Charlottetown Research and Development Centre

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

440 University Avenue
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 4N6

Telephone: 902-370-1400

Email: aafc.charlottetownrdc-crdcharlottetown.aac@canada.ca

Latitude: 46.248563
Longitude: −63.135834

The Charlottetown Research and Development Centre was established in 1909 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

The Centre has an office-laboratory complex in Charlottetown and a research farm in Harrington, PEI, where it conducts research trials on a variety of crops and cropping systems.

The overall research direction for Charlottetown Research and Development Centre is to take production beyond traditional commodity-based markets and to open new areas to producers in the Region while maintaining environmental sustainability. The Centre leads research in:

• Integrated crop production systems and agricultural diversification
• Bio-based products and processes from bioresources in existing and emerging crops
• Environmental sustainability and improved performance of the agricultural production system

Facilities at the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre

• The main office-laboratory complex in Charlottetown has 65 hectares of land and over 7000 square meters of lab and office space; the Harrington Research Farm, located 11 kilometres north of Charlottetown, has 330 hectares of land and a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility
• New analytical chemistry laboratories
• Two nuclear magnetic resonance instruments
• Controlled environment cabinets
• Insect rearing rooms and collections
• State-of-the-art field scale water quality monitoring plots
• Potato, cereal and oilseed cultivar evaluation sites
• Hops production evaluation sites
• Weather-monitoring station operated with Environment Canada and part of a national network
• Linkages and networking with provincial departments, universities and industry
• Co-located at the Centre are:
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Corporate Management Branch, Marketing and Industry Services Branch, and Public Affairs Branch
  • Island Nature Trust

Current research activities

Managing Canada's soil and water resources

• Conducting research on ways to keep soil and water healthy on lands used for agriculture
• Studying soil conservation practices. The focus is on a variety of practices such as little or no tillage of the soil, or managing soils to maintain soil health, crop yield and quality
• Conducting research on new rotation cropping systems that improve soil stability and decrease erosion from agricultural production to streams, rivers and lakes
• Understanding nutrient leaching to groundwater and surface water and modelling the impacts of changes to agricultural practices on a local and watershed scale

Sustainable production systems

• Researching cropping systems and crop rotations to enhance environmental and economic sustainability
• Examining and managing soil nutrients to maximize crop production, while minimizing environmental risk
• Conducting research on organic production systems to achieve improved crop yield with alternative production practices

Pest management: maximum benefit, minimal risk

• Determining the most favourable conditions and timing for applying pesticides to control weeds, disease and insects - maximizing benefits and minimizing risks
• Bioprospecting for biopesticides
• Studying ecological approaches and new techniques to reduce pesticide use and resistance.
• Characterizing fungal and nematode populations for their impact on crops and tracking their movement
• Understanding disease, weed, and insect life cycles to develop integrated pest management strategies

Improved food production for the future

• Conducting research on the genetic potential of crop species - including wheat, barley, corn and soybeans - so that they can withstand climate stress and produce better yield and quality
• Undertaking innovative research to examine the potential of these crops to resist diseases such as the fungus causing Fusarium Head Blight
• Evaluating new potato lines and cultivated varieties that will have a higher yield, improved quality and better resistance to blight

Bioresources and value-added crops

• Conducting research on new crops with potential to have value-added bioactive components. Foods with these components could have important physiological benefits beyond basic nutrition
• Conducting research on crops with functional food attributes or industrial capabilities such as for biofuels
• Bioprospecting from local, regional and national bioresources

Results of our research

Agro-ecosystem productivity and health

• Using new soil test information to predict phosphorus availability and match phosphorus application to crop requirements
• New management strategies are being adopted to limit nitrate losses based on understanding the behaviour of nitrates in soil and water systems leading to improved profitability and environmental sustainability for the sector
• Developed and tested willow tree varieties that are being used nutrient and sediment traps in drainage areas
• Linked the fisheries and agricultural industries of the region by developing composting methods which use seafood waste as a crop nutrient source and soil amendment

Horticulture

• Developed and transferred a carrot trimmer that, by opening the canopy, changes the micro-environment and results in decreased incidence of disease; adapted by domestic and international carrot growers
• Selected the first cultivar of Rosa for bioactive content and agronomic performance (currently in the process of being granted breeders' rights): significant producer interest in growing the cultivar
• Developed effective pest management strategies to decrease losses and increase environmental sustainability of potato and vegetable production, including economically important pests such as corn borer and wireworms

Bioproducts

• Developed and implemented scale-up isolation and purification methods to support pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo screening of bioactive plant natural products
• Discovered and functionally characterized novel plant natural products (pyranoanthocyanins) with potential applications in human health and as a food dye additive

Cereal and pulses

• Developed new barley cultivars with improved yield and disease resistance under eastern Canada conditions; these cultivars account for approximately one-third of barley acreage in eastern Canada