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It seems that lately, everyone has been in a tizzy about bees and neonicotinoid pesticides.
Recently, I received a short news brief from the Associated Press informing me that the European Union’s commissioner for health and consumer policy – Tonio Borg – has proposed restricting the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam – from use on a wide variety of crops, including sunflowers, rapeseed, cotton and maize. The ban is being considered in light of growing concern regarding colony collapse disorder (CCD), a phenomenon whereby large numbers of honeybees within a colony either die or disappear, and its alleged connection to the growing use of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticide considered one of the best selling in the world.
Not long after reading that brief, I received a newsletter article from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) entitled Taking Steps Toward Reducing the Risk to Pollinators
“In the spring of 2012, coinciding with corn planting, there were approximately 200 incidents of what was likely acute bee poisoning of honeybees in Ontario,” stated the article, written by field crop entomologist Tracey Baute and crop specialist Greg Stewart. “Representatives from the Ministry of Environment, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and OMAFRA investigated the affected bee hives, taking bee samples for residue analysis by the PMRA.”
According to initial lab results, “pesticides used on treated corn seed may have contributed to at least some of the 2012 spring bee losses that occurred in Ontario, however, there is still additional information being collected.”
It was also noted there was no evidence of off-label use of pesticides by growers.
Final results of the tests have not been released but the PMRA analysis did show
The buzz about bees and neonicotinoids
the presence of clothianidin, one of the neonicotinoids currently being considered for use restriction in the EU.
And then, just a few weeks ago during the Lower Mainland Horticulture Improvement Association’s Grower Short Course, held in Abbotsford, B.C., I lis tened as B.C.’s provincial apiculturist Paul van Westendorp provided a summary of the concerns being voiced around the world regarding the use of neonicotinoids and decreases in pollinator populations, including a brief history of actions taken to date.
Back in 2001, he explained, a group of beekeepers in France noticed that many of their healthy bee colonies began to dwindle and die-off. The interesting thing was, these die-offs were being observed in hives near corn and potato fields.
“What made it interesting is that neither corn nor potato is an important pollinating food source for the bees, either as a pollen source or a nectar source,” explained van Westendorp. “Bees only visit these plants incidentally.”
Not long after, reports began to come in from all over Europe about similar happenings.
“This was really the first claims saying neonicotinoids were responsible for the declines,” he added.
Around the same time, Canada was considering expanding the label registration of neonicotinoids for a number of crops, said van Westendorp. Therefore, a great amount of research was conducted in North America examining the impact of the pesticide on pollinators.
“A huge amount of research was done, a lot of research papers were reviewed and re-examined to determine was there any possible link,” said the B.C. apiculturist. “And all the answers were no.”
Meanwhile colony collapse disorder continued. Then in 2010, Dr. Henk A. Tennekes, a Dutch toxicologist, published a research paper suggesting the structure of pesticide risk assessment systems used by regulators could be flawed.
“They [regulators] were approaching it on the basis of acute toxicity that these chemicals might have on insect pollinators,” explained van Westendorp.
Dr. Tennekes’ hypothesis was that the real impact of neonicotinoids should be assessed based on chronic exposure at sub-lethal levels.
“This really changed the entire discussion because now suddenly an awful lot of researchers started to realize that perhaps they had been looking at neonicotinoids in the wrong fashion,” said van Westendorp.
According to studies where insects were exposed to sub-lethal levels of neonicotinoids, behavioural changes involving nesting, homing abilities, disease resistance and reproduction were observed.
“As of June 2012, the PMRA made the announcement that it is reassessing the three most commonly used neonicotinoids,” said van Westendorp. “The EPA came out in December with the intent of doing a thorough overview of the entire group of neonicotinoids with a special emphasis on the possible effects these chemicals have on pollinators.”
What does this mean for growers? While reassessment of neonicotinoids is being done in Canada – which is expected to take several years – the insecticides can still be used as registered. And for beekeepers? Keep a close eye on your hives and be aware of what might have been used on the crop currently being pollinated and any adjacent crops, including seed treatments.
Good luck and have a safe 2013 season. ❦
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Hive density: Are you getting enough pollination?
By Margaret Land
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in B.C. have suggested some fruit and vegetable producers might want to re-examine the hive densities being used for pollination in their crops – particularly blueberries.
Dr. Elizabeth Elle, a professor of biological sciences at SFU, and Lindsay Button, a masters student in Elle’s department, have been examining pollination in blueberries for the past two years.
“Pollination is important for the production of blueberries,” said Dr. Elle during a recent presentation at the Lower Mainland Horticulture Improvement Association’s (LMHIA) Grower Short Course held in Abbotsford, B.C. “We know that pollen must be moved among the flowers for you to get anything.”
The trick to blueberry pollination is the pollen needs to be shaken out of the flower, similar to how salt is applied from a saltshaker.
“It has to be vibrated out,” explained Dr. Elle. “Some kinds of wild bees, like bumblebees, are really good at doing this. It turns out that honeybees aren’t so good at it.”
Dr. Elle was quick to point out that this doesn’t mean that honeybees are not an essential part of blueberry crop production. The bees do visit blueberry flowers in order to drink the nectar and, by doing so, they do move some pollen, she said. But because the researchers knew about this pollination difference between certain kinds of bees, the first question they were interested in answering was, who is out there in these blueberry fields actually
doing the pollination?
The second thing they wanted to know was if there was a pollination deficit – the reduction in yield a producer would experience because there’s not enough bees moving pollen from place to place in the field. To answer this question, the researchers established a control group of flowers that were open to the pollinators present in the research field they were working in. They also established a supplement treatment where they added pollen by hand.
“Because [blueberry] is buzz pollinated, we actually have to vibrate the flowers to get the pollen out,” said Dr. Elle. “That’s where an electric toothbrush comes in. Once we collect the pollen, we actually paint it on the flowers.”
Dr. Elle and Button were interested in two measurements: the number of fruit a producer can expect relative to the number of flowers they start with and how much those fruit weigh, which determines the profit. In the research plot, the pollination deficit was the difference between the supplemented flowers and the control flowers.
“If by adding pollen, we can increase the amount of fruit you get, that means you don’t have enough pollination happening in your field,” said Dr. Elle. “High deficits are bad.”
Button has been working for the past two years throughout the greater Vancouver, B.C., area conducting research trials in 37 different blueberry fields. The main varieties examined were
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia are suggesting blueberry producers might want to re-examine the hive densities being used for pollination in their crops.
Bluecrop and Duke, although some research work was done using Draper and Liberty.
Using observation, Button set out to answer the researchers’ first question: who is doing all the pollination work in these fields?
“Not surprisingly, most of the visits we’re seeing in blueberry in general are by honeybees,” she said. “Our second most prevalent visitors were bumblebees. We actually saw less than two to three per cent pollinator visits from other groups in general, such as flies, wasps, mason bees, or other types of bees around.”
Duke was the variety that received the most visits from all types of pollinators while Bluecrop and Liberty received more visits from bumblebees.
In terms of pollination deficit, Duke had the smallest deficit –around five per cent – followed by Bluecrop and Liberty, which had moderate fruit set deficits of around 10 per cent, Button said, adding that Draper had a deficit of upwards to 20 per cent in terms of fruit set.
“We only had two fields of this cultivar so we can’t say with absolute confidence that there is a pollination problem but it does appear that way,” Button said.
What does this mean in dollars and cents?
Using farm gate values from 2011, the researchers turned the differences in fruit set and fruit setting weight into pounds per acre lost due to insufficient pollination. As a result, Bluecrop, which had a fruit set deficit of around 10 per cent, had a loss of just less than 4,000 pounds per acre because of insufficient pollination. At 2011 values, that’s about $6,000 per acre lost in Bluecrop. Duke, which had the lowest deficit of any of the cultivars, had a loss of around 2,000 pounds per acre.
“If we extrapolate this out into values, that’s almost $3,200 per acre that could be earned from the Duke crop if you had maximum pollination,” said Button.
So why is there so much difference between the cultivars the researchers looked at?
According to Button, it has a lot to do with blueberry cultivar flower size and shape.
“We found that Duke flowers have larger openings,” she said. This is important for honeybees, which have tongues shorter than the length of the flower, Button explained. If they can get their head into the flower opening easily, they can extend their reach so it’s easier for them to reach the base of the flower where the nectar’s located. Bluecrop, Draper and Liberty have much narrower flower openings, said Button, which makes it more difficult for honeybees to access the nectar.
Button said growers should also consider honeybee behaviour.
“If you’re going out into your field and you’re seeing a bush actively buzzing with honeybees, it’s important to note that not all of these honeybees are necessarily doing what we call legitimate visits,” she said.
During a legitimate visit, a honeybee sticks its entire head into the opening of the flower, Button explained. As a result, the bee is coming into contact with the reproductive parts of the flower, it’s getting pollen all over its face, and there is potential for pollination to occur. If the bee is not coming into contact with those parts of the flower, it’s not accessing any of the pollen, and it’s not moving any of the pollen.
“Sometimes, we see honeybees come around the back of the flower, said Button. “They’ll bite a little hole in the base and they’ll stick their tongue in. They’re getting the nectar that they want but you’re not getting the pollination service you want.”
When the researchers monitored honeybee behaviour across all four cultivars, with Draper, Duke and Liberty, they found most honeybees that were visiting the flowers were doing legitimate visits, explained Button. In Bluecrop, with the smaller opening, 43 per cent of the honeybees visiting those flowers were not actively pollinating. “They’re robbing, they’re cheating, they’re getting their nectar without providing you with their services,” she said.
The take-home message for blueberry producers is that some cultivars appear to be more attractive to the honeybee than others because of flower shape, said Dr. Elle.
“That’s something you can think about when you’re walking around your fields. You can think about the shape of the flower and what that might mean for the pollination services that you need in your field.”
She also urged producers to consider the stocking rate for honeybees they are using in their fields.
“The province recommends that you stock your honeybees in your fields at the rate of two hives per acre,” said Dr. Elle. “We want to encourage everyone to do that. We noticed looking at our data that growers that had fewer than those two colonies per acre tended to have lower yield and those that put in more tended to have higher yields. Some of our growers put in as many as five colonies per acre.”
She also urged growers to consider ways of attracting bumblebees and other wild pollinators to their fields.
“Growers in Michigan plant wild flower meadows,” she said, adding the field doesn’t need to be too big. “They put in these flowers because the bumblebees are in these fields after bloom and they need something to eat after the bloom. If you do this kind of enhancement, they found that they increased profit, the amount of yield that they received, over time.” ❦
Flower formation and size can be important in blueberry production since honeybees need to be able to stick their heads into blueberry blossoms in order to reach the nectar at the bottom of the flower.
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B.C. potato variety trials growing in popularity
Almost 10 years ago, B.C. began hosting its own provincial potato variety trials. Since then, the program has grown by leaps and bounds, both in size and success.
“I went back and looked at some of the data from the first trial to now to see which varieties we had in the trial – previously not grown in the area – that are now being grown,” said Heather Meberg, a consultant with ES Cropconsult Ltd., the private firm that manages the trial on behalf of the province’s potato growers. “There’s several varieties – like Agata, Imola, Satina – that weren’t grown here traditionally that are now starting to gain momentum. That’s through access to the potato variety trial.”
The first potato variety trial was planted in B.C. in 2004. The objective of the program is to gather agronomic information about various potato varieties and how they grow under B.C. on-farm conditions. The varieties that show promise are then put through an onfarm storage trial and studied further in test kitchens.
“Essentially we’re looking for new potato varieties that will work in the B.C. marketplace and our growing conditions,” explained Meberg during the 2013 Lower Mainland Horticulture Improvement Association’s (LMHIA) Grower Short Course held recently in Abbotsford, B.C. “We’re looking for varieties that grow well here and can be sold here. We’re also starting to partner with industry to pursue numbered varieties so that all the weight’s not on one grower. We’re working with marketing agencies, buyers and growers to try to make this happen so we can find a new variety that B.C. can call their own.”
The variety trial is a very labour intensive project. ES Cropconsult workers hand plant each of the plots and replicate the 40 main varieties with 20 potatoes per plot. What makes the B.C. trial unique is the tubers are planted in a grower’s field so researchers and growers receive real information under real growing conditions.
“Because the varieties are hand planted, they aren’t treated with any seed treatments before planting,” explained Meberg. “They are going into a commercial field but they don’t necessarily have that commercial seed treatment.”
The 2012 variety trials were hosted at Rod Swenson’s farm in the Delta, B.C., area. Here the trial was fertilized with 1,100 pounds of 8-18-22 and was irrigated twice. ES Cropconsult workers monitored the crop weekly during the season and provided spray recommendations to the grower who sprayed the research plots along with his own.
About 90 days after planting, typically in late August, ES Cropconsult holds a field demonstration day to provide interested growers an opportunity to see how the new potato varieties are performing.
“When we started doing it the first year, there were about 20 people [attending the field day],” recalled Meberg. “In the last couple of years, there has been well over 130 [attendees]. It’s become a great event.”
Growers from throughout B.C., Washington and Alberta have been known to attend. There have also been attendees from Ontario and P.E.I.
By Margaret Land
One of the russet varieties tested during the B.C. potato variety trials in 2012 was Gold Rush.
The morning of the event, 10 hills from each test plot are hand dug, displayed out and labeled. As growers arrive, they are provided with a form and are asked to go through the plots and make comments on all of the varieties. The forms are then gathered and the information summarized for each of the varieties.
“I take that and share it with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s breeding programs,” said Meberg. “They take the comments that we make and that will impact the varieties they will focus on.”
The 2012 variety trial featured reds, whites, yellows, russets, chippers and specialty varieties.
Three red varieties were compared against the industry standard, Chieftain. While none could outperform Chieftain in yield, Meberg stressed: “Yield isn’t everything. We also look at uniformity of size and shape. We also look at how it might perform from a culinary perspective – is the skin flaky, is it buff, is the flesh too creamy.”
In the white varieties, both Imola and Columba yielded well as they have done in the previous few years. According to Meberg, Imola – after four years of data – has consistently produced more than 22 ton to the acre.
“Keep in mind with my yield per acre, we pick up every potato and it’s not necessarily graded out if there’s a cut in one,” she added.
Photo by Margaret Land
In the yellow varieties, quite a few performed better than the industry standard of Yukon Gold.
“Alaska Bloom performed the best out of all of the potatoes in terms of great uniformity in size and shape,” said Meberg. “It does have a blush on the eye like a Yukon Gold; quite a bit more blush but not offensively so.”
For the russets, the industry standard – Russet Norkotah – performed at the bottom end of the varieties, said Meberg. The rest of the varieties trailed – Premiere, Pacific, Gold Rush and Alta Crown – didn’t perform well from a yield perspective but had good size uniformity and good shape uniformity.
“They looked really nice,” said Meberg, adding that while Innovator didn’t stand out among the russets, it did show some resistance to late blight.
“It is something we should work toward, especially with the late blight pressure we have in the Fraser Valley,” she said.
In the chipping varieties, Focus and Fontane were compared with the industry standard, Kennebec. Both Focus and Fontane have a yellower flesh than Kennebec, which may have implications in the market place, said Meberg.
“This year, Focus yielded quite a bit better than the Kennebec – a couple ton per acre – but in the cooking trials in the past, Fontane and Focus didn’t quite keep up to Kennebec in terms of
cooking quality,” she said.
In the specialty varieties, B.C. tested one purple skin variety with a white flesh, which a lot of people commented on during the field day, said Meberg. Big Rosa and Mozart, which have pinkish skin with a yellow flesh, were also grown in the specialty variety trials. “They are something that would compare against a Klondike Rose,” said Meberg. “Mozart has performed well in several of the years of the trials.”
She hopes to expand the B.C. variety trials in the future, particularly in the area of cook testing. Currently, the cooking trials involve four teachers – two from Delta and two from Maple Ridge – plus a representative from Ag in the Classroom. They each take the selected varieties into their kitchens and assess them from a sensory capacity.
“They’re looking at taste, ease of peeling, ease of prep,” said Meberg. “It’s very subjective but important.”
She has put a proposal in to the potato cluster of the Canadian Horticultural Council to help fund the B.C. potato variety trial over five years.
“With that, we’ll be able to ramp up the cooking portion of the trial so we’re taking them not only to the test kitchens in the schools but taking them to big buyers so they can test them,” said Meberg.
She hopes to have an answer to her proposal by April. ❦
2013 Pest Management Guides
Fruit and Vegetable Magazine is continuing this month with the resurrection of a resource for growers from the past.
In preparation for the 2013 growing season, pest management tables covering Canada’s top fruit and vegetable crops – apples, blueberries, strawberries, wine grapes, beans, carrots, peas and sweet corn – have been formulated for publication in the March 2013 issue and/or at Fruit and Vegetable Magazine’s online home: www.agannex.com.
In the January/February 2013 issue, disease guides were featured. They are currently available online.
This marks the return of a resource Fruit and Vegetable Magazine first provided in 2008. While every effort has been made to list the most accurate and complete information, it’s stressed that
these tables are meant as a guide only. It is highly recommended that growers refer to local provincial guides and product labels.
In light of the constantly changing landscape of the Canadian disease and pest management industry, including the introduction of new grower resources, the 2013 Disease and Pest Management Guides will also be listed on www.agannex.com. As changes and additions are made to chemical registrations, the tables will be updated to remain as current as possible.
Fruit and Vegetable Magazine hopes to build on the Disease and Pest Management Guides and provide tables for additional fruit and vegetable crops over time. For more information or to suggest other crops to cover, don’t hesitate to contact the magazine at mland@annexweb.com or at 1-888-599-2228, ext. 269. ❦
An example of the Eastern tent caterpillar.
Notes
Two-spotted spider mite
Tarnished plant bug Thrips
Strawberry cutworm
Strawberry clipper weevil
Spottted-wing drosophila
Potato leafhopper Slugs
Leafhopper Plant bugs
Insects
Strawberry Pest Control 2013
Insects Notes
days for cane turning, shoot positioning, girdling activities; 13 days for training, bunch thinning, hand pruning,
and leaf pulling activities
Two-spotted spider mite Western
Multicoloured Asian lady beetle Slug and snail Thrips
Leafroller Mealy bug
Leafhopper
Japanese beetle
Grape phylloxera (leaf form)
Grape berry moth (second generation)
Grape berry moth (first generation)
European red mite
applications
Re-entry period (hrs)
Pre-harvest interval
Aerial/ground
Soil/foliar applied
(rotate groups to manage resistance)
Controls Grape erineum mites
Do not allow tank mixes to sit for long periods. Mix and
as soon as possible.
Avoid spraying when temperatures are above
Apply when infestation begins. Apply higher rates when population is very high.
Only French hybrids and vinifera varieties are susceptible to this pest
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Cover cropping can optimize organic production
Farmers can fine-tune their use of cover crops to help manage costs and maximize benefits in commercial organic production systems, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.
Production expenses for high-value organic crops like lettuce and broccoli can exceed $7,000 per acre, so producers often try to streamline costs with an annual two- to three-crop rotation. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) horticulturalist Eric Brennan designed a long-term investigation that examined several different cover cropping strategies for an annual organic lettuce-broccoli production system. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.
The researcher selected three winter
The excitement is GROWING.
A field test site in Salinas, Calif., showing a checkerboard of different cover crop treatments being tested, including mustard (yellow flowers), rye, and fallow.
cover crops often grown in the Salinas, Calif., area — rye, mustard, and a legume-rye mix — and planted each cover crop using either a typical seeding rate or a seeding rate that was three times higher. Seeding rates can influence a cover crop’s ability to smother weeds.
During lettuce and broccoli production, Brennan ensured all systems received the same fertilizer and irrigation inputs and pest management.
Brennan’s results indicated that all three cover crops yielded more dry matter than the two tons of crop residue per acre often recommended for maintaining soil organic matter. The legume-rye and rye cover crops produced approximately 25 per cent more dry matter biomass than the mustard crops. But effectively suppressing weeds with the legume-rye crops required seeding at three times the typical rate, while rye and mustard crops appeared to suppress weeds adequately with typical seeding rates.
The long-term study also provided Brennan with more data about year-to-year yield variations in the legume-rye mix, including why legumes, which make up most of the seed costs, are not consistently abundant. Brennan thinks cooler early-season weather helps legumes compete with the rye. So when a hot and dry autumn is expected, producers might want to use a rye cover crop and skip spending the money on a cover crop with legumes.
Brennan, who works at the ARS Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit in Salinas, has published some his findings in Agronomy Journal and Applied Soil Ecology. ❦
Photo by
From stock cars to the ‘royal’ family
Life in the car racing fast lane exchanged for fast-paced ascension in the vineyard
By Jim Meyers
That was painless,” Ontario’s reigning grape king Curtis Fielding said after an informal over-the-tastingcounter interview at his family winery last November.
It was a full two months after being caught in the glare of the media spotlight at his coronation to kick off the Niagara Wine Festival. But he needn’t have feared any hardball questions as there’s only one that needed to be answered, and the one he’s always asked: “How did a boy who grew up among the rock outcroppings and pine trees of Ontario’s Haliburton cottage country find his way down to Niagara to become grape-growing royalty?” And this is followed up with a second question: “More to the point, how did he do both that and open a winery in just 12 years?”
That’s how long it’s taken Curtis, 34, to go from a novice grower to inclusion in the “royal” family of 53 previous grape kings (and three grape queens, also called grape kings) who have been ordained since 1956 when what has evolved to become the Niagara Wine Festival was just five years old.
Almost all members of this royal family were born into a grape-growing family. Not Curtis. He raced stock cars in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series while working on a cash crop farm near Chatham, and still races his Mustang at the Mosport International Raceway east of Toronto.
“I always liked cars, I’m a big gear head,” he said. To that end he graduated from the automotive business marketing program at Georgian College in Barrie, Ont., and had set his cap on a career in car racing.
“There is money in it” he said.
He had been working in Ontario’s corn belt around Chatham at the same time his father was scouting for grape-growing property on which to build a winery. Ken Fielding was looking to reinvest money that he had made as the eastern and Northern Ontario (including Ottawa) regional development agent for Subway earning a fee for each new franchise that opened. He got in on the ground floor of the sandwich store
chain some 25 years ago after reading about Subway in a trade publication. He gave up his Dixie Lee fried chicken franchise in Minden, in Ontario’s cottage country, to open a Subway franchise at a time when only a few had been opened in Toronto.
An eager field hand
Ken had his eye on a choice piece of property on the Beamsville Bench growing area on the slope of the Niagara Escarpment. When it came on the market, Curtis changed his agricultural career from large fields and big farm equipment to what would be considered in southwestern Ontario to be a very small 20 acres that was to become Fielding Estate Winery.
To do that he had to learn about growing grapes and making and marketing wine. To that end worked at a nearby winery on the Bench, first in the vineyard and on the crush pad and then in the winery itself. Over three years at Vineland Estates Winery he met a number of growers and found them to be like all farmers.
“They don’t BS you too much and they lay it on the line. You either get along or you don’t,” he said.
“Extremely hard working,” Vineland Estates Winery president Allan Schmidt said about his former field hand. “We were sorry to see him go,” he said, adding that Curtis is very practical and has a work ethic that has served him well as a grower, winery owner, and now a spokesperson for the grape and wine industry.
“He learned quickly,” former grape king (2007) Mattias Oppenlaender said to introduce the 2012 grape king at the coronation ceremony. Oppenlaender would know that more than anyone. Besides running his own vineyard, and managing a large corporate vineyard, Oppenlaender oversaw planting the Reisling and chardonnay vineyard at Fielding Estates Winery where the crowning took place. That production, and another 40 acres of grapes grown closer to Lake Ontario in a second vineyard, fills the current needs of the winery.
Oppenlaender, vice-chairman of the Grape Growers of Ontario, is one of the some 500 close-knit growers who market their grapes through the marketing board. Curtis said he’s learned a lot by reading the history of the marketing board, but is too busy running a winery and raising a young
Grape King Curtis Fielding in his family winery.
Syngenta raises the bar on seed care products
Potato growers know that success comes down to marketable yield at harvest and coming out of storage. A new Seedcare™ product from Syngenta, Cruiser Maxx® D Potato, can set the stage for a successful potato crop by protecting plants when they’re most vulnerable – from seed potato to emerging plant.
Optimizing the efficiency of inputs while maximizing the yield and quality of outputs is a fine balancing act. But the situation in seed care products is compounded by the fact that “diseases evolve,” says Chis Denys, Technical Lead with the Syngenta Seedcare team. “And so do customer expectations.”
Cruiser Maxx D Potato, new for the 2013 season, offers two advances. Its liquid formulation enhances seed coverage and product efficiency. And its active ingredients – which include two fungicides and one powerful insecticide – offer a new resistance management package.
Control of resistant Fusarium biotypes
Resistant Fusarium biotypes have been found across the country.
With its two fungicidal active ingredients, Cruiser Maxx D Potato delivers effective seed borne Fusarium control that includes these resistant biotypes, says Denys.
The liquid formulation of Cruiser Maxx D Potato combined with an enclosed system such as the Milestone treater – which was specifically designed with Syngenta – improves the coverage
on seed potatoes. According to Denys, this system provides enhanced disease and insect control in a closed environment.
“Cruiser Maxx D Potato protects the seed better,” Denys says. “There’s less likelihood of breaks or gaps in the coverage so less incidence of damage from insects or disease.”
Plus, because the formulation doesn’t include a colourant it doesn’t stain equipment or storage facilities or, more importantly, daughter tubers.
Cruiser Maxx D Potato is designed to give seed potatoes a better chance of emerging into a healthy, vigorous stand, the first step in producing uniform, more marketable potatoes.
• Exceptional control of Fusarium, including resistant biotypes
• Excellent protection against seed borne Rhizoctonia
• Superior control of silver scurf to maintain skin quality
• Up to 100 days of dependable early season insect control
Visit SyngentaFarm.ca or contact our Customer Resource Centre at 1-87-SYNGENTA (1-877-964-3682).
family to seek a position on the board at this time.
Winery is a ‘bit of Muskoka’
The Fielding Estate family winery comprises Ken, his wife Margaret, their son Curtis and his wife Heidi and their two young boys, Ty, 4, and Cole, 2. Curtis met Heidi, the daughter of a General Motors autoworker in St. Catharines, at a wine tasting. That cemented Curtis’s connection to Niagara.
The Fielding family still maintains a home in Minden, which is a lot closer to Algonquin Park (some 50 kilometres south) than to Niagara, which is another 225 kilometres south as the crow flies. To remind themselves of where they came from, the winery was deliberately located close to the rugged rock of the Niagara Escarpment and built with cedar, glass and stone. A welcoming granite fireplace in the tasting room completes the illusion of a northern lodge, while a picture of the iconic Muskoka chair on every bottle of wine identifies the winery in its market branding.
“A bit of Muskoka, but south of Toronto,” Curtis said about the geographic anomaly of transplanting a piece of Ontario’s cottage country to Niagara. On a clear day, the Toronto skyline can be seen to the north across Lake Ontario. The winery is one of a half dozen wineries nestled together on the western edge of the Beamsville Bench grape-growing region.
It had been a peach and pear orchard with some juice grapes. Quality vinifera grapes were planted in 2001 and the winery building was built four years later. From the first harvest – 25 barrels of Cabernet merlot reserve – the winery began winning a cavalcade of awards. Most recently, Fielding emerged the most decorated winery at the prestigious Cuvee Awards ceremony (a component of the Niagara Wine Festival) in January 2012. Fielding Estate Winery walked away with three top awards for its Estate Bottled Pinot Gris and Viognier white wines, and its Cabernet Franc red wine made from the 2010 harvest, which in quality was one of Ontario’s best-ever.
All things being equal, the trio of judges was impressed by the collaboration that Curtis has had with the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) research project studying hot water treatment of vines, and with the ongoing cold hardiness program at the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University in nearby St. Catharines. Often colder winter temperatures, and the lack of water for irrigation, are concerns for growing grapes on the extreme western end of the Beamsville Bench growing area.
Each year, Ontario’s grape growers nominate a handful of fellow growers for the title of grape king. Candidates are judged on their ability to grow high-risk grape varieties; their management of dis-
eases, insects and weeds; their soil and grape canopy management; and the overall quality of their vineyards. There is a miscellaneous category that includes risk and management of cold and frost, an outreach category that includes collaboration with researchers and involvement in the industry, and an innovation category, which means being on the cutting edge of applying the latest in research and technology.
The judges for 2012 were Wendy McFadden-Smith, tender fruit and grape IPM (Integrated Pest Management) specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA); Jim Willwerth, viticulture specialist at CCOVI; and Kathryn Carter, tender fruit and grape specialist with OMAFRA. ❦
Heidi and Curtis Fielding in front of the fireplace at Fielding Estates Winery, which is promoted as a bit of Ontario’s Muskoka cottage country in Niagara.
Curtis Fielding receives the chain of office at his coronation from Matthias Oppenlaender, the Grape Growers of Ontario vice-chairman. Next to Curtis is former Grape King (2011) Ed Hughes.
B.C., Canada support apple, cherry innovation Projects introducing new technology to British Columbia’s tree fruit industry are receiving support from the federal and B.C. provincial governments.
Cawston Cold Storage is receiving more than $106,000 to assist with new storage technology. The investment will enable greater efficiencies in the movement of product in and out of cold storage. The goal of the facility is to extend the B.C. organic apple marketing season by maximizing the post-harvest product storage quality.
“With this funding we are able to secure much-needed long-term storage for our products and this innovative facility will help the B.C. organic agriculture industry remain strong for future generations,” said Dan Taylor, operations manager with Cawston Cold Storage.
Coral Beach Farms in Lake Country is receiving more than $35,000 in funding for an innovative software program that will automate the sorting of stemless cherries. The overall purpose of the project is to add value and reduce labour costs by introducing new technologies not currently in use in the B.C. tree fruit industry. The automatic sorting of cherries with and without stems will help the sector take advantage of higher-value export markets that pay a premium for stemmed cherries, leading to increased profitability for farmers.
“This new technology enables us to target specific packs of cherries to specific markets in a very cost-effective manner. We are appreciative of the support provided through the Agriflex program, which allows us to better serve our customers and compete in global markets,” said Coral Beach Farms president David Geen.
Four other projects are also receiving funding totalling more than $66,000. The Jind Fruit Company is receiving just more than $26,000 for a project to improve cold storage air quality and conditions at a packinghouse in Osoyoos. The Okanagan Kootenay Cherry Growers’ Association is receiving more than $21,000 for two spotted-wing drosophila larvae management projects. The B.C. Fruit Growers
Association’s research and development test orchard is receiving $19,200 for the creation of quality standards that all cherry-packing organizations can use for their domestic and export markets.
COG distributing survey on outreach, training
The Canadian Organic Growers Ottawa –St. Lawrence – Outaouais Chapter (COG OSO) is distributing a new survey for any farmer to respond to.
The survey is an effort by COG OSO to understand how to best deliver its farmer outreach and training programming to non-organic farmers interested in organic methods as well as existing organic farmers. Funding for the survey is part of an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to COG OSO’s Growing Up Organic Project.
The general purpose of the survey is to find out from farmers what they think the role of an organization such as COG OSO should be and how COG OSO should execute that role. The survey does this, firstly, by trying to understand what motivates farmers to farm organically as well as what deters farmers from transitioning to organic. Secondly, the survey asks about the effectiveness of different training methods such as workshops and webinars. Finally, the survey asks farmers about specific resources, approaches and partnerships that could benefit the local organic sector and move it to the next stage of development.
Farmers’ input will give COG OSO strategic direction when applying for funding and seeking partnerships for new projects.
Non-organic farmers are also encouraged to participate since COG OSO wants to know what changes would inspire them to consider organic production more seriously. The survey is intended for farmers in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, where COG OSO operates, but respondents from other regions are still welcome as all input is useful.
The survey is online and open to all farmers regardless of scale and production methods. Find the survey at https:// www.surveymonkey.com/s/cog-osofarmer-needs-2013 until March 31, 2013. After the survey is closed, three respon-
dents will be selected at random to receive a free gift from COG; either a subscription to the magazine The Canadian Organic Grower or one of the organization’s practical handbooks publications.
Questions or comments should be addressed to Colin Lundy, farmer outreach co-ordinator at COG OSO, by e-mailing colin@cog.ca or calling 613-493-0020.
OFVGA elects new chair
The former vice chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) has been chosen to be the organization’s new leader.
Grape grower Ray Duc is the new chair of the association after being elected to the position at the organization’s 154th annual meeting. He succeeds Mac James, who stepped down after serving one year as head of the OFVGA.
“Environmental issues, including water use, are critical to Ontario’s fruit and vegetable sector and underline more than ever the need for growers to speak with a united voice,” says Duc. “A key focus for our organization this year will be working with the provincial government to have horticulture included under the umbrella of the Nutrient Management Act and I look forward to being a part of that process as chair of the OFVGA.”
Duc farms with his son and brotherin-law on a third-generation family farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake, growing grapes and tender fruit. He is currently in his 10th year as a director with the OFVGA and had previously served a four-year term on the organization’s board. He is also the past chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario and has been involved with various other agricultural organizations, including Farm & Food Care Ontario, Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service and CANAG.
OFVGA’s 2013 board also includes directors Brian Gilroy (apples), Norm Charbonneau (small fruit/berries), Jason Verkaik (fresh vegetables – muck), Mac James (potatoes), Jason Ryder (asparagus), Fred Meyers (tender fruit), Jan VanderHout (greenhouse vegetables), Don Taylor (greenhouse vegetables), Ken VanTorre (ginseng) and Mary Shabatura (fresh vegetables).
The wait is over.
NEW multi-site fungicide with a broad range of labeled diseases.
Virtually dust free formulation. Combines readily with dormant oil sprays.
GranuFlo® T offers proven, economical control of a broad range of diseases. It’s a dry formulation that is virtually dust free, safe on beneficials, compatible with other fungicides and combines readily with dormant oil sprays to offer growers more flexibility. And less waiting.
Registered crops
Apples
Strawberries
Peaches
Plums
Celery
Sweet potatoes
For more information on GranuFlo T please contact Engage Agro 1-866-613-3336 engageagro.com
Bayer launches new fungicide for apples, grapes
Bayer CropScience is introducing Luna Tranquility, a new fungicide that delivers disease protection for apples and wine grapes.
A broad spectrum fungicide with Group 7 (fluopyram) and 9 (pyrimethanil) modes of action, Luna Tranquility is an all-in-one formulation with preventive, systemic and post-infection (for apple scab) properties.
“Within a new and unique class of the Group 7 fungicides, Luna Tranquility is unlike any other previous SDHI fungicide,” said David Kikkert, portfolio manager for horticulture with Bayer CropScience. “Luna Tranquility is the only co-formulation fungicide that controls leaf scab in apples (including currently resistant strains), while providing protection against powdery mildew through the same application. For grape growers, Luna Tranquility is the only fungicide that controls both powdery mildew and botrytis in grapes.”
Luna Tranquility is a systemic fungicide best suited for use in a preventive treatment program.
“By providing unprecedented control of two of the most problematic fungal diseases in both apples and wine grapes, Luna Tranquility will help growers deliver the highest quality crop possible,” said Kikkert.
Luna Tranquility is formulated as a 500-gallons-per-litre suspension concentrate and is available in two-litre jugs.
For more information regarding Luna Tranquility, visit BayerCropScience.ca/ products/fungicides/luna-tranquility.
Blossom Protect approved for fireblight
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the approval of Blossom Protect Aureobasidium pullulans strains DSM14940 and DSM14941 for first-time registration in Canada.
Uses approved on the first Canadian label are for the control of fire blight on bearing and non-bearing pome fruit, and for suppression of fireblight on woody rosaceae ornamentals.
In its review, the PMRA concluded that Blossom Protect was statistically comparable to or better than other registered products for the management of fireblight in Canada.
New Products
Fireblight caused by Erwinia amylovora has been one of the most challenging problems for pome fruit and ornamental growers in Canada for many years, and the registration of Blossom Protect will provide growers with an alternative to currently used antibiotics, thus enabling effective resistance management and reducing pesticide risk.
This registration was facilitated by the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program (PRRP), which contributed to preparations for a pre-submission consultation meeting, provided advice on administrative and regulatory matters, and developed a bridging rationale for the inclusion of ornamental crops on the label.
New
version
of Compac InVision 3.7
Compac has released a new version of the InVision software – InVision 3.7.
Beyond a number of incremental performance upgrades, one of its key features is the ability to grade within the stem and calyx of fruit. Before this update, the InVision system would identify the stem and calyx of fruit in order to save them from being wrongly downgraded. Although this was helpful to packers in that it prevented them from throwing out good fruit because of incorrectly classified blemishes, the system did not classify any blemishes that were in close proximity to these two areas. For example, an apple with a stem split had to be manually sorted by staff to be removed from the crop.
Now the software has been trained to first identify the stem and calyx areas of the fruit and then inspect them for blemishes. Pack houses will be able to reduce the amount of sorting both before and after the InVision 9000 system. Tests have shown that the system has a 50 per cent detection rate for stem splits in apples, without rejecting good fruit. These updates are expected to reduce the amount of manual sorting required for apples that suffer from surface defects within the stem and calyx areas of fruit. www.compacsort.com
Pickup Pack
work truck organizer Highway Products Inc. has introduced the Pickup Pack, a custom storage system for pick-up trucks that combines quick
and easy access to stored content, lockup security, and maximum storage in pick-up beds.
The pack includes a gull wing saddle box, two lockable low side boxes, a flat or dome center hatch, a headache rack and a removable ladder rack. When closed, the hatch locks the tailgate, making the bed area secure and weather resistant.
An optional 2000-pound capacity roller coaster cargo tray is also available. It installs in the truck bed and slides cargo out of the truck bed fast and easy.
The marine grade aluminum unit is available to fit all truck brands, models and bed sizes, and comes with a lifetime warranty. It installs in minutes. www.800toolbox.com
Rampart fungicide approved for use in potatoes
Potato growers can now protect their harvested crop with Rampart fungicide.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved the fungicide for the control of late blight and pink rot on stored potatoes, UAP Canada Inc. announced at the Manitoba Potato Production Days Conference in mid-January.
“Many potato growers in Eastern Canada are already familiar with Rampart, having benefited from it when we received Emergency Use Registration a few years ago,” says Janet Porchak, director of marketing with UAP, distributors of the fungicide in Canada. “Warm, wet conditions at the end of the 2008 growing season made late blight and other diseases, such as pink rot, a serious threat to the crop.”
Rampart is a systemic fungicide that contains 53 per cent mono- and dipotassium salts of phosphorous acid, which makes it effective in controlling blights and rots.
“Rampart should be applied as soon as possible after harvest,” says Jeff Crampton, general manager for Loveland Products Canada, manufacturer of the product. “It can be used as a single spray or rinse for harvested potato tubers prior to storage or as a single application through the humidification system to potatoes in storage.”
The application rate is 190 mL of Rampart in 1 L of water; growers should use 2 L of this solution per 1,000 kg of potato tubers.
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
you go with what works. Just like the products that come through for you year after year, why mess with a good thing?
Thanks
In addition to post-harvest potatoes, Rampart is now fully registered for the suppression of downy mildew in grapes and in brassica leafy vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.
Rampart can be used in grapes and in brassica leafy vegetables by foliar application up to one day before harvest.
For specific rates and timing in these crops, visit www.uap.ca.
Ranman 400SC approved for two new uses
The Ranman 400SC fungicide label has expanded once again.
Ranman can now be used for the control of late blight on field tomatoes and the suppression of downy mildew on brassica vegetables after recent Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) approvals.
Late blight, which can destroy unprotected crops, has become a bigger concern
New Products
in tomatoes in recent years with new, more aggressive strains moving into Canada.
The addition of downy mildew suppression to the product label will also be of interest to brassica crop growers. The contact fungicide is rainfast once dry.
There have been seven User Requested Minor Use Label Expansions (URMULE) for Ranman in 2012. These include the control of downy mildew and cottony leak, and the suppression of phytophthora blight on snap and lima beans; the suppression of downy mildew on head and leaf lettuce; and the control of downy mildew on basil (field and greenhouse).
Ranman contains the active ingredient cyazofamid and is the only product in the FRAC Group 21 of cyanoimidazoles.
Siegers Seed announces new Ont. salesman
Siegers Seed Company recently announced the appointment of Jammie Underhill as its
new seed consultant for Ontario.
Underhill will provide his processing industry expertise to the company’s customers and service a market segment for Siegers as its processing sales representative.
Underhill has worked in the vegetable industry as a grower for more than two decades and has worked with the majority of the vegetable processors in the United States and Canada. He has worked closely with the research and development team at Siegers over the years to keep up to date on all new trial varieties and how they perform in different geographical areas.
Underhill can be reached by cellphone at 519-617-3429 or office phone at 519773-3250.
Siegers Seed Company is a familyowned Michigan-based business and a distributor of a full line of vegetable seeds and plants in the U.S. and Canada.
For more information, visit www.siegers.com or call 1-800-962-4999.
