By Kim Cooper
In our last article, we looked at our current vegetable greenhouse sector and its vital role in food production.
We discussed the Leamington-based company Biophi, a horticulture innovation hub. This company is involved in cutting-edge technology to redefine what’s possible in our greenhouse sector.
Our greenhouse growers have been travelling to and relying on research from the Netherlands for many years. That country is renowned for the latest technologies for greenhouse facilities.
The owners of Biophi wanted to conduct more research here in Canada, which was one of the reasons this company was established. They want to have an industry led private research facility, as they would be able to respond more quickly to issues which may arise, as well as their ability to conduct new and existing crop development research.
There are presently various diseases and insect damage in our greenhouse tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and other crops, which cost our growers millions of dollars every year. Utilizing this private research facility means a quicker access for researchers to find out the causes and solutions for these issues.
Biophi’s molecular laboratory was established in 2020 to provide growers with local, accurate, and fast diagnostic testing for plant pathogens.
A plant pathogen is any organism, which can include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes, that causes infectious disease in plants. They infect plant tissues to obtain nutrients and cause significant damage that reduces crop health and yields.
Our local greenhouse growers, including researchers from Biophi, continue to travel to the Netherlands a number of times each year to discover new technologies. They collaborate with research facilities in the Netherlands to shift some of their research to the Biophi lab.
How does Biophi decide what crops to research? This is a process that is done years in advance and involves millions of dollars for each crop.
The company looks at market demand now, and in the future, the costs to grow certain crops versus the price consumers will pay, competition from other countries, and other factors that go into choosing one crop over another.
Some tree crops, such as lemons, limes or avocados, take a number of years to develop. Some leafy green crops, such as spinach, take a much shorter time from seed to harvest.
Seed companies also have Biophi conduct research on certain crops.
One amazing innovation being used at Biophi is a small drone, which can tell the difference between a beneficial insect and a harmful insect. A computer takes an image of a certain area in question, where it detects a harmful insect. The drone is sent out and zaps this insect and flies back to its mooring station.
Over the next number of years, agriculture research will continue to grow and expand into new areas. We will see more and varied local food products coming to stores over the next few years.
These are exciting times as our farmers and growers continue to innovate our amazing agriculture sector.
Just some food for thought.
Kim Cooper has been involved in the agribusiness sector for over 45 years. You can reach him at kim.e.cooper@gmail.com