Near Record Potato Crop Expected In Manitoba This Year

Oct 25, 2016

Potato growers in Manitoba are looking back on a very productive year.

Vikram Bisht, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, is expecting near record production in the province.

He explains how many potatoes where grown in Manitoba this year.

"This year we had about 64,000 acres, which is slightly less than last year but our productivity was much higher than last year," said Bisht. "Our total production may come out to be about the same."

Bisht says in general quality was very good, however there were wide spread incidents of late blight. He notes the disease was a bigger problem in tomatoes, as potato growers where able to control the disease with fungicide.

Source : Steinbachonline

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.