34th Annual Western Potato Council Meeting Comes to Saskatoon

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Potato growers from across Western Canada will gather in Saskatoon on November 29 for the 34th Annual Western Potato Council Meeting.

The event will be an opportunity for participants to take in opinions and solutions on the latest factors affecting the potato industry in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Provincial Vegetable Crops Specialist Connie Achtymichuk.

“There will be sessions focused on assisting growers in planning, managing, marketing and operating businesses in the potato industry,” Achtymichuk says.

“The Council meeting is held jointly with the Saskatchewan Seed Potato Growers Association Conference, which will focus on issues related to water on November 30 with Dr. Robert Coffin of Cavendish Farms. He will address water-related storage diseases. One of the realities of living in Saskatchewan is that we have to contend with growing potatoes in an environment where the availability of water is always a challenge. In Prince Edward Island, the reverse is true. There are lessons to be learned from comparing both realities.”

Dave Beasley from United Fresh in Idaho will address participants. United Fresh is trying to implement an acreage reduction program in the United States, in order to keep prices higher. In addition, Debbie Leblanc will provide some background on the Pesticide Risk Reduction Program, a joint initiative of AAFC and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).

“The program is designed to support the development, availability, and adoption of sustainable pest management tools and practices in agriculture,” explains Achtymichuk.

More specifically, this program will help address growers’ needs in achieving effective and sustainable pest management; develop and implement strategies to reduce environmental and health risks from pesticide use; support research to develop and improve pest management tools; facilitate the registration

of reduced-risk pesticides and the adoption of their use by growers; and support the development and provision of comprehensive information on the best integrated pest management (IPM) practices to growers.

IPM can be defined as a process that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical methods to manage pests so that the benefits of pest control are maximized while the risk to human health and the environment are minimized. IPM ensures that pesticides are only used when needed, and that they are applied responsibly as part of an overall pest management strategy.

“Over the years, the industry in Saskatchewan has developed an enviable reputation in the area of seed potato production. We are recognized across North America as virtually the best source of clean seed, which represents roughly half of our 10,000 acres of annual production—the rest being destined for the table,” Achtimychuk says.

Saskatchewan grows potatoes mostly for the food processing industry, but we export our seed as far away as P.E.I., Idaho, Washington, Manitoba and North Dakota.

Both events in Saskatoon will be held at the Travelodge Hotel. Call (306) 242-8881 or 1-888-4209 for reservations.

For more information, contact:

Connie Achtymichuk
Provincial Vegetable Crops Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-2755

Locally Made Pita Brings New Freshness to Discerning Consumers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

If you have been disillusioned about the freshness of the pita bread you bought at the supermarket, rejoice!

A few months ago, a new baker of pita bread and other Arabic delicacies opened its doors in Regina. His name is Boutros Skaf, and his company is called Prairie Food Products. The bakery is located in Regina’s industrial area near the corner of Park Street and Fourth Avenue East. It may seem like a quaint location, but it’s generating 20 to 30 pita sandwiches from local area workers during every lunch hour.

“We have set up a counter at the front of the bakery. Today, we have Mediterranean beef on the go at the counter,” Skaf says.

“Prairie Food Products is the only Saskatchewan-based manufacturer of pita and wraps. Certified pita and wrap experts make our products. We use top quality Saskatchewan ingredients, and we are confident that, once you try our pitas and wraps, you will notice the difference.”

Walking through the baking shop is like entering another world of traditions. The facilities required to make this type of bread are as complex as the most modern assembly lines. Lightly floured, felted conveyor belts gently take the bread from flour to baked finished product, ready for distribution, as if the baking plant operated as an impeccably rehearsed regimental parade.

“We figure we can basically supply the entire Saskatchewan market, as our business plan attests,” says Skaf. “We have made a successful entry into smaller grocery and specialty stores, but we are facing a challenge in convincing the local grocery giants of the value of providing a fresher local product, instead of bringing in pitas from Calgary or even Vancouver.

“We certainly appreciate the support we are getting from local restaurants, which have chosen to rely on our product. Our families are dedicated to being community leaders, and we believe re-investing in Saskatchewan is important. We are proud of who we are, and we want everyone to know we live, work and play in Saskatchewan by choice,” Skaf says.

“We are continually striving to provide consistent, superior quality, fresh products to consumers, distributors and retailers alike. We believe that, with hard work and dedication, we will become the market leader in the production and distribution of pitas, wraps and specialty breads in Saskatchewan and Western Canada.”

The future truly is wide open for this young company as it researches and explores expanding its product line to include a number of ready-made consumer products such as pastas, lasagna, pizza and calzones, just to name a few.

For more information, contact:

Boutros Skaf
General Manager
Prairie Food Products
(306) 790-7482
www.prairiepita.com

Seed Dormancy Modelling Provides Insight Into Forage Germination

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

It has long been recognized that uniform seeding emergence is critical to stand establishment and production in forage crops, but a lack of comparative data between what happens in the lab and in the field made seeding practices more of a trial and error process, until now.

A recent Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) supported research project, conducted by the University of Saskatchewan, has shed new light on this issue, through dormancy modeling.

Dr. Yuguang Bai of the Department of Plant Sciences was the lead investigator on the project, with Doctors Bruce Coulman and Jim Romo as co-investigators. Mr. Jie Qiu, currently a Ph.D. candidate at the department, formed his M.Sc. thesis based on this project.

“We observed that for forage species, when addressing the issue of seed dormancy, often there is a disagreement between seed germination tests in the laboratory and seedling emergence in the field,” Dr. Bai said. “We wanted to find out the reason for the difference, and we hoped the results would help producers in selecting the optimal seeding rates as well as the best seeding dates.”

Field experiments were conducted near Saskatoon in 2003 and 2004 using two cultivars of western wheatgrass and orchard grass, with four seeding dates ranging from early May to mid-June. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of temperature on seed dormancy and the prediction of seedling emergence using the thermal time model.

“It seems that the fluctuating temperature in the field is a critical element that affects seed dormancy and germination,” according to Dr. Bai. “Using a thermal time model approach, we discovered that temperature does indeed affect dormancy, and that fluctuating temperatures can break dormancy in the two species studied under field conditions.”

Dr. Bai explains that a 10 degree Celsius difference between high and low temperatures was most efficient in dormancy breaking, which was close to temperature fluctuations measured in the field at a 1 cm seeding depth.

“The implication is that if you want to test germination for the determination of seeding rate, you need to mimic temperature conditions in the field. Otherwise, if you use constant temperatures for germination tests, you will end up with unnecessarily high seeding rates,” said Dr. Bai.

“Between orchard grass and western wheatgrass, the western wheatgrass has a narrower range of optimal temperature for germination and dormancy breaking.”

As a result of his research, Dr. Bai believes a later seeding date of late May or early June would result in the best seed germination, seedling emergence and stand establishment for western wheatgrass when soil moisture is not limiting.

“Orchard grass, on the other hand, is less sensitive to temperature during dormancy breaking and germination. Thus, seeding between early May and early June would yield good results, and seedling emergence in the field can be predicted with the thermal time model.”

A copy of the Final Report titled “Enhancing Seedling Emergence and Productivity of Forage Grasses Through the Modeling of Seed Dormancy Change” (ADF #20020016) may be obtained by phoning (306) 787-5929 in Regina. The final report is also available on the Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food website at www.agr.gov.sk.ca.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Yuguang Bai
Department of Plant Sciences
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4955