Nova Scotia is supporting farms to reduce the province’s reliance on imports. | 10
Buzz about new acaricide
Researchers are working to provide new tools in the fight against varroa mites. | 14
New pest on the horizon
On the lookout for spotted lanternfly. | 18
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CONTENTS
November 2022 Vol.78, Issue 5
Tomatoes, carrots and insects – oh my!
Check out the winning photos from our 2022 cover photo contest.
Editorial 4
Industry News 6
Organic Perspective 12
Bringing organics indoors with Erieview Acres
Ag automation efficiencies 30
The AgRobotics Working Group is looking at agtech in an Ontario context.
10 14 18
N.S. long cane raspberry pilot program
ON THE COVER
Multicoloured tomatoes. See page 7. Photo by Sarah Barger.
Novel production system aims to reduce the province’s reliance on berry imports.
BY TALIA PLASKETT
Buzz building about new acaricide
Varroa mite management is a crucial task for beekeepers.
BY J.P. ANTONACCI
Be on the lookout for spotted lanternfly
The pest has been found in Buffalo and is on the move.
BY JULIENNE ISAACS
Finding what fits
Agricultural technology and innovation are occasionally discussed in monolithic terms – as though they are one, uniform thing. The sheer number and variety of different practices, tools, strategies and technologies encompassed in these terms are immense, and growing every year.
For many of the challenges facing the agriculture sector these days, there is (to borrow a phrase) an app for that. Agtech, crop data analysis platforms, automation, robotics: there are a plethora of start-ups and companies stepping up to provide solutions.
However, the innovations provided aren’t always an answer to a current problem; sometimes, they’re a solution in search of a problem. There can be miscommunications between research and development, extension, and growers. Each group has their own priorities and wants, and they don’t always overlap in neat, puzzle-piece ways.
“There is a need to recognize that the benefits don’t necessarily apply to all farms, because farms are highly diverse and tend to operate in less controllable environments.
“That some farmers choose not to adopt automation and robotic technologies should not be used as an indicator of their competitiveness. [The data] demonstrate that farmers are very open to adopting innovations that make sense for their operations and are a viable business decision, just not necessarily automation and robotics.”
With innovation essentially a given in modern agriculture, it comes down to finding solutions that fit for you, if they exist, and not feeling pressured to try something for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses.
Editor ALEX BARNARD abarnard@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-429-3966
National Account Manager SHARON KAUK skauk@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-410-4854
Account Coordinator MARY BURNIE mburnie@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-429-5175
Media Designer CURTIS MARTIN Group Publisher MICHELLE BERTHOLET mbertholet@annexbusinessmedia.com 204-596-8710
COO SCOTT JAMIESON sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
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This rift between what farmers need and what they are given by researchers or tech developers can create misunderstandings and frustration. When you only have one opportunity per year to get the job done right, there’s not a lot of room for trying out the new and untested for the sake of being cutting edge.
If you are interested in learning more about agtech – in general or a specific piece of tech or software – it’s worth reaching out to see if anyone else in your region or Canada more broadly has already used it and what they think.
“It’s more complex and nuanced than saying yes or no to innovation.”
It’s much more complex and nuanced than saying yes or no to agtech innovation. As Amy Lemay, research fellow with Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory, said in a recent interview with our sister publication, Top Crop Manager,
Programs like the AgRobotics Working Group, established in 2021 by OMAFRA’s Kristen Obeid and discussed on page 30, bring together industry, researchers, extension, growers and other stakeholders to evaluate current agtech in an Ontario context, and to determine what is needed in the future.
The options are out there if you’re willing to look, ask questions, and try something new – but there are risks, too. Just be sure they’re ones you can stomach. •
- #867172652RT0001 Occasionally, Fruit & Vegetable Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.
Annex Privacy Officer privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without
AAFC researchers test projectile grit as weed control option
The technique, called “abrasive or projectile weed control,” was first developed by University of Nebraska researchers for weeds affecting corn crops.
Using a sandblaster, the university research team “shot” natural materials like corn grit, corn gluten meal and walnut shells directly at weeds. They found this alternative to herbicides was an effective way of killing the weeds or severely damaging them in corn crops while reducing costs and environmental impacts. But for years, it’s been more or less a concept to be proven for other important crops.
In an effort to bring this concept to reality, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists across Canada have teamed up to form the northern chapter of “weed hunters” as part of the Alternative Pest Management Solutions project to reduce pesticide and herbicide use. At the helm is Harrow Research and Development Centre scientist Robert Nurse.
To prove the projectile weed control concept, AAFC scientists recently embarked on a two-year project. They chose four high-value crops whose common weeds have fewer herbicide options available for farmers and are becoming increasingly resistant to the available herbicides. They are targeting the five most common broadleaf – or nongrass – weeds in each crop.
Nurse is hunting weeds in dry bean fields in Harrow, Ont., while Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill is tackling potato weeds at the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre. Marie-Josée Simard, SaintJean-sur-Richelieu Research and Development Centre in Quebec, and Jichul Bae, Agassiz Research and Development Centre in British Columbia, are targeting
BY
THE NUMBERS – F&V photo contest
common vineyard and blueberry weeds, respectively.
Each scientist is equipped with a commercial sandblaster attached to an air compressor to shoot corn grit or walnut shells, in fine and coarse sizes, and a mix of both materials at a rate of 480 kilograms per hectare, amounting to a couple grams per square metre. In small plots, some fields will be treated with projectile materials only, while others will be treated with projectiles in combination with a reduced rate of herbicide to see if the same weed control can be achieved without any herbicide.
By 2024, the team hopes to find the best projectile material, including its ideal size and application rate, with weed control of more than 80 per cent without causing significant crop injury and yield loss. The researchers also want to see if air-propelled abrasives can reduce overall herbicide application in potatoes, dry beans, vineyards and blueberries.
The results of this AAFC research could provide a quick, cost-effective and simple solution for farmers trying to control weeds in their crops and reduce the environmental impact of herbicide use. •
8
sponsored by
TOMATOES, CARROTS, AND INSECTS –
oh my!
We asked, and you delivered – a bumper crop of photos showing the diversity of Canadian horticulture from sea to sea.
Our 2022 cover photo contest showed the variety inherent in Canadian horticulture.
BY ALEX BARNARD
From May 1 to Sept. 30, Fruit & Vegetable magazine partnered with BASF for the 2022 cover photo contest. During that time, we received 45 photos, with submissions received from eight of Canada’s 10 provinces. And we have to say: you’re looking good, Canada.
The winner of our photo contest is
Sarah Barger of Branchton, Ont. Barger is part of the team that runs Lady Cone Hopyard, a women-run farm near Hamilton that uses regenerative and organic practices to grow hops for the craft beer industry and a wide variety of vegetables – including 10 varieties of garlic. But in this instance, the farm’s tomatoes took centre stage.
Barger manages the farm’s Instagram page and was snapping a shot of the multicoloured heirloom tomatoes to advertise the day’s harvest for ABOVE Tomato harvest.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH BARGER.
the weekend’s markets.
“I’m always trying to grab a nice photo of anything from the farm when we have the time anyway, and the tomatoes are just gorgeous,” Barger says.
“We do focus on more of a mix of the heirloom cherries and hybrids because we get a great response to them at the markets. They do produce smaller yields, but they’re so
rich in colour and flavour.”
Barger’s favourite? Purple bumblebees, a darker, striped heirloom cherry tomato, though she’s not too picky. “Nothing beats a tomato sandwich in the summertime,” she laughs. “It’s one of my favourite things.”
A hearty thank you to everyone who submitted a photo and took part in this summer’s contest. •
ABOVE
A
Ladybug on red currant blossoms, pollinating or looking for something to eat.
FAR RIGHT
A diversity of carrots, all cleaned and ready for market.
RIGHT
RIGHT
Early sweet corn mornings with the picturesque sunrise.
bumblebee pollinating gooseberries.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BIANCHI.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JANET DAWSON. sponsored by
on the
– naturally imperfect, perfectly delicious.
LEFT
Last pear
tree
RIGHT
In a Saskatoon berry orchard on Vancouver Island.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JANET DAWSON.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SHARON VANHOUWE.
PHOTO
OF
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BIANCHI.
Nova Scotia’s Long Cane RASPBERRY PILOT PROGRAM
Nova Scotia looks to strengthen its local economy and reduce reliance on imports through supporting farms in the change from field raspberry production to long cane berries.
BY TALIA PLASKETT, PERENNIA
Currently, raspberry and blackberry acreage in Nova Scotia is estimated to be about 100 acres, with a farmgate value of approximately $1 million. Despite a good market and price potential for local producers, most raspberries sold through the four major retailers in Atlantic Canada are imported from elsewhere. Total annual consumption of raspberries in Atlantic Canada is estimated at 1.5 million kilograms (kg), with 600,000 kg of that sold in Nova Scotia. With limited growth in the industry over the last few years, innovation and re-evaluation of current production practices is necessary to re-invigorate local production and meet the growing demand for raspberries.
Recognizing the significant opportunity surrounding bramble production in Atlantic Canada, the
ABOVE
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture teamed up with Horticulture Nova Scotia and Perennia Food and Agriculture to launch a two-year pilot program to support farms in their adoption of the novel production system for long cane raspberries. An alternative to field-grown berries, long cane raspberries are grown in semi-permanent tunnels using a soilless substrate as the growing medium. Vital Berry Farms in Centreville and Webster Farms in Cambridge were the two successful applicants to the Nova Scotia Long Cane Raspberry Pilot Program.
The main goal of the project is to increase local raspberry production to alleviate Nova Scotia’s reliance on imports and strengthen the local economy. Using this setup, producers can harvest raspberries for a period
Talia Plaskett, Perennia protected crops specialist, sits amidst the long cane raspberries.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PERENNIA.
that is four to five times longer than a traditional setup, meaning a larger market share for local farms. This novel production system will also help to safeguard local producers as climate change challenges current food production practices.
There are a few key differences between a traditional raspberry setup and the novel long cane production system:
• The plant stock purchased from the nursery consists of fully grown canes, which are held dormant until it is time to plant. Once pulled from storage, these canes can produce a crop within weeks of planting. Controlling the dormancy period allows for staggered planting dates, which will effectively extend the harvest of fresh berries on farm. The 2022 growing season saw the first batch of canes planted in April. The first harvest took place on July 1, with continual harvests since then. The final harvest in 2021 took place Oct. 31 – by that projection, we have four full months of raspberry harvest compared to a traditional window of three to four weeks.
• The long cane raspberry production system facilitates a transition from soil to containerized production filled with soilless substrate. This allows for the precise and timely delivery of water and nutrients to best support the crop throughout the season. With rising fertilizer costs and uncertainty around water availability in some regions, ensuring that these inputs are realizing their full potential is extremely important.
• Long cane raspberries are grown under the protection of high tunnels. Soft fruit are extremely sensitive to precipitation. Farmers have routinely suffered significant losses due to unavoidable weather events. Creating a physical barrier between the crop and Mother Nature has significant implications on
berry quality and shelf life. Yield forecasting and projections for retailers become much more reliable, and the percentage of unmarketable fruit can be significantly reduced.
Long cane raspberry allows for the introduction of new varieties, as well. As in most of Canada, winterkill is an important selection factor for outdoor operations in Nova Scotia. Removing the requirement for survival through harsh winter conditions comes with a lot of opportunity for the producers and local consumers.
Two varieties focused on through the duration of the project have been Kwanza and Tulameen, which have yielded large, tasty, high-quality berries so far. Both varieties have been characterized as producing fruit with an average weight of 5 grams per berry (g/berry). Early harvests off these canes can produce raspberries up to 8 or 9 g/berry, making them significantly larger than traditional varieties, which typically weigh in around 3 g/berry.
“We were very happy with the fruit quality from the Tulameen raspberries. Berry size was larger, we had sweeter berries with excellent coloring, and our customers were always demanding more,” says Jordan Eyamie, farm manager at Webster Farms. “Our yield was also approximately three times that of our field raspberries.”
This new raspberry production system comes with a handful of other benefits, many of which are generally associated with making the switch to protected and containerized production. •
Producers in Nova Scotia interested in long cane raspberry production can reach out to Talia Plaskett, Perennia’s protected crop specialist, at tplaskett@perennia.ca.
Tough year for your farm this year, huh?
That's a rough break... Sounds like there’s a lot going on. Let's talk about it.
Yep, I can’t seem to catch a break with this weather, but that’s farming for you.
In agriculture, we can’t always be close together but that doesn’t mean we’re far from help. Talking about our mental health can be as easy as talking about the weather.
Rather than toughing it out, let’s talk it out, together. That’s why we’re here. The Do More Ag Foundation connects you to mental health counseling, training, and education tailored for Canadian farmers and their families. Visit domore.ag for agriculture-specific mental health tips and resources.
neutralize weed seeds, rather than herbicide use.
Many Ontario greenhouses have also begun using integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, including the release of beneficial insects, like ladybugs, within the structure as biocontrol agents to kill pests while reducing chemical usage. Unlike outdoor systems, where biocontrol agents can escape and be difficult to manage, the greenhouse provides a closed system that keeps them within the crop.
that biocontrol agents are more than just a solution to a pest problem – increasing and protecting the biodiversity of the greenhouse’s ecosystem is more important than killing a pest. Lack of diversity within an ecosystem makes it vulnerable to changes, Hansen notes. “A complex food web stays stable; that’s what we’re after in terms of our organic ecosystem.”
Each species in the greenhouse’s ecosystem is a moving part in a delicately balanced machine. Targeting a species within that food web and eliminating it could disrupt the entire ecosystem, leading potentially to crop failure. “Stop killing things,” Hansen cautions. “The moment you kill something, you create a vacuum, and the first thing into the vacuum is the bad guys.”
Erieview Acres has introduced automated agtech into their greenhouses to increase productivity. “Organic growers love their iron – and that doesn’t mean iron fertilizer, that means iron machinery,” Hansen says. One such innovation is a compost-spreading machine, which runs down the rows and spreads compost in place of more costly manual labor.
While an organic yield can be of high value, when a crop failure does occur, it’s much more costly compared to field crop failures. This is due to a greater input cost, with factors like energy and automation involved. “The rule of thumb in organics is a crop failure every five years, and we’ve certainly had less than that. Growing organics in a greenhouse can be high risk, high reward,” Hansen explains.
Looking to the future, Hansen is excited by new technologies that have begun phasing out gas in favor of electric energy, which may be overall cheaper in the future. As a member of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Grower (OGVG) Energy Committee, Hansen is helping the
search for a solution to the energy crisis from an organic perspective. Hansen believes that there needs to be a diverse system of solutions, whether it’s district heating, solar thermal, small nuclear, ground-source heat pumps, geothermal, or a combination of these energy sources and others.
Greenhouses could be the future of agricultural innovation in Ontario’s organic sector, providing a sustainable, reliable, and biodiverse production of organic produce. Despite the strict COS
standards that protect organic integrity, transitioning to organic is becoming easier with resources like OCS research and OCO’s organic consultants. Ontario’s organic greenhouse sector is still growing and could one day be a major player in Canada’s agricultural sector as a whole.
Interested in learning more about the organic sector? Join OCO at the 2023 Guelph Organic Conference, with online sessions from Jan. 23 to 27, and in-person programming at the University of Guelph on Jan. 28 and 29. •
Scotia Horticultural Congress 2023
The seeds of well-being
January 23 & 24, 2023
Old Orchard Inn • Greenwich, Nova Scotia
overwinter colony losses of “very close to 50 per cent” this year, due in large part to the mites, Kelly adds.
“Now with resistance (to treatment) coming in, and also the mites vectoring some secondary diseases to the bees, the colonies just get weakened too much and that’s then what triggers their demise,” he says.
Beekeepers need a new line of defence, which is where Plettner’s research comes in. Collaborating with co-lead Leonard Foster from the University of British Columbia on a project funded by not-forprofit organization Genome BC, Plettner recently announced the discovery of a new acaricide that targets varroa mites without appearing to harm the bees.
“We need to caveat that – without harming the bee at the doses we’re using,” she says, noting researchers are still studying the compound’s “sublethal effect” in bees.
“Because if you give a lot of the compound, the bees are also affected. But not at the doses we’re using.”
Plettner is keeping details of this new chemical compound – codenamed 3C36 – under wraps for now, as the research is ongoing and a long regulatory process still lies ahead. But she and her team are excited by the early returns.
In the project’s first stage, researchers placed sticky sheets under test colonies and analyzed what materials fell to the bottom of the hives. They found more dead mites under the hives treated with 3C36 than under the untreated control hives.
To further gauge the compound’s effectiveness as an acaricide, researchers are testing it at apiaries in Alberta and British Columbia.
“There is still quite a lot of work ahead of us to find the best dose to put in a colony and the actual mechanism of action,” Plettner says.
Should the compound continue to show promise after extensive lab and field tests, the team would then seek out licensing partners and apply for federal approval for its use.
The current research project will run until September 2023, and Plettner expects to publish initial findings later this year.
“Beekeepers are excited, but at the same time they concur with us that we have to be very careful. We have to do all the research step by step,” she says.
“Even though there is some level of
ABOVE
Even the most experienced beekeepers aren’t spared from varroa mite devastation.
desperation, we don’t want to make any mistakes.”
NEW APPROACHES
At the Honey Bee Research Centre, Kelly wishes Plettner’s team well, noting every effort is needed to safeguard bee colonies against the varroa mite, which he calls “our number-one problem.”
“It sounds like this group is at a fairly early stage, but it sounds promising and I wish them luck in doing this,” he says.
Scientists at the research centre are trying out essential oils and organic acids to kill varroa mites without harming the bees. Kelly notes essential oils made of material extracted from oregano and thyme plants have performed well so far.
Natural products are effective, he explains, because they have “multiple modes of action on the mites,” meaning instead of a synthetic chemical disrupting one specific nerve ending, for example, natural insecticides attack multiple systems at once.
“Most of the synthetic products have a single mode of action, and the mites reproduce so quickly that if there’s any mutation, some of them will survive, and then they develop resistance,” Kelly explains.
“(Natural insecticides) hit it one way, they hit it another way, so there’s less likelihood of the mites developing resistance.”
Still ahead is the painstaking process of getting new treatments approved for
commercial use by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).
“We’re working on it, but it takes a long time and you need deep pockets,” Kelly says.
BEE BOXING
Another way to boost a hive’s resistance to varroa is by selectively breeding the bees best able to physically remove the mites by themselves.
“If they can groom the mites off their bodies and kill them, then the mites are less of a problem,” Kelly says.
By breeding the bees that can best fight off the mites, future generations become better at it, too.
“But it’s difficult for beekeepers to measure that,” Kelly says. “You have to put a mite on a bee and score the fight – literally watch the reaction of an individual bee and give it a score, like you’re scoring a boxing match. That’s very labour-intensive.”
The simpler method to determine which bees are the most skilled groomers is for researchers to measure mite populations in spring and late summer and breed from the hives with the lowest varroa growth rate.
“That’s what we’re trying to encourage internationally. If everybody’s working away at that, we figure over time we’ll get there,” Kelly says.
“In the meantime, we’ve got to keep our bees alive.”
PHOTO
Be on the lookout for SPOTTED LANTERNFLY
Despite its moth-like appearance and its deceptive common name, spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is neither a moth nor a fly.
them relatively easy to spot – which is one boon, considering the damage they can cause in horticultural and tree crops.
Spotted lanternfly is a pretty pest that causes more than $50 million USD in damage per year in Pennsylvania alone. It has been found in Buffalo, NY, and is “on the move.”
BY JULIENNE ISAACS
“It’s a plant hopper,” says Hannah Fraser, horticulture entomologist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). “Plant hoppers are insects that have piercing, sucking mouthparts – they use them to pierce into a plant and suck out the sap.”
Spotted lanternflies are striking insects: in their immature nymphal stages, they’re black with white spots and later black with red and white markings; as adults, they have beautiful pink and grey forewings, wings with black spots with grey patches at the tips, and bright red, black and white underwings. The adults are large insects, at more than two centimetres in length, which makes
ABOVE
One study, conducted by economists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, estimated that if left uncontained, the pest could cause potential losses in the range of $324 million USD to Pennsylvania’s agricultural and forestry sectors. The state already reports losses of $50.1 million USD per year due to spotted lanternfly.
Since it was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, the pest has spread to New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and New York. At the time of writing, a Cornell University interactive map showed that at its northernmost range the pest had become established in New York’s Erie and Onondaga counties and had
A spotted lantern fly with open wings in Berks County, Penn.
