A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and the Ministry of Rural Affairs (MRA).If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 5pm For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAF and MRA Website: www.ontario.ca/omafra
NEW RESOURCE FOR SPECIALTY CROP GROWERS
by S. Westerveld, E. Elford, M. Filotas, J. Todd
Growers in Ontario have a new resource to help them choose and grow a wide range of specialty crops. The resource, called “SPECIALTY CROPportunities”, will be launched on the OMAF website this month.
There are literally hundreds of specialty crops that can be grown in Ontario including culinary and medicinal herbs, specialty/ethnic vegetables, specialty fruits and nuts, specialty grains and oilseeds, and industrial crops. Due to limited research and experience with many of these crops, there has been very little written information available to Ontario growers looking for a new crop to grow. The research that has been conducted on these crops in Ontario has often been forgotten over time without a permanent database to provide those results to the public – until now.
Ministry staff along with University of Guelph colleagues, assembled a team of researchers from the University of Guelph, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Erie Innovation and Commercialization, and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre to pull together all of the available research on specialty crops and provide a single resource for growers. Initially the resource includes specific information on 100 specialty crops, which will be expanded over the next few years.
Growers looking for information pertaining to a specific crop can use the crop category selection or alphabetical crop list to locate a profile on that crop. Each profile summarizes background information on the crop, its growth habit, and specific agronomic information such as plant spacing, fertility, irrigation, soil type, harvest, and storage requirements. It also includes information on pests of that crop, such as a listing of existing and potential pests, notes on potential pest impacts, and how to find more information on pest management. Finally, the profile lists any research projects conducted on that crop in Ontario and other references used to create the profile.
If a grower is unsure of what they want to grow, they can use the Crop Selection Tool to narrow down the list of specialty crops to those specifically suited to their preferences and growing conditions. The selection tool asks a series of four questions and the end result is a listing of crops that match the selection criteria along with an indication of labour, irrigation and specialized equipment requirements. Crops not included in the list could still be grown, but may require some additional site modifications. Just because a crop can be grown, doesn’t mean there is a market for it. Growers still need to find a market before growing any specialty crop.
The resource also includes a wealth of general information on specialty crops including crop fertility, pest management, on-farm research, business planning and marketing, food safety, and an introduction to organic crop production. A particular challenge for specialty crop growers is a lack of fertility recommendations. The resource provides suggested approaches for fertilizing crops when there are no recommendations. Another challenge is pest management, since it is often unknown what will attack the crop and how to control those pests. The resource discusses integrated pest management, provides information on the major types of insects and diseases, provides alternative management approaches, and discusses how to determine which products are registered for use on the crop.
The resource can be found on the OMAF Crops page at: www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/ in the “Specialty Crops” section. We encourage growers to contact us if they have suggestions for new crops to include in the resource or have information to add from their experiences growing and selling any of the specialty crops. Contact information is provided in the resource. This project was funded by Agri-Food and Rural Link, a program of the OMAFRA/University of Guelph Partnership.
GARLIC MUSTARD
John C. Benham, Weed Inspector
Here is another invasive plant you should be aware of. It prefers damper locations but will thrive almost anywhere. Garlic Mustard has a two year life cycle. In the first year it only forms a rosette close to the ground but the second year it produces a stem with leaves about 3 feet tall topped with small white four-petal flowers that have the ability to self pollinate and so are heavy seed setting plants. It flowers in April and produces seed pods similar to the rest of the mustard family. Each pod can contain 10 to 20 seeds and there will possibly be 100 to 150 pods per plant that are shed during the summer and fall. One seed can very quickly become a patch that keeps growing each year. Another trait is that it stays green throughout the winter and so is ready in the spring to complete its life cycle before other plants and so can out-compete the other desirable plants. Garlic Mustard leaves contain a substance that is toxic to insects and animals that might otherwise keep it in control. As well the roots of Garlic Mustard produce a substance that changes the soil they grow in so it is not suited to grow other plants that would normally compete with it.
At least one species of butterfly is tricked into laying its eggs on this plant only to discover the larvae will not be able to eat the plant and so they perish. Another trick it has is to grow with an ‘S’ in the stem near the root and so if it is pulled the stock breaks at that point and the root remains with the opportunity to send up a new seed head.
I feel its biggest threat is to forests in that it produces a colony like a mat that in many ways discourages forest regeneration with the result the forest deteriorates. Any questions or wish a one pager, call John: 519-846-3394.
COMING EVENTS
Apr. 24 Grower Pesticide Safety Course, Elora, 8:45 a.m. and Separate Exam: 3pm. To register, phone the Ontario Pesticide Education Program: 1-800-652-8573.
Apr. 30 The first meeting of the Eramosa 4-H Dairy Club is at 7:30 pm. It will be held at the farm of Charles, Mary, Krista and Todd Fraser at 7711 2nd Line, Elora. Directions: Go south of Fergus to 2nd Line, turn right and they are on the left. This will be our sign up night and will be organizing meetings for the year. We welcome returning members and invite new members to the club. For information, contact Jason French, 519-831-4359 or jasonfrench@sympatico.ca.
