The Muck Crops Research Station is an agriculture research facility near Kettleby and Ansnorveldt, in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is operated by the Office of Research at the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

. The station's research is focussed on several key areas: *

Crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

protection of

muck Muck most often refers to: *Muck (soil), a soil made up primarily of humus from drained swampland Muck may also refer to: Places Europe * Muck, Scotland, an island * Isle of Muck, County Antrim, a small island connected by sand spit to Portmu ...

vegetables *Evaluation of vegetable

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s *Post-harvest storage and treatment *

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

and crop management The station features greenhouses with a system-controlled environment, a

plant pathology Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungus, fung ...

laboratory, and long-term cold storage. Seven hectares of land are split into plots devoted to researching organic and mineral soils. Local growers also participate in commercial field trials on occasion.

Crop protection

Various long-term research projects analyze and assess the impact of indigenous and invasive pests and parasites. Since 1998, the site has studied the over-wintering ability of the pea leafminer in southern Ontario, as well as associated parasitoid complexes collected from leafminer pupae. Protection from fungi and molds during storage is also studied at this station. For example, the mold

Sclerotinia ''Sclerotinia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The widely distributed genus contains 14 species. Taxonomy A number of species previously assigned to ''Sclerotinia'' are now considered to be members of the closely related genu ...

releases

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and formula . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name comes from the fact that early inve ...

, a compound that allows the mold to infect carrots. Researchers are studying the use of "calcium formulations to deter Sclerotinia growth". Another focus is to establish

sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

methods of dealing with agricultural pests, such as the carrot weevil and the carrot rust fly.

Vegetable cultivars

One of the site's important functions is to determine the viability and suitability of specific crop cultivars in the

Holland Marsh The Holland Marsh is a wetland and agricultural area in Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. It lies entirely within the valley of the Holland River, stretching from the northern edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine near Schomberg to the river mo ...

. The area is a major producer of onions, carrots, lettuce, celery and Asian vegetables.

Storage and treatment

The aim of research into storage of crops is to identify crops that may be grown in the Holland Marsh and stored for eventual winter distribution, so that residents of Ontario may have access to Ontario-grown vegetables year-round.

Soil and crop management

To improve yield and reduce the negative impact of agricultural practices on farmland, studies at this research station have attempted to identify conditions under which it is most appropriate to apply specific

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

s. For example, nitrogen fertilizers are typically applied to carrot crops to improve yields and reduce leaf blight. Research at this station suggests that by matching the use of nitrogen fertilizers to the type of soil in which carrots are grown, high yields may be achieved. Moreover, this can be done with less nitrogen fertilizer and minimizing the use of fungicides to control leaf blight, decreasing costs and mitigating some environmental concerns.

References

External links

Kettleby Research Station
{{coord, 44, 2, 36.7, N, 79, 35, 34.25, W, region:CA-ON, display=title University of Guelph Agricultural organizations based in Canada Buildings and structures in King, Ontario Educational institutions in Canada with year of establishment missing Wetland conservation Agricultural research stations