The mite’s cannibalistic tendencies help with insect pest control. | 14
Organic perspective
Reducing food waste within the supply chain has many benefits. | 18
Apple pulp packaging
Using waste product in a new way. | 22
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A summer and dormant oil. Controls all life stages of insects and mites, and supresses powdery mildew.
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Disease deep-dive: Grape powdery mildew
Tips on identifying, managing and scouting for grape powdery mildew.
Late-stage grape powdery mildew infection. See page 10. Photo by Becky Garrison.
Crazee Mite in Canadian market
The mite’s cannibalistic tendencies help with insect pest control.
BY KAITLIN PACKER
Organic perspective
Reducing
BY SAMANTHA MILLS
Apple pulp for packaging
Oregon State University researchers prove feasibility of fruit pomace in moulded packaging. BY
March is here, which means spring is just around the corner – a time of renewal, light, and working hard to ensure the approaching growing season is a successful one.
I’m thrilled to say this is the first editorial I’m writing for Fruit & Vegetable as its editor, though the savvy amongst you will notice that I’ve been writing these for the past year. I’ve lived most of my life in southwestern Ontario, so picking strawberries and blueberries, watching crops grow and ripen, and tending to my little vegetable garden are essential parts of summer for me. Adding professional interest to personal simply means understanding more fully what growers contend with.
It’s been illuminating to find out more about the many challenges involved in growing fruits and vegetables – from pests and diseases, to soil and water management, to the effects of weather and climate, to international trade and the impacts of global trends on local farms. The past two years have been exceptionally difficult due to the pandemic’s shifting regulations and effects on markets and supply chains, too.
solutions or management options being developed or already available –and growers and agronomists are constantly working with researchers, trying new things or improving on older methods.
For instance, in Kaitlin Packer’s story on the Anystis mite (found on page 14), Vineland’s Taro Saito relates how he thought to look into the mite because his toddler found one eating a fly in their backyard. Research had been conducted on Anystis previously, but the challenges of commercializing the mite exceeded the benefits. Saito’s excitement, technical expertise, and work conducted in partnership with Applied Bio-nomics pushed him to find solutions that previous researchers hadn’t. Now, Anystis –nicknamed the “Crazee Mite” – is available as a mass-produced, costeffective insect pest control option.
While I haven’t been able to meet as many of you as I would’ve liked at events and crop walks due to the pandemic, I’m looking forward to making up for lost time once we can get together in person once more.
In the meantime, if you have any ideas for the magazine or thoughts
“Adding professional interest to personal simply means understanding more fully what growers contend with.”
Watching the resilience, adaptability and ingenuity of Canadian produce growers has been inspiring – they’re clearly traits that are present even when the world isn’t vacillating between shut-downs and reduced capacities. For all the challenges farmers face, there are
you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ve learned a lot in my two years here, but that has proven that I still have a lot to learn. As you are the experts in your field(s), I’d be honoured if you’d share your knowledge and wisdom with me. •
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Photos taken in Norfolk County, ON, on September 24,
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Weston Foundation launches production challenge
The Weston Family Foundation has launched its $33-million Homegrown Innovation Challenge to encourage new ideas to boost the sustainable production of fruits and vegetables in Canada.
The challenge centres around a competition to generate solutions that will enable domestic food producers to grow berries out of season, sustainably, competitively and at scale. Funding will be awarded in stages over six years to eligible teams developing tools and technologies that solve the interconnected challenges of growing produce out of season in Canada.
“The challenge’s goals are grounded in our
foundation’s commitment to advancing sustainable innovation for the well-being of all Canadians for generations to come,” said Tamara Rebanks, project chair and director, Weston Family Foundation. “If you have exciting, creative ideas on how to improve the way we grow food in Canada, we want to hear from you.”
The ultimate winner of the challenge could be awarded as much as $8 million, with substantial funding also available to eligible teams that progress through different stages as they develop, scale, and ready their innovations for market.
Learn more about the criteria and process for applications at www.homegrownchallenge.ca.
HEPA FILTERS FOR AGRI-FOOD WORKERS
The Ontario government has announced it will distribute up to 5,500 free HEPA filters to improve ventilation in agri-food congregate living settings. This will add an additional layer of protection to keep agri-food workers safe and reduce the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks on farms and in workplaces across the food supply chain.
“These HEPA filters will provide farmers with another tool to use to help in the fight against COVID-19, all while ensuring agri-food workers have a safe environment to work and live in, and people can continue to access the safe and healthy food grown and made in Ontario,” said Lisa
BY THE NUMBERS
Thompson, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.
HEPA filter units, in conjunction with other prevention and control strategies, can help control and remove harmful airborne pathogens and improve air quality. Farms and agri-food businesses that employ and provide housing to international
agri-food workers are eligible for one HEPA filter unit per employerprovided congregate living setting. These units will be deployed in partnership with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services at no cost to employers through the voluntary Registry of Employers International Agri-food Workers.
In 2020, the top five fruit imports by value were: In 2020, the top five veggie
imports by value were:
Top fruit import sources (by value): Top veggie import sources (by value):
GANG UP ON DISEASE.
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Kwantlen Polytechnic and Bioenterprise partner for agtech innovation
Kwantlen Polytechnic University, based in British Columbia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bioenterprise, Canada’s Food and Agri-Tech Engine, to join as a knowledge and development partner.
“We are excited to make KPU’s strategic expertise and resources available to the innovative start-ups, entrepreneurs, research organizations and businesses that we work with across Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector,” said Dave Smardon, Bioenterprise CEO.
The collaboration will help open new opportunities to Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s faculty, students and stakeholders for innovation partnerships in other parts of Canada, including research programs and projects, events, networking, challenge programs, joint funding applications and more. Bioenterprise’s market development and market access initiatives for entrepreneurs and start-ups are also available to support Kwantlen Polytechnic University where applicable.
“We are a small institution, so critical mass is the real benefit to us from being part of a national network like the engine,” said Deborah Henderson, director of the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture at KPU. “This broadens our opportunity to partner across the country, expand our resources and make our expertise available to industry across Canada. We look forward to collaborating on research, bringing value to the broad range of agriculture industries and supporting a stronger, more national voice for agricultural innovation.”
B.C. and Canada provide $228 million for agri-food flood relief
B.C. farmers who suffered extraordinary damages during November’s devastating floods will have access to up to $228 million in federal-provincial government support to help their farms return to production.
The Canada-B.C. Flood Recovery for Food Security Program will be delivered by the Government of British Columbia and will leverage the federal government’s AgriRecovery Framework and Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.
“We’ve worked closely with farmers and farming organizations to make sure we have a comprehensive response that will support their recovery, help them get their farms back in production, and continue our collective efforts to build a resilient food system and food economy in B.C,” said Lana Popham, B.C.’s minister of agriculture, food and fisheries.
The Canada-B.C. Flood Recovery Program for Food Security will help farmers who have incurred extraordinary expenses from uninsurable damages, such as:
• cleanup, repair and restoration of land, barns and animal
Canada consults on new recycled plastics regulations
The Government of Canada is committed to increasing the recycled content in certain plastic products and packaging to at least 50 percent by 2030. To that end, Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, recently launched a consultation process on the development of new regulations that will set minimum percentage recycled content requirements for certain items made of plastic.
The proposed regulations would reduce the amount of plastic entering landfills and the environment by strengthening demand for recycled plastics. This will drive improvements to recycling systems and product design, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote a circular economy for plastics.
The Government of Canada is taking action to reduce plastic pollution through a comprehensive approach that addresses the entire lifecycle of plastics. Alongside provincial and territorial governments, Canada is moving forward on a nationwide strategy to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030. In addition
shelters, water and waste systems; returning flood-impacted land and buildings to a safe environment for agricultural production;
• repair of uninsurable essential farm infrastructure, reasonable repair of on-farm structures such as livestock containment fences, and the rental of temporary production facilities, drainage ditches and riprap;
• animal welfare; replacement feed as well as livestock transportation, veterinary care and mortality disposal; and
• loss of perennial plants not raised for resale.
The governments of Canada and British Columbia have also established a committee of ministers who are working together and with Indigenous leadership to guide immediate and ongoing support to British Columbia families, businesses and communities affected by the extreme weather events.
Farmers who have already undertaken any work are advised to keep their receipts, track the hours of work involved, and take pictures documenting the damage and repairs to support their application.
to requiring recycled content in certain plastic products and packaging, this strategy includes working with provinces and territories to make plastics producers responsible for their waste.
“The government is committed to achieving zero plastic waste by 2030. A key part of this plan is establishing recycled content standards, which will drive demand for recycled plastics and help facilitate the transition toward a circular plastics economy,” Guilbeault said.
“Recycled content requirements would help to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and the environment, while also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Canadians and stakeholders are invited to comment before March 14 on proposed measures that would set minimum recycled content requirements for certain plastic manufactured items. The Government is targeting publication of proposed regulations by the end of 2022.
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Disease deep-dive: Grape powdery mildew
Caused by the fungal pathogen Erysiphe necator (formerly Uncinula necator), powdery mildew is one of the most frequently observed diseases of grapevines worldwide. This pathogen grows exclusively on the surface of the plant and appears as a conspicuous whitish, powdery growth. Powdery mildew is an obligate biotrophic pathogen – it extracts nutrients from living plant tissue and cannot live apart from its plant host – that infects all aerial parts (ie. the above-ground surface area) of grapevines, and causes a drastic loss of both berry yield and quality.
The sexual reproductive structures (chasmothecia) overwinter on the surface of senescent leaves lying on the vineyard soil and in crevices in the bark of canes. In early spring, chasmothecia absorb moisture from rain, irrigation, fog or dew and release sexual spores called ascospores, which are dispersed by wind. Ascospores germinate on young, green tissue to cause primary infections. Moisture is required only to initiate the discharge of ascospores, but spore germination and infection do not require free water. The fungus grows on the tissue surface and extracts nutrients only from plant cells near the surface. After six to eight days, the fungus produces asexual spores called conidia that serve as inoculum for its futher spread throught the growing season.
sporulation of downy mildew occurs only on the lower surface of leaves, whereas powdery mildew sporulation can occur on both upper and lower surfaces, but more commonly on the upper surface. In addition, powdery mildew does not produce angular necrotic lesions on diseased leaves.
SYMPTOMS
Leaves: Infection begins on newly emerged leaves close to the main stem of the vine, where fungal resting structures overwinter to initiate primary infection in early spring. Initial lesions appear as whitish, silver-grey, or light brown spots on the lower leaf surface but often go unnoticed. On rapidly growing young leaves, numerous lesions may cause the leaves to become puckered and distorted as they expand.
On the upper leaf surface, somewhat circular, white colonies of varying diameters appear as a sign of secondary disease spread. The conspicuous white, powdery appearance of colonies is due to the mass of fungal threads and chains of spores forming on the leaf surface (Figure 1B). Colonies may also appear chlorotic (yellowish) which can be confused with “oil spot” lesions produced by downy mildew (Figure 1A).
With age, older colonies turn greyish and produce
Continued spread of powdery mildew is regulated by temperature. Ascospore release in spring starts when the temperature is greater than 10 C, with maximum release occurring at optimum temperatures of 23 C to 30 C. If optimum temperatures persist, a new disease cycle can be initiated every five to six days; this can be delayed for 18 to 25 days at lower temperatures of 12 C and 9 C, respectively. Temperatures greater than 35 C drastically reduce spore germination and disease development. Periods of humid weather but without free moisture greatly favour disease development.
Powdery mildew can be confused with downy mildew, which is caused by another fungal pathogen. The cottony white
large numbers of yellowish to black sexual fruiting bodies called chasmothecia (formerly cleistothecia) that also act as overwintering resting structures (Figure 1C). Necrotic patches may be observed on the leaves either due to natural colony mortality, host response of resistant varieties, or the killing action of fungicide treatment. Severely infected, necrotic leaves senesce (deteriorate) and fall before reaching maturity.
Stem: The initial disease symptoms on stems are similar to those observed on leaves, but the affected stem sections turn black with the progress of the disease. With cane maturity, powdery mildew lesions stop growing and die eventually, which leaves a weblike
FIGURE 1.
(A) Oil spot lesions during early stages of infection; (B) Patchy white growth of powdery mildew on the leaf surface; (C) Yellowish to black fruiting bodies (chasmothecia) of powdery mildew. Photos courtesy of Texas A&M Agriculture and Life Sciences (A), University of Wisconsin Fruit Program (B), and Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (C).
dark brown scar on the infected stem sections (Figure 2A). Delayed bud break of overwintered infected buds is often observed, and leaves on severely infected shoots (flag shoots) may appear cupshaped, stunted or distorted, even without characteristic whitish growths. The entire flag shoot may become heavily coated with white fungal growths within two weeks of shoot growth.
Berries: Pre-bloom and early infection of berries can severely affect their quality. The berry surface may become completely coated with the whitish powdery growth and they cease to expand (Figure 2B), causing the skin to split (Figure 2C). Other opportunistic fungal and bacterial organisms may cause rotting of the split berries, which shrivel and eventually drop from the cluster. The period of highest susceptibility to infection occurs two weeks before flowering, as the inflorescences expand, to three to four weeks after flowering, when the green berries develop. After this stage, berries gradually become more resistant.
MANAGEMENT
• Varietal resistance is confined to only a few cultivars native to North America and some hybrid varieties.
• Because humidity plays a role in disease development, selection of vineyard sites with good air circulation is important.
• Proper pruning and training of the canopy promotes ventilation (which reduces relative humidity) and exposure to sunlight, which makes the microclimate less conducive to disease. Judicious removal of leaves surrounding the clusters after fruit set helps to control powdery mildew.
• In early spring, the fungal resting structures initiate primary infections in the presence of moisture (two to three
millimetres of rain) and temperatures greater than 10 C. If these environmental conditions are met, a fungicide spray program should be followed.
• Fungicide application timing and the choice of active ingredients depend on crop development. Berries are most susceptible to powdery mildew infection between two weeks before and three to four weeks after flowering; proper attention to the management practices should be a top priority during this crucial period. Proper attention must be given to fungicide chemistry, rates and application techniques.
• Though many modern fungicides provide effective control of powdery mildew, care must be taken in following a proper rotation to avoid fungicide resistance development.
• Sulfur is the most widely used fungicide due to its low cost and lack of resistance development in the pathogen. It provides effective control due to its protective, curative and eradicative properties, but its application under warm weather conditions (> 30 C) may induce phytotoxicity.
SCOUTING
When: Vineyards should be monitored from early May to midSeptember, with more frequent scouting between two weeks before and three to four weeks after flowering, when berry infection is most likely to occur.
Where: Throughout the canopy, with special attention to the shaded parts where disease development is more favourable. How: Walk along rows and pick a sample every 20 to 30 paces from the interior of the canopy – look for discolored spots and/or whitish growths on the upper and lower leaf surfaces. The disease is easiest to detect on leaves and can be used as an indicator for potential disease development on other plant parts. •
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• 0 day PHI & unique mode of action to manage resistance
FIGURE 2.
(A) Web-like scarring of cane powdery mildew; (B) Whitish powder of powdery mildew on developing berries; (C) Split-skin and mummification of ripe berries. Photos courtesy of Texas A&M Agriculture and Life Sciences (A), University of California, Davis (B), and Becky Garrison (C).
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Beleaf® 50SG insecticide, a Group 29 product, targets piercing and sucking pests effectively. Protect your strawberries, potatoes, root vegetables and greenhouse crops from thrips, aphids, lygus bugs and whitefly feeding damage.
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Use Exirel® insecticide early to give pome fruit, stone fruit, blueberries and root and brassica vegetable foliage the protection it needs during the most critical stage of development. Translaminar and locally systemic movement, plus rapid absorption ensures the product moves through the plant quickly to control a cross-spectrum of sucking and chewing pests like cabbage looper, armyworms, spotted wing drosophila, leafrollers and leafminers.
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Oregon State University researchers advance apple pulp as packaging material
A new study by Oregon State University scientists outlines a key advance in turning apple waste into an environmentally friendly packaging material that could be an alternative to plastic.
Recycled newspaper has traditionally been the main ingredient of so-called moulded pulp packaging products, which have become increasingly popular because they are compostable. But the supply of recycled newspaper is in decline, creating a market for substitute materials.
Yanyun Zhao, an Oregon State professor who leads a research team focused on sustainable food packaging and processing, has studied apple pomace and other byproducts from processing fruit and vegetable juice and winemaking as an alternative for recycled newspaper in molded pulp manufacturing. She and the team have received a patent for this research.
“Right now, apple pomace is typically just composted or used for animal feed,” said Zhao, whose research aims to reduce food loss and waste across the food supply chain. “We thought why not turn it into an environmentally friendly product that meets an industry need.”
Zhao envisions apple pomace being the main ingredient for molded pulp packing products such as take-out containers, flower pots, beverage cartons and bottles, and clamshell packaging used for fruits and vegetables.
She is focused on apple pomace, in part, because it is readily available in the Pacific Northwest. When apples are processed for juice about 70 to 75 per cent of the apple goes into the juice, leaving the remaining 25 to 30 per cent as pomace.
One of the key problems to solve in creating pomace and paper-based packaging is improving water resistance so that it can withstand high moisture, liquid food, or non-food items and products stored under high humidity conditions.
In a recently published paper in Food and Bioproducts Processing, the team sought to create eco-friendly, bio-based, compostable and cost-effective solutions that would improve the hydrophobicity, or water resistance, of the apple pomace-based molded pulp products.
They used two strategies: incorporating polymers and compounds with characteristics to improve water resistance into the pulp formulation and applying superhydrophobic coatings on the product surface. The polymers and compounds studied include lignin, chitosan and glycerol.
The researchers determined the optimal amounts of those polymers and compounds while also adding a small amount of cardboard fiber for stability of the molded pulp packaging products.
Zhao’s team previously created a two-step preparation of superhydrophobic coating that is heat, cold- and water-resistant. They applied a simplified, one-step coating on the surface of the apple pomacebased product to enhance water resistance.
The team concluded that the study demonstrated the feasibility of using fruit pomace as a new source of fibre in producing moulded pulp packaging and effective approaches to enhancing water resistance in those packaging materials.
Co-authors of the paper are Clara Lang, Jooyeoun Jung and Taoran Wang, all of whom are former or current members of the Sustainable Food Packaging and Processing team in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
The research was supported by the Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Kerr Concentrates, Inc. of Salem and Hood River Juice Company of Hood River provided fruit pomace for the research. •
ABOVE
Oregon State University professor Yanyun Zhao stands with samples of moulded apple pulp packaging.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SEAN NEALON, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY.
