Upon entering the Kentville Research and Development Center for the first time, a casual observer could simply see rows of regular strawberry plants.
But a closer appearance shows a lot of variety. There are large leaves, small leaves, higher plants, shorter plants and different tones of green.
Beatrice Amyotte sees potential in all these differences. As a research scientist at the center, it is your work to help develop varieties that are successful for producers and produce berries that consumers love.
As Canada’s climate changes, that task becomes more complicated.
“Some of the predictions that have been made for the next 10 to 20 years are that new Scotland will increase the amount of water that receives and increases the amount of heat it receives. Therefore, we are looking in the future in hotter and more humid conditions,” said Amyotte.
Climate models also suggest that extreme conditions are also becoming more likely, he said.
“Meteorological patterns are changing over time, so something that can resist a drier year, a colder year, a more humid year and still has good productivity in all these conditions is more likely to be resistant to climate change.
“Potentially, that will be a variety that is important for producers and will be a good father for the future of our reproduction.”
The screen screen, such as a greenhouse, but with screens instead of plastic or glass sides, contains 160 varieties of strawberry plants that will be distributed to nurseries throughout Canada next spring or will be evaluated in the fields at the Kentville Research Center, NS and other research centers in Canada.
Amyotte’s work with the Canadian berries test involves the cultivation of the same varieties in different places in Canada for several years. Understanding which varieties work well under certain growth conditions can help reduce the varieties that will prosper through climate change.
For example, varieties that are tolerant of flood conditions in BC can be a good variety to consider for new Scotland as the weather becomes more humid. Or the varieties that succeeded in New Scotland in the drought conditions of this year could work well in areas that are expected to experience these conditions more frequently due to climate change.
Challenges for producers
Philip Keddy knows the unpredictability that comes with climate change.
“I think we have been in the last 10 years beginning to see the effects of climate change,” said Charles Keddy Farm owner near Kentville. “We have had some of the most wet years, some of the driest years, colder temperatures in the winter, only drastic fluctuation and temperatures and humidity.”
These challenging growth conditions can affect the final result, with reduced yields or greater irrigation costs.
Keddy cultivates strawberry plants to send farmers in the United States and Canada, creating millions of aftershocks of the original plant using corridors or horizontal shoots, which then root to create a new plant.
Work in close collaboration with Amyotte and the Research Center to find varieties that work for the conditions faced by their clients and the properties they want in a berry.
Their customers in Florida, for example, want a berry that lasts on the shelf for a week or more, while the varieties sold in Canada tend to have a shorter useful life but more flavor and texture.
As producers face different conditions, Keddy must carefully choose the varieties that sends them with the hope that they are at the height of the challenge.
“Once we know that certain varieties can handle below climate x, that is what we then use as an argument to say, ok, you are in Alberta, you are in Saskatchewan, your winters are much colder than ours. It is more likely that these varieties will work better in your climate.”
Slow process
The process of developing a new variety that can support changing climatic conditions is slow.
Amyotte said it can take a new variety of strawberries from the seed to be ready for commercial growth and more time for raspberries and blueberries.
She said that the next step in her efforts to create varieties that can resist climate change will imply adjusting growth conditions to imitate specific tensions, such as excessive water or heat.
