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Fruit & Vegetable Magazine is published five times a year (January/ February, March, april, May, November/December) by annex Publishing & Printing inc., P.o. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, oN N3Y 4N5
There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to spreading news and information about Ontario’s innovative and forward thinking agriculture producers. AgInnovation Ontario, a website aimed at raising awareness about innovative projects and opportunities in the province’s agriculture and agri-food industry, was launched recently.
A project of the Agri-Technology Commercialization Centre (ATCC), based in Guelph, Ont., the goal of the website is “to tell the story of agricultural innovation in Ontario through a constantly growing online collection of information about agricultural innovation project and opportunities in Ontario.”
And, so far, the site has been off to a great start.
Earlier in the fall, I was surprised to find an article in my inbox highlighting the work researchers at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre have been doing exploring the production and marketing potential of non-traditional vegetables. These crops, popular with South Asian and AfroCaribbean consumers, are currently in demand in the Toronto area, thanks to the city’s evolving demographics.
This isn’t a new story to Fruit & Vegetable Magazine, who have been follow-
Coming events
January 12-13 – Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Annual Meeting, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.ofvga.org
January 20-21 – Ontario Processing Vegetable Industry Conference, London, Ont. www.opvg.org
January 26-27 – Scotia Horticultural Conference 2014, Wolfville, N.S. www.horticulturens.ca
January 26-28 – Manitoba Potato Production Days, Brandon, Man. www.mbpotatodays.ca
Promoting innovation
ing research in this area at VRIC for several years and helped support a white paper by University of Guelph students investigating the Canadian market for “ethnocultural” produce. But it was interesting and refreshing to see a different perspective on a constantly evolving issue.
Since seeing that article, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for others being highlighted by the website, which have included features on the commercialization of quinoa in the province, sea buckthorn – Ontario’s locally grown citrus – production, and breeding cold-hardy, diseaseresistant Canadian roses.
Institute of Ontario and the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation hope to populate the site with videos, photos and audio files produced by other farm organizations and industry stakeholders. They also will be searching out story ideas from commodity organizations, plus universities, government and industry partners. Anyone with story ideas is invited to contact the organization at info@aginnovationontario.ca.
“Agriculture has long been on the forefront of innovation, supporting many advances in areas like food, health, bioeconomy, life sciences and others,” said Jeff Schmalz, president of Soy 20/20, one of the founding members of the ATCC. “This site is about telling the story of that innovation and raising awareness to help support and advance the sector.”
Besides French and English articles, collaborators such as VRIC, the University of Guelph, Agricultural Research
It’s hoped project resources can also be used to search for new opportunities where organizations, such as the ATCC, can assist entrepreneurs with development or commercialization of an idea, so keep this is mind.
It’s encouraging to see continued support for the dreamers and innovators in Ontario’s agriculture industry. They need all the support and encouragement they can find. Now, we need to see these same articles picked up and highlighted by the mainstream media. Ontario’s agri-food and agriculture industry is too important and vibrant to keep quiet about. Sing loud and sing long. ❦
January 27-28 – NS Fruit Growers Association Annual Convention 2014, Wolfville, N.S. www.nsapples.com
January 29-31 – Pacific Agriculture Show, Abbotsford, B.C. www.agricultureshow.net
January 29-February 1 – Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph, Ont. www.guelphorganicconf.ca
February 17 – Ontario Berry Growers Association Annual Meeting, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.ontarioberries.com
February 18-19 – Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.ofvc.ca
February-March – 58th International Fruit Tree Association Annual Conference & Intensive Workshop, N.S. www.ifruittree.org
March 10-12 – Canadian Horticultural Council Annual General Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec. www.hortcouncil.ca
Eisses brothers taking over family farm while transitioning to new technology
By Dan Woolley
The 2014 Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association’s annual orchard tour of the Annapolis Valley paid a visit to an orchard this summer experiencing an inter-generational transfer as well as a technological transition.
David and Peter Eisses are currently engaged in an inter-generational transfer with their father, John Eisses, who bought the Centreville, N.S., farm in 1970.
The brothers recently bought an Italian-made Rinieri straight bar, tractormounted sickle bar pruner and hedger, one of the first of its type in a North
American orchard.
According to Chris Duyvelshoff, a tree fruit specialist with Nova Scotia’s agricultural consulting agency, Perennia, the technology is only a few years old and was only recently introduced on the continent.
“This technology seems to be adapted to dwarf trees and fruit walls,” he said, adding the timing of thinning will also determine the ultimate crop load.
During the tour, the Eisses demonstrated the mechanical pruner on 8th leaf Ambrosia and 4th leaf Gala in their
orchard. Mechanical pruning and hedging is done to reduce the cost of orchard labour; but David added the priority this year for their new machinery is to reduce fire blight in their orchard, which has been quite prevalent in Annapolis Valley orchards this year.
The Eisses’ Pacific Gala block is planted on G16 rootstock, which Peter considers “disappointing” because of its susceptibility to fire blight and European canker.
Duyvelshoff stated the response to mechanical hedging varies greatly
depending on the age of the block and the cultivars planted in it.
“We saw a lot more re-growth on Gala (a younger planting)... than on Ambrosia (an older block).”
Gala also appears to be more prolific in flow bud development following hedging he has found as he continues testing this new pruning technology for future commercial application in co-operative trials with the Eisses brothers.
Duyvelshoff said the Gala block have a row spacing of 14 feet, with a two feet tree spacing and received a window pruning between the trees on May 5, after which there was no other pruning except for fire blight; although on June 24 (the Solstice) did some hedging to control growth on part of the block. Consideration was also being given for August hedging to stop new cropping.
Straight line hedging with the sickle bar straight pruner can taper the tree wall at the top, he said.
Row spacing appears to be a big
factor on the sustainability of fruit wall production and he also felt a 14 feet wide row is too wide as it admits too much sunlight into the tree canopies. “If you have a 14 feet row; you need tree to be at least 13 feet high.”
“Plant your rows straight for effective pruning and hedging”
The tree wall spacing in the Eisses’ Ambrosia block, which has 1,400 trees to the acre, is 12 feet by 2.5 feet, noted Duyvelshoff, adding it has a light bloom this year as Ambrosia is susceptible to biennial bearing.
The Ambrosia tree wall is hedged 25 to 30 inches thick at the bottom and tapered to just 12 inches wide at the top, he
said, adding the Eisses straight hedged the block from May 29 to June 29 and they will also hedge it again in August.
The Rinieri hedger costs about $18,000, Duyvelshoff said; but summer pruning can improve apple colour and the hedger can prune a lot of acres very quickly. Nevertheless, hand pruning must be done every year for any branches that stick out from the wall.
“Plant your rows straight for effective pruning and hedging,” David advised.
Duyvelshoff warned mechanical hedging can spread fire blight. So, he advised growers to check their orchards for its presence before hedging and clean the hedger’s teeth before pruning. ❦
Above: Chris Duyvelshoff discusses with David Eisses the pruning and hedging he and his brother, Peter, have done on their tree walls of Ambrosia and Gala.
Left: Chris Duyvelshoff outlines the features of the Eisses brothers’ new tractor-mounted Rinieri pruner and hedger.
Photos by Dan Woolley
Containers used to ship produce fall short of safety standards: study
Anew study demonstrates that reusable plastic containers (RPCs) used to ship fruits and vegetables in Canada are not properly sanitized and show traces of E coli.
The report, developed by University of Guelph professor and researcher Keith Warriner, indicates that sanitation standards of RPCs are inadequate for a second consecutive year.
‘We saw alarming levels of sanitization and significant risk for food contamination,” said Warriner.
In fact, using UK food safety standards for food surfaces as a pass/fail baseline, 43 per cent of RPCs failed sanitary standards due to high ATP (adenosine triphosphate) readings (equivalent standards do not exist in North America). Specifically, the fecal indicators were more prevalent in the current sampling trials compared to the study performed in 2013. Rates in the province of Quebec are especially alarming. RPCs sampled in Quebec recorded the highest indicator counts and ATP readings.
“Of concern is the high prevalence of food safety indicators, especially E. coli, which highlights the potential for the presence of enteric pathogens that could encompass viruses, protozoa and bacterial,” says Warriner, the Food Safety and Quality Assurance Program director at the University of Guelph who also conducted last year’s study.
During the study, Warriner assessed the microbiological standard of reusable plastic containers used in different fresh produce packing stations. Locations in Ontario and Quebec were visited several times during the course of the 10-week study. Every time, 10 randomly selected RPCs were sampled at each location.
A combination of ATP swabs and microbiological analysis was chosen to determine the sanitary status of RPCs. ATP readings taken at farms provided an estimate of viable cells present on the surface of RPCs. The standards set were those expected of a cleaned surface of a food contact surface within the food industry with a 20 per cent failure rate being deemed the upper limit of
A new study by a University of Guelph professor and researcher found that reusable plastic containers (RPCs) used to ship fruits and vegetables in Canada are not properly sanitized and show traces of E. coli.
acceptability. Crates were sampled as delivered thereby ruling out contamination at the packing facility.
RPCs made their appearance as a few Canadian retailers recently requested that farmers ship fruits and vegetables using plastic containers. They are rented by farmers for one shipment and are expected to be returned to the United States for cleaning and sanitation afterwards.
This study was commissioned for a second year to monitor improvements following last year’s poor results and food safety concerns expressed by growers who were told to ship fruits and vegetables using RPCs rather than corrugated boxes which is the traditional choice.
This year, Warriner increased the scope of the study from 15 testing units to 160 containers. Photos of the crates tested show visibly dirty crates and labels from previ-
ous users were found on an estimated 30 per cent of RPCs, which raises questions about the efficiency of the American sanitation facilities.
Interestingly, it was recently announced that the sanitation procedures for RPCs have been strengthened and that RPC manufacturers established micro-standards to use as indicators of cleanliness.
“Given the state of randomly selected RPCs, I would question whether they are even sent to the U.S. for sanitization at all,” said Warriner.
There are no sanitization facilities in Canada for reusable plastic crates.
“Food must be shipped in safe containers, regardless of whether they are corrugated boxes or plastic,” said John Kelly, executive vice president of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (OFVGA). ❦
Photo by Margaret Land
Tried, tested & new
Unlike retrippers, corrugated containers are always new. They do not need to come from or return to washing stations in the USA. Corrugated is the food industry’s packaging of choice. Branded, new and trusted.
Ablend of odours that attracts spotted wing drosophila (SWD) flies has been developed into a new lure product for improved monitoring and control of these tree-fruit and berry pests.
The blend is a combination of four different chemicals found in the aromas of both wine and vinegar. Entomologist Peter Landolt and colleagues from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service and the Oregon Department of Agriculture isolated the chemicals and evaluated them extensively in laboratory and field trials.
Based on those findings, Trécé, Inc., of Adair, Oklahoma, has commercially formulated the compounds into a novel blend and controlled-release lure, which is marketed under the trademark Pherocon SWD, along with a related trap.
“We developed the attractant because farmers and pest managers need improved methods of attracting, monitoring, and managing the fly to prevent severe potential losses of cherries, berries, grapes, and other fruit crops,” says Landolt, who leads the ARS Fruit and Vegetable Insect Research Unit in Wapato, Washington. “The lure’s availability should provide better information to growers who use trap-catch data to make pest-management decisions.” Those decisions include where, when, or whether to spray.
Known scientifically as Drosophila suzukii , SWD is a nonnative species from eastern Asia that was first detected in the United States in 2008. Since then, it has become an established pest of numerous tree-fruit and berry crops in both the eastern and western United States, says Landolt.
If unchecked, female SWD flies deposit their eggs beneath the surface of host fruit. Subsequent larval feeding inside the fruit causes it to soften, bruise, and wrinkle, ruining its marketability.
Capturing drosophila flies with lures
Pest’s taste for fine wine may prove its undoing
By Jan Suszkiw
containing wine and vinegar isn’t a new approach. But Landolt’s team was first to conduct a top-down examination of which chemical constituents in the aromas of these liquids specifically attract the flies.
Initially, acetic acid in vinegar and ethanol in wine were thought to be the primary attractants. Though important, the two compounds weren’t the only sources of attraction for SWD flies, the researchers found. In extensive testing, they showed that ethanol alone was less attractive than wine, and acetic acid alone was less attractive than vinegar. Similarly, combinations of ethanol and acetic acid were also less attractive to the flies than wine-plus-vinegar blends, which suggested that other constituents were at work. Indeed, in field tests, wineplus-vinegar captured 10 times more flies than acetic acid-ethanol blends.
Interestingly, combining acetic acid and ethanol with the wine-plus-vinegar blend worked best of all.
In more recent studies, the team showed that SWD prefers certain types
of wine and vinegar over others, with Merlot wine and rice vinegar attracting more male and female flies than Chardonnay wines and apple cider vinegar, for example.
Of 20 total Chardonnay and ricevinegar chemicals the team evaluated, acetoin and methionol triggered the strongest responses in SWD when combined with acetic acid and ethanol.
A third chemical, ethyl lactate, also attracted the flies but was determined unnecessary for optimum attraction. It was ultimately dropped from the final lure formulation, which contains acetoin, methionol, acetic acid, and ethanol. “If one of those is missing, you get significantly lower attraction,” notes Dong Cha, an ARS postdoctoral researcher who, along with Landolt and coauthors, reported the findings in the February 2014 issue of Pest Management Science. ❦
Jan Suszkiw is a writer with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
Postdoctoral researcher Dong Cha (left) and entomologist Peter Landolt isolated chemicals from wine and vinegar that attract Drosophila flies.
Photo courtesy of
Nova Scotia apple grower experimenting with bud-in-place
Nova Scotia apple producer Andy Parker is developing a high density orchard through the bud-inplace technique by grafting tree buds into rootstocks already planted in his orchard rather than into rootstocks in a nursery.
This is a rather unusual method for Nova Scotia, observed Chris Duyvelshoff, a tree fruit specialist with Perennia, adding that bud-in-place is cheaper than budding nursery rootstocks and there is no transplant shock. Nursery budded rootstocks will give a couple of years extra growth resulting in earlier fruiting, he said.
According to Parker, the block in which he budded the newly planted rootstocks already looked like a nursery. “So, why not make it your nursery?” he said.
“In bud-in-place, you may lose a tree to fire blight but if the fire blight gets into a nursery to infect a tree, you will likely lose adjoining trees,” Parker said. “From a financial perspective there is much less risk.”
He currently has a new block of the club variety Pizzazz budding-in- place as he was informed he’s be unable to get nursery stock until 2016. It is all on M26, except for one row of B9.
“I would rather fight vigor than budding,” he said in reference to M26.
Rob Haynes, of Mori Essex Nurseries in Ontario, recommended controlling for fire blight in rootstocks in the nursery, noting that Quebec growers have encoun-
By Dan Woolley
tered problems with fire blight in their rootstocks.
He also suggested using Geneva rootstock, which will give faster growth. ❦
“On this farm, we’re the experts.”
Sean
Gorrill – FCC Customer
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Rob Haynes with Essex Mori Nurseries discusses fire blight management during an inspection of Parker’s bud-inplace rootstock block.
Photo by Dan Woolley
New York Apple Growers introduce SnapDragon apples
The New York Apple Growers (NYAG) launched a new apple called SnapDragon in all Wegmans’ stores starting in November.
Known for its crispy texture combined with a sweet and juicy flavour, SnapDragon has a distinctly bright red dappled colour.
Unlike many other produce items, apples are commonly sold by variety and consumers have shown a continued interest in trying new apples that offer unique colours, flavours and textures. SnapDragon has a limited crop this year but supplies are expected to increase in 2015.
“This bi-colour apple is a hybrid of a Honeycrisp that has excellent quality, storage and shelf life,” stated Jeff Crist, vice chairman of the board of directors of NYAG. “Our consumer research revealed that consumers not only responded very favourably to SnapDragon’s crisp texture and sweet taste but also noted high willingness to purchase.”
Because of the super sweet flavour profile of this apple, growers expect SnapDragon to be a hit with Moms who are looking for a healthy alternative to traditional junk foods. Marketing efforts will include point-of-sale materials, high-graphic packaging, in-store demos, public relations and social media activities. Growers will also make in-store appearances and be available to visit with shoppers during select instore demo events in November.”
To help educate consumers, a website was developed to highlight the benefits of SnapDragon and provide consumers with recipes and pairing suggestions at www.SnapDragonApple.com. The site also includes a Meet the Growers section that profiles a grower of the month and includes the full list of growers in New York State. Also included are links to Facebook and Twitter pages.
Formed in 2010, the New York Apple Growers is a grower-owned company united with the mission of introducing exclusive, premium flavor apple variet -
ies to the marketplace. The organization is comprised of 145 grower members in the state of New York, representing about 60 per cent of the state’s apple production.
Developed by Cornell University, SnapDragon, as well as RubyFrost, is licensed for a managed release with the New York Apple Growers (NYAG) and RubyFrost will go to market in January 2015. Growers pay royalties on trees purchased, acreage planted and fruit produced, and the income is used to
The New York Apple Growers launched a new apple variety called SnapDragon in all the state’s Wegmans’ stores. The campaign started in November.
market the new apples and support Cornell’s apple-breeding program.
Both SnapDragon and RubyFrost have been a decade in the making with the first trees planted in farmers’ orchards in 2011. Now the still-young trees have produced a limited crop this year with plans for a much larger roll out in 2015-16.
“Retailers will appreciate SnapDragon because although the apple’s harvest window starts relatively early – in late September – its long storage and shelf life means they may be able to offer it with consistent quality for a longer time than Honeycrisp,” said Susan Brown, an apple breeder at Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York. ❦
University of Adelaide researchers are introducing a method to use bees to deliver disease control to cherry blossoms, preventing brown rot in cherries.
This is a new technique for Australia and a world first for cherry orchards with potential application in many horticultural industries. It was demonstrated publicly for the first time during a field day in September hosted by the Cherry Growers of South Australia and researchers at Lennane Orchards, Montacute.
“Brown rot is caused by a fungus which significantly impacts Australia’s cherry industry through costs of applying fungicide, yield loss and fruit spoilage,” says project leader Dr. Katja Hogendoorn, a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.
“All commercial cherry growers spray during flowering to control the later development of cherry brown rot. Instead of spraying fungicide, we’re using bees to deliver a biological control agent right to the flowers where it is needed. This uses an innovative delivery method called entomovectoring.”
The biological control agent contains spores of a parasitic fungus that prevents the fungus causing brown rot from colonizing the flower. Every morning, the cherry grower sprinkles the spores into a specially designed dispenser fitted in front of the hive. The bees pick up the spores between their body hairs and bring them to the flowers.
“The flying doctors technology is used successfully in Europe to control strawberry grey mould, but it’s the first time for Australia and the first time in cherry orchards anywhere,” Dr. Hogendoorn says, adding the use of bees has many environmental and economic benefits compared to spraying fungicide.
“The bees deliver control on target, every day,” she says. “There is no spray drift or run-off into the environment.”
Flying doctor bees to prevent cherry disease
Dr. Hogendoorn says adoption of the technique will have the additional benefit of building up the number of managed honeybee hives.
With increasing availability of bio -
logical control agents, future application of the technology is expected to become available for disease control in almonds, grapes, strawberry, raspberry, apple, pear and stone fruit. ❦
Plant breeder joins Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Johnny’s Selected Seeds recently welcomed Dr. John Navazio, a veteran plant breeder, agroecologist, author, and organic seed production specialist, as manager of its plant breeding program.
Dr. Navazio, who holds a PhD in plant breeding from the University of Wisconsin, brings a wealth of vegetable expertise to Johnny’s research initiatives. Widely respected as a progressive leader, educator, and mentor to the sustainable agriculture movement, Dr. Navazio has spearheaded such crucial goals as developing crop varieties adapted to minimal-input and organic production systems, working with farm-
ers on participatory breeding projects, and generously imparting his knowledge of organic seed production to farmers.
The foundational fieldwork carried out by Dr. Navazio has helped to enhance the genetic breadth in vegetable crops to improve their nutritional value, flavour, texture, nutrient-scavenging capability, weed competitiveness, disease resistance, and cold tolerance.
“Some of North America’s most important crop germplasm is being housed and developed right here in Central Maine,” Dr. Navazio said. “Most of my life’s work has been in helping growers meet the challenges they face by breeding varieties from robust, genetically diverse germplasm that we identify as being better adapted to a range of environmental demands and under cropping systems that use less intensive inputs. The mark of success of this breeding work is measured by whether the grower’s crops are more productive and healthy – even when conditions are less than perfect.”
www.johnnyseeds.com
New tax credit to benefit farmers and communities
A new tax credit is helping put nutritious, fresh, locally grown food on the plates of those who need it most.
The Food Donation Tax Credit for Farmers – the only one of its kind in Canada, according to the Ontario government – is giving farmers a tax credit valued at 25 per cent of the fair market value of
the agricultural products they donate to community food programs, including food banks and student nutrition programs.
The tax credit is a part of the Ontario government’s local food strategy and Local Food Act, 2013 to promote the good things that are grown and harvested across the province.
“This new tax credit is an integral part of our government’s commitment to support farmers, increase access to nutritious, locally grown food and promote the good things that are grown right across the province, says Jeff Leal, Ontario minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has weighed in, and is pleased with the initiative.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy local food, and we applaud the Ontario government for introducing a tax credit that will encourage more farmers to make that food available to families and individuals who need it most,” says Neil Currie, General Manager of OFA. “Many food bank clients do not receive the recommended daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and protein, which causes additional strains on one’s health and well-being. A balanced diet with local, fresh, and nutritious foods will help improve the health of food bank clients as well as the health of communities across Ontario.”
The new tax credit will help farmers donate more fresh food to their local food banks, in an effort to support the farmers themselves,
plus drive local economic growth, and benefit families in communities across the province.
Ont. government supporting apple industry
The Ontario government is investing in Ontario’s apple industry to help increase sales of and demand for local Ontario apples while delivering products that consumers want.
The province is investing $221,500 to help growers and marketers increase sales. Efforts to promote local apples could include:
• New Ontario apple retail sampling programs
• An event to celebrate Ontario apples
• Culinary demonstrations to show consumers new ways of using Ontario apples
Jeff Leal, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, made the announcement during an event to help launch Agriculture Week.
“Every year just prior to Thanksgiving we celebrate Agriculture Week,” he said. “This is a chance to pay tribute to Ontario’s farmers, whether they produce apples, cabbage or quinoa or raise livestock. I encourage all Ontarians to take advantage of the bounty of fresh, delicious local foods by visiting a fall fair, farmers’ market or on-farm market, and bring home fresh, local ingredients and products for your meals.” ❦
New Products
Provide Agro Corp. selling Hol Spray Systems
Provide Agro of Beamsville, Ont., recently announced a partnership with Hol Spray Systems of Holland to market and sell the company’s orchard sprayer line in North America.
HSS has developed a high-efficiency sprayer that provides growers with less drift, lower fuel consumption, more consistent coverage and increased operator safety.
“We felt that HSS followed a similar vision in quality, efficiency, and safety,” said Sean Bartlett, manager of Provide Agro’s sprayer line. “Our company is focused on developing agriculturally intelligent growing practices that are carbon footprint friendly.”
Hol Spray Systems has developed sprayers specifically designed for highdensity orchards, combining the company’s experience with orchard equipment
and new technologies to make a high-efficiency machine that places product where it needs to be. The sprayer uses a lownoise radial two-speed fan to draw in clean
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Protect your vine and orchard fruits with one easy-to-use granular herbicide. Casoron ® G-4 provides residual season-long control of more than 30 different weeds and grasses. It is easy to measure and apply, and requires no in-season re-application, so you will have more time for all your other important tasks.
air for the distribution system, sending air equally to all outlets. The overcapacity of the fan makes it possible to operate with a slower PTO speed, enabling operators to “gear up and throttle down,” reducing fuel consumption and noise. Coverage can be obtained with varying water rates giving you custom control and flexibility based on the target pest, canopy density and
“With standard features like a cleanwater tank for hand washing and a recirculating tank-rinsing system, it’s great to see an airblast sprayer that makes operation and cleanout safer, easier and more effective,” said Jason Deveau, an application technology specialist with the Ontario
www.provideag.ca
Trimble Irrigate-IQ Solution now available in North America
Trimble recently announced the availability of the Trimble Irrigate-IQ precision irrigation solution in North America.
Along with the North American launch, Trimble also introduced the Connected Farm Irrigate app, which provides farmers with real-time status and control of their pivot irrigation systems using a smartphone or tablet.
The Irrigate-IQ GPS-controlled solution, which is installed on the pivot, enables farmers to remotely control their irrigators via the Internet, including performing variable rate irrigation, and
receive reports about where water or fertilizer has been applied. With the solution, farmers can apply the optimal amount of water, fertigation or effluent, where needed. This can improve crop quality and yield, while minimizing nutrient and chemical runoff. The solution enables farmers to conserve water use and improve efficiency, reduce energy costs for fuel and electricity, minimize input costs, comply with environmental regulations, and safely dispose of effluent. In addition, Trimble’s brand-agnostic strategy allows farmers to use the solution with most irrigator makes and models.
In addition, Trimble introduced the Connected Farm Irrigate app for use on an iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet. The app allows farmers to see the status of their pivots, including whether they are operating or not operating, in which direction they are travelling, the heading, pump pressure, pivot voltage and type of material being dispersed (water, fertigation, or effluent). It also gives farmers the ability to remotely start or stop their pivots, choose the direction (forward or reverse), turn the pump on or off or switch the type of material being dispersed. This new functionality comes in addition to farmers’ ability to remotely control their irrigators by accessing the Irrigate-IQ software on a desktop or laptop computer, rugged mobile computer or tablet. Although the app is free, farmers will need to purchase the
Irrigate-IQ solution in order to access data. For more details on the Irrigate-IQ solution, visit: www.trimble.com/Agriculture/irrigate-iq.aspx. The free Connected Farm Irrigate app is available now on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
www.trimble.com
TwinGuard – New IPM tool for pome, stone fruit
Pome and stone fruit growers in Canada now have access to TwinGuard for control of a broad spectrum of both sucking and chewing insects.
“TwinGuard is an innovative new tool for tree fruit growers in Canada, providing them quick and effective, broad spectrum results on today’s toughest pests,” says Mark Alberts, product manager for horticulture with Dow AgroSciences. “Speed of control and ease of use are what make TwinGuard unique. This new product, along with our other insect control options Delegate and Closer, will be powerful tools for growers managing the different pest complexes which occur throughout the growing season.”
TwinGuard comprises two active ingredients with two different modes of action. It combines the new Isoclast Active with spinetoram. Isoclast is a novel sulfoxamine insecticide, introducing a new class of insecticides and a unique mode of action for control of sap-feeding insect pests. Davis Fuels is a family-owned and operated fuel distributor servicing Brantford, Brant County, Woodstock, London, Simcoe, Hagersville and Tillsonburg for over 55 years.
TwinGuard is registered on pome and stone fruit crops for control of the following pests:
• Aphids
• San Jose scale
• Woolly apple aphid (suppression)
• Codling moth
• Oblique-banded and three-lined leafrollers
• Spotted and western tentiform leafminers
• Apple maggot
• Plum curculio
• Oriental fruit moth
TwinGuard is formulated as a dry product and is compatible with many fungicides and micronutrients.
According to the company, TwinGuard has a favourable environmental and eco-toxicity profile and is easy on beneficial insect species, including bees and other pollinators.
CTC Plastics announces line of reusable plastic pallets
CTC Plastics recently announced it’s releasing a new line of reusable plastic nestable pallets made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.
New Products
CTC Plastics, based in Ohio, manufacturers lightweight thermoplastic composite pallets, offering both heavy-duty reusable and light weight export single use plastic pallets.
With an increasing amount of plastic products being produced, businesses are placing more concentration on green initiatives by moving away from wood pallets and moving toward reusable plastic pallets. CTC’s reusable plastic nestable pallets are 100 per cent recyclable making them a lower cost, environmentally friendly alterative to wood.
CTC’s one-way export pallets are very popular for international and one-way shipments due to their light weight. CTC’s heavy-duty reusable pallet is designed for durability and long service life.
The pallets do not have nails, splinters or broken boards to risk injury. They are resistant to pest infestation, mould and mildew, their strong one-piece design, easy forklift access, nine footed nest configuration also contributes to their high demand. The pallets, when empty, fit tightly together for maximum space savings and since they are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic they can be recycled at the end of their life span and turned into yet another durable product to be used again and again.
Main Products/Services: For fruit and vegetable growers, Arysta LifeScience markets many widely used products, including ELEVATE® and MAESTRO® Fungicides, KANEMITE® Miticide, ORTHENE® Insecticide and the recently introduced METTLE® Fungicide and KASUMIN® Bactericide. These offer protection from harmful diseases and insect damage while fitting well within an overall pest management program.
