Features Fruit Production
Canada supports Maritime apple research

August 2, 2011,
Kentville, NS – Maritime apple growers will be able to better adapt to changing
growing conditions and produce high-quality apples for consumers here and
around the world, thanks to the latest investment in research by the Government
of Canada.

August 2, 2011,
Kentville, NS – Maritime apple growers will be able to better adapt to changing
growing conditions and produce high-quality apples for consumers here and
around the world, thanks to the latest investment in research by the Government
of Canada.

An investment of more
than $226,000 to the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association (NSFGA) to fund
research focused on apple quality in the orchard was recently announced.

The funding will make
the Maritime apple industry more competitive and increase the profitability of
farmers by studying fruit maturity and quality and helping growers adapt to
changing weather patterns. Apples continue to be important to the Maritime
economy. In 2010, the region produced 37,724 metric tonnes of apples worth
$14.1 million at the farm gate.

“This is good news for
the apple industry,” said Michael Walsh, president of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’
Association. “A main goal of this project is making the NS apple industry a
better managed, more efficient and more profitable industry, and this
investment makes that possible.”

Over the next three
years, researchers from the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association will work
collaboratively with researchers at the Atlantic Food and Horticultural
Research Centre in Kentville to study how weather impacts the maturity and
quality of new high-value apple varieties.

“We are pleased to
contribute to this project that supports and encourages innovation to increase
the competitiveness and profitability of Nova Scotia’s apple industry,” said
Charles Keddy, vice chair of Agri-Futures Nova Scotia, which delivers
adaptation funding in Nova Scotia.

This investment is from
the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP), a five-year (2009-2014),
$163-million program that enables producers to seize opportunities, respond to
new and emerging issues, and test solutions to new and ongoing issues.
Agri-Futures Nova Scotia is responsible for delivering CAAP in Nova
Scotia.

To learn more about CAAP and Agri-Futures Nova Scotia visit their website at www.agri-futures.ns.ca.