Biotechnology experts met in Toronto to discuss how Canada’s regulatory system could better enable the safe commercialization of gene-edited plants and animals. Because of the investment exodus occurring in Europe, Michael Pautler, head of genomic services at Platform Genetics Inc., a sub-company of Vineland, says European Union companies looking for new horticultural crops have been increasingly working with Vineland.

Vineland’s most recent survey of Canadian greenhouse growers found a growth in the number of biocontrol users and the extent of biocontrol use.

Sunrise Greenhouses has collaborated on an artificial intelligence-based smart irrigation project at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre that allows for predictive modelling of smart irrigation in potted crops.

Valerio Primomo, a research scientist and vegetable breeder at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, has developed “Radiance,” a variety of sweet potato with a shorter growing season.

Vineland’s Dr. Daryl Somers has bitten into a tasty but lengthy project as he develops a new apple for Ontario. He figures it will take 15 or 20 years before it will be ready for the fresh apple market.

Move over Covington and Orleans to make way for the new sweet potato variety known as Radiance which has been developed by Vineland in collaboration with Louisiana State University.

The plants are in for another year of Vineland’s greenhouse tomato program that’s seeking to develop a made-in-Ontario hybrid for local climate conditions. Right now they’re tiny seedlings and with any luck, in two years they’ll be supplying grocers and consumers across the province with delicious tomatoes.

Not just for pests, biocontrol agents are being researched for their effect on diseases by Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, which has surveyed and spoken with growers who use them.

An architect firm and condo developer are planning Canada’s first vertical forest for Toronto, and they’ve brought together an impressive team of experts including Vineland Research and Innovation Centre to make the ambitious project come to life.

Incorporating trees into green roof designs and building facades is not only appealing, but there is more demand than ever to plant rooftop trees. Vineland’s Darby McGrath explains.

With the global movement of plant material, a changing climate and resistance among pest populations, is it time we brought in new biocontrol agents?

Vineland has been identifying methods and creating new technologies to help tree propagators grow seedlings with better root quality.