HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-03-15, Page 47• IA/., ., .;•., .,.., .• ., ., ./,N /, ,/,. /, ., ., , ., ., ., /, ., 6 .:SIN
Health professionals will
learn food biotechnology
Health professionals are front line
communicators. On May 4,
dieticians, home economists, and
other professionals involved with
public health will be able to meet
with some of the leaders involved
in the discussions, and breakout
groups, workshop participants will
be able to learn more about food
biotechnology in terms of nutrition,
quality, safety and risk, ethical
considerations and responses to
client questions.
A distinguished speaker list
includes Dr. Bessie Borwein, Assis-
tant Dean - Research, Faculty of
Medicine, The University of
Western Ontario; Suzanne
Hendricks, P.D.t., President,
National Institute of Nutrition;
Linda Rorke M.Sc., Program
Manager/Scientific Com-
munications, Can Tox Inc.; Douglas
Powell, Ph.D. candidate and science
journalist; Frank Welsh, Ph.D.,
Science and Policy Liaison, Bureau
of Food Regulatory, International
and Interagency Affairs, Health
Canada; and Mark Winfield, Ph.D.,
Director of Research, Canadian
Institute of Environmental Law and
Policy.
The "Biotechnology and Our
Food Supply" workshop is co-spon-
sored by the London Region Inter -
Agency Nutrition Council and the
Agri -Food Network. The early bird
registration fee is $75. After April
3, the registration fee is $95 and a
student fee, with ID, is available at
$35. Priority will be given to health
professionals in southwestern On-
tario.
Root buyers willing
to pay premium price
•from page 28
due to a loss in moisture of about 5
per cent and a loss in dry weight of
5 to 10 per cent. Ginseng root
buyers are willing to pay a
premium price for roots with a
withered and slightly darkened
appearance.
iii. Seed stratification, germination
and plant establishment.
The object of this work is to
determine temperature effects on
ginseng seed after ripening,
stratification and germination. The
goal is to reduce seed loss in
stratification boxes and allow early
seed germination for spring plan-
ting, toreducedisease problems in
seed germination and crop es-
tablishment. Premature germination
(sprouting) can be as high as 20 per
cent of the seed, and result in sig-
nificant economic loss to the
grower. The reason for sprouting is
unknown, but preliminary research
indicates that it may be related to
warm air and soil temperatures at
the time of filling of the
stratification boxes.
To overcome sprouting, some
growers hold freshly harvested seed
in cold storage for several weeks
and then place it in the box. Further
research is needed to establish the
exact cause of sprouting and to
develop a seed handling protocol to
overcome it.
Ginseng plantings in the spring,
instead of the traditional fall period,
could offer advantages, particularly
in reduction of damping -off and
root rot diseases. Previously, es-
tablishment in thespring has been
difficult because of growers'
inability to store stratified seed
from fall to spring.
In preliminary work we have been
able to stratify and germinate
'green' (August harvested) seed the
following May, successfully in the
greenhouse (80-100 per cent ger-
mination), but with limited success
in the field (30-40 per cent ger-
mination). We have used a com-
bination of seed treatment regimes
and growth regulators, particularly
gibberellic acid, to achieve this
early stratification and germination.
We propose to refine our
preliminary work so that spring
planting is viable as an alternative
to fall planting.
iv. Replant problems
Local history of the ginseng
producing area indicates that
growers will not re -plant ginseng on
land that has produced it in the
past. Growers report that the gin-
seng will die in the first to third
year of production. A scientific
cause and effect determination of
producing ginseng on previously
cropped land would allow growers
to plan their future rotations in
advance, and make better use of
existing land.
v. Effects of plant nutrition on root
quality and yield.
An accurate assessment of the
ginseng plant nutrient status is
required for an efficient fertilization'
program. Information about soil
types, soil testing and foliar analysis
of ginseng for fertilizer recommen-
dations ate lacking.
These research priorities have
been established collaboratively by
researchers at OMAFRA in Simcoe,
Agriculture and Agri -Food Canada
in Delhi, the University of Guelph,
and the Ginseng Growers' As-
sociation of Canada (GGAC). The
GGAC have helped set research
priorities through their represen-
tation on the Ginseng Sub -Commit-
tee of the OSCC Ontario Horticul-
tural Crops Research and Service
Committee of the Agriculture and
Agri -Food Research Station at
Delhi, and by helping to establish
the ginseng research gardens at
Delhi. (John T. A. Proctor is with
the Department of Horticultural
Science, University of Guelph.)
reprinted from Agri food Research
in Ontario
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