Improving water quality
Wastewater treatment improving in the Holland Marsh area. | 12
Breeding cold tolerance
Researchers examine native grape cultivars to improve cold tolerance | 14
Spend cents but save dollars
Looking for cost-saving ideas on the farm | 16
April 2016
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Researchers using ground cover for nutrient storage. | 10 By Avril Vollenhoven
Holland Marsh
Researchers examine use of native grape cultivars By Dr. Alireza Rahemi, Mike McArthur, Phil Ryan and Andrea Kilian
Spend cents but save dollars 16
Consultant urges growers to look for cost saving ideas By Hugh McElhone
Scientists
SHARON DURHAM
BARTOLIC
Over the past few years, the global agricultural industry – including Canada – has been abuzz with discussion about the use of pesticides on crops and the health of honeybees. Various hypotheses regarding colony collapse disorder (CCD) and the decline of honeybee colonies have been suggested and tested, leading to the banning of some classes of pesticides.
But, according to the latest research from Europe, one pesticide may not be the only culprit.
Researchers with the department of zoology at the University of Otago in New Zealand recently published a study in the journal Ecology examining what effect the organophosphate chlorpyrifos can have on honeybees. Insects were gathered from 17 sites around the Otago area. While levels of the pesticide in the bees were found to be well below the L50 point – the lethal dose for 50 per cent of the animals tested – “the formation and retrieval of appetitive olfactory memories was severely affected,” the researchers found.
“As learning and memory play a central role in the behavioural ecology and communication of foraging bees, chlorpyrifos, even in sublethal doses, may threaten the success and survival of this important insect pollinator,” they concluded.
In a study published recently in the Journal of Chromatography
A, researchers with the National Veterinary Research Institute in Poland have discovered that European honeybees are being poisoned by up to 57 different pesticides.
“Bee health is a matter of public concern – bees are considered critically important for the environment and agriculture by pollinating more than 80 per cent
of crops and wild plants in Europe,” said Tomasz Kiljanek, lead author of the study. “We wanted to develop a test for a large number of pesticides currently approved for use in the European Union to see what is poisoning the bees.”
Kiljanek and his team used a testing method called QuEChERS, typically used to look for pesticide residue on food, to analyze bees from 70 different poisoning incidents. They were able to test for 200 different pesticides simultaneously – about 98 per cent approved for use in the EU – plus additional compounds created when the pesticides break down.
Their results – 57 different pesticides were present in the bees. According to the study’s conclusions, “it is the broadest spectrum of pesticides and their metabolites, till now, detected in honeybees.”
“This is just the beginning of our research on the impact of pesticides on honeybee health,” said Kiljanek. “Honeybee poisoning incidents are the tip of the iceberg. Even at low levels, pesticides can weaken bees’ defense systems, allowing parasites or viruses to kill the colony. Our results
will help expand our knowledge about the influence of pesticides on honeybee health and will provide important information for other researchers to better assess the risk connected with the mix of current pesticides.”
While the outcome of the project was to develop a new tool for studying which pesticides may actually be having a negative effect on honeybees, it has also shown that improving bee health isn’t as simple as banning one pesticide. The issue appears to be a bit more complicated than that.
Federal officials recently announced that the European Union (EU) has voted in favor of expanding the current scope of the Canada-EU Organic Equivalency Arrangement.
Canadian certified organic processed products that include imported ingredients will now also be covered by the arrangement and will no longer require costly and time-consuming double certification. The expanded scope of the
arrangement will also include mutual recognition of EU and Canadian organic wine standards as being equivalent.
It was anticipated the regulation would be published in the EU Official Journal by the end of March. The EU regulation enters into force seven days after its official publication, at which time the revised Canada-EU Equivalency Arrangement will also come into force.
First generation market garden farmers Andrew and Jennifer Lovell of Keswick Ridge, N.B., were chosen as the 2016 Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) for the Atlantic region at a recent awards event in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
The Lovells will go on to represent the Atlantic region at the national OYF event, being held Nov. 29 to Dec. 4, in Niagara Falls, Ont.
The Lovells own and operate River View Orchards, a u-pick farm market operation that includes apples, pears, plums, strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins and other vegetables. They host school tours, operate an agricultural fence and orchard trellis construction service, and host farm-themed birthday parties.
The Lovells’ story of how they got into farming is different than
many. Neither of them grew up on a farm, but Andrew had dreams of owning his own farm for years. And in 2012, their dream came true when they purchased a farm that can trace its roots to the original land grants in 1784. Andrew manages the farm operation, and Jennifer continues her work as a full-time nurse. Their goal is to grow their farm to be large enough that one day their
children, Robert, 11, and Elsie, 4, can carry on the family farm, if they choose.
Off the farm, Andrew is a director of the NB Agriculture Alliance, chairs the committee that’s establishing the Agricultural Coalition, is current chair of New Brunswick Apple Growers Association and sits on the Apple Working Group of the Canadian Horticulture Council.
BY
372,761
2,500
50,000 acres of apples across Canada Data courtesy of Canadian Horticultural Council, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Statistics Canada
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New research suggests researchers need to “breed some wildness back” into fruit and vegetable varieties after experts found wild tomatoes are better able to protect themselves against the destructive whitefly than modern, commercial varieties.
The study, published recently in the academic journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development , shows that in society’s quest for larger, redder, longer-lasting tomatoes, breeders have inadvertently bred out key characteristics that help the plant defend itself against predators.
Led by Newcastle University, U.K., the research shows that wild tomatoes have a dual line of defence against these voracious pests: an initial mechanism which discourages the whitefly from settling on the plant in the first place and a second line of defence which happens inside the plant
where a chemical reaction causes the plant sap to “gum up” blocking the whitefly’s feeding tube.
Thomas McDaniel, the PhD student who led the research, said the findings highlight the natural resistance of wild plant varieties and suggest researchers need to “breed some of that wildness back in” instead of continuously looking for new methods of pest control.
“By selecting for certain characteristics we have inadvertently lost some really useful ones,” said McDaniel, who is based in the School of Biology at Newcastle University.
“One option would be to revert back to growing more of the older, wild varieties,” explained McDaniel.
Project supervisor Barry Brogan, also from Newcastle University, said the findings also highlight the importance of maintaining biodiversity.
Canadian winters can be tough on wine grape vines. A single extreme cold snap can damage vines and reduce crop yields by 50 per cent.
Agriculture and Agri-
Food Canada researchers in Summerland, B.C., are collecting data from multiple sources to determine the best practices for protecting vineyards against extreme cold.
All growers have access to a bi-weekly bud hardiness report for major wine grape varieties. They use this information to assess risk of winter injury before and during an arctic outflow event (any combination of wind speed and temperature giving a wind chill of −20 C or lower for six hours or more).
Additionally, the research team collects hardiness data in several other current research projects that are looking at the effects of irrigation practices, crop load adjustments, ground cover between vine rows, trunk and viral diseases, leaf removal and cluster positioning, and applications of abscisic acid (a natural plant hormone that improves grape colour) on fruit and wine quality.
Weeds are a major scourge for organic growers, who often must invest in multiple control methods to protect crop yields.
A relatively new weed control method known as abrasive weeding, or “weed blasting,” could give organic growers another tool. The method, recently field-tested at the University of Illinois, is surprisingly effective.
In conjunction with plastic mulch, abrasive weeding reduced final weed biomass by 69 to 97 per cent compared to non-weeded control plots, said University of Illinois agro-ecologist Samuel Wortman.
Abrasive weeding involves blasting weed seedlings with tiny fragments of organic grit using an air compressor. For the current study, grit was applied through a hand-held, siphon-fed, sandblasting unit connected to a gas-powered air compressor, which was hauled down crop rows with a walk-behind tractor. The study looked
at a number of grit sources: walnut shells, granulated maize cob, greensand and soybean meal. If applied at the right plant growth stage, the force of the abrasive grit severely damages stems and leaves of weed seedlings.
Wortman found no significant differences between the grit types in terms of efficacy.
“When it leaves the nozzle, it’s at least Mach 1 [767 mph],” Wortman noted. “The stuff comes out so fast, it doesn’t really matter what the shape of the particle is.”
Because ricocheting particles can pose a risk to the applicator, Wortman advises using protective eyewear.
Blasted grit does not discriminate between weed and crop seedlings, which makes it important to use this method in transplanted crops that are substantially larger than weed seedlings at the time of grit application. Although some visible damage occurred on stems and leaves of both tomato and pepper crops, the damage did not affect marketable fruit yield. Studies are ongoing to determine whether abrasions on crop tissues could result in increased susceptibility to disease, but early results show little effect.
Importantly, plots with plastic mulch and one or more blasting treatments achieved the same fruit yields seen in hand-weeded plots, and 33 to 44 per cent greater yields than in non-weeded control plots.
The method is now being tested in different horticultural crops, including broccoli and kale, with and without additional weed control methods. Early results suggest the presence of polyethylene mulch or biodegradable plastic mulch strongly enhances the success of weed blasting, as compared with straw mulch and bare soil.
Researchers use orchard ground cover as a nutrient storage container to help organic farmers grow Honeycrisp
BY AVRIL VOLLENHOVEN
For organic farmers trying to grow the popular Honeycrisp apple, what happens in the trees depends on what happens on the ground between the tree rows, says Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) organic specialist Julia Reekie.
“Those several metres between the tree lines need to be part of the production system,” says Reekie. She is working with Trent University researcher Mehdi Sharifi and Andy Hammermeister, the director of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, on the right mix of perennial grasses and legumes to turn these soil strips into a nutrient storage container for
the demanding apple. Working at a Woodville, N.S., organic Honeycrisp orchard, the team adopted a modified orchard floor cover crop system called the “Swiss Sandwich System,” developed in Switzerland. In the system, a half-metre-wide band of natural vegetation is left undisturbed in the tree trunk line to create a natural habitat for beneficial insects, particularly pollinators. On each side of the trunk line, another halfmetre-wide strip is shallow tilled to maintain bare ground, which ensures a competition-free zone for the tree roots. Finally, in the lane between these bare strips, researchers grow a ABOVE
Dr. Julia Reekie (right) is working in Brian Boates’ (left) Woodville, N.S., organic Honeycrisp orchard investigating the right mix of perennial grasses and legumes to use for ground cover.
cover crop mix of Timothy grass, alfalfa, alsike clover and red clover in different combinations. Two or three times a year, depending on the plot trial, the mix is mowed and the clippings tilled into the bare strips.
“Because they don’t use synthetic fertilizers, one of the biggest challenges facing organic apple farmers is maintaining high levels of nitrogen needed by their trees,” says Reekie, who works at AAFC’s Kentville Research and Development Centre. “This is a way to get that nitrogen from a natural source.”
While the multi-year project is still in the early stages, Reekie says “we could see the trees were looking better, with greener leaves indicating higher chlorophyll content.” Because the vegetative matter releases nutrients, including nitrogen, slowly as it breaks down, Reekie says the team is considering a till late into the season to provide a burst of nitrogen early in the next growing season.
“It’s like setting your coffee pot to start the next morning so you can wake up to a hot cup of coffee,” Reekie says.
Brian Boates, who provided an acre of his orchard for this project, says the research will help organic growers tap into a lucrative market.
“I think there’s enormous potential for organic Honeycrisps in Nova Scotia,” says Boates, president of the Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network. “With the growing public interest in organic
food and the environment, the demand will continue to increase.”
The organic market in Canada is growing and is now the fourth largest in the world with organic and transitional farms representing roughly two per cent of agriculture in the country. Working out the kinks in the production of the Honeycrisp is nothing new for AAFC’s Kentville Research and Development Centre. Twenty years ago, the centre planted the first Honeycrisp tree in the province.
Researchers had to work out management techniques for handling the apple’s biennial bearing problem (too many blossoms one year, not enough the next) plus the right conditions for storage.
The apple has since gone on to a premiumpriced consumer favorite that gives growers a higher return.
The latest research on organic production of the apple is one of the projects under a federal government and industry collaboration called Organic Cluster 2 being led by the Organic Federation of Canada. It was launched last year with a $7.7 million investment from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Avril Vollenhoven is the regional communications advisor for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, based in Halifax, N.S.
Nova Scotia apple grower Brian Boates is the president of the Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network.
Whole-farm water quality continues to improve in the Holland Marsh area as a water project evaluates new water treatment technologies on area farm operations.
BY TREENA HEIN
BELOW
Solids captured by the Geotube (left) and after 21 days of treatment.
The water quality around Ontario’s Holland Marsh is getting better and better, in large part due to the Holland Marsh Growers’ Association Water Project (HMGA WP).
The project is now in its third year and is funded by Environment Canada’s “Lake Simcoe Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund.” It aims to both promote wholefarm water quality improvement and evaluate new water treatment technologies, with the focus on Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay through the Nottawasaga Valley, Severn Sound and Lake Simcoe watersheds.
“Specifically, we are identifying levels and types of contaminants, whether they are nutrients or sediments, in discharge water from horticultural use,” says HMGA WP manager Charlie Lalonde. “We’re also testing innovative and alternative treatment technologies, and management strategies focusing on water use and treatment. Along with that comes sharing the findings with the broader horticultural industry.”
The project includes greenhouse operations and farms with field vegetables, livestock, potatoes and nursery crops. Treatment systems under evaluation are new and must be retrofitted into already-existing systems.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs are major governance partners, contributing funding and staff time and expertise to the HMGA WP. Individual growers are contributing ideas and practical feedback, test sites and financial support. Staff at the Ontario Ministry of
Treatment systems under evaluation include a Geotube. The top photo shows the beginning of the test, the centre photo the middle and the bottom photo the end.
and other HMGA WP staff conduct outreach every year through workshops and other industry events. Workshop materials are also available on the HMGA WP website, along with articles, fact sheets and a blog.
“Water project staff are on grower farm sites every week to discuss treatment system options and performance,” Lalonde adds.
“I think one of the most important aspects of this project is the way it has broadened the support infrastructure for the sector through introduction of new technologies, engineering firms, research partners and so on. It’s very much about continuously connecting the dots between growers and support services to make sure those offering services understand the challenges.”
“We’ve learned the first step in a wash water treatment system is most critical.”
– Charlie Lalonde
the Environment and Climate Change are providing advice about regulatory compliance. Research project participants include the University of Guelph, SRG Soil Research Group, McMaster and Western Universities, Flowers Canada, Farm & Food Care and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. Companies taking part are Bishop Technologies, Newterra, Voltea, ProMinent Fluid Controls, various engineering firms (for treatment system design) and GroPak Farms.
When asked what broad lessons have become clear over the last three years, Lalonde says: “We’ve learned the first step in a wash water treatment system is most critical. Many technologies work well after a significant amount of soil has been removed, so we have to improve dedirting of root vegetables to reduce soil load prior to washing. Muck soils are most difficult to remove from water due to particle size and particle density, so physical separation does not work.”
Lalonde believes participating growers appreciate the water project because their involvement has allowed them to address their individual situations. For other growers, Lalonde
The federal government is about to announce phosphorus loading targets for Lake Erie, to be met by 2018 under the bi-national “Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.” While Lalonde notes that Lake Simcoe is its own watershed system, he sees Great Lakes’ water concerns as similar and the targets relevant.
“Growers welcome targets as they allow for better planning,” he says. “However, in each of these water bodies, the source of nutrients can be different so site-specific analysis is required.”
Lalonde believes the Great Lakes and other bodies of water such as Lake Simcoe will continue to receive lots of attention and require improvements as urban pressure intensifies.
“Although agriculture is not the major contributor to water quality, these bodies of water in both regions experience some agricultural runoff of phosphorus and nitrogen,” he says. “We are pleased that this project has produced tangible results and has created options for growers. Through continuous improvement, the environmental profile will continue to change.”
For more information on the project, visit hmgawater.ca.
Grape research at the Simcoe Research Station is examining the use of native grape cultivars to improve frost tolerance in wine grapes
BY DR. ALIREZA RAHEMI, MIKE MCARTHUR, PHIL RYAN AND ANDREA KILIAN
Grapes (Vitis vinifera) are the most widely cultivated horticultural crops in the world and the viticulture industry is developing rapidly in Canada. Ontario has approximately 17,000 acres of vineyards, and in recent years vineyards have been established in Norfolk County.
Cold winters can damage cultivated grapes and, therefore, grapes with a higher freezing tolerance are desirable and growers are looking for ways to improve the winter hardiness of conventional grape cultivars.
Hybridization of common grapes with wild grapes is one way to increase the freezing tolerance of grapes. Also, appropriate rootstock enhances
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the grapevine’s ability to provide cold tolerant roots and trunk and is expected to increase cold hardiness.
Frost grape (Vitis vinifera) is a native, freeze tolerant wild grape in North America and is distributed in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. It is reported that some genotypes of this grape can tolerate -50 C during winter and those, or hybrids of them, have been used as a rootstock for the grapes. Some genetic factors in these grapes increase abiotic stress tolerance and these factors lead to the expression of some genes that help the cell to survive periods of freezing. It is assumed that some genes from Frost grapes
Dr. Alireza Rahemi with some of the Frost grape genotypes currently being propagated at the Simcoe Research Station.
are responsible for the superior frost tolerance of this grape.
In 2012, about 900 genotypes of Frost grapes were collected to identify new potential rootstock candidates. The clones were collected from sandy regions throughout southern Ontario (Norfolk, Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Brant, Kent, Haldimand, Essex, Prince Edward, Hastings, Frontenac and Grey counties). These genotypes have been propagated and are planted at Simcoe Research Station. At present, Simcoe Research Station has a very broad collection of Frost grape genetic material. The genetic diversity of this collection is being studied in collaboration with Cornell University. Also, morphological characteristics in plant structure have been evaluated in the last three years and the genetic material showed diversity in the population.
These rootstocks will increase the competitiveness of grape growers and provide them with better choices of rootstocks for grapes.
Drought resistance, based on the morphological characteristics, is also under evaluation on 12 pre-selected genotypes. Biochemical assay along with other physiological and morphological characteristics have been used to assess drought resistance in controlled environments in the greenhouse with three different drought levels. Pinot noir grapevines have been grafted on these selections and the grafted vines were planted in the field for more evaluations. These rootstocks will increase the competitiveness of grape growers and provide them with better choices of rootstocks for grapes.
This project was funded in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The Ontario Grape and Wine Research Incorporation (OGWRI), Grape Growers of Ontario (GGO), Ontario South Coast Wineries and Growers Association (OSCWGA), VineTech Nursery, and Dubois Agrinovation Company also have co-operated and assisted in the project.
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Consultant and retired government agriculture engineer urges producers to look closely at their operations for cost saving ideas.
BY HUGH MCELHONE
The old axiom of “thinking outside the box” applies well to fruit and vegetable producers looking for ways to reduce costs in their cooling-packing facility, says Hugh Fraser, a consultant with OTB Farm Solutions and retired extension agricultural engineer with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
“The first thing I am going to say is to stop coaching and sit in the stands for a while,” he says. Take note of where your produce is not flowing in a straight line and where travel distances could be a lot shorter.
“Look at things from a different perspective and ask key workers for their good ideas on efficiency and
reward them,” Fraser says. “With a forklift, you can assume that it costs about $20 per hour to own, fuel and operate, and that’s on the conservative side.
“Let us assume you are picking seven hours per day and that you have 50 picking days per season, and that you pick 60 bins per day. Let us also assume that each bin is touched about 12 times per cycle.”
Fraser says the cycle starts with an empty bin that goes to the orchard to be filled, then comes back, goes into cooler storage, then the pack line to be emptied before the process repeats. He estimates the bin is touched one to three times at each location.
Producers with packing facilities should consider having an adjustable shelf that sets the packing boxes at an optimum 12 to 15 degree incline from the horizontal so they tip in toward the worker.
“Over the course of the season, this adds up to about 36,000 touches,” he says. “This is costing you about 20 cents every time you touch that bin. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but after you touch all those bins 36,000 times in the season, there is a lot of money to be saved.”
Fraser says to also think about forklift trips and how time gets added.
“Slowing around corners can waste a lot of time, or blind spots where you can’t see what’s coming, or busy areas where you may have to slow down because it’s a bottleneck,” he says. “Every time you travel an extra metre, you add one second to your trip.”
Moving bins to get at bins and then moving them back is a big time waster so think about ways to reduce the number of moves for the forklift, he says. Be careful around obstructions and in poorly lit areas, and try to handle the optimal combination of bins that will safely save you time.
Another idea to consider is having an adjustable shelf that sets the packing boxes at an optimum 12 to 15 degree incline from the horizontal so they tip in toward the worker. This position allows the worker to keep their upper arms more comfortably at near vertical.
Fluorescent lighting should ideally be in the range of 500 to 1,000 lux – a unit of illumination.
“Many packers are older and they need better lighting. Workers should also be rotated to reduce fatigue and monotony.”
“Trying to re-cool peaches after you’ve got them in baskets and into the shipping container [is] very, very difficult.” – Hugh Fraser
“Try to stop the re-warming of produce out of storage. You spend a lot of time and money to make the produce cold and then we bring it out to pack it and it gets re-warmed. It has to spend as little time out of cold storage as possible.”
He remembers being in California where they had bins of produce passed on a conveyor through a hole in the cold storage wall right onto the packing line, which reduced the time the produce was out of storage.
Fraser says all produce cools quickly at first, then slowly over time, regardless of the produce type or the style of cooler. In a typical forced-air cooler, produce will cool about 3 C in about 12 minutes, by 6 C in 24 minutes and by 9 C in 36 minutes.
“We can’t stop re-warming but there are some things we can do to slow it down,” he says.
Produce actually re-warms just like it cools, so it warms quickly at first then slowly over time.
Fraser uses peaches as an example.
“Assume that produce coming out of cold storage and onto the packing line is at one degree C and that it rewarms at only half the rate of forced-air cooling, which is very possible. So, in 12 minutes the temperature would rise by 1.5 degrees to 2.5 degrees, in 24 minutes by three degrees to four degrees, and in 36 minutes by 4.5 degrees to 5.5 degrees.
“At 5.5 C, we are getting into the danger zone for potential mealiness with peaches,” he says. “Trying to re-cool peaches after you’ve got them in baskets and into the shipping container [is] very, very difficult.”
Ideally, you want the shortest possible time out of storage to keep that coolness.
“Do a simple test on your time out of storage. Let’s assume you dump your first bin at 8 a.m., and your last (60th bin), is packed out by 6 p.m., so it took 10 hours to pack 60 bins. That’s about 10 minutes on average per bin. It’s worth doing a little test to convince yourself that stuff is not out of storage very long.”
Another way to reduce costs is to improve labour efficiency on the pack line, he says. Researchers at the University of California talk about having an adjustable, soft floor with a foot rail so that people can change their positions throughout the day. For shorter workers, the floor can be raised to allow their forearms to be nearly horizontal.
“It’s a simple thing but it can be a big thing,” he says.
Fraser suggests not implementing these changes across the board, but to start with only a few workers to see how they respond to the changes.
“Your workers will tell you very quickly if they like what you did or not,” he says.
In some peach packing facilities, it can take 10 minutes of down time to switch containers on the line and it can easily happen twice a day.
“If you have 20 packers, then they are idle 333 hours over 50 days, which is about $4,000 in lost time.”
Evaporator coils must also earn their keep.
“To get the most efficiency out of your coils, ensure they are drawing cold air through and around the produce so it’s cooling it. Air always takes the path of least resistance and it will not flow through bins or pallets unless it is forced to do so. Also, if you restrict airflow, or have short-circuiting of cold air back to the coils, you’re going to have faster frost buildup and more frequent defrosts required, which means higher electricity costs and slower pull down times.
“You have to make the cold air in your storage do a better job for you,” he says.
To do this, ensure there are four to six inches between bin or pallet rows that are parallel to the airflow in the room, and six to eight inches at the sidewall that are parallel to the airflow.
“You should have at least 12 inches of space under the coils so the air has room to get back to the cooling coils and get re-cooled,” Fraser says.
“It’s easier to cool fruit in a bulk bin than after it is packed in a basket and placed in a corrugated container. Fruit not cold when packed is more susceptible to bruising and a shorter shelf life.”
Over his 35-year career, Fraser has found the need for more cross-pollination among farms.
“Tender fruit producers often don’t know what vegetable growers are doing and greenhouse growers don’t know what grape growers do,” he says. “We’ve lost some of that cross-pollination of good ideas.”
Greenhouse vegetable and flower operations are highly mechanized and have pack lines, forklifts, automation and all can learn from everyone else. They also pack in containers and some use forced-air coolers.
“Your non-competitors are going to share good ideas with you more than your competitors will,” he says.
Having a long-term plan is another area that needs work.
“Most farms expand production 100 per cent over one generation but nobody has a plan ready in their back pocket. And disaster can strike with a 100 per cent loss and again nobody has a plan to draw from,” he says.
By thinking outside the box, producers can reduce costs and streamline operations. By having an expansion plan in place, they can be ready for whatever life brings their way.
B.C. vegetable growers learn about okra and sweet potato production from a research scientist based in Ontario
BY TOM WALKER
If you are looking to diversify your crops, consider okra and sweet potatoes, says Villiam Zvalo, a research scientist in vegetable production with the Vineland Research and Innovation Center in Ontario.
While common in warmer climates, both vegetables are being grown successfully in Canada and show good market potential, Zvalo told growers at the recent B.C. Horticulture Show.
“When you walk through the vegetable aisle at your local supermarket, it is markedly different from what it was even five years ago,” Zvalo says.
That reflects the evolving Canadian population. A change in demographics driven by immigration is creating an opportunity for Canadian farmers.
“Two million more new Canadians will come to Canada by 2020,” Zvalo says.
He says studies by the University of Guelph show that 70 per cent of the growth in sales in
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the vegetable aisle will be to immigrants. Those new Canadians bring a broad range of tastes with them and Canadians at home are becoming more adventurous in their eating as well.
“That creates opportunity,” Zvalo says.
Okra is the seedpod of a flowering plant of the mallow family, Zvalo explains. Canada imported 6,000 MT (13 million lbs.) of okra in 2015, a nearly 50 per cent increase over the last five years and Zvalo expects a continued increase of eight per cent annually. It is favoured by consumers of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African backgrounds, who use it in soups, stir frys and stews. Okra has a limited shelf life and Zvalo believes there is a market for local, high quality product.
Okra needs 150 frost-free days to mature. It can go on to produce for 10 to 12 weeks, especially with the support of row covers. Okra is direct seeded after soaking, or transplanted, under black plastic mulch. Zvalo says there is
delayed maturity and about 12 per cent less yield with seeding.
“But it has an extremely fragile taproot,” he cautions. “You have to be very careful with transplanting.”
Spacing is critical for maximum yield, Zvalo adds.
“We found the highest yield on double row 30 cm spacing, 25 to 30 cm seems to be the sweet spot.”
Initial work has shown 40 to 60 kg N/ ha gives the best yield with decline above 75 kg/ha.
“About half of that up front,” Zvalo suggests and three to five kg/ha a week through drip irrigation.
Zvalo says verticillium wilt is the most common disease.
“Get your soil tested,” he says. “If you have potatoes in your rotation, the risk is high.”
Japanese beetle is common but doesn’t do a lot of damage, Zvalo says. Look at products registered for Group 8 crops.
“I think 8 MT (17,000 lbs) per hectare (7,000 lbs per acre) needs to be exceeded before growers would be interested,” he says. “That’s the go/no go level.”
Some producers are seeing 20 MT/ha (nearly 18,000 lbs/acre) in southern Ontario. Growers should consider high yielding hybrids. Lucky Green, Elisa, and Jambalaya did best in trials.
The immature seedpod is harvested by hand within five to seven days of pollination. Pickers have to be quick as okra becomes fibrous and woody rapidly and over-ripe pods need to be picked and discarded.
“You will need one person dedicated to harvest one acre and it will take them all day,” says Zvalo. “If they have any time left over, then they could help with other chores.”
The cost of production is $5,750 per acre, he estimates.
“A few years ago, when returns for non-hybrids were in the $0.99 lb. range and yields were lower, it was difficult to make a business case,” says Zvalo. “Now, with prices like $2.99 to $3.99, if you can get 10,000 lbs. to the acre you should be able to make money. It could be the next kale”
It’s a sweet potato
“No they aren’t yams,” says Zvalo, referring to the name of the popular fries. It seems that grocers adopted the name yam to distinguish the darker orange/yellow sweet potato varieties that arrived on shelves after the white-fleshed
types had been established in North America.
The sweet potato crop in Ontario has grown from just over one million pounds (450 MT) to 30 million pounds (14,000 MT) in the last 15 years but that’s not much compared to the 110 million pounds (50,000 MT) imported each year.
Vineland has been working since 2009 to develop a line that would be more cold tolerant with a shorter growing season so the crop would mature in the fields, says Zvalo. In 2015, they conducted yield trials at multiple sites in P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and B.C.
“We have a variety that will probably be launched by 2017,” he says.
It has about a 40 per cent higher yield.
“I have a grower in Nova Scotia who says he would switch over all of his 50 acres if it was available.”
Well-drained, light sandy loam soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 6.8 are best. Heavy soils produce low quality roots, says Zvalo. Double rows 12 inches (30 cm) apart with plants 12 inches in the row in plasticulture and 36 to 42 inch (90-105 cm) row spacing is ideal. He recommends sweet potatoes for a three to five year crop rotation.
Sweet potatoes don’t like frost, so they can only be planted after the risk has passed. Slips are placed two-thirds in the ground with about 10,000 to 14,000 slips per acre.
“I always tell growers not to look at their slips for about two weeks after planting,” Zvalo says. “They can look pretty rough and may die back, but the two-thirds under the ground is sprouting.”
Zvalo says their trials showed
that black plastic mulch and trickle irrigation increased yields by 30 to 40 per cent.
Sourcing slips is a challenge. Ontario growers can get overnight delivery from North Carolina, but that will be harder for other parts of Canada.
Nitrogen needs are about 60 to 90 kg/ha with one-third at planting and 5 to 7.5 kgN per week until the end of July. High potassium is important (60-180 kg K2O/ha) as well as zinc, sulphur, boron and manganese, all applied through the drip.
There seems to be low insect pressure in Canada, Zvalo says, but wireworms are a problem.
“If you have wireworms in your soil and you haven’t treated it, don’t plant it,” he says. “Wireworms love sweet potatoes.”
Harvest averages 100 to 120 days after planting. Zvalo says they found almost double the yield difference between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15.
“They will take some light frost and that final month is critical for yield,” he says.
Care must be taken with mechanical harvesting as the thin skin is easily damaged. A protective cork layer develops over the entire root surface during the curing process. Two weeks at 26 to 32 C with 90 per cent humidity sets the skin and allows the root to develop its sweet flavour.
“But make sure you let off the carbon dioxide,” Zvalo cautions.
Sweet potatoes can be stored for up to 18 months at 10 to 12 C and 70 per cent humidity.
“But realistically, local growers are sold out by February,” he says. “At $2 to $3 a pound at farmer’s markets.”
The Jacto PJB-16 Backpack Sprayer is a product with precision engineering and professional grade components and was made with farmers, nursery owners, and pest control operators in mind. Jacto’s newest backpack features five pressure settings, hydraulic agitation, built-in controller diagnostics, a walking pace indicator, and comes equipped with soft, padded shoulder straps, a lightweight lithium ion battery, a heavy-duty trigger valve, and a stainless steel wand
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Aerial Technology International is expanding its line of sensor options for the ATI AgBOT drone with introduction of the Raptor Module. Aimed at providing farmers with an affordable aerial robotic solution for bird control, the Raptor Module emits sonic patterns mimicking various birds of prey. By alternating preset flight patterns above valuable crops and mimicking a number of different predatory birds, the company believes the Raptor Module will prove its effectiveness. With its success in
2015, ATI is working towards making the AgBOT a true multi-use tool by offering modular payloads for a variety of farm specific applications including infrared/thermal, high definition visual inspection, and multispectral analysis. aerialtechnology.com
A new version of the Landini Rex orchard/ vineyard tractor was unveiled in England for the first time as part of a range of low, narrow and high clearance tractors available for specialist growers. The latest Rex has a redesigned bonnet and a refreshed cab with upgraded features. The
orchard, only the best protection will do!
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The four-cylinder 5E and 5ML Series tractors from John Deere pack heavy-duty power. The two 5ML models, available in 100 HP and 115 HP, are low-profile
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Rex continues to provide the same technical solutions that fruit growers appreciate and continues in F (narrow orchard), GE (low orchard) and GT (large orchard, open field) versions. All models are powered by Perkins three- and four-cylinder engines with outputs from 68 to 110 hp. A choice of 12x12, 15x15 and
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Tule Technologies is introducing a product that could change the way growers irrigate and manage fields, especially on larger operations. Farmers will easily be able to prioritize resources and minimize production threats with Tule Technologies’ new 24/7 automated irrigation advisor.
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To be selected,
Use DuPont™ Exirel™ insecticide, powered by Cyazypyr™ , early in the season to give your brassica, bulb and root crops the head-start they need during the most critical stage of development. Exirel™ has fast acting, translaminar and xylem systemic movement so you’ll be protecting new growth, from difficult chewing and sucking pests, including thrips.
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