelph where some of the country’s best work in greenhouse intelligent irrigation systems, water treatment for recirculation, plant environment interactions and biocontrol is being led for the greenhouse and nursery sectors. No surprise to anyone, but rapid delivery of results is the focus here, and of course the key to industry competitiveness globally,” said Dr. Jim Brandle, CEO of Vineland.
Dr. Zheng was an adjunct professor and technical manager of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility in the Ontario Agricultural College’s School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. He will be working side by side with Dr. Michael Brownbridge, Vineland’s research director in horticultural production systems. Together these researchers bring decades of experience in green roof technology, greenhouse and nursery plant
production, and urban agriculture.
“This is an exciting opportunity made possible by establishing a new type of partnership,” said Robert Gordon, dean of the OAC. “As we look at increasing challenges to research funding, it is important to explore creative options for partnerships to support this type of important work.”
Feds helping productivity on vegetable farms
New research investment will help vegetable producers become more productive and profitable.
The federal government recently announced an investment of more than $230,000 for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) to discover the optimal soil conditions for growing cover crops as part of crop rotation.
Cover crops help replenish the soil by reducing erosion, sequestering nitrogen and improving pest management. This two-year study will assess how cover crops such as annual rye, wheat, oats and oilseed radishes are affected by residual herbicides that have been applied for previous crops like soybeans or corn.
The study will be conducted by the OPVG, which represents about 600 processing vegetable growers across Ontario. The organization annually negotiates prices and terms and conditions of sale for growers of 13 crops – tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, green peas, green and wax beans, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, beets, peppers, pumpkin, squash and lima beans.
“As growers continue to make their farms environmentally sustainable, this project will help determine the compatibility of potential cover crops within vegetable production systems,” said Phil Richards, OPVG chairman, a processing tomato grower from Dresden, Ont.
New Products
NH TS6.120 High-Clearance tractor
With a maximum crop clearance of 30 inches at the drawbar, the TS6.120 HighClearance tractor from New Holland is designed to work between rows of tall vegetable and specialty crops without worry of plant damage. The front axle adjusts from 72 to 84 inches to accommodate a wide variety of crops and farming practices.
The TS6.120 features a flat-deck operator station, and is available with a choice of an open-air ROPS platform or a factory-installed, all-weather cab with air conditioning and heat.
The 274-cubic-inch, four-cylinder diesel engine is turbocharged and intercooled. Designed to run on standard diesel fuels or any biodiesel blend up to B100 that meets ASTM 6751 fuel quality standards, the TS6.120 High-Clearance tractor is Tier 3 emissions-compliant.
The TS6.120 is available with a choice of three creeper transmissions that provide the ultra-slow speeds needed for precise movement through the rows during cultivating and harvest:
12F x 12R synchronized transmission with mechanical shuttle (includes four-speed creeper)
12F x 12R synchronized transmission with hydraulic shuttle (includes four-speed creeper)
24F x 12R DualPowerTM transmission with hydraulic shuttle (includes four-speed creeper)
The standard three-point hitch capacity of 3,600 lbs. can be increased to 5,400 lbs. or 7,200 lbs. with additional lift rams. Flexible link ends and standard telescopic stabilizers accommodate sprayers and heavy mounted implements. A dedicated left-hand shuttle lever allows for forward and reverse shifting.
An optional auxiliary hydraulic implement pump adds 9-gpm flow to the standard
13-gpm implement pump to run high-demand implements. A separate 9-gpm steering pump is standard for steering response. www.newholland.com
Bayer CropScience launches new herbicide
Bayer CropScience is offering orchard growers a new herbicide option with Alion. The herbicide provides residual control of annual grassy and broadleaf weeds, including glyphosate-, triazine- and ALSresistant weeds, on pome fruit, stone fruit and tree nuts. “Alion features a completely new mode of action that provides longerlasting weed control compared to competitive products,” says David Kikkert, portfolio manager of horticulture with Bayer CropScience. “By choosing Alion, growers will benefit from its outstanding performance, and weed control they can depend on for the entire season.”
“Alion herbicide is what growers have been waiting for; it offers an extremely low use rate, excellent environmental safety, and it stays where you put it,” says Allan Kaastra, field development rep for Eastern Canada with Bayer CropScience. “Alion enables growers to more effectively rotate modes of action and preserve the utility of weed management technologies. Alion can be applied to established orchards of at least three full growing seasons, and if weeds are present at the time of application, growers can simply tank-mix Alion with a contact herbicide like Ignite®.”
Alion:
Is a group 29 herbicide
Provides long-term residual control Provides pre-emergent control for a broad spectrum of weeds
Controls annual grassy and broadleaf weeds, including glyphosate-, triazine- and ALS-resistant weeds Can be applied any time during the season as long as the ground is not frozen or snow covered Is an effective resistance-management tool
Provides flexibility because it can be tank-mixed
Has a low dose rate
Alion is available in a 1L jug from Bayer CropScience horticulture retails in orchard growing regions of Canada.
OtterBox iProtection
OtterBox iProtection is fortification for Apple devices; the result of engineering and design that delivers the form, fit and function of a case. Now OtterBox’s Defender Series iProtection is available for the latest Apple device, the new iPad®.
The Defender Series for the new iPad provides protection without sacrificing mobility or functionality. Memory foam pads cradle the device within a polycarbonate shell. A silicone skin wraps around the shell to absorb shock and protect ports from dust and dirt. A built-in screen protector keeps the Retin display free from scratches, and any smudges or fingerprints can easily be cleaned.
The case includes a polycarbonate stand that supports viewing in portrait or landscape mode and functions as a screen shield when the iPad is not in use. The stand also incorporates two magnets to initiate device sleep mode when placed over the screen and awaken the device when removed.
www.otterbox.com/new-ipad
ExakTime JobClock Hornet
The ExakTime’s JobClock Hornet recently won the Editors’ Choice Award for the 2012 Most Innovate Products (MIP) Award Program.
A panel of industry experts reviewed and selected the MIP award winners. This year’s products were grouped into nine categories.
JobClock Hornet – a wireless, rugged time clock – tracks work in real-time and automatically sends time records to offices every hour. ExakTime debuted JobClock Hornet in 2012 and CEO Tony Pappas says the response to Hornet has been excellent. Hornet tracks workers, job activities and job locations in real time, so businesses get 100 per cent accurate records that hand-
written, paper time cards can’t deliver.
Hornet is enclosed in a rugged, military-grade, ABS plastic composite case and built to survive any environment –rain, snow, heat or dust. The unit comes with a 30-day, rechargeable battery.
www.exaktime.com
BASF introduces Cantus fungicide
BASF Canada Inc. has received approval for the use of Cantus fungicide, for broad spectrum disease control on a wide array of horticultural crops including grapes, potatoes and other fruits and vegetable crops.
Cantus is powered by the active ingredient Boscalid and will replace Lance WDG fungicide on horticultural crops. With the same active ingredient as Lance, Cantus is registered exclusively for use on horticultural crops including potatoes, grapes, berries, bulb vegetables, carrots, fruiting vegetables, field lettuce, stone fruits, strawberries and cucurbits.
While Cantus will deliver the same level of control of key diseases – such as Alternaria, Botrytis and Sclerotinia – as Lance, horticultural growers will benefit from the horticulture-focused product communications and updates as well as relevant pro-
gramming built around the unique agronomic requirements of these crops.
“The introduction of Cantus is in line with BASF’s commitment to product stewardship,” confirms Scott Hodgins, technical specialist horticulture products with BASF Canada. “Because Cantus is sold only to horticultural markets, BASF will be able to provide horticultural growers with communications and programming that address the specific needs of their farming operations.”
In addition to its broad spectrum of disease control and diverse list of registered crops, Cantus fungicide is systemic in the xylem, making it rapidly rainfast and allowing it to protect growing plant tissue as it expands.
Lance fungicide will remain on the market for use in field crops such as dry and edible beans and canola.
www.agsolutions.ca
John Deere adds implement detection
John Deere has added to its portfolio of implement control products for various farming applications with the introduction of John Deere Implement Detection software.
The Implement Detection technology automatically populates implement- and task-specific settings from a controller on the implement to the GreenStar 3 2630 display in the cab. When a piece of equipment with Implement Detection is connected to a tractor using the 2630 Display, a one-page notification will indicate the implement’s name, connection type and other settings saved to the implement controller.
Operators can accept settings and move to the run page, or they can make adjustments to the settings if necessary. All changes to implement settings will override previously saved inputs. Implement Detection has universal compatibility with John Deere and competitive equipment.
“Implement Detection allows John Deere customers to spend more time working in the field and less time setting up their equipment or recalling what adjustments had previously been made,” says Janae Althouse, ISG product manager for John Deere. “It also helps reduce mistakes by operators in the field and ensures implements are set up exactly the same from use to use and year to year.”
www.JohnDeere.com
B.C. blueberry growers have long relied on machines to pick their berries for the processing market and fresh market growers are hoping they can soon go the machine route as well.
Blueberry machine harvesting still a no-go for fresh market
By David Schmidt
British Columbia blueberry growers have long relied on machines to pick their berries for the processing market. With labour becoming more scarce and more costly, many hope they can also use machines to pick for the fresh market.
The jury is still out on that.
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture berry specialist Mark Sweeney, Oregon State University professor Bernadine Strik and B.C. grower/packers Sukh Kahlon and Harvey Krause offered their insights into the topic at a panel discussion during the Pacific Agriculture Show in late January.
While she believes it is inevitable, Strik says “machines will have to change” before it becomes commonplace.
Sweeney agrees, noting current machines still cause a lot of bruising. Even non-obvious damage reduces shelf life so getting the berries to market quickly is “essential.”
That limits them to the local market,
Krause says. “Over 80 per cent of freshmarket B.C. blueberries are shipped out and you can’t use machine-picked berries for that.”
Both he and Kahlon believe Duke is now the only variety suitable for machine harvesting for the fresh market. Duke blueberries “have a concentrated ripening window and their fruit tends to hold well,” Kahlon states.
They hold out some hope for the new Draper variety although it is so new to B.C. that “we won’t really know for another three to five years.”
Growers need to wait for more of the crop to ripen to make efficient use of machine picking. This simple fact works against use of machines for the fresh market.
“You can start to hand pick when only 30 per cent of the crop is ready but you need at least 70 per cent for machine picking,” Kahlon says. “Every day you wait exposes you to risk and may cause you to
miss the higher-priced early season. If we had a variety which ripened in a two-week window, it would be better.”
That should reduce bruising because there would be less overripe fruit but could be self-defeating. The price premium growers count on early in the season could disappear if machines bring more volume onto the market than it can absorb.
All panelists stressed the need to prepare plants for machine harvest through severe, careful pruning. Machine picking requires straight rows, a narrow crown, trellised plants with no low branches and drip irrigation.
Even with better machines, “only the best growers with the best management will be able to do it,” Strik says.
Krause says growers need to be extra careful with a machine.
“The weather has to be just right, you need to be very gentle with the beaters and you must drive slow,” he cautions.
That’s a tough combination.
Fruiting Quince
Hardy and healthy sea buckthorn
The sea-buckthorn berry is a little-known super fruit. The seed and pulp of the berry are loaded with vitamins, particularly C, A, and E. A single sea-buckthorn berry has more vitamin C than an entire orange and more vitamin E than a carrot. It also has high levels of beta carotene, omega-3 oils, and flavonoids.
Awareness of this nutritious fruit is on the rise. In June 2011, the fruit received positive reviews from Dr. Oz, the popular TV doctor who used to make frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and who now hosts his own program, The Dr. Oz Show. He discussed how the berry may help prevent wrinkles and constipation, and also aid in weight loss.
“As soon as the The Dr. Oz Show episode aired, we received phone calls from all around the world about what we’re doing with sea buckthorn,” said Bill Schroeder, a researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Agroforestry Development Centre (ADC) in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. “We’ve been identified as one of the experts in that area.”
Sea buckthorn is a dense, deciduous shrub that can grow up to five metres tall. Its leaves are silvery green in colour, and its branches are typically thorny. The orange berries it produces are edible and have been referred to as the Siberian pineapple because of the berries’ taste and juiciness.
Originally, the shrub was imported to Canada from Russia in the 1930s as an ornamental plant. On the Canadian Prairies, sea buckthorn has been used primarily in wildlife habitats and shelterbelts to offer fields and farmyards protection from snow and wind.
In the not-too-distant future, it is possible that the fruit will be grown on the Prairies more often as a commercial crop, since its nutrient-dense fruit can be used in a wide range of products, such as jams, jellies, liquors, juices, and even skin ointments.
Other countries, mainly China and Russia, have been using sea-buckthorn berries in food products and skin creams for hundreds of years.
AAFC scientists are working to increase the commercial potential of sea buckthorn. AC-Autumn Gold, a new sea-buckthorn variety developed by researchers at the ADC, will be released in 2012. It has the potential to propel sea buckthorn into the commercial market because of its high yields and fruit that is easier to harvest than previous varieties. Not only does this variety produce fruit that is almost twice as large as previous sea-buckthorn varieties, but it is almost thornless, which makes it an easier plant for producers to work with. The berries on AC-Autumn Gold grow from fivemillimetre–long stalks attached to the bush’s stem. This results in berries that are easier to hand-pick than previous varieties whose berries grew in tight clusters. Longer stalks, combined with large fruit size, also mean the berries can be harvested mechanically.
“I think there’s a real opportunity here,” said Schroeder. “If growers can efficiently and cost-effectively grow sea buckthorn, then a Canadian manufacturing industry around sea-buckthorn products could develop.”
Sea buckthorn is a dense, deciduous shrub that can grow up to five metres tall. Its leaves are silvery green in colour, and its branches are typically thorny. The orange berries it produces are edible and have been referred to as the Siberian pineapple because of the berries’ taste and juiciness.
AC-Autumn Gold is the result of more than 15 years of research performed by scientists at the ADC. It is the first seabuckthorn variety to be unveiled by the centre since 2005, when Orange September and Harvest Moon were released through the Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation and made available through commercial nurseries. Similarly, farmers who wish to purchase AC-Autumn Gold must source it through Canadian commercial nurseries.
Perhaps one day, AC-Autumn Gold’s berries become a permanent ingredient in the jams and lotions found in Canadian homes.
Yes, you read that right. Alion™, the new Group 29 pre-emergent herbicide is anything but exciting to watch. Why? Because you’ll never actually see it do anything – and that’s the point. Spray it in your orchard for seasonlong control of annual grassy and broadleaf weeds. Not to mention glyphosate, triazine and ALS-resistant weeds, too. It’s literally as exciting as dirt. Until you see the results.
