Farmers are tasked with creating perfect produce, tending to peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers until they have reached their peak ripeness. At BMG, our job is to make packaging your perfect produce simple. We create the technology that puts these delectable bits of palate-pleasing greatness into a sustainable paper-based packaging solution that is automated, environmentally friendly, and retail-ready.
We’re constantly engineering environmentally friendly packaging and processes that lessen our and our customer’s carbon footprint. We deliver end-to-end solutions that place products in sustainable trays and overwrap them for safety and viewability — lessening your impact on the environment and providing the lowest cost to operate.
In an ever-changing and unpredictable global marketplace, BMG continues to create category-leading sustainable solutions, providing best-in-class engineering and manufacturing enhanced by unparalleled support, all provided to a global market from our/your backyard! From farm-to-tray-to-table, BMG has you fully automated and covered.
Balancing act
Controlling a pest like spidermites can be done through the use of sprays and beneficial bios. Learn more on page 12.
Robot revolution? 10 Vineland's Brian Lynch asks: Where are the robots?
RBC study 18
RBC's Lisa Ashton discusses the potential impact of Canada's greenhouses on food production.
Levelled-up control 20
A look at how Canada is leading in the development of biological control agents for greenhouse insect pests.
CGC preview 37 A sneak peek at the 2024 speakers and schedule.
Summer trials 58 Some highlights from one of Canada’s biggest garden trials.
A Nabis americoferus, a beneficial insect, gets to work on green peach aphids. Photo courtesy Taro Saito, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Read more on Page 20.
Mixology 101 Exploring whether or not bios and sprays can be used together.
Cultivate recap
Looking back at 2024’s event and key takeaways.
BY JUDY COLLEY
BY AMY KOUNIAKIS
Weathering the storm
How growers can mitigate some of the challenges associated with climate change.
BY J LYNN FRASER
Pest management, industry traditions
Pest management is always a hot topic in this industry, so it’s no surprise that attendees at this year’s Grower Day were drawn to the Mixology 101 session led by Plant Products’ Judy Colley. In the session, Colley explored the question of mixing sprays and beneficials and it generated quite a discussion. In this issue, Colley offers more insight on the subject, starting on page 12. We get even further into pest management research as we get a closer look at how Canada is a leader in the development of biological control agents for greenhouse pests on page 20.
Pest and disease management is becoming an even more pressing issue as the effects of climate change intensify, but they’re not the only issue growers face. Starting on page 46 of this issue, we explore the impacts of climate change on greenhouses and offer tips on how growers can prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.
This month we also offer coverage of two very important industry traditions: garden trials and North Amer-
foreign to me.
It was in Columbus, Ohio, in July 2023, though, that I found my people and my footing. I toured some fascinating operations, visited Ohio State University research greenhouses, and trial gardens. I sat in on sessions that, at the time, were so far over my head that I could barely scratch the surface of their messaging and I wandered that massive tradeshow floor without any idea of what I was, and should be, looking at. It was a totally mystifying experience at the time but one where in my wanderings and travels I met some of the most gracious people who helped inform and guide me.
‘This year’s experience was so much more powerful and productive.’
ica’s largest horticultural conference, Cultivate ’24. I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic about this because a little more than a year ago, I was a complete stranger to this industry; I had no connections or any clue what went on inside of a commercial greenhouse. One of the first turning points in my journey to establishing myself in this industry was at Cultivate ’23. This was my first-ever experience at a conference, let alone one of this scale. I was absolutely panic-stricken at the thought of my first international business trip in a role that was still quite
I had a chance to return to Columbus just a short time ago for Cultivate ’24, in the company of some of those individuals who I now call friends. This year’s experience was so much more powerful and productive and provided a good benchmark for how far I’ve come in understanding the industry and its nuances. Truth be told, though, I still have a long, long way to go, but my community in this industry grows and I find myself engaged where I was previously mystified. See for yourself how this year’s Cultivate shaped up on page 30.
Check out some of the photos from the Sawaya Garden Trials on page 56 and see how another industry tradition is growing and cultivating a strong Canadian horticultural community. More on the trials, including how new varieties held up to Ontario’s recent torrential rain storms, will be featured in an upcoming issue of Greenhouse Canada
Vineland
gets $23M to grow Canadian horticulture
Up to $23.55 million in government funds have been reserved for the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (VRIC) to increase the competitiveness and profitability of horticulture in Ontario and Canada.
In a recent press release, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced the allocations of funds through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).
The funds aim to support the Centre’s work with Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO). VRIC seeks to have up-to-date equipment and
infrastructure in place to conduct industry focused research and innovation activities.
“By investing in practical solutions for the horticulture sector, we can help ensure farmers have the tools and knowledge they need to stay competitive,” Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, said in the release. “The cutting-edge research that takes place at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is keeping us at forefront of innovation here in Canada and around the world.”
(Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
CPMA NAMES MP LIANNE ROOD AS 2024 PRODUCE CHAMPION
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) has named Lianne Rood, Member of Parliament (MP) for Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, Ont., as its 2024 Produce Champion.
CPMA’s annual Produce Champion award is given to a Member of Parliament or Senator who has been supportive of the produce industry and
effective at bringing industry issues to the forefront in Ottawa.
“Since her election in 2019, MP Rood has been actively engaged in issues important to the fresh fruit and vegetable sector and a strong voice holding the government accountable to supporting issues important to our sector,” said CPMA President, Ron Lemaire, in a recent
Blue Radix has new head of sales for Canada, U.S.
Blue Radix has announced the appointment of Ranier Sandoval as the company’s new head of sales for Canada and the Northern U.S.
In a recent press release, the Netherlands-based tech firm, touted Sandoval’s vast experience in the sector and deep understanding of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as an advantage for North American growers.
“As Blue Radix continues to innovate and lead in the CEA industry, the appointment of Ranier Sandoval marks a significant milestone,” the release notes. As for Sandoval, he says he looks forward to expanding the company’s reach.
“With me based in Canada and leading sales for both Canada and Northern USA, Blue Radix is poised to expand its footprint and impact in these regions,” he said in the release. (Source: Blue Radix)
press release. “Her own family background in the fresh produce industry has given her a passion and dedication that is evident in her work on the Standing Committee for Agriculture and Agrifood and her continued efforts in support of Canadian agriculture.”
The 2024 Produce Champion will be highlighted at the next CPMA Convention and
Trade Show, which will take place in Montreal, April 8-10, 2025.
“It is a great honour to be given this recognition from the CPMA,” said Rood in the release. “I come from a multigenerational farming family, and I understand the issues that are important to the success of the Canadian produce industry.”
(Source: CPMA)
BY THE NUMBERS
Source: Bank of Canada, Monetary Policy Report: July 2024
2.5 %
The number below which inflation is expected to fall by the end of 2024.
2% projected GDP growth for Canada in 2025.
2.3 million
The amount by which Canada’s total population has grown over the past two years.
Effective Pest Management Strategies for Greenhouse Growers
Greenhouse cultivation presents unique challenges for growers, particularly regarding pest management. Maintaining a healthy and productive greenhouse requires controlling pests that threaten the structure and crops. While crop-specific pests are primarily managed by the growers or pest control professionals utilizing a specialized Greenhouse Exterminator license, structural pest management plays an equally important role in safeguarding the greenhouse environment.
STRUCTURAL PEST MANAGEMENT: A FOCUS BEYOND THE GROW AREA
Structural Pest Management (SPM) is essential for addressing pests that affect areas outside the immediate crop zones. Greenhouse operators often rely on SPM services to control rodents, flies, crawling insects, and cockroaches. If left unattended, pests can compromise the integrity of the greenhouse structure and create unsanitary conditions harmful to plant health, and safety standards and may affect profitability.
KEY RODENT CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR GREENHOUSES:
▶ Proactive Exterior Protection:
Implementing exterior bait or covered snap traps along the outer walls of the greenhouse is crucial for preventing rodent ingress. These measures form the first line of defense, keeping pests from entering the structure.
▶ Interior Mechanical Traps:
Mechanical traps in hallways, packhouses, and
mechanical areas provide an additional layer of security. Regular monitoring and maintenance of these traps ensure prompt detection and elimination of pests that breach the exterior defenses.
▶ Thorough Inspections:
Regular, comprehensive inspections will identify and address structural vulnerabilities such as holes in walls, damaged screens, or missing door sweeps. These inspections will also assess sanitation issues, including overflowing garbage containers, organic debris piles, and standing water, which can attract and harbour pests.
KEY ARTHROPODA CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR GREENHOUSES:
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can reduce Arthropodous intrusions, such as those by spiders, flies, cockroaches, and beetles, into greenhouses. This typically involves non-chemical strategies like maintaining a litter- and plant-free zone around greenhouses to eliminate harbourage spots for pests. Additionally, sealing potential Arthropodous access points, which are generally smaller than those for rodents, is important. Sometimes, spraying around greenhouses may be necessary to reduce pest pressure, but this is always considered a last
resort. Light traps and glue boards can be used inside greenhouses to reduce pest pressure.
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) FOR ORGANIC FACILITIES:
For organic greenhouse operations, pesticide use is a last resort. IPM strategies prioritize mechanical or nonchemical control methods to manage pests effectively while maintaining organic certification standards.
ADVANCED MONITORING SYSTEMS:
Utilizing advanced trap mapping systems and barcodes helps track pest activity and identify problem areas. These systems provide detailed data that can be used to address pest pressures and improve overall pest management strategies.
CUSTOMER PORTALS AND E-BINDERS:
Modern pest management programs often include customer portals that allow growers and auditors to access E-binder documentation, pest trending analyses, and pesticide usage records. This transparency ensures compliance with food safety standards and facilitates audits.
MEETING INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATIONS:
Pest management programs for greenhouses must comply with stringent industry standards and certifications. Abell Pest Control, with over 100 years of experience, customizes pest management programs that are HACCP compliant and meet or exceed the requirements of major third-party certifications, including NSF, AIB, Canada GAP, CFIA, Primus Lab, BRC, SQF, and Organic Certified programs. These tailored solutions ensure greenhouse operations maintain the highest pest control and food safety levels.
Effective pest management is a critical component of successful greenhouse operations. By combining proactive structural defenses, thorough inspections, and advanced monitoring technologies, greenhouse growers can protect their crops and facilities from pest-related threats. Partnering with experienced pest management professionals, like those at Abell Pest Control, ensures that growers can meet industry standards and maintain a productive, pest-free environment.
Greenhouse cultivation poses specific challenges for growers, especially in pest management. Keeping a greenhouse healthy and productive means dealing with pests that can harm both the structure and the crops. While growers and pest control professionals with a specialized Greenhouse Exterminator license mainly handle crop-specific pests, structural pest management is equally crucial for maintaining a safe greenhouse environment.
For 100 years, Abell Pest Control has been the foremost expert in pest management. We have built a legacy of trust and have protected growers by ensuring their production environments remain free from pests.
GUEST COLUMN
Where are all the robots?
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Despite advances in technology, we're still not seeing as many robots in greenhouses as you'd think. Here, we explore what's keeping them out.
We know growers face significant challenges with cost and availability of skilled labour. We’ve seen amazing technological advancements in computer, vision, AI and robotics coupled with ever-increasing capabilities and continuously decreasing component costs. The AgTech ecosystem is adding new members offering all kinds of new technologies at an impressive rate.
But, what we don’t yet see are robots everywhere on farms, in orchards and in greenhouses.
Mechanization has established a secure position in agriculture and industrial-style automation has a good presence in the pre-planting and post-harvesting space. So why don’t we see more robots?
There are technological challenges when it comes to replacing or augmenting human labour and a few companies have solutions that seem suitable for performing many tasks. So, where are the robots???
In 2023, Vineland interviewed 26 stakeholders in the horticultural automation industry to better understand their perspective on challenges and opportunities. And we learned that the two main reasons for growers not adopting automation are ROI and trust.
ROI drives virtually all decision-making when it comes to technology adoption (with quality, convenience, environmental impact and other minor concerns sprinkled in). ROI is a balance between cost and performance — your technology needs to do the job well at a reasonable price. We also hear that growers overwhelmingly see AgTech equipment as a capital expenditure. Ongoing monthly subscription payments are a hard sell (although
not necessarily impossible). Technology has to be user-friendly, not subject to unending updates, as well as easily serviceable.
Trust is another major factor: trust that the technology does what it’s supposed to, trust that it won’t cause catastrophic harm to the crop, trust that it’s not just another empty promise.
Don’t depend on a plethora of added-value features. Make your technology do one job really well and its ROI clearly defined accordingly. If it has added value then it should be exactly that, a bonus. Also, growers are pragmatic, they care about function and not form.
So where are the robots?
Apart from some promising pilot projects, they’re in the same place they’ve been for quite a while: just around the corner. If you’re developing new technology, then reach out to see how we can help boost your performance and validate your product. If you’re a grower or distributor looking to filter out the noise, then reach out to see how we can help foster adoption to get the technology in your hands. Vineland is ready and able to help launch more technology into the market and ensure there’s a solid impact for the industry.
Brian Lynch is the Director of Horticulture Technology Solutions at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Lynch started at Vineland in 2018 as a Senior Research Scientist, Automation and has led teams of engineers and technicians on projects tackling R&D problems in horticultural automation and robotics. He can be reached at brian.lynch@vinelandresearch.com.
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MIXOLOGY 101 A delicate balance
Growers can run a successful bio program while still spraying for pests. Here's a look at how sprays may affect some beneficials and tips for effective application strategies
BY JUDY COLLEY
With the ever-expanding list of “hitch hiker” pests coming in from other countries, the need for chemicals has become necessary to combat them. The question remains, however: Can we still run a successful bio program while spraying for these pests? This has always been a hot topic when discussing a bio plan with growers. The answer to the question is ‘yes,’ but with a few caveats.
The following is a general overview of what chemistries will work and how/when to apply them; and what chemistries will have a negative impact and for how long it will affect the beneficial insects.
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REASONS WHY WE NEED TO SPRAY WHEN USING BIOS
• Bios will not work fast enough;
• Shipping dates are too close for bios to clean up pests;
• Beneficial insects leave “mummies” or carcasses behind, obvious to end buyer;
• Some beneficials are too large, for example lacewings and ladybugs;
• Some beneficials leave large frass that grow mold;
• Zero tolerance of end buyers still today;
• Disease control interfering with bios;
• History of “nasty” chemistry and long residuals;
Spidermites pictured on a Dieffenbachia leaf.
PHOTOS: JUDY COLLEY
• Can’t keep throwing bios at the problem, this not cost effective.
A traditional bio program would use a combination of “crawlers” and “flyers.” Crawlers consist of soil dwellers and foliage dwellers, which are a lot of beneficial mites. Flyers consist of wasps, midges, and true bugs. This article will discuss the most common ones used in a bio program.
BIOS AND SPRAYS FOR APHIDS
Figure 1 (located on the next page) is a list of the most used Aphid chemistry and their compatibility with bios.
Even though the square is green, there is still a 25 per cent knock down on the bios. Knowing this, you can alter your bio program after the spray to compensate. Kontos and Altus are much safer used as drenches, in this article, I have chosen to focus on sprays since it has the most impact on bios.
Some beneficial insects feed on plant juices. Chemicals can negatively impact them.
BIOS AND SPRAYS FOR THRIPS
Figure 2 (also found on the next page) is a list of the most used thrips sprays. Success is much safer used as a drench and at the label rates, but most growers are using 1 ml/L rates. Suffoil X has a label rate of 10 – 20 ml/L but when used at 0.5 – 1 ml/L it is much safer on bios.
BIOS AND SPRAYS FOR SPIDERMITES
Figure 3 (on page 16) is a list of the most used spidermite chemistry. Knowing that Avid is harmful for eight weeks, consider your last application date when starting a new bio program in a crop with “flyer” bios. For example, the bio program for poinsettias uses mostly flyers so make sure your last application of Avid was eight weeks before you introduce these bios in the greenhouse.
juices. Chemicals can negatively impact them;
• Even though it is labelled “safe,” it is still a 25 per cent knockdown and two applications back-to-back will be 50 per cent knockdown;
• Some insecticides cause other pest populations to explode. For example, thrips sprays increase spidermites. Intercept (back in the day of normal usage) would cause thrips to increase;
• Think of beneficial insects to break resistance in pest populations.
FUNGICIDES AND HOW THEY MIX WITH BIOS
There are a lot of bio-fungicides available that are much safer to use with bios.
Figure 4 (on page 17) is a chart of some common fungicides. There are many more that you should check before you treat.
BALANCING PM AND IPM WITH SULPHUR POTS
This can be a “foggy” subject because it begs the question: What is the tolerable level before bios are affected? There are
THINGS TO REMEMBER
• Some beneficial insects feed on plant
TOP: FIGURE 1 A list of the most commonly used chemistries for controlling Aphids.
BOTTOM: FIGURE 2 Outline of the most popular sprays growers are using to control Thrips.
lots of conflicting answers on the internet. What used to be the “norm” of two pots/acre for a max of 3 hours/night for a total of 21 hours/week is evolving. Today, with taller greenhouse construction, this translates into increased air space. Therefore, you will need more sulphur
burners to effectively reach the crop and the months we burn the sulphur pots are usually when less venting happens.
HOW DO WE BALANCE PM AND IPM TO REDUCE SULPHUR POT USAGE?
• Manipulate the growing environment;
• Create purge cycles on the computer to heat and vent at the same time at the “critical” time during the evening;
• Hang sulphur pots directly over the hot spots;
• Remember spidermites usually increase under the sulphur burners.
Greenhouses Manufacturer since
Grow with the pros
Great Lakes Greenhouses
Leamington, Ontario
“We selected the Philips LED toplighting because of the product’s dimming capabilities. The lights are paired with Philips GrowWise system, which helps us control our energy usage with maximum efficiency while supporting our crop health. GrowWise is a complex system, yet anyone can use it, from our company president to a general labourer. It’s easy and it works when you need it to work. If there is a power outage, the GrowWise system has redundancy in place to ensure continuity with the lights. Philips GrowWise has made everything so much easier.”
Beneficial Mites
Insecticides (S) N. Californicus N. cucumeris A. swirskii Hypoaspis (Stratiolaelaps) P. persimilis Fungicides
Beneficial "Flyers"
Insecticides (S) Encarsia Eretmocerus A. colemani Orius Aphidoletes Chrysopa (Lacewing)
4
List of common fungicides that may be used with beneficials.
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Close-up of Orius nymphs. ABOVE Thrips on a cactus flower.
For more information on chemical compatibility with bios, download the Biobest app which can be found at www. biobestgroup.com or check out the Plant Products catalogue for a quick-reference compatibility list.
Judy is the IPM Technical Lead for Plant Products in Ancaster, with more than 30 years experience working with beneficial insects. She specializes in tropical plants, annuals and potted plants in the greenhouse as well as field and high tunnel berries. Judy also has experience as an IPM instructor at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture and at Niagara College. She can be reached at judy. colley@plantproducts.com.
FIGURE
Canadian greenhouses can transform food production
Global population growth is expected to rise to 9.7 billion in 2050, with food demand rising around 56 per cent by 2050 from 2010 levels. Meeting future demand will remain a daunting task amid rising food insecurity. In Canada, more than 20 per cent of households experience food insecurity, while food prices in stores have increased 21.6 per cent from February 2021 to February 2024 due to several factors, including poor growing conditions, supply chain issues, and high input costs. These factors present a challenge for the country’s agriculture sector to innovate and advance climate resilient, efficient systems that bring more food to plates at an affordable price in Canada and across the world.
A recent report from RBC’s Climate Action Institute, makes the case that Canada’s greenhouses are well positioned to help meet the challenge because of their high land use and input efficiency, potential to shorten supply chains for Canadians, and a strong history of growth and innovation. The following are some highlights from the report.
lead on land-use efficiency, while scaling production to meet domestic and trade demands.
A key market for export growth is the western United States. Greenhouse vegetables account for 39 per cent of Canada’s fresh produce exports, 99.5 per cent of which are U.S.-bound. Canadian greenhouse fruit and vegetable products are consumed in the east from New York to Florida. Canada could also tap into the U.S. Midwest’s 68-million-strong market, if it can build relationships, branding, and cold chain logistics.
Greenhouses must solve their energy trilemma—of demand, emissions, and bills—to expand. Energy costs for greenhouses have surged 55 per cent between 2013 and 2023, while natural gassourced power is driving the industry’s carbon footprint. Reducing natural gas demand and the green premium for alternatives including renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and clean electricity would enable greenhouses to thrive in a low-carbon economy.
“Greenhouses can emerge as a pillar of Canada’s agri-food growth.”
Canada’s greenhouse sector is a hotbed for growth. Greenhouses specializing in fruits and vegetables have increased in farm gate value for the 11th consecutive year, up 9.2 per cent to $2.5 billion in 2023–doubling in size from a decade ago. Infrastructure limitations could stunt future growth. Greenhouse production in Ontario is expected to more than double in acreage over the next 10 years, but the industry faces key barriers in accessing energy, water, waste management, and labour. Peak demand in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham area is projected to rise from 500 megawatt (MW) in 2023 to approximately 2,100 MW by 2035, driven primarily by growth in advanced and electric vehicle battery manufacturing and greenhouses.
Canada’s global greenhouse strengths lie in productivity and land-use efficiency. The country’s greenhouse production boasts the highest yields per area of land among top greenhouse nations. Canada produces 4.6 times more per area of land than Spain, is slightly more productive than the Netherlands, and 2.6 times more than Mexico. The challenge over the next decade for Canada will be to continue to
Canada’s greenhouse sector is a success story in growth and productivity, but it’s now time to consider steps that can sustain and expand the sector. A pan-Canadian greenhouse growth strategy that maps out production, trade, value, and greenhouse gas targets could enable the sector to still experience year-over-year growth by 2035 and beyond. In conjunction with mapping the possible, considering infrastructure, skills, policy, investment, and research needs are essential to address the sector’s challenges.
Greenhouses can emerge as a pillar of Canada’s agri-food growth and sustainability ambitions over the next decade and towards 2050. The sector is set to double in acreage over the next 10 years, deliver more diversity of products, and improve yields. The real challenge for Canadian greenhouses in meeting demands in growing markets and overcoming rising resource constraints will be developing infrastructure that spurs growth and decarbonization, and enables rural communities to thrive.
Read the full report here: https://www.rbc.com/ climate-action-institute/index.html
Lisa Ashton, PhD., is the Agriculture Policy Lead for the RBC Climate
Action Institute.
NEW AGENTS, new level of control
A look at how Canada is leading the globe in the development of biological control agents for greenhouse insect pests
BY TREENA HEIN
In response to the needs of greenhouse operators across Canada, the development of new biocontrol agents continues, building on strong past success. Indeed, “Canada is a world leader in biocontrol,” says Dr. Rose Buitenhuis, director of the Biological Crop Protection program at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) in Ontario. “We still have a lot to learn but we can showcase to the world what we do.”
Because of this success, Buitenhuis notes that the adoption of biocontrol agents is very close to 100 per cent in the Canadian
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greenhouse sector across both vegetables/fruit and ornamentals.
“Not everyone has an easy time of it and it must often be integrated with other control methods,” she explains, “but in general it’s going very well. The agents don’t always do what you like them to do, unless you keep them healthy and happy. One way to do this is through improved release methods.”
One example is a new release sachet for Phytoeiulus persimilis mites, which eat spider mites. Previously, this predator had to be released every week. Buitenhuis says BioBee has developed a sachet with a diet that sustains P. persimilis so that these
Canadian researchers are currently exploring how Dicyphis Discrepens (female, pictured above) may be used for biocontrol.
SOURCE: CARLY DEMERS, AAFC
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LEFT: Dicyphus hesperus is one of several biocontrol agents being bred by Francois Dumont and other scientists at Centre de recherche agroalimentaire de Mirabel (CRAM).
RIGHT: The Nabis americoferus is one of the potential beneficials being studied by Canadian reasearchers.
mites can complete their life cycle and new generations are produced, entering the greenhouse over the course of several weeks.
But Buitenhuis stresses that “always, there are new pests that emerge.
"Plant materials are shipped all over the world, and there are strict regulations to try and prevent the transport of pests with these materials,
but it’s very difficult to detect small bugs or eggs," she said.
An example of a pest that has emerged recently is a new thrips species, Thrips parvispinus, which has been found in tropical ornamentals in Canada. It has also negatively affected greenhouse pepper production in Europe and is therefore also a potential problem in Canadian vegetable greenhouse crops.
“We have formed a Canadian research team to be prepared,” says Buitenhuis.
“This team includes Dr. Rose Labbé at Agriculture & Agri-food Canada (AAFC), and at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Dr. Sarah Jandricic and Cara McCreary. We don’t want to go back to spraying, as that may wipe out existing biocontrol programs. So, we are investigating the behaviour of these
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thrips, which locations on the plant they attack and how they are different from Western Flower Thrips, and we’ll see if the available biocontrol agents work well to control this species.”
NEW AGENTS
In January 2024, Jandricic, Heidi Wollaeger at Michigan State University Extension and Raymond Cloyd at Kansas State University, published a free 16-page catalogue of Commercially-Available Biological Control Agents for Greenhouse Insect and Mite Pests.
'We still have a lot to learn but we can showcase to the world what we do.'
One of these is Anystis baccarum or ‘crazee mite’, a native-to-Canada predator of many insects that was identified and developed by Taro Saito in Buitenhuis’ laboratory, and subsequently commercialized by a partner of Vineland’s, Applied Bio-nomics of B.C.. (Note that while the main approach to biocontrol in the past has focused on importing a pest’s natural enemies from their source location, recently the importation of exotic generalist predators and parasitoids has been restricted due to their nontarget effects.) The Anystis mite is a generalist predator that will eat whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs, thrips and more. Buitenhuis explains that because it’s such an extreme generalist, it is recommended to strengthen biocontrol programs when combined with other, more specialist predators.
HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY
Buitenhuis adds that “ultimately, all this data can be used to develop models to predict what will occur in Greefa grading machines are a perfect balance between
To speed up testing of new potential native biocontrol agents, Buitenhuis and her colleagues are working to integrate cutting-edge techniques where possible. These include automated computer vision counting systems that can be used, for example, for counting how many pests are present on a plant in an experiment.
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Another close-up of the Dicyphus hesperus, an emerging beneficial that scientists say could become useful in controlling tomato pinworms (Phthorimaea absoluta).
different scenarios. We are also looking into molecular techniques to detect the presence of an organism based on the traces of DNA left behind. This can be used, for example, to see what an insect has eaten in terms of plant or prey material.”
BREEDING BETTER AGENTS
Some biocontrol agents eat both plant material and pests. If specific agents that eat a target pest can be bred to prefer the pest over plants, that would be an excellent outcome. So, in addition to Canadian biocontrol scientists leading the
world in identifying existing predators, some are also breeding agents to be more effective.
Dr. Francois Dumont is one of these scientists, based at Centre de recherche agroalimentaire de Mirabel (CRAM) in Québec, an institute that offers research and technology transfer services in horticulture and agri-food to help the private sector succeed.
“My research on Dicyphus Hesperus (a type of insect known as a mirid) was completed two years ago and we recently published our first article,” Dumont notes. “A second article will follow later this year. We are currently conducting similar research in collaboration with Dr. Labbé.”
The species studied are D. famelicus, D. discrepans, Nabis americoferus and Macrolophus teunicornis. These insects may be used some day to control a globallyinvasive potential greenhouse pest in Canada, Phthorimaea absoluta. This moth species, known as tomato leaf miner, tomato pinworm and South American tomato moth, is well known as a serious
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of reliability.
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D. famelicus is one of the native biocontrol agents whose potential is being investigated by Canadian researchers.
Labbé, a research scientist in greenhouse entomology at the AAFC Science and Technology Branch in Harrow, Ont., explains that they continue to work with these native biocontrol agents through an Agri-Science Cluster project with the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, and in collaboration with Biobest, a biocontrol company based in Belgium with operations in
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Close-up of one of the newest pests affecting tropical ornamental crops, Thrips parvispinus
Canada that offers products under many brands.
“As Francois has indicated, we [including PhD study Carly Demers] are taking on a breeding approach to genetically select and optimize the predatory performance of these agents on greenhouse crops,” she says.
“We also hope to study their fundamental biology including
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SOURCE: CARLY DEMERS, AAFC
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their dispersion behaviour, bionomics, predatory capacity on different crop pests, and interaction with other biocontrol agents.”
So far, they have observed that N. americoferus reproduces well and rapidly on tomato as a host plant. Adult females significantly outlive males, but D. discrepans and D. famelicus live considerably longer and lay more eggs during their lifetimes. Predation of moth species was observed to be greater overall for N. americoferus compared to the
mirids, but it is quite possible that mirids could perform better when offered other types of prey such as whiteflies or aphids, and/or companion host plants (mullein or rosaceous).
Current lab and greenhouse studies focus on defining mirid rates of consumption for many other prey types (whiteflies, thrips, spider mites, aphids) in comparison to D. Hesperus. The team also wants to define the role of companion plants for mirid predator establishment and find out if predators are nocturnal
in terms of activity and is this affects where they are during the day/night. They also want to determine how predator behaviour or volatility affect dispersal after release and biocontrol ability (D. disrepans, for example, is a subdued insect while D. famelicus and D. Hesperus are ‘very flighty’).
'This data can be used to develop models to predict what will occur in different scenarios.'
HOW BREEDING WORKS
To selection process, Dumont explains, is not complex. “In general, we test the individuals of each generation and retain those who meet certain behavioral criteria,” he says. “Another possibility is to create ‘isofemale’ lines, based on a single female, and select lines offering the desired characteristics.”
The number of selection generations depends on the intensity of selection (the number of individuals selected from the entire population of each line). The time required to complete selection also depends on each species. “Some develop rapidly, while others take several months to complete their life cycle,” says Dumont. Regarding factors that might speed up selection and testing progress, Dumont reports that there aren’t any. “It takes time,” he says.
The main challenges with breeding better biocontrol agents, he explains, are that “we need to achieve a balance in the intensity of selection. Over-intensive selection increases the chances of gene drift (each generation being based on too few individuals), while less-intensive selection requires more time and resources to carry out.”
Sustainable heat in horticulture
Häussermann prennials + woody plants
/ Möglingen Germany
Häussermann Stauden + Gehölze produces around 4 million perennials, herbs and grasses every year on 14 hectares of land, including 3 hectares of greenhouses. The extensive range of woody plants is grown on a further 35 hectares. New varieties and species are constantly being tested in order to adapt the range to current trends and climatic conditions. These are propagated in heated greenhouses, grown and potted for rooting and then planted outdoors.
Modernization of the heat supply
The biggest step towards sustainability was the modernization of the energy center. Two anthracite coal boilers were replaced with an 2.900 MBtu / 850 kW Schmid wood-fired boiler. The existing heating oil boiler could be reused as a back-up. Only a few minor adjustments were necessary to the existing structure of the heating center.
When selecting the boiler and the conveyor technology, the use of a wide range of fuels was important. The Schmid feed grate firing system enables the utilization of waste from hedge and maintenance cuttings from production, forest maintenance wood and the flexible purchase of available fuels with different moisture contents.
Fluctuations in the daily heat requirement are balanced out by a buffer heat storage tank of 105.000 gal / 400,000 liters. An exhaust gas condensation system increases efficiency and reduces fuel consumption by recovering heat from the exhaust gas.
With the PersonalTouch visio control unit, the operator can also control and optimize the boiler remotely. In the optional remote maintenance package from Schmid, the system‘s operating data can also be evaluated, trends generated and regularly made available to the customer.
You need more information? Pleace contact us.
Schmid North America inc.
Phone +1 (519) 546 9592 info@schmid-energy.com
schmid-energy.com
„With the new wood firing system, we have ended the fossil age and closed another cycle, the sensible use of waste wood and wood from landscape conservation. We have replaced 300 tons of hard coal, which is in line with our sustainability strategy and has a positive impact on our energy costs. Thanks to the efficient Schmid boiler, the downstream electrostatic precipitator and the flue gas condensation system, we have almost zero dust emissions and maximum energy yield. More is not possible“! Christian Häussermann, Member of the Management Board
BRIEF INFO
Product type Moving grate firing UTSR-1200 visio
Fuel Forest chips and landscape conservation wood
Power
4.004 MBtu / 1.200 kW
Use Heating greenhouses, store and office
Exhaust gas dedusting Multicyclone / electrostatic precipitator from Meister
In operations since October, 2023
As an innovative technology leader, we offer exciting energy solutions for an environmentally friendly and sustainable future.
The Schmid Group is a Swiss family business that has specialized in wood energy since 1936 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers. Schmid combustion systems enable environmentally friendly heating and are in use around the globe.
We offer a wide range of products up to large-scale industrial plants with an output of 614 - 27,296 MBtu | 180 - 8000 KW. Our customers are in the field of agricultural, Sawmills, forestry sectors, the wood industry, real estate companies, energy service providers, commercial-, industrial Manufacturing companies and cities or municipalities.
Growing Greener Greenhouses
Harnessing new technology to tackle food production industry challenges
By Stanley Wachon, National Business Development, Food & Beverage, ABB Canada
As greenhouse growers face evolving demands and challenging weather conditions, the ability to adapt and maintain operations efficiently can make or break their greenhouse operations. As they strive to ensure food safety, save costs and create a more sustainable growth environment, growers aim to ensure optimal production conditions. And that comes with new challenges, including carefully monitoring conditions and coping with labour shortages.
Monitoring effectiveness
Optimizing greenhouse processes and achieving operational excellence requires informed decision-making. Better data understanding and intelligence-driven technology empower growers to make strategic decisions based on accurate and real-time information.
“The key is data”, explains Stan Wachon, National Business Development, Food & Beverage for ABB Canada’s Electrification Division. “Solutions that provide actionable insights through advanced data analytics help growers optimize their operations and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).”
Solutions to improve OEE provide real-time monitoring and analytics. By identifying inefficiencies and implementing cor-
rective actions, growers can enhance their equipment performance and achieve higher productivity. As a result, productivity goes up, and costs go down. Outdated equipment and technology hinder visibility into facility operations and asset management. Limited insight makes it difficult to make informed decisions and respond to issues swiftly and efficiently.
Mitigating unplanned disruptions
By leveraging advanced data analytics, growers can gain real-time visibility into their operations, enabling savvier decision-making and more efficient asset management. But what of unplanned production interruptions? Severe weather conditions that lead to power outages can wreak havoc on greenhouse growth.
If remote, 24/7 monitoring allows growers to keep tight control of their operations, it also supports preventative maintenance. With careful monitoring, growers can foresee and evaluate the status of their equipment –making unplanned disruptions much easier to manage and mitigate.
Unplanned disruptions caused by aging equipment or power failures present a significant challenge for growers as they can incur costly downtime and impact productivity and profitability. Predictive and preventative maintenance approaches can mitigate these risks by identifying potential issues before they cause significant problems. Such measures allow growers to be proactive rather than reactive in their process, making their production much more manageable and efficient.
ABB empowers greenhouse growers to lead their transformation with green, innovative and sustainable solutions. See how technology can enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact in the greenhouse industry – and how greenhouse growers can create a more sustainable and resilient future today.
Automation to tackle labour shortages
If technology optimization can help monitor effectiveness and mitigate risks such as unplanned interruption of greenhouse production, can it also help with labour shortage?
Multiple industries in Canada must cope with a thinning labour force — and the greenhouse industry is not spared. As the food demand grows, growers are turning to automation to maintain the production pace at optimal levels.
When it comes to automation, the questions are when and how. Robot pickers, for example, can address labour gaps while enhancing operational efficiency and product quality. Flexible automation solutions can be tailored to various greenhouse needs
and help growers not only close the labour gap but also save costs in the process.
Flexibility is key
In automation and processes alike, flexibility is key — particularly in the greenhouse industry. First, every product comes with its growing particularities and energy requirements. Also, as market demands shift and consumer preferences evolve, growers must be able to adapt quickly. Flexible equipment and technology allow seamless transitions between production lines and product types. ABB’s solutions for the food and beverage industry illustrate how growers can streamline their processes and enhance flexibility to stay competitive.
3 Key Takeaways for Greener Greenhouses
1. Control Your Facility: Don’t let your facility control you. By leveraging advanced technology and proactive maintenance strategies, growers can take control of their operations and minimize unplanned disruptions.
2. Make Informed Decisions: Informed decision-making is essential for optimizing greenhouse processes and achieving operational excellence. Better data understanding and intelligence-driven technology empower growers to make strategic decisions.
3. Aim for Technology Flexibility: Select and rely on technology that is adaptable to changing consumer and market needs. By embracing flexible equipment and automation solutions, growers can stay competitive and meet evolving demands.
Greenhouse growers who focus on these takeaways can navigate the challenges of today’s dynamic environment and build a resilient, efficient, and sustainable future.
CULTIVATE 2024 brings community together
For four sweltering days in mid-July, the horticulture industry converged on the beautiful city of Columbus, OH, for Cultivate ’24, one of North America’s biggest green industry events.
A look back at some of the highlights and insights from 2024’s conference in Columbus, Ohio
BY AMY KOUNIAKIS
This year’s event, organized by American Hort, featured hundreds of education and information sessions across many subject areas, as well as a massive tradeshow floor with thousands of exhibitors sharing the latest and greatest in products, services and innovations.
Greenhouse Canada was on hand to explore what this year’s event had to offer and the following is a
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brief synopsis of some of the cool things we experienced and some of the products and innovations that we might be seeing more of in the months and years to come.
STELLAR SESSIONS
The care with which American Hort develops the Cultivate speaker line-up is readily apparent from the moment you pick up your phonebook-sized show guide.
This year, there were more than 160 total sessions for attendees to explore and while that may seem like an overwhelming number from which to choose from, the sessions
The American Hort sign greets Cutlivate attendees at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
PHOTOS: AMY KOUNIAKIS:
LEFT Katie Dubow, president of the U.S.-based Garden Media Group, presents the 2025 Garden Trends report at Cultivate ’24. RIGHT Rose Séguin, an agronomist with Montreal’s Sollum Technologies, presented on cutting energy consumption in greenhouses using dynamic lighting protocols at Cultivate ’24. Séguin is also one of Greenhouse Canada’s 2024 Top 4 Under 40 honourees.
have been organized and coded according to education tracks (ie: greenhouse, garden retail, nursery, etc) and skill/knowledge level of the attendee.
One of the most well-attended sessions this year (and last year as well) was the 2025 Garden Trends report which was delivered by president of the Garden Media Group, Katie Dubow. Dubow, who is thoroughly engaging and delightful, unveiled some of the big gardening trends we will be seeing in the months
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TUNNELS SUBSTRATE GROWING SYSTEMS REPLACEMENT POLYTHENE
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to come. The official 2025 Garden Trends Report comes out later this month, so we’ll try and keep some of its secrets here, but it’s worth noting that teal is the 2025 colour of the year (Dubow traditionally wears clothing to reflect the colour of the year when presenting on this topic). Another highlight from this session is the prediction that reclaiming urban spaces and renewal of underused spaces will continue to drive all levels of consumers to gardening.
Pete Stefanos Sales Manager 805-441-7673 pete.stefanos@haygrove.co.uk
'The care with which American Hort develops the Cultivate speaker line-up is readily apparent.'
On the heels of this session, was a talk highlighting the work of some of Canada’s leading pest management researchers.
Dr. Lance Osborne, a professor of entomology at the University of Florida, lead a session outlining the latest developments on battling invasive pests including Thrips and mealybugs. Much of the session focussed on Thrips, particularly Thrips Parvispinus and the challenges associated with this pest that is still quite new and devastating to a number of crops, most notably tropicals, but researchers warn the list of vulnerable plants continues to grow.
Osborne highlighted the extensive work of Canada’s Dr. Sarah Jandricic, OMAFRA’s greenhouse floriculture IPM specialist, as well as Vineland Research
TOP Aldershot Greenhouses out of Burlington, Ont. was exhibiting some of their pristine plant material at Cultivate ’24.
BOTTOM One of the decorative installations located along the Cultivate ‘24 concourse in the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
PHOTOS: AMY KOUNIAKIS
and Innovation Centre’s Rose Buitenhuis.
Among one of the key takeaways from this session was the emphasis on scouting and early detection. Osborne and his colleagues stress how important this is to mitigating challenges with this pest. A good hand lens is an incredibly useful tool to
LEFT
An impressive installation of orchids at Cultivate ’24 donated by Green Circle Growers, one of North America’s largest orchid producers, based out of Oberlin, Ohio.
use for early and routine scouting. Researchers also encourage regular plant taps during these scouts and to have any detected species tested.
Growers at Cultivate were also drawn to a session presented by one of Greenhouse Canada’s 2024 Top 4 Under 40 honourees. Rose Séguin, an agronomist with Montreal’s Sollum technologies, shared her insights on cutting energy consumption in greenhouses using dynamic lighting protocols. In this talk, Séguin shared data from Red Sun Farms in Leamington that shows some of the savings that operation has been able to achieve using real-time, predictive dimming strategies. Growers were very keen in this session, asking Séguin a number of questions that led to further lively discussions on lighting strategies and crop management.
BUSTLING TRADE SHOW
It is with awe that one steps onto the Cultivate Trade Show floor. If it weren’t for the handy-dandy show guide or floor maps strategically placed throughout the Greater Columbus Convention Center, one could very easily get lost in the sea of exhibitors and attendees.
The New Varieties section, as per usual, was a big draw for people. On display were some of breeders’ best selections for the upcoming year, many of which we saw at the California spring trials.
Some big product introductions were featured on the floor
this year. At Philips, the team was abuzz with the launch of their GreenPower LED toplighting force 2.0 which is a dynamic system that offers a very high and efficient output that can be integrated with existing climate control systems. We’ll be seeing a lot more about this system in the coming months as Philips is currently conducting trials in operations across Canada.
Proven Winners, in addition to their floriferous line-up of new varieties, unveiled some of their new packaging solutions. First up are their 4.5-inch square containers with a 1.65-pint capacity. The development of this packaging is a direct response to grower feedback calling for more compact and sturdy containers. The company has also introduced a line of zero-plastic containers that are plantable and compostable alongside their already established line of tags and containers made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.
Burlington, Ont.’s own Aldershot Greenhouses were exhibiting some of their hydrangea and mini rose varieties. Their booth, located at one of the trade show’s main entrances, attracted a lot of
attention with their colourful and pristine display. Their superior plant material also adorned the Flowers Canada booth, serving as a gorgeous example of what Canadian greenhouse ornamental growers are capable of.
'The innovation and ingenuity of the Firefly Petunia was the perfect exclamation point at the end of Cultivate ’24.'
HOPEFULLY COMING SOON
One of the last stops on our Cultivate adventure, and one of the most fascinating from this year’s event, was the Light Bio exhibit. Here is where we were able to get up close and personal with the new Firefly Petunia; a petunia that glows in the dark. The Light Bio exhibit was located off the tradeshow floor in a completely dark room, lit only along the floor to direct
Heat Stress A Problem?
visitors. At first, there isn’t much to see as your eyes need a few minutes to adjust, but when they do, a blanket of glowing petunias appears. It is absolutely mind blowing to watch them appear out of what seems like nowhere. (Eds note: despite my best efforts, I was unable to capture quality images of the Firefly Petunias). The breeder achieved this by combining the genes of a regular petunia with those of a bioluminescent mushroom. The Firefly Petunia earned USDA approval in the Fall of 2023 and Light Bio team assured us that they were working their way into Canada. According to Keith Wood, CEO and founder of Light Bio, this is just the beginning of this illuminating approach to breeding and we’ll be seeing much more from them in the years to come.
That glowing highlight is how we wrapped up our experience in Columbus this year. The innovation and ingenuity of the Firefly Petunia was the perfect exclamation point at the end of Cultivate ’24, an event that celebrates, facilitates, and supports those very attributes of the horticultural industry.
Cultivate ’25 is scheduled for July 12 to 15 in Columbus, Ohio.
OCTOBER 9 & 10
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
2024 CANADIAN GREENHOUSE CONFERENCE
By Julia vanStaalduinen Marketing & Event Coordinator, Canadian Greenhouse Conference
The Canadian Greenhouse Conference is back for 2024 with a sold-out trade show floor! This year’s theme is “smart growing,” focusing on data-driven practices transforming greenhouse operations across the country. Join us for engaging speaker sessions featuring more than 50 experts from Canada and around the world, sharing cutting-edge insights on topics from greenhouse tech to root zone management.
Explore a vibrant trade show showcasing new products and services, along with established exhibitors eager to support your success. Discover the latest advancements in technology and equipment designed to enhance your growing practices. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with industry leaders and fellow growers!
With more than 15 sessions, it is not possible to cover them all in detail here, so visit the Canadian Greenhouse Conference website for individual presentation summaries and start planning your itinerary.
Join us for the CGC bus tour, where you’ll have the chance to explore Ontario’s premier growing facilities in the Leamington/Kingsville area! Discover a variety of vegetable and flower operations and enjoy a delicious lunch at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens. This is a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Don’t miss out!
Everyone loves the chance to socialize, and there’s no better way to do so than at the conference’s two social events: Happy Hour and The Gathering. Enjoy delicious food and great music during Happy Hour, courtesy of our sponsors, Philips, Syngenta Flowers; it is the
perfect way to unwind after the first day of the show. Later, join us for The Gathering, where you’ll dine at Table Rock House Restaurant, just steps away from the breathtaking Niagara Falls. Take advantage of these fantastic networking opportunities!
The Poster Session is returning for 2024. This session is an effective venue for researchers, industry, and extension specialists to present new information pertinent to Canada’s greenhouse horticultural industry. The Student Poster Competition portion features student research conducted in the field of greenhouse horticulture. More than a dozen projects will be posted to the CGC website, with a number of selected presentations represented at the conference.
Be sure to book your hotel room at the CGC’s headquarter hotel, the Marriot on the Falls. The rate includes a buffet breakfast, and you may be lucky enough to find yourself sharing a table with one of the many speakers who have come from around the world. Find complete information and the booking link on our website.
Finally, a special shout-out to our CGC sponsors. We invite you to explore our impressive lineup of industry partners who have gone above and beyond to support not only this event but also Canadian growers. Thank you for making the Canadian Greenhouse Conference an essential part of your business activities!
Online registration is open. Take advantage of discount pricing before September 30. Complete conference information is available at www. CanadianGreenhouseConference.com
See you at the show!
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM 4:00PM -
Expandyournetwork
and connect with both local and international growers. Discover new opportunities and forge meaningful connections that help enrich your agricultural journey, gain new perspectives, and contribute to the global agricultural community.
Registration!
PRE-REGISTRATION ONLINE by September 30th and SAVE!
$130 – Wed. & Thurs. Full Registration: two-day access to speaker program and trade show
$90 – Single Day (Wed. OR Thurs.): Speaker program and trade show
$50 – Single Day (Wed. OR Thurs.): TRADE SHOW ONLY
$135 – The Gathering (Wed.): Off-site social event – PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY
$35 - Students (with ID): Speaker program and trade show
$375 – Bus Tour (Niagara Overnight Bus): Monday –Tuesday – PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY
$255 – Bus Tour (Leamington Local): Tuesday PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY
REGISTRATION AT THE DOOR
$160 – Wed. & Thurs. Full Registration: two-day access to speaker program and trade show
$130 – Single Day (Wed. OR Thurs.): Speaker program and trade show
$65 – Single Day (Wed.): TRADE SHOW ONLY
$50 – Single Day (Thurs.): TRADE SHOW ONLY
$35 – Students (with ID): Speaker program and trade show
What’s New?
Talk to the people you know on the sold-out trade show floor! 200+ exhibitors will be waiting to see you.
Happy Hour
Everyone loves a good happy hour! Enjoy music, food and friends from 4-6 pm right on the trade show floor. Wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase.
Thank you to event sponsors:
The Gathering
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9TH 6:30PM
Table Rock House Restaurant
Enjoy dinner with clients, friends, and colleagues on the brink of the Horseshoe Falls.
$135 per person (Advanced purchase only)
Wed. 9:30 AM
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM
Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
Lighting Vegetables for Better Production and IPM Tip Top Tropicals
On-Farm Pepper LED Lighting Trials
Xiuming Hao
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Advancing Leading Edge Horticultural Lighting Technology
Jared Wolfe SmartGRO Bioengineering Inc.
BUGS, BULBS & BIO-CONTROL How Artificial Lighting Impacts Beneficials?
Morgane-Louise Canovas Laval University
Managing Nighttime Greenhouse Light Emissions
Fadi Al-Daoud Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness
Sponsored by:
Tropical troubles! Pests you should know
Jeff Neese Costa Farms
Tropical Trends & Market Insights
Justin Hancock Costa Farms
Research on Thrips Parvispinus, What do we Know About Managing this Invasive Pest?
Rose Buitenhuis
Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Tracking ToBRFV Lineages Using a Novel Genomic Sequencing Method
Delaney Nash University of Waterloo
Superspreader “human” - How to Get ToBRFV Under Control
Jens Ehlers Menno Chemie
It’s on Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Lessons from Managing ToBRFV in the UK
Adrian Fox Fera Science
Managing the Emerging ToBRFV Using Ozone Treatment & Disease Resistance
Kai-Shu Ling USDA
Hype or Hope? What’s Driving the Sustainability Push?
Stephanie Vickers Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness
Where Next in Energy Saving for HighTech Greenhouse Horticulture?
Andrew Lee Grodan
Transforming CO2 for Canadian CEA
Camille Hanna SkyTree
Sponsored by:
CONFERENCE ACCOMMODATION
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM 4:00PM -
Schedule|Wednesday,Oct9th–AfternoonSessions
Floriculture Production What’s under your plant?
Global Perspective on Peat Use and Growing Media Alternatives
Wed. 2:00 PM
Abbie Wiesner Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness
Alternative Growing Media for Floriculture
Production
Jason Henry Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Plastics: Upcoming Regulations & Sustainable Solutions on the Horizon
Thomas Marting HC Companies
Sponsored by:
Hosted by:
Ashley Summerfield (VRIC)
Rose Buitenhuis (VRIC)
Rose Labbé (AAFC)
This two-hour, hands-on workshop will teach growers and IPM practitioners how to correctly identify thrips species that attack greenhouse crops, including exotic species. All levels of insect experience are welcome, including those who have never used a microscope before.
Limited spots are still available! Email sarah.jandricic@ ontario.ca to join.
Sponsored by:
How to work with Alternative Growing Media
Rhoda DeJonge Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Growing Canadian Greenhouse Crops in Charged Carbon
Melissa Moher Pure Carbon Life
Observations on the use of Zeolite for Basil & NFT Lettuce Production
Ashley Paling Niagara College
Sponsored by:
Landfill Diversion of Greenhouse Crop Residues: Current Options, Opportunities and Challenges
Alexandra Grygorczyk Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Tuesday, October 8th the CGC bus tour is offering a unique opportunity to tour some of Leamington/Kingsville’s leading greenhouse operations. Valuable insight combined with good fun. Visit our website for more information.
$375 +hst pp (includes hotel stay) $255 +hst pp (local option) Advanced purchase only
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM
Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
Schedule | Thursday,Oct10th–MorningSessions
Thurs.
9:30 AM
Following the Yellow Brick Road: Fusarium in Greenhouse
Peppers
Geneviève Marchand Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Towards “Microbe-Based Immunization” of Plants – Hunting for Beneficial Soil Bacteria from Canada to Enhance Crop Performance
Keiko Yoshioka University of Toronto
‘Can we all Just Get Along?’ said the Microbe to the Molecule
Michael Brownbridge BioWorks
Microbiome Water Wars
Els Vanbeckevoort SanEcoTec
Steven Liss Toronto Metropolitan University
Sponsored by:
Growing the Greenhouse
Technology Network
Rita Sterne Greenhouse Technology Network
Extracting Value from Used Horticultural Substrates
Jason Henry Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Yanni Monahan Grodan
Re-purposing Waste: Innovations in Greenhouse Media
Christine George & Scott Golem Niagara College
Design & Development of AI-Driven Robotic Pollination in Greenhouses
Shahpour Alirezaee University of Windsor
Closing the Loop: Biowaste Management & Resource Recovery for Urban Vertical Farms
Ajwal Dsouza University of Guelph
The potential of entomopathogens as biocontrol agents for mealybugs pests in greenhouses & vineyards
Malkie Spodek Brock University
Light & Nutrient Solution Management for Indoor Strawberries
Yujin Park Arizona State University
From Hydroponics to Holistic Food Systems: Pioneering Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Ontario
Marc Rodrigue Borealis Fresh Farms
Ontarians Perceptions and Expectations of Vertical Farming — an Ontario Food Panel Survey
Andreas Boeker University of Guelph
It’s a Win-Win: Harnessing the Power of the Hydroxyl-Radical process for taking Care of Hazards in Indoor Farming Operations While Extending the Shelf-Life of Fruit & Vegetables
Keith Warriner University of Guelph
A New Predator for Canadians, Nabis Americoferus
Taro Saito
Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Autonomous Controlled Environment System for YearRound Berry Production
Youbin Zheng University of Guelph
Robotics Harvesting in the Greenhouse: Current Progress & Future Plans
Medhat Moussa University of Guelph
Measurement & Simulation of Air Movement Induced
Autonomous Growing vs Being in Control
Pieter Kwakernaak Hoogendoorn
Novel Crops Coming to Lit Greenhouse
Production: What we know & What we’re Learning
Rose Séguin
Sollum Tech
Beyond the Buzz: The Future of AI Adoption
Avery Swartz
Camp Tech
Sponsored by:
by Circulation Fans in Large Horticultural Greenhouses
Peter Sharpe
University of Guelph
Accessing Technologies and Operating Protocols for Reducing Fossil Fuel
Use in Ontario Greenhouses: Method & State-of-the-Art
David Lubitz
University of Guelph
Carbon Capture and Utilization System for Sustainable Greenhouse Farming: Improved Production while Mitigating GHG Emissions
Wael Ahmed
University of Guelph
Sponsored by:
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM
Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM 4:00PM -
Schedule | Thursday,Oct10th–AfternoonSessions
Insect Insights: Better Bios & Peskier Pests
Thurs.
1:30 PM
The Orius Insidiosus Dilemma. Can this Predator Still be Introduced Under Winter Conditions?
Veronica Cervantes Plant Products
How to Deal with an Increasing Number of Thrips Species: Onion Thrips
Rose Buitenhuis Vineland Research & Innovation Centre
Breeding Better Bugs: Using Isolines to increase Predation in Generalist Hemipteran Biological Control Agents
Carly Demers Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Aphid Management Ishtiaq Rao Crop Defenders
Fine-Tuning Hot Crops for Canada
Jamie Gibson
Syngenta
Perfecting Plug Culture of Petunia & Begonia
Sonali Padhye
Panam Seed
Sponsored by:
Hydroponic Strawberry Production: Lighting and General Greenhouse Management
Karla Garcia Hort Americas
Long Cane Berry Production
David Klyn-Hasselink Fenwick Berry Farm
IPM & Syrphids in Strawberries
Rose Labbé Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Nursery Panel
Stephanie Driedger
Ontario Plants Propagation
Jeremy Hayes
One Floral
Dusty Zamecnik EZ Grow Farms
Sponsored by:
Titles & speakers subject to change. Visit CanadianGreenhouseConference.com for up-to-date information.
Poster Session
Highlighting current research on greenhouse floriculture, fruit, vegetables, and alternative crops in Canada. This year’s poster session will include regular posters and student competition posters. More details online.
Drone-antics: Flying Hight and Low in the Greenhouse
Jessica Marcinov Roelands Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Automation Decisions
Ed Boekestyn Boekestyn Greenhouses
Technology in the Greenhouse
Rodney Bierhuizen Sunrise Greenhouses
CSA Technical Specification on Biosecurity for Robotics in Greenhouses
Uliana Flynn CSA Group
Sponsored by:
New Variety Showcase Display
It’s the best of both worlds; view the outstanding on-site display and then photos and videos on our website.
SPONSORED BY:
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM
Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
HERE’S A SNEAK PEEK AT SOME OF THIS YEAR’S SPEAKERS
ED BOEKESTYN
Boekestyn Greenhouses
For the past 39 years, Ed has been heavily involved in the growing and production at Boekestyn Greenhouses. As an Owner, he continually looks for new ways to improve and advance within the industry. His experience and knowledge helped design and create the company’s new automated greenhouses in 2022. This new infrastructure provides the technology to incorporate a high level of growing, with effective automation that feeds their potted flower market.
ADRIAN FOX
Fera Science Ltd.
Dr. Adrian Fox leads the Plant Virology team at Fera Science Ltd., the National Reference Laboratory for Plant Health in England and Wales. He has over 25 years’ experience in regulatory plant virus diagnostics. Initially working at SASA, Edinburgh, U.K., on potato viruses and their vectors, Adrian then moved to Fera, York, U.K., to take on the role of lead virologist. In addition to routine diagnostics, his research focuses on applying novel diagnostic techniques, and investigating the epidemiology and management of novel and emerging plant viruses infecting crops and the wider environment. He has worked extensively on the U.K. response to tomato brown rugose fruit virus.
Adrian has authored more than 100 publications including research papers, reviews, book chapters, and disease records, gaining his PhD by published works in 2019. He is a member of the International Committee on Plant Virus Epidemiology and the EPPO panel on diagnostics in virology.
ROSELYNE LABBÉ
Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Dr. Roselyne Labbé is a research scientist in greenhouse entomology at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Harrow Research and Development Centre (HRDC). Her research team aims to identify both the most effective and sustainable ways to manage the diversity of pests present within Canada’s greenhouse and vertically farmed crops. This includes ongoing work to assess and develop crop protection tools such as novel biological control or reduced-risk agents and incorporating new technologies such as the sterile insect technique and artificial lights to optimize crop protection.
ANDREW LEE
Grodan
Andy joined Grodan in 2000 as a crop consultant and became Technical Manager in 2014. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and grower events.
He has published numerous research reports as well crop technical articles which have appeared in horticultural trade magazines throughout the world. Andy’s unique position allows him to stay close to the leading-edge developments in Europe. In 2009 Andy founded and still chairs the “Green Expert Platform” – a knowledge exchange forum for internationally recognised greenhouse crop consultants and industry specialists. Since 2021, Andy has shaped Grodan’s Knowledge Generation Program across all crop groups.
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM
Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM 4:00PM -
DAVID KLYN-HESSELINK
Fenwick Berry Farm Inc.
Dave Klyn-Hesselink, with the help of family, friends, and employees has been growing fruits and vegetables in the heart of Niagara for over 20 years. We are a firstgeneration family farm, striving to cultivate nutritious & delicious, naturally grown fruits and vegetables through sustainable agricultural practices. We continue to implement a biological control program for raspberry and strawberry production. We combine traditional and modern growing techniques to extend the harvest season and to maintain consistent high-quality fruits and vegetables.
JEFF NEESE
Costa Farms
Jeff Neese is a Senior Technical Director of Horticulture for Costa Farms, the largest producer of horticultural products in the United States.
Jeff has been a team member of Costa Farms for more than twenty years and has been growing plants commercially for more than thirty years. Jeff’s extensive experience developing Integrated Plant Management (IPM) systems and adapting them to new pests as they occur, gives him a unique perspective about pest management.
YUJIN PARK
Arizona State University
Yujin Park is an Assistant Professor of Horticulture at Arizona State University. Her research program at the Indoor Farming Lab aims to better understand how environmental controls, including light, temperature, and nutrients regulate plant growth and development of horticultural crops for indoor and greenhouse crop production. She holds degrees from Michigan State University (Ph.D.) in the U.S., and Seoul National University (M.S.) and Yonsei University (B.S.) in Korea.
KEIKO YOSHIOKA
University of Toronto
Dr. Keiko Yoshioka is a full Professor in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Toronto. She has obtained her Ph.D. in plant molecular biology and agriculture at Hokkaido University (Japan) for a joint project with the National Institute of Agrobiological Science (NIAS) (Japan). She worked at the RIKEN Institute (Japan) and the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers the State University of New Jersey (U.S.), and the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University (U.S.) prior to her appointment at the University of Toronto. The long-term goal of her laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways to induce plant resistance against various environmental stresses, including pathogen infection, and apply this knowledge to protect crop plants from diseases and stresses.
On-site Registration Opens: 8:30AM Trade Show Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM
Thank You To Our Sponsors
Top Tier
Adapting to unpredictablethe
Preparing Canadian greenhouses for climate change challenges
BY J LYNN FRASER
Environmental unpredictability will be constant due to climate change. Recent memorable Canadian climate change-related events include British Columbia’s atmospheric river and flooding as well as a heat dome and related deaths; and wildfires in Alberta, Northwest Territories, Ontario, British Columbia and related air pollution and evacuations. These events are no longer unusual in Canada.
Climate change’s effects are complex. According to Environment and Climate Canada (2022) “All aspects of the built environment in Canada, including grey, hybrid, and natural infrastructure, are impacted” as well as infrastructures for health care, water supply,
waste water and storm water in addition to “ports harbours, and waterways, energy infrastructure, information and telecommunication technology.”
Canadians can expect that “business, market and food access, and everyday community activities” will be disrupted by climate change.
“An alarming number of companies - nearly six in 10 - were impacted because of extreme weather events. A changing climate means businesses need to make climate risk a priority to manage the costly reality of being caught unprepared in the future,” according to Doron Telem, National ESG Leader at KPMG Canada (KPMG, 2023), Commercial
MAIN Natural resources like forests, and meadows retain water and carbon, provide and renew nutrients in soil, and ‘clean’ water. Their proximity to greenhouses, like these seen here, would be an asset as they are natural ‘protectors’ during extreme storms, flooding, and droughts.
ABOVE Satellite view of Lake Superior in 2012 showing algae blooms caused by a strong storm.
PHOTO COURTESY DR. R. MICHAEL MCKAY
PHOTO: DIANE JACKSON/GETTY IMAGES
greenhouses must also adapt to climate change utilising a number of strategies to adapt.
BUILDING RESILIENCE
“As Canada experiences more intense and frequent extreme-weather events, … certain zones might become too expensive to insure against natural catastrophes, or become uninsurable altogether,” states Marcus Alvarez, Global Head of DBRS Morningstar (McKenzie-Sutter, 2023).
“Focusing on the environmental
context in Canada, it means preparing the building for the extreme climate events we might experience in the future, many related to extreme precipitation, forest fires and perhaps tornadoes.” says Dr. Francisco Uribe, Associate Professor, Co-Director THE URBAN LAB, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Calgary.
There is no one building type or approach to ensuring buildings are climate change resilient. It depends on the building’s location as well, notes Uribe. A building’s
structure may change to “withstand higher loads of snows/ice and maybe providing safe spaces to resist tornado-like winds, managing higher quantities stormwater on site, and potentially needing redundancy systems in case of a prolonged power outage or flooding.”
New materials need to be used that can resist, for example, “potentially larger hail,” comments Uribe. Some “greenhouses control their internal climate with systems that are less reliant on power and have the potential of being operated with very little, perhaps only using offthe-grid renewable sources.”
Context is also important to consider when installing climate change resilient buildings. “Some of those modifications might be at the building scale but others need to be at the scale of the neighbourhood or the community. In the case of forest fires an individual building can only do so much. We need to be thinking of a larger scale and similarly with flooding, we need to plan at the watershed scale,” advises Uribe.
The Pembina Institute (Agar, 2023) advocates for deep retrofitting to increase energy efficiency and decrease emissions. This includes adding insulation and air filtration to counteract forest fires’ pollution and smoke, and protect buildings, employees, equipment, products.
ADAPTING TO DROUGHT
Flooding, droughts, and storms could cost Canada’s economy $139 billion over the next 30 years as a result of damage to “power, manufacturing, and transportation infrastructure,” according to the David Suzuki Foundation (Suzuki & Hanington, 2022). Reliable food production as well as access to easily accessible food sources are also made vulnerable by climate change. Approximately 5.8-million Canadians, 1.4 million of which were children, were food insecure in 2021 (PROOF, 2021). Consider also the 2021 atmospheric river in British Columbia. “More than 1,100 farms, 15,000 hectares and 2.5-million livestock were affected... Severe losses were incurred by dairy, poultry, swine, beef, horticulture, and fruit and vegetable growers, as well as land-based fish producers” (BC Gov News, 2023).
“As climate change intensifies, farming communities will need to adapt to longer, more frequent and more severe droughts accompanied by extremes of warmer than normal weather (winter or summer). This
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will put water supplies at risk or require more careful allocation and parsimonious use of existing water,” says Professor John Pomeroy, Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan. As businesses, commercial greenhouses are affected by how the rural communities they are located in manage water resources. “Producers can modify crop types, crop management, grazing versus cropping and ensure that they manage water sensibly on their land
with drought tolerant plants or forage where annual crops are no longer viable, notes Professor Pomeroy, Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change.
Canadians can no longer take clean water for granted. All Canadians can contribute to protecting water. “Canadians can manage snow for agriculture. For instance, in many parts of Canada leaving tall standing stubble can trap snow on
LEFT
Satellite image of a sediment plume in Lake Superior caused by a 2012 storm event. The plume persisted for weeks.
fields, providing insulation to soils, extra moisture when melt occurs and with trash suppression of evaporation from soils before spring seeding. Snow fences or shelter belts can be used to trap large snowdrifts that can melt to fill water supply ponds or dugouts for garden irrigation or greenhouse use or livestock watering or to recharge groundwater aquifers that supply farm water needs,” said Pomeroy, UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability,
“Rural communities need to organize in-basin or watershed councils to protect and locally allocate their regional water supplies. Adaptive management of water that will differ in wet years from dry years may be necessary. Competitive uses such as water bottling, industry, and downstream urban municipalities may put stresses on rural water supply and availability and so a basin council can be crucially important to resolve water conflicts,” advises Pomeroy.
PHOTO COURTESY
DR. R. MICHAEL MCKAY
Read weekly by Canada’s commercial-scale greenhouse growers, garden centres and associated industries.
“Existing water sources should be protected from contamination by runoff of excess nutrients due to overfertilization or fertilizing in winter when runoff will often transport nutrients off the field in spring before they can soak in to the soil,” Pomeroy adds. “Natural ponds and sloughs should be preserved or restored rather than drained as they are locations where groundwater is recharged and also can be a source of smallscale irrigation water in droughts.”
Green infrastructure – Natural resources like wetlands, forests, and
meadows retain water and carbon, provide and renew nutrients in soil, and ‘clean’ water. Their proximity is an asset as they are natural ‘protectors’ during extreme storms, flooding, and droughts. Inside and around their premises commercial greenhouses can also install rain gardens, green roofs and walls, bioswales, storm and water ponds. Other water friendly changes include “permeable pavement, rain barrels, cisterns, and infiltration trenches” (GIOC, 2021).
CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH
Canadians’ health is tied to the health of Canada’s water sources. Climate change, with its effects on rising temperatures and extreme precipitation events, stresses sources like “freshwater, marine, and coastal systems.” These stressors manifest in various forms, especially in rural areas, and can include algae, enteric viruses, and bacteria such as cyanobacteria, Leptospira, Leptonema, Vibrio, Legionella (Takaro et al. 2022).
“Some of the concerns regarding climate change relate to longer periods of stratification in the Great Lakes where thermal structure is more stable and surface waters will preferentially warm. This can provide an environment conducive to growth of noxious and toxigenic cyanobacteria that is considered harmful to ecosystems,” said Dr. R. Michael McKay, Director, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor. “In some cases, climate change may be accompanied by increased precipitation and higher frequency of extreme storm events. ‘1-in-500-year’ rain events are now happening once or twice a decade. In the Great Lakes, these events can be accompanied by loading of nutrients from the watershed into the lakes. These nutrients can then promote growth of undesirable cyanobacteria (‘blue-green algae’). A good example was a storm event that impacted Lake Superior in June 2012 that left a sediment plume that persisted for weeks (see images).
“The blooms of cyanobacteria that form surface scums in western Lake Erie and southern Lake St Clair can produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. The most common type of toxin is microcystin, a toxin that targets the liver (hepatotoxin). With acute poisoning, it can cause hemorrhaging. Chronic exposure to low levels of toxin have been linked to elevated incidence of liver cancer as the toxin can serve as a tumour promoter. Some other forms of cyanobacteria produce neurotoxins. Another concern over climate change is that a warmer lake will provide optimal growing conditions for species that are presently found in more southerly climates and which produce additional types of toxins. While our municipal water treatment plants are generally effective at removing these toxins from source waters, there have been occasions in recent years where toxins have been measured in treated water resulting in ‘do not drink’
RIGHT
As extreme weather events intensify, Canadian agricultural producers will need to finds ways to capture and store existing water sources, like snow melt and run off, to manage through long periods of drought.
advisories for communities. One such episode in August 2014 affected nearly 500,000 people in Toledo, OH and lasted >48 h. That same summer, a separate episode impacted several thousand people on Pelee Island,” recalls McKay.
“In the case of greenhouses, efficient recycling of water and nutrients is not only cost-effective but minimizes potential pollution of the watershed,” he adds.
Be proactive not reactive with your employees’ health –“As the environment changes there are milder winters, meaning there are fewer days of frost, and warmer summers,” comments Jan Chappel, Senior Technical Specialist Occupational Health and
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Safety, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. This results in more insects and mice that survive winter. Along with birds they spread zoonotic diseases, i.e., animal to human, like Hanta virus and Lyme disease.
Greenhouse workers are vulnerable to zoonotic diseases, notes Chappel, because they interact constantly both with the outdoors and indoors. To protect workers from exposure to zoonotic diseases she stresses employers: “Need a workplace safety prevention plan and that they must do a hazard identification check.” This involves checking “trees, bushes, and long grasses (where ticks might be found)” near to where employees interact with the outdoors. Walkways, for example, may need “wider mown grass along walkways to decrease contact with ticks.”
Additionally, an assessment of the workspace is needed. “Look in planters, barrels, containers for standing water” where mosquitos might breed. These checks can be used in combination with “layers of controls like wearing long pants and insect repellant, and learning how to remove ticks safely.”
Commercial greenhouses have an important role to play in dealing with climate change. They can contribute to the protection of clean water sources, and help maintain stable food production.
SOURCES
Agar, B. (2023). Buildings need to be part of Canada’s climate adaptation strategy. Pembina Institute. https://www.pembina.org/blog/buildings-need-bepart-canadas-climate-adaptation-strategy
BC Gov News (2023). Food security increases with improved Fraser Valley flood resiliency.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2022). Preparing for climate change: Canada’s national adaptation strategy.
Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition (2021). What is green infrastructure.
KPMG (2023). Extreme weather directly impacted nearly six in 10 Canadian companies. l
McKenzie-Sutter, H. (2023). How will climate change affect Canada’s insurance market? BNN Bloomberg.
PROOF (2021). How many Canadians are affected by household food insecurity?
Suzuki, D., & Hanington, I. (2022). Water runs through the climate crisis. David Suzuki Foundation.
Takaro, T., et al. (2022). Water quality, quantity, and security. In P. Berry & R. Schnitter (Eds.), Health of Canadians in a changing climate: Advancing our knowledge for action. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada.
CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE GROWTH TRIALS
PRODUCT VALIDATION AND DEVELOPMENT
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TRIALS
SUMMER TRIALS showcase nature's resilience
Mere days after torrential rains and severe storms pushed through parts of Southern Ontario, professionals from all sectors of the Canadian floriculture industry gathered at the 24th annual Sawaya Garden Trials to see how 2,700 varieties of plants held up to the elements.
Hundreds turn out for 24th annual Sawaya Garden Trials where new vareities for the 2025 season were put to the test
BY GREENHOUSE CANADA
Close to 400 people toured the 2024 Sawaya Garden Trials, held in mid-July under warm, sunny skies in Waterford, Ontario. Guests mingled among thousands of blooms, while the soft stylings of a local musician filled the air and pollinators flitted about their business.
Varieties from 18 plant breeders from across the globe were on display and up for scrutiny. Breeders featured at this year’s trials includied: Ball
ABOVE
Seed, Dümmen Orange, Syngenta, Westhoff, Danziger, Beekenkamp, Proven Winners, Selecta, JVK, Express Seed, Benary, PanAm, Sakata, Hilverda Florist and more were on display.
Preparations for the trials began earlier this spring, with varieties being planted in the greenhouse in late April/ early May. The plants were then moved outside on the 1st of June, where they remained until Trial Day. Given the recent weather patterns, plants at the trials, with the exception of a few petunia varieties, held up beautifully. Begonias, in particular, were resplendent in the July sunshine. Greenhouse Canada confirmed with Trial-runner, Melhem Sawaya, that the petunias have since bounced back
Begonias held up beautifully to Ontario's tumultuous summer weather.
PHOTO: GREENHOUSE CANADA
ABOVE
About 2,700 plants were trialled at Sawaya Gardens this past summer.
from the weather’s mistreatment.
The relaxed and celebratory atmosphere of the Trials continued through to lunch when attendees were treated to a delicious spread, followed by a refreshing, frozen treat. It was the ideal setting for guests to connect and share their impressions of the plants on display.
For Sawaya, he says he sees the Trials as an opportunity for the industry at all levels to come together to plan for the next year.
“When we work together to give the customers what they want and it’s a good product,” he said, “They will come back to us for more.”
More on the trials and how the varieties fared this year will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine. Until then, enjoy a glimpse of some of the particularly impressive cultivars from the Trials.
FROM LEFT
Echinacea in the trial's perennial garden; robust rudebeckia; sumptuous celosia; pretty portulaca; and marvelous mandevillas.
ABOVE Dahlias soak up the sunshine at the 2024 summer garden trials in Waterford, Ont.
PHOTOS: GREENHOUSE CANADA
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INSIDE VIEW
GARY JONES | greenhousewolf@gmail.com
Bring on the bionic bees
The days of announcing you’re going ‘pest scouting’ and heading out armed with pencil, white paper, clip board, and x10 hand lens, may seem a distant memory to some. Every month there’s a new read about how ‘AI’ and robots will revolutionise greenhouse pest management. If they haven’t already done so. AI and robotics already offer benefits in all areas of pest management. In our scouting scenario, several advanced machine learning and vision systems, drones or fixed cameras/sensors systems, such as ‘Croptimus’ from Fermata, claim to be able to detect pests, pathogens, reduce scouting time, and improve detection and identification accuracy.
Having located and identified pest issues, AI tech can build excellent data records, producing maps of where, when and how many pests have developed. This is useful for now, but it’s also very handy for planning, and predicting future issues. Elsewhere, drone systems like that from ‘Corvus’ can provide estimates of seed germination, crop health and predicted yield (https://www.corvusdrones.com/en/).
So now you know your pest status. Time for action. AI treatment systems can be cart rail-based or aerial drone systems that manoeuvre throughout the greenhouse. Autonomous systems can also apply bio-control agents. And of course, fully autonomous robots have been around for a while offering UV treatment of mildew in greenhouse crops.
University of Singapore, founded a company called ‘Polybee.’”Available to tomato growers in Australia, “Polybee’s AI-powered software instructs drones equipped with color camera sensors that measure key traits for growers to fly near plants. Then the drones carefully disturb the air around them to vibrate flowers when the conditions inside greenhouses (such as temperature and humidity) are optimal for pollination, Jadhav says.” ... “An Israel-based company called ‘Arugga’ also sells bots to tomato greenhouses. Its roving ground robot, aptly named Polly, moves between rows of plants and blasts pulses of air to prompt pollination.”1
BENEFITS
“Robotic farming offers a promising solution through autonomous weed and pest control systems. With the help of computer vision and machine learning algorithms, robots can identify and target weeds or pests without harming the crops.” Such targeted pest management, “minimizes the use of pesticides, reduces the risk of crop damage, and ensures a healthier and more sustainable farming environment.”2 Other potential benefits often suggested include “Increased Efficiency and Productivity… Reduced Food Waste… Year-Round Availability… and Reduced Environmental Impact.”3
CAUTIONS?
“Does reliance of such technology lead to a lack of knowledge?”
NOT JUST PESTS - ROBOTIC POLLINATORS?
It’s said that 1-in-3 mouthfuls of the food we eat requires pollinators such as bees or bats. Using bumble bees in greenhouse tomatoes was a game changer, a remarkable step forward in ‘technology’ that we now just take for granted. But maybe we shouldn’t. As many growers move to LED lighting and all-year production, this may make it a less bee-friendly environment. And who knows what the future may bring regards environment issues and approvals for using bees. Could robotic pollinators be the answer?
“Now scientists and businesses around the world are grappling with the best ways to design and implement robo pollinators. This is not a simple task, says Yu Gu, a roboticist at West Virginia University, who is developing a six-armed pollinating machine called the StickBug.” … “Some researchers have carried their work outside of academia and into the market. Siddharth Jadhav, who previously studied drone aerodynamics at the National
These systems are all data driven. Who holds the data? Who can access it? Is it still your data, or does it become (valuable) data for the tech company or public? And what’s the risk of hacking with cloud-based systems? I wonder - does reliance on such technology lead to a lack of basic knowledge and understanding of the biological systems? (Or maybe more knowledge?) Perhaps there’s something about getting your head up close to a yellow sticky card. Other than getting your hair stuck. Perhaps it helps develop an understanding of the living ecosystem we’re dealing with, not just a digital data game. But ‘AI’ will no doubt one day be accepted as the norm. Like bumble bees.
1 Molly Glick, “Robotic Bees Could Support Vertical Farms Today and Astronauts Tomorrow”, Scientific American, July 17, 2023
2 www.Ecoation.com June 2023
3 www.getfarms.in May 2024
Gary Jones sits on greenhouse industry committees in BC and welcomes comments at greenhousewolf@gmail.com.
