kentville's century of science - Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada

24 Pages·2011·2.06 MB·English

KENTVILLE’S
CENTURY OF SCIENCE
Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre
100 years of innovation
In agriculture’s new fields, Kentville’s research is still bearing fruit
In 1911, most horsepower was on Kentville research is currently behind At the time, the Annapolis Valley’s
four legs, electricity was in the dark medical studies looking at the value nearly 2.5 million trees supplied
ages, half of Canadians lived in of probiotics in the gut and whether England with most of its apples.
farm communities and the Kentville blueberries can ease the impact
But if apples were the core of its
Experimental Station was the country’s of Alzheimer’s disease and failing
research, the centre also quickly
newest agricultural research facility. eyesight in an aging population.
established itself as a site for improving
A lot has changed since then. The centre is a world authority on all of agriculture.
Canadian agriculture has become a the storage and shelf-life of food,
By 1912, scientists were breeding
high-tech multi-billion dollar industry an increasingly valuable role in a Inside
new fruit and vegetable varieties,
that not only feeds the world but marketplace that craves fresh produce
studying new methods of planting
continues to find new uses for but still ends up throwing more than a
and harvesting, looking at insect and
agricultural production in health, the quarter of it away.
disease resistance and making plans
environment and industry.
This is where vitamin-enhanced to expand into livestock research.
And the Kentville Experimental Station canned apple juice was born and
The site has since grown to 188
is now called the Atlantic Food and where the Honey Crisp apple was
hectares with satellite research farms
Horticulture Research Centre, a fine-tuned for the Maritime climate
in Sheffield and in Nappan.
research facility at the forefront of to become a premium-priced, jumbo
science that is making these links. superstar. Today, the centre’s 36 researchers A photo history
and staff of 120 continue much of the
Pages 12-13
In a year when Agriculture and It’s where processors like Oxford
work begun in 1911 but with added
Agri-Food Canada’s Research Branch Frozen Foods, Sarsfield Pies and Van
emphasis on food quality and safety,
is marking its 125th anniversary, the Dyk’s Health Juice Products found
processing and food storage.
research centre is celebrating its research that helped them perfect
centennial with a productive past and their products. The 125-year-old Nappan Research
a promising future. Farm, one of the five original
This is where 60 per cent of the
research farms created by the federal
strawberry varieties grown in Canada
government in 1886, is now home to
were developed.
Atlantic beef research and soil and
Bee friendly
Over its first 100 years, the centre water studies.
has had a hand in the development of Page 20
The Kentville centre is part of an
almost every agricultural commodity in
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Nova Scotia and the Atlantic region.
research network that now includes
“It’s hard to imagine where agriculture 19 research centres and 20 satellite
would be in this province without research farms. The network is linked
the research centre,” says Beth to universities and research institutes
Densmore, president of the Nova across Canada and around the world.
Scotia Federation of Agriculture.
The Kentville centre has scientists at
“As farmers, we depend on it.”
the University of Moncton and the
“It’s a two-way street,” says research Nova Scotia Agricultural College. Most
centre manager and scientist Dr. Mark of the scientists also teach graduate
Hodges. “I can’t imagine how we students.
could do our research, then or now,
Hodges says partnerships with
without the help and input of farmers.”
researchers outside the department
The 100-hectare Kentville only make sense given the complexity
Experimental Station was established of modern agriculture.
by the federal government in 1911 at
“You can’t look at agriculture
the request of the Nova Scotia Fruit
in isolation any more,” he says.
Growers Association to help expand
“Agriculture deserves the attention
commercial apple production.
of the best minds in science and
> continued on page 2
Varieties
> continued from page 1
those minds are found in a lot of different
laboratories, looking at issues from a lot of
different angles.
“What brings us together is our commitment to
making things better.”
Dr. Francois Tremblay, a clinical scientist in
the Department of Opthalmology and Visual
Sciences at Dalhousie University’s IWK Health
Centre in Halifax, agrees.
He is about to launch a human clinical trial
to determine if drinking fortified blueberry
juice daily can improve the eyesight of the
elderly who are losing their vision to macular
New varieties have created degeneration.
But he admits it probably wouldn’t have
opportunities for agriculture happened if he had not been approached by
Kentville’s Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt about promising
research linking blueberries to improvements
On a fall afternoon in September, apple growers world to find those that could be grown in the in vision.
walked through an orchard on the grounds of Maritime climate.
The initial meeting led an initially skeptical
the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research
Variety trial work was already underway in 1912 Tremblay to begin human and animal trials to
Centre, in Kentville, to get a taste of the future.
even as buildings were still going up on the new
test the theory. The results were encouraging.
Or at least a possible future. research site.
“All of the research I’ve done in this area over
Surrounding them were more than 150 varieties The trials have included apples, pears, peaches,
the last two years is the fruit of that initial
of apples from around the world, the result of plums, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries,
collaboration,” he says. “It’s been a great
the first half of a four-year collaborative project blackberries, melons, carrots, tomatoes, squash,
collaboration. I’ve learned a lot from Dr. Kalt.”
with the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association spinach, peas, beans, beats, corn, potatoes,
to identify promising new varieties for the rutabagas, cereals, flax and hemp. Kalt says it’s these kinds of collaborations
Maritimes. that have her excited as the Atlantic Food and
At times, new varieties have allowed some
Horticulture Research Centre enters into its
Like automobiles in a car lot, the apples came struggling sectors to regain their footing and
second century.
with new and improved features – better allowed new ones to emerge.
disease and insect resistance, bigger yields and “When you look back and see what has been
In the 1930s and 1940s, vegetable trials and
enhanced health properties. accomplished in agricultural research, and
new processing research helped farmers and
then look ahead to what we might accomplish,
As the group sampled apples, Dr. Charlie processors take advantage of consumer demand
you can’t help but feel proud to be part of it.”
Embree, a researcher in the centre’s tree fruit for canned produce.
program, shared results his team had gathered
During the 1970s and 1980s, Grand Pre Winery
on the fruits’ flavour and performance in the
worked with Kentville researchers on a decade
orchard and in storage. The varieties were Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer are taking
of field trials with an unnamed grape variety from
selected by Marina Myra, a biologist working advantage of the mapping of the molecular world
Ontario. The collaboration resulted in L’Acadie
with the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association. to blaze new trails in agriculture.
Blanc, now the signature home-grown grape of
“Growers are always looking for new varieties,” Nova Scotia’s multi-million dollar wine industry. “It’s re-defining how we look at varieties,”
says Doug Nichols, a Morristown apple Hodges says. “We are not just looking at how a
Research manager Mark Hodges says the
grower and a Nova Scotia Tree Fruit Growers’ plant grows, but what it can mean to our health,
research centre’s goal has always been to keep
Association director who was part of the group to our environment and to our economy.
farmers ahead of the competition and in step
that day.
with the consumer’s taste for unique, healthy and “One hundred years ago, our researchers must
“There are a lot of reasons for that – environmentally friendly foods. have seen all kinds of opportunities to advance
productivity, the changing Maritime climate, agriculture.
But advances in the centre’s technology,
market quality and giving consumers what they
including an electron microscope and a “Today, we feel there are more possibilities than
are looking for. In some cases, apple varieties
$500,000 piece of equipment called a Liquid ever before.”
have become popular in other parts of the world
and we want to see how they adapt to our
climate.”
Finding varieties that meet the needs of
Maritime agriculture has long been a part of the
work of the research centre.
In fact, if variety is the spice of life, the research
centre has been on a hot streak during its
100-year history.
Plant breeders at the centre have developed
more than 85 new varieties of fruits and
vegetables with local names like Nova Spy,
Scotia and Minas.
Researchers have conducted trials on
thousands of more varieties from around the Combining an early corn trial
2
Varieties
To create a great apple takes patience
... and more than a few double-crosses
“Try this,” Dr. Charlie Embree says, slicing out a want in a new apple or pear. To do that, they take
wedge from an apple that’s almost as big as a pollen from the blossoms of the variety with the
grapefruit. best traits, known as the father.
The apple is crisp and bursting with juice. But The collected pollen is then painstakingly brushed
it’s the taste that grabs your attention. onto the blossoms of the mother tree at just the
right time with a small paint brush. Parts of the
Is that citrus?
blossom are pulled off to ensure that it can’t be
The Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research pollinated by a bee, which could introduce traits
Centre’s veteran tree fruit breeder laughs. “It’s from another variety.
an acidy apple and it really cleanses the mouth.
“Basically, we are doing what bees do except that
People either love this one or they don’t like it
they are very random,” says David Baldwin, a tree
all.”
fruit technician at the Centre since 1984. “We are
It’s a unique taste for a marketplace that being very deliberate in our pollination.”
increasingly rewards unique food experiences.
The apples that grow from this pollination on the
But for now, this late-season apple doesn’t mother tree are harvested when mature and the
even have an official name, let alone space at seeds removed. Like human children, these seeds
the produce section. It’s just one of the latest carry some of the genetics of both parents.
selections from the research centre’s apple
Each year, researchers do several different
breeding program, which began almost as soon
crosses, filling the greenhouse with small pots of Tree fruit technician David Baldwin
as the station opened in 1911.
seeds that will become seedlings over the winter,
“It’s rare to find a new variety that is quickly and are planted in the orchard the following year.
horticultural characteristics and resistance to
accepted by the apple growers of the world,”
disease and insects.
admits Embree, who joined the program in 1982
after 15 years as a provincial tree fruit specialist. Often, the new seedlings have a mixture of some,
“Breeding tree fruits is a very long process and but not all, of the traits the breeders were looking
at the end of the day, even with a great apple, it’s for. It’s a decades-long process that depends on
a matter of consumer acceptance.” the breeder’s skill at identifying those varieties with
winning traits.
These days, the focus of the centre’s apple
research is also on evaluating varieties in orchard A number of generations are often needed to
trials rather than breeding new apples from build in disease and insect resistance. It requires
scratch. exhaustive knowledge of the traits of many of the
world’s 7,500 varieties of apples.
That includes a current four-year collaborative
project with the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ “The science is in selecting the best parents, which
Association and AgraPoint International to in turn pass on the best traits,” says Embree.
search for the next superstar apple for the
He says recent mapping of the apple’s genetic
Maritimes from among up to 200 varieties from
make-up will help to speed up apple breeding in
breeding programs around the world.
the future by making it easier to identify genes
The stakes are high. In 2010, Nova Scotia responsible for particular traits.
producers sold more than $12 million in apples Dr. Charlie Embree
And it should open the door to new research into
and apple products, or 10 per cent of the
the health benefits of the fruit as well.
Then the waiting begins. It can take between five
Canadian total.
and eight years for the first apples to appear on Embree says more than four decades of tasting and
In the 1930s, Nova Scotia produced over half the
these seedling trees. testing hasn’t spoiled his appetite for the fruit.
apples grown in Canada. With the right varieties
At that point, the testing begins. Trees with “I had a Honeycrisp last night with a slice of
in growers’ orchards, Embree believes it could
apples that show promise are evaluated for camembert cheese,” says Embree. “It was
regain that status and more.
several more years in the orchard for their delightful.”
“We’re just now benefiting from all the work that
went into our apple breeding programs in the
1950s, 60s and 70s,” says Embree, who has
developed seven new varieties of apples and
three varieties of pears.
“What we are looking for are potential new
varieties with better disease and insect
resistance and high quality and productivity.”
In fact, apple breeding is one of the longest and
most painstaking productions in horticultural
breeding, often involving decades of work and
tens of thousands of seedlings.
It begins with controlled cross-pollination.
Researchers select two varieties with traits they
Kentville apple harvest 1911
Kentville’s Century of Science 3
Varieties
Strawberry fields forever
The framed puzzle in the office of Dr. Andrew as disease and insect resistance and taste and
Jamieson looks impossibly hard. Printed on firmness and a host of other things.
the nearly identical pieces are hundreds of red
“And then you might have what looks like a
strawberries.
success ruined by a trait you didn’t foresee,
“My family was trying to put it together but which in one case was that the strawberries
it was too difficult so I gave it a try,” says were growing too close to the ground.”
Jamieson. “I just broke it down into six smaller
sections and worked it out from there.”
It may be as good a description as any of
Jamieson’s success in puzzling out solutions
to the challenges of growing one of Canada’s
best-loved native crops, the strawberry.
Dr. Andrew Jamieson
In a 28-year career, he has developed eight new
varieties of strawberries that have added more and president of two Nova Scotia nurseries that
than a week to the fruit’s heart-breakingly short sell Jamieson varieties.
season and given strawberry lovers more to
“We sell strawberry plants in every province in
sink their teeth into.
Canada and across the north-eastern United
For strawberry growers, the extra days have States and Andrew’s varieties represent up to
meant extra dollars. three-quarters of my sales.”
Jamieson’s successes include the 20-year-
In a season that typically lasts three or four The honour also recognized Jamieson’s research
old Cavendish, which still has sales of several
weeks, Jamieson’s early and late season in other berries, including new varieties of
million plants a year, and the best-selling Cabot.
strawberry varieties have helped the industry grapes, raspberries and blackberries and work
generate $10 million in sales in Atlantic Canada His most recent release, a late-season on sea-buckthorn, edible honeysuckle and
and nearly $70 million across the country. strawberry the size of an egg called Valley even a white blueberry developed by one of his
Sunset, has given growers a large berry to fill predecessors, Ivan Hall.
Today, an estimated 60 per cent of the
baskets at a time of the season when the fruit is
strawberries grown in Canada are varieties Jamieson says growers have been a critical part
getting small.
developed at the research centre during the last of his research – with the emphasis sometimes
50 years by breeding teams led by Jamieson “If you look at the varieties we have today, on the critical.
and his predecessor Dr. Donald Craig. firmness and size have gone up and I think the
“If you want a really honest opinion, you ask
flavour has improved,” he says.
It’s a slow process. It takes about eight years growers to look at your research plots when they
to produce a new strawberry variety and the This year, Horticulture Nova Scotia made the are in the middle of their own growing season,”
work can be frustrating. berry breeder an honourary life member. Jamieson says. “It’s a very busy time of year,
“It would be very easy if you were just to “As a nursery man, I get excited when I hear they’re tired and they’re in a critical mood.
focus on one trait,” says Jamieson. “But it’s Andrew is about to release another variety,” says “It’s the kind of feedback that makes for better
always about balancing a suite of traits such Charles Keddy, a member of the organization berries in the long run.”
Research in bloom
Flowering shrub research officially began at the
research centre in 1958 under now retired plant
breeder Donald L. Craig, but its roots go back
Every year, on the second Sunday in June,
to the 1920s. That’s when Dr. William Saxby
thousands of people flock to the Atlantic
Blair, the research centre’s first superintendent
Food and Horticulture Centre in Kentville to
and a flower enthusiast, planted them on the
admire Atlantic Canada’s largest collection of
grounds.
rhododendrons and azaleas.
Today the collection includes more than a
Although the Centre is no longer involved
dozen varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas
in ornamental research, the collection is a towering trees with blooms larger than a person’s
developed in Kentville that have flower colours
colourful reminder of a nearly 40-year floral head. Only 25 species are native to North
ranging from brilliant oranges and reds to softer
focus that has left its stamp in flower beds and America.
pinks and whites.
greenhouses across the country – and inspired
In 2009, Canada Post paid tribute to the eye-
a stamp of its own from Canada Post. There are also varieties from around the world
catching blossoms with the release of two
that were tested by the ornamental team for
“Our objective was to provide hardy, flowering commemorative rhododendron stamps, including
their suitability in a northern climate.
shrubs that would enhance and beautify the Minas Maid variety developed by Craig.
Canadian gardens,” says Dr. Peter Hicklenton, The Kentville varieties weren’t shrinking violets.
The Minas Maid was the first red rhododendron
who worked in the ornamental section for 16 They won 16 major awards and 200 ribbons at
variety developed in the Kentville program.
years. “Today, you don’t have to travel too far national and regional flower shows.
“I was pleasantly surprised when Canada Post
to find one of our rhododendrons gracing the
At the centre of it all was the hard-to-spell
called to ask me about this one,” Craig says. “It’s
landscape.”
rhododendron.
rewarding because the breeding of these varieties
The value has been more than aesthetic.
With over 900 species, it ranges from tiny involved so much time and effort.
Flowers and shrubs are now a $6 billion industry
plants with flowers the size of a dime to
in Canada. > continued on page 5
4
Varieties
Dr. Mark Hodges with centre’s
honourary life membership
Researchers step “The apple was riddled with problems in the early
days,” agrees Kentville plant physiologist Dr.
in to create a John DeLong. “If we didn’t deal with these issues
successfully, the farmer was left with a devastated
honey of an apple apple crop that ended up being pressed for juice,
so there were some high stakes at play.”
One of those early problems was that the apple Centre gets
The Honeycrisp is the apple of John Eisses’ sometimes turned brown inside during storage.
eye. The Annapolis Valley farmer grows nearly
“We had to work out an entirely new way to lifetime
10 hectares of them in his orchard in Centreville,
handle the Honeycrisp after it was harvested,”
north of Kentville.
said DeLong. “It is an odd apple that way.” membership
“The Honeycrisp apple was one of a couple of
Conventional wisdom called for apples coming in
things that turned the apple industry around
from the field to be quickly refrigerated because
here,” says Eisses. “We were just scraping by The partnership has worked for a century.
heat can damage the quality of the apple.
in the late eighties and early nineties before it Let’s make it a lifetime.
came on.” But researchers discovered the apple required
That was the thinking in January when the
delayed cooling.
The Honeycrisp is now a consumer favourite Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association
that’s popular with growers like Eisses who can “With Honeycrisp we found that if we delayed presented an Honourary Life Membership to
fetch over $500 a bin compared to $150 for cooling for a week in a room that was about the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research
other apple varieties grown in Nova Scotia. 20 degrees Celcius, it got rid of the browning Centre.
problem.” said Delong.
“It’s a big, juicy and crisp apple,” says Eisses. It’s the first time the association has
“My wife uses it for apple sauce and doesn’t They also discovered that storing the apples at honoured an entire institution.
add any sugar at all.” five degrees Celsius in a controlled atmosphere
“We felt that 100 years of successful
storage room with low oxygen and high carbon
In Nova Scotia, there are already nearly 110,000 collaboration between the Nova Scotia
dioxide levels would keep the apple at peak
Honeycrisp trees, and more are being planted apple and the research centre is something
quality for a longer period of time.
each year.
that should be celebrated,” said president
The apple now makes up five per cent of the Mike Walsh. “Successful research is what
$14.5 million apple crop in the province. keeps our industry going.”
But the apple, originally developed in Minnesota The 146-year-old association was
in the 1960s, might not have gone anywhere the original driving force behind the
in the Maritimes without the help of apple establishment of the research centre in
specialists at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture 1911.
Research Centre.
Over the years, the partnership has led
“We knew we had a product the marketplace to new apple varieties like the Nova Spy
wanted, but this is a fussy apple,” says Dela and transplanted success stories like the
Erith, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fruit premium-priced Honeycrisp, new value-
Growers Association. “We needed to solve
‘When you take them out of storage after six or added opportunities like apple juice and
some production and storage issues.”
eight months, they taste nearly as good as the processed products and new storage
day you picked them off the tree,” he says. technologies that have made it possible to
sell fresh apples year round.
Another problem was in the orchard. The tree was
> continued from page 4 notorious for hit and miss production, producing Walsh says the industry also owes a
too many blossoms one year and not enough the debt of gratitude to Dr. A.D. Pickett, an
“Over the years, I germinated enough
next, a condition known as biennial bearing. environmental pioneer.
seed to produce 20,000 plants, and of all
“There are other varieties with this tendency but
of those thousands, I only named about a Working at the research centre in the
Honeycrisp is the worst yet,” says Kentville tree
dozen varieties.” 1940s, Pickett invented the integrated pest
fruit physiologist Charlie Embree. “But it can
management system for orchards that is
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s
be fixed with detailed attention to new growing
now used worldwide by many commodities.
ornamental research has since been
techniques, including pruning, blossom thinning
transferred to the industry. and the application of plant-based crop load The system uses knowledge about insects,
In 1994, the research centre released its regulators at the right times and rates.” regular monitoring of their populations
and a variety of techniques to reduce the
final variety, the Holy Grail of the breeding
Research-based guidelines for growing and
need for chemicals to control insect pests,
program -- a rare yellow rhododendron
storing techniques have now become standard
hardy enough for the Maritime climate. minimizing the ecological impact.
practice for Honeycrisp growers.
It was named the G.S. Swain in honour Walsh says the next century will see new
“Without the research centre, we would not be
of the late George Swain, a pioneering opportunities as science reveals the full
able to do what we do,” says Erith. “As far as I
horticulturalist at the research centre who health and economic potential of tree
am concerned, they have made the Nova Scotia
helped Craig get the breeding program fruits, from their high antioxidant levels to
Honeycrisp the number one Honeycrisp in North
going. components that can be extracted for food,
America.”
health and industrial products.
“It was a fitting way to complete the
“It is very gratifying for us when we can be closely
program,” says Hicklenton. “I think George connected to the industry and provide a solution “We’re looking forward to working with the
Swain would be pleased to see his name like that,” says DeLong. “That’s one of the research centre and seeing what kind of
attached to such a memorable variety.” reasons you become a scientist. future we can create.”
“Working on the Honeycrisp left me feeling a lot
like a parent watching a child grow up.”
Kentville’s Century of Science 5
Livestock
Contented chickens will give Canadians
more of their favourite meat
It looks like a scene from a science fiction movie. Dr. Bruce
Rathgeber slides his hands into gloves fitted in the side of
a sealed box and squeezes what looks like alien ooze. “I’m Dr. Bruce Rathgeber
essentially working inside an artificial chicken belly,” he says.
“It’s really quite neat.”
Welcome to Nova Scotia Agricultural College’s Haley Institute
where novel ways of looking at chicken are part of the job for
Rathgeber, a poultry researcher for the last five years.
It’s the latest chapter in poultry research in Nova Scotia that
began at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre in
1911.
While early research focused on breeding types and egg
production, the emphasis today is on healthy birds that can meet
Canadians’ demand for 12 million chickens per week as their
number one meat source.
Rathgeber and his team are looking at eliminating the traditional
fasting periods that chickens endure while being transported
from the farm to the processing plants.
“Normally birds aren’t fed prior to shipping so that their digestive
tract is empty when they arrive at the processing plant,” says
Rathgeber. “But just because you stop feeding them doesn’t
mean they stop eating.”
In the eight to 12-hour period that chickens are being prepared
for transport, the chickens will continue to peck the ground
at their feet. Before arriving at the plant, many birds will have
consumed material which can lead to increased levels of
problematic bacteria.
“These broiler chickens are like eating machines,” he says. “So
we’re looking at using a specialized feed that will keep the birds
satisfied while keeping their digestive systems clean.”
Inside the Haley Institute, the artificial gut is allowing Rathgeber
and his team to develop a specialized feed with naturally
occurring plant enzymes that will reduce the potential for harmful
bacteria in a chicken’s digestive tract.
“We pump a controlled atmosphere into the box and it mimics
the inside of a chicken’s digestive tract,” says Rathgeber.
“Rather than working with a couple of thousand chickens to look
at different combinations of feed, we can manage with about a
dozen and this box.”
The goal is to find a highly digestible feed that will keep chickens
satisfied during their trip from the farm to the processor while
“The addition of naturally occurring antimicrobials in the feed will also give
ensuring they don’t pose a food safety risk during processing.
the birds a bit of a clean-out as they consume it. So far we’ve looked at
garlic extract and lysozyme, an antimicrobial from eggs and we’re going to
be looking at red seaweed extract.”
Rathgeber estimates that a normal bird loses about 4 ½ per cent of their
body weight during the fasting. “By continuing to feed the birds, we can cut
that weight loss in half,” he says.
So while the new experimental feed may cost a little more to produce, the
chickens will arrive at processing plants heavier, cleaner and less stressed.
In a country where the average Canadian eats 35 kilograms of chicken
annually, the extra weight could be significant boost for the poultry industry.
The research centre’s poultry barn in 1915
6
Livestock
Livestock manager Brian Trueman with grazing
Creating healthier beef
cattle at the Nappan Experimental Farm
a cut above the competition
Beef producers, he says, know the benefits of
using more grass and forage in cattle feed.
As cattle graze contentedly in a field of winter provinces that will allow cattle to eat the different
“They may not grow as quickly as they would on
rye in a pasture at the Nappan Experimental grasses separately. The varieties were chosen for
barley but forage really is the best kind of food
Farm just south of Amherst, Nova Scotia, Brian their nutritional value, hardiness and growth rate.
for a ruminant animal,” he says. “There’s a lot of
Trueman points out swaths of stubble in the field
Researchers will look at the nutritional impact of research that shows us that the more cattle are
that look like they’ve been mown.
the grasses on the overall health of the cattle and fed grass or fed on forage, the better the balance
“They love this stuff,” the livestock manager says how the grasses stand up to the weather and the of fatty acids.”
with a chuckle. “They really eat it up.” wear and tear of grazing.
Duynisveld says the naturally healthy diet should
The grazing is a part of an experiment taking “We will be able to see how much the cattle enjoy help local growers compete with bigger players
place in four provinces to find the best mix of eating the different grasses by weighing them by appealing to consumers looking for healthy
pasture grasses that will keep cattle happily weekly,” says Duynisveld. “The better the cattle cuts of red meat.
munching healthy, omega-rich grass for longer like the grasses, the more they’ll eat.”
A longer grazing season also means fewer costs
periods of time.
To check the hardiness of the grasses, he admits for growers.
It may sound like a case of seeing if the grass is researchers will be sitting back and literally
“The most expensive element in the beef industry
greener on the other side, but the result could be watching the grass grow.
is feeding in the winter,” says Tilley. “Once you
healthier cuts of beef for consumers and lower
“We have to monitor the grass over several get cattle out on the land, your costs really go
costs for beef producers.
seasons to get an accurate analysis. We’ll look at down.”
“We know that putting cattle out to pasture is the how fast it grows, how late in the season cattle
Both Duynisveld and Tilley believe the research
best way to feed them,” says John Duynisveld, can continue to graze and how well the selection
could help re-define the cattle industry in different
a research biologist at the Nappan Experimental of grass holds up.”
regions of the country, including Atlantic Canada.
Farm. “The trick now is to keep that healthy diet
John Tilley, Chairman of Nova Scotia Cattle
going even longer.” “This research has the potential to lead to a more
Producers, likes what he sees.
sustainable beef production model for use here
Duynisveld says the merits of a grass-fed diet
“We’re very excited about this research. The in the Atlantic and other parts of Canada,” says
are backed by more than a century of beef
work being done today is going to be very, very Duynisveld. “Ideally, we’ll see Canadians choose
research in Nova Scotia, first at the 125-year-old
important in the next few years.” beef because it represents a healthier product.”
experimental farm and then at the Atlantic Food
and Horticulture Research Centre.
For the last 15 years, the community of Nappan
has been Atlantic Canada’s principle venue for
beef research for the Atlantic region. It’s home
to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Nappan
Experimental Farm and the Nova Scotia Cattle
Producers’ Maritime Beef Testing Society.
In this latest research, Duynisveld and Dr.
Yousef Papadopoulos have joined forces with
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers
in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec to evaluate
pasture grasses.
Eight different pasture grass mixtures are being
grown in checkerboard quadrants in the four
Beef cattle at the Kentville Research Station in 1914
Kentville’s Century of Science 7
Health
Research does a gut check
Dr. Martin Kalmokoff is fascinated with the For the last five years, he has
human gut. No, not the one that continues to been studying whether a diet
expand over belts. The one that is 8.5 metres of rich in dietary fibre -- non-
intestine. digestible carbohydrates known
as prebiotics – can provide food
Inside that winding tube live an estimated
for good bacteria in the gut and
800 species of bacteria that number in the
encourage their growth.
trillions. And increasingly it has the attention of
agricultural and health researchers. Examples of foods rich in
dietary fibre include field peas
“Most people don’t find the gut tract
and triticale. Probiotics, on the
interesting,” admits Kalmokoff, a microbiologist
other hand, are living bacteria
at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Dr. Martin Kalmokoff working in a sterile environment
themselves.
Centre who has been studying the link between
food and gut health. The food industry wants to know about
that we don’t know about it.”
prebiotics, too. Food companies have been
“But in addition to digesting your food, it is your
seeking permission from Health Canada to Kalmokoff pursued the subject as a member of
largest immunological organ, the foundation of
make health claims about the prebiotics in their the Advanced Foods and Materials Network, a
your immune system. When it’s not working
products. national network of researchers from universities,
right, you start seeing a lot of problems.”
governments, national and international
This year, Kalmokoff and Steve Brooks of
The guts of many Canadians are in turmoil these research institutes, industry and not-for-profit
Health Canada’s Bureau of Nutrition Health are
days. This country has one of the highest rates organizations.
running a human clinical feeding trial involving
of Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis in the world with
30 people. The participants are consuming Created in 2003, the network looks for new ideas
an estimated 200,000 sufferers. With these
prebiotics in addition to their regular diet. What and new technologies which will create new
chronic bowel diseases, which often require
comes out the other end is examined. commercial opportunities while improving the
surgery or long-term medication, the immune
lives of Canadians.
system begins attacking the healthy tissue of “Health Canada wants to see any suggested
the intestines. claims substantiated before they will allow any That includes leading-edge diet research.
health claims,” says Kalmokoff.
Hundreds of thousands more suffer with irritable Through the network that members have
bowel syndrome, one of the most common An earlier study with rats found that prebiotics nicknamed GutNet, Kalmokoff is working with
intestinal ailments. can change the communities of bacteria in gastro-enterologists at McMaster University in
the gut. Kalmokoff says what’s less clear is Hamilton to better understand the connection
Like many researchers, Kalmokoff thinks part of
whether those changes result in better health. between food and the gut’s performance.
the problem lies in the Western diet.
“It’s turned out to be a very complicated “We are seeing a huge international effort in this
“We’ve gone through a radical change in what
subject. The gut is really an ecosystem that’s area,” he says. “The gut is just like any other
we eat, how we eat and how we process our
very rich in species. But there is still so much ecosystem. We have to take care of it.”
food,” he says.
Antioxidants, eh Red clover and menopause
Canadian farmers and gardeners know that our growing conditions can Red clover may be a source for a natural estrogen replacement for
be tough. But Dr. Mark Hodges of the Atlantic Food and Horticulture women who suffer from the symptoms of menopause, according to
Research Centre says the northern climate may be giving us healthier Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre scientist Dr. Yousef
food. Papadopoulos.
“Our Canadian climate is a little more stressful than other climates Used for hundreds of years as forage and animal feed, red clover
and that stress seems to contribute to high antioxidant levels,” says contains significant concentrations of compounds called isoflavones
Hodges. that appear to have health benefits for humans.
Antioxidants are nutrients in food which can slow down the breakdown In the plant, the isoflavones act as a self-defence mechanism against
of cells in the body caused by oxidation. Call it human rust proofing. insects, bacteria and moulds. But research suggests isoflavones may
Antioxidants have been linked to disease prevention and stronger also offer a hormone-regulating function that could reduce menopausal
immune systems. symptoms like hot flashes. They may also help reduce bone loss
caused by a decrease in estrogen in post-menopausal women.
They are created in plants in the first place when their own cells are
threatened. Hodges says the plants respond to climate stress by Papadopoulos and Dr. Rong Cao and Dr. Krista Powers from
triggering more antioxidant production. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s research centre in Guelph,
Ontario, are studying the role genetics and growing conditions have on
He has begun a two-year study with the United States Department of
isoflavone levels in red clover and its potential as a medicinal plant.
Agriculture to compare the antioxidant levels in spinach grown in Nova
Scotia and Texas. The crops will be grown in the same type of soil Isoflavone estrogen extracts from soybeans have been commercialized
using the same production methods. The only thing different will be in recent years but the team has found that the levels of isoflavones in
the climate. red clover are 30 times higher than soybeans.
8
Health
As the list of health benefits grows,
the blueberry comes in from the wild
Neri Vautour remembers the day the future of the around because of that slogan, “Number one in
wild blueberry industry changed. antioxidants.”
Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt and the wild blueberry
“We were at a blueberry growers meeting 15 For Kalt, now a leading authority on the health
years ago and Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt from the benefits of wild blueberries, the story continues to Another study involving blueberry-eating pigs
Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre be one of the most interesting among many linking suggested the berries may help lower cholesterol.
was giving a presentation on antioxidant levels in food and health.
This year, she is working with Dr. Robert Krikorian
blueberries,” recalls Vautour, executive director of
“The whole renaissance in the importance of fruits in the Department of Psychiatry at the University
the Wild Blueberry Association of North America
and vegetables to health and wellness started of Cincinnati on a human clinical trial looking at
(WBANA). “She said, ‘Your blueberries are so
about 15 years ago when researchers found that the effect blueberry juice has on cognitive function
high in antioxidants, they may be number one.’”
there were lower levels of chronic illness and in the elderly.
“And one of our members said, “What’s an degenerative disease in populations which ate
“The field is getting very exciting and it’s really
antioxidant?” more fruits and vegetables,” she says.
ramping up in terms of the strength of evidence
Before Kalt, a food chemist, could answer, “Even taking fruit and vegetable vitamins and for human health benefits,” says Kalt.
another grower said, “Who cares? If we are minerals into account, there were still some
Kalt’s role in all of the research has been to
number one and it’s good for you, we are going benefits to fruits and vegetables that were
analyze and unravel the chemical complexity of
for it.” unaccounted for.”
the blueberry. Among their various analytical
By the end of the evening, the association That triggered interest in fruit and vegetable tools, she and her research team use a Liquid
had agreed to tie its future marketing to the phytochemicals – plant chemicals - including Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer to identify
antioxidant story line and looked to Kalt and her those with antioxidant properties. Antioxidants the diverse array of phytochemicals found in
research collaborators to provide the scientific have been linked to a slowing down of the blueberry fruit.
evidence. breakdown of cells in the body caused by
“Blueberries are particularly complex because
oxidation.
Since then, antioxidants have become a the anthocyanins are abundant and diverse. Lots
catchword for the health conscious that has At the time, Kalt was intrigued by health claims of berries will have less than 10 specific types of
turned the little blue Canadian native berry into an made about the bilberry, a European cousin of the anthocyanins. Blueberries can have 25 or more,
internationally recognized superfood. wild blueberry and a staple of European and Asian making the specific profile of these pigments
folk medicine. difficult to separate and track.”
Fifteen years of research have shown that berry
components work in a variety of ways to benefit With new information about phytochemicals, Kalt The analysis is critical to helping medical
health and wellness and that the antioxidant looked at wild blueberries again and discovered researchers figure out the role blueberries can play
power of berries is only part of the growing body they were full of potent antioxidants called in disease prevention and health improvement.
of evidence supporting their benefits. flavonoids, including the very abundant flavonoid This type of approach is also important in creating
called anthocyanin which is the pigment that R&D opportunities related to the use of more
Sales of wild blueberries have exploded with
confers the intense blue color to blueberry fruit. purified therapeutic extracts.
increasing scientific interest in the fruit’s links to
everything from improved brain and heart health “That really launched it,” she says. “The blueberry As the research reveals new health benefits for
to lower cholesterol and better night vision. industry saw it as an opportunity to promote their consumers, Kalt says she’s delighted to see
intense blue color as a sign of the fruit’s healthful it translate into good news for the blueberry
Canadian wild blueberry production has
Red clover and menopause components.” industry.
increased by more than 50 per cent in the last 15
years, including $14 million in exports to health- Since then, Kalt has participated in studies that “I always say it’s the same old fruit, but this new
conscious Japan last year. New markets include have taken the wild blueberry into neuroscience, knowledge and awareness of its potential value
China, Korea and Scandinavia. cardiovascular health, cancer prevention and has helped the industry tremendously,” says Kalt.
studies on aging.
“Everyone knew the berries were good for you, Vautour agrees.
but we needed scientific proof,” says Vautour. One study showed delayed aging in rats fed
“To wild blueberry growers, Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt
“WBANA was the first to use the antioxidant link blueberry juice.
is a godsend,” he says. “She has taken the wild
and it all has to do with Willy. Our industry turned
blueberry industry in a totally different direction.”
Fiddleheads: a new super food
Spinach made Popeye a powerhouse. But he might have Centre. “They are high in fatty acids and antioxidants.”
done even better with fiddleheads.
As part of the research, he and technician Conny Bishop
Like spinach, the wild Maritime spring treat is a source of also went to the kitchen to find the best way to prepare
Vitamins A and C, iron, magnesium, potassium, niacin, fiddleheads. They need to be cooked long enough to kill
phosphorous and dietary fibre. But fiddleheads have the any bacteria that might be in the tightly coiled head but
added bonus of omega-3 fatty acids. This is the good fat not so long that the nutritional value of the ferns is lost.
most often found in fish.
DeLong is publishing a peer-reviewed paper this year
“Fiddleheads, it turns out, are very healthy,” says Dr. John detailing his findings. He hopes it will encourage more
DeLong, who has been studying the nutritional content of people to try fiddleheads and generate interest in it as a
fiddleheads at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research cultivated or naturalized crop.
Kentville’s Century of Science 9
Food Quality
Unlocking the mysteries of flavour
Imagine biting into the grainy flesh of a pear and the door wider on the genes and proteins
tasting an apple. Or crunching into an apple responsible for particular traits.
and tasting a strawberry.
That was coupled by the research centre’s Dr. Jun Song is unraveling
The fruit mash-ups could be a future niche purchase of a $500,000 instrument called a
what constitutes flavour
market as research scientists like Dr. Jun Song, Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer
a post-harvest physiologist specializing in food (LC/MS) that is allowing Song and his
and approaches for fruit storage that can reduce
quality at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture colleagues to detect thousands of proteins in a
this loss of flavour.”
Research Centre, close in on the science of sample.
flavour. And reverse it.
It’s called proteomics, the study of proteins that
It turns out flavour is not just a matter of taste. make up all living organisms, including fruit. “If we know which proteins produce this flavour,
we should be able to re-activate them in
“Flavour is generated though complex “The LC/MS is allowing us to look at the
storage,” Song says.
biosynthesis and metabolic pathways,” says proteins in a way that we could not before,”
Song. “Proteins are the regulators of flavour. says Song. “We are going to be able to He says advances in science are now giving
discover the factors in the biological process taste its full due, along with firmness, texture and
“Based on chemistry and physiology and our
that regulate flavour.” colour.
understanding of the flavour characteristics
of fruits, we think we have new techniques He says the knowledge could lead not only to “Flavour is a very powerful experience for the
to improve their natural flavours. And for better techniques for storing fruit but also the consumer,” Song says. “It really determines
some specialty markets looking for something creation of some exotic new food products that whether the consumer will come back to
different, we think we can even change taste.” could mean more money for farmers and better purchase the product again,” he says.
tasting fruit for consumers.
While researchers at the centre have been “Our long-term goal is to improve the flavour
studying flavour for 30 years, it has been in “There is always a balance between flavour of fresh fruits and vegetables and increase
relation to how breeding, growing and storage and the storage that is used to maintain shelf consumption so that people are taking full
techniques can influence taste. life of fruit,” says Song. “If we understand the advantage of their nutritional benefits.”
pathways and proteins that regulate the flavour
Last year’s successful mapping of the apple
we experience, we can design some strategies
genome by international research teams opened
Dr. Charles Forney uses a
Research that makes scents gas chromatograph and
a good nose to separate
flavour smells in fruit
Dr. Charles Forney wants your fruit to smell so Fruit contain a dynamic
samples
good you can taste it. mix of volatiles that can
change based on how its sugars and acids into flavour
That’s why this specialist in fruit quality is sitting
the fruit is grown and compounds,” says Forney.
in his lab at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture
harvested, stored and “We can enhance flavours by
Research Centre about to sniff through a
packaged. infusing it with some of these
small glass cup at the end of what looks like a
compounds.”
vacuum cleaner hose. And it is a mix that can
be boosted to bring out rich, intense flavours. Some infused fruit have already made it to the
Running through the middle of the hose is
fruit stands. Grapples, for example, are apples
a thin heated tube carrying some of the 100 “We are trying to understand the chemistry
infused with grape flavour.
components that make up the taste and smell behind good flavour,” says Forney. “We are also
of an apple. looking at how the things we do to food before But Forney says his focus is to boost the natural
and after harvest affect the flavour of fruits, flavour and aromas of fresh fruit, not to introduce
He breathes in and smiles.
particularly blueberries and apples. artificial flavours.
“This is nice,” he says. “Very fruity.” In earlier
“The challenge is to determine which volatiles “We’re trying to get more flavour into a big red
sniffs of the sample, he had picked up some
contribute the most to the smell of the fruit.” strawberry so that it really does taste as good as
floral tones and what he called a green note, a
it looks,” said Forney.
faint smell of newly-mown grass. Forney works with a gas chromatograph to
separate the different volatiles in his fruit Currently, Forney is studying the volatiles in
If it sounds like a wine tasting, it’s because the
samples. blueberry juice to see how the natural rich
taste of a good wine and the flavour of a good
taste can be returned after being muted during
piece of fruit share the same starting point when Trained sensory volunteers are then brought in to
processing.
it comes to flavour – your nose. rate the intensity of the aromas.
Information from the project is being used to
Tastebuds can only distinguish five qualities It can be a memorable experience.
improve the storage of fruits and vegetables to
– sweet, sour, bitter, salt and a savory, meaty
“Some smells will induce past memories for
maintain pleasing volatiles. It is also being used
flavour known as umami. It’s the nose that fills
some of the people sitting at the machine,” says
to evaluate the effectiveness of packaging to
in the rest.
Forney. “ People are always surprised by this
prevent fruit from picking up unpleasant volatiles
Aroma and flavour are actually made up of effect.”
from the air, known as taints.
hundreds of components known as volatiles
Once compounds are identified and rated, the
“Ten years ago consumers focused on
and non-volatiles. Non-volatiles like salt and
information can be used to improve the taste of
the appearance and firmness of fruits and
sugar are tasted on the tongue. Volatiles are
produce.
vegetables,” Forney says. “Today the emphasis
sensed through the nose.
“Think of an apple as a flavour factory that turns is on the flavour.”
10