Canadian cucumbers are a hot commodity. Amidst this strong production outlook, human labour are holding the industry back. With help from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada funding, Vineland’s robotics and automation team is working to develop an autonomous robot capable of harvesting cucumbers in a greenhouse environment.

A partnership between Vineland and Kingsville-based A.M.A. Horticulture has resulted in a plant propagation system that helps with costly problem for municipalities and growers.

Tim Denis (Shelby Knox) Roundtable (Dr. Tania Humphrey, Vice President Research and Development Vineland Research & Innovation Centre and John Fedorkow Fruithaven Farms in St. David’s and 2019 Grape King).

Automation, grape and wine, and small acreage field crops among new research funding added to the national research cluster program launched last year by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Vineland’s Tania Humphrey discusses.

Vineland held the What’s Growin’ On Research Farm Open House on Thursday, Sept. 19. The world-class research centre, which is dedicated to horticulture science and innovation, opened its doors to interested parties to showcase its apple orchard and related research projects.

In an Ontario apple orchard in the not-too-distant future, a robot arm mounted on an autonomous vehicle navigates rows of fruit-bearing trees at harvest, stopping frequently to reach up, gently twist the stem and pluck the ripest offerings at exactly the right time. Vineland is working to develop this and several other automated technologies for Canada’s horticulture industry.

Daryl Somers examines the fruits of one of 22,000 apple trees at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre farm. The centre’s ongoing efforts to breed the perfect apple will be highlighted during an annual open house Sept. 19.

An early ripening, yellow flesh peach will be moving into first stage commercialization next year. It’s among several promising new tender fruit varieties from the University of Guelph and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada breeding programs that are emerging as potential winners in research under way at Vineland in conjunction with Ontario Tender Fruit.

After years of testing and development, Canada’s Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is preparing to release its long-awaited seedless table grape variety next year.

Ian Potter, President and CEO at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, explains the significance of the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network and what the future will bring after the federal funding announcement of $49.5 million on July 22, 2019.

As new immigrants and younger generations become established, so too do their purchase interests in the floriculture sector. Vineland’s Alexandra Grygorczyk explains.

The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources recently announced an investment of up to $49.5 million in the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN). Spearheaded by Alberta Innovates and Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, together with Alberta’s Olds College and Lakeland College, CAAIN is expected to begin with eight partners from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.