Funding Tender Fruit Growers to develop climate resilient varieties

Vineland Station – Canadian farmers produce a wide range of fruits, including apples and tender fruit like peaches, pears, and apricots, that contribute steadily to Canada’s economy—with most of Canada’s tender fruit and apples grown in Ontario.

To keep the sector strong, competitive, and resilient in the face of more extreme weather events, Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, on behalf of Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $1,099,624 to the Ontario Tender Fruit Growers through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Ontario Apple Growers is a project partner.

Key outcomes of the project include:

• Developing baseline data on the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of Canadian apple and tender fruit farming operations
• Measuring and quantifying the impacts of climate-smart management practices on a farm’s environmental footprint
• Developing a carbon calculator to help growers understand, track, and reduce their carbon footprint and GHG emissions
• Developing innovative and superior varieties of tender fruit to increase the resiliency and economic growth of the sector

Building on the previous variety development research, this project will look at innovative tender fruit varieties with improved attributes—such as firmer flesh—to increase production, extend shelf-life, and reduce losses caused by shipping, storage, and climate change.