Federal Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan announces $6.7 million in federal funding for seven genomic research studies including a joint project between Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and the University of Toronto.

Marc Zienkiewicz reports live at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre during the National Association of Plant Breeders Annual Meeting.

The annual ‘What’s Growing On?’ open house showcased two Vineland innovations that will be hitting the market in 2019: Radiance, a made-for-Canada sweet potato variety, and Chinook Sunrise, a new rose that will be part of the 49th Parallel Canadian rose collection.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre opened the doors to its award-winning greenhouse technology centre in May, sharing a glimpse of their research on tomatoes. This comprehensive research program aims to develop a high-yielding, yet flavourful tomato for Ontario.

Beamsville’s Freeman Herbs is gearing up to supply grocery stores with edible flowers similar to their potted herbs that are fixtures in produce sections. The greenhouse grower recently enlisted the help of the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre to determine the power of edible flowers with consumers.

Vineland’s second article in a four-part series discusses an early intervention technique to enhance biocontrol success for poinsettias.

Despite the best efforts of the Royal Botanical Gardens, in recent years the roses in the Centennial Rose Garden were suffering. The complete rose garden had to go. Then it was time for 3,300 new hardy roses to be planted. One in particular, Vineland’s 49th Parallel Collection Canadian Shield, is prominently displayed and deservedly so.

Biocontrol programs against thrips start early in the crop cycle. Despite propagators’ best efforts, small numbers of pests may be hiding on cuttings, especially pests with widespread resistance to most conventional insecticides. Vineland discusses its research on dipping techniques against thrips.

A few years ago, researchers at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario discovered more than a dozen promising apricot selections and put them back on track for commercialization in partnership with Brandt’s Fruit Trees.

A large project at Vineland aims to create on-the-vine greenhouse tomatoes optimized for Ontario growing conditions and consumers.

Amy Bowen, research director of consumer insights with Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, assembled a team from the industry to create a cider research and innovation strategy in 2016. This strategy is now being acted on to determine how to better satisfy consumers within the growing cider marketplace.

In spite of a growing adoption of biocontrol in Canada, aphids are often treated primarily with chemical pesticides because of a belief that biological control isn’t effective. Based on the conclusions drawn from three years of greenhouse and laboratory experiments, Vineland optimized an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy that will maintain aphid populations below a safe level.