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It鈥檚 Earth Day! Today we celebrate a few of our many innovative researchers who are having a significant positive impact on our environment and our industry in the areas of soil conservation, environmental sustainability, organic agriculture and precision farming.

Dr. Qamar Zaman and his team of more than a dozen students and postdocs have developed a technology that will help to preserve Nova Scotia鈥檚 signature berry 鈥� the blueberry. Currently, growers are applying agrochemicals uniformly without a delivery mechanism to consider the variation in characteristics of their fields. This leads to unnecessary and excessive use of agrochemicals, which increases production costs and environmental risks. Dr. Zaman鈥檚 team has developed a cost-effective 45-foot boom sprayer system and variable rate spreader, including high-tech cameras and computerized controllers to help pinpoint 鈥� in real time -- where specific chemicals are needed in the fields. For growers, this means they can automate their spraying, which reduces their chemical use (herbicides by 70% and fungicides by 40%), saves costs and resources, and leads to a greater number of blueberries for us to enjoy.听 Dr. Zaman has received a U.S. Utility Patent for his variable rate sprayer system and method of variably applying agrochemicals. 听

Dr. Chris Cutler, associate professor of environmental science, and his team are developing ways to improve plant health, better manage insect populations and protect the environment by reducing the amount of chemicals used. In particular, Dr. Cutler and his team are closely examining the effects of pesticides on bees that pollinate crops. As part of their process, they are trying to understand how to increase populations of insects that help, not harm agriculture.

Dr. Sarah Stewart-Clark, assistant professor of shellfish aquaculture is using the most innovative science to support one of Atlantic Canada鈥檚 most traditional industries: shellfishing. Dr. Stewart-Clark and her team are creating diagnostic tests to identify species of marine weeds that adversely impact our oceans and shellfish. Think of Dr. Stewart-Clark and her team as marine family doctors. As oceans are affected by climate change, new and more invasive species of weeds invade these waters. The team is using leading-edge testing to identify these harmful species. Their work is benefiting the shellfish industry, while also helping to protect the natural beauty of our beaches and waters.

We want the farm products we enjoy to be healthy and sustainably produced. Preserving these qualities often begins deep within the soil. Dr. Derek Lynch, associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Organic Agriculture and his team examine how different farming systems and crop management practices affect biological life above and below the soil to help farmers improve the health of their farms. Like most organic farmers, Dr. Lynch鈥檚 mission hopes to bring consumers closer to understanding not only the science and sweat required to produce healthy crops and farms, but how farming and our food choices can benefit our environment.

Svetlana Yurgel, one of the most recent researchers to join the Faculty of Agriculture, started her extensive research simply by looking down. Dr. Yurgel studies soil microbiology, specifically looking at soil fertility, plant fitness and bacteria plant interaction. She is also one of the ever-increasing number of female scientists in the agricultural industry.

Dr. Yurgel is looking at how to enhance the growth of agricultural legumes without the use of harsh fertilizers that can sometimes be harmful to the environment. To do this, she studies rhizobium-legume symbiosis: an interaction that allows two organisms to co-exist.

听鈥淪ymbiosis is similar to marriage,鈥� Dr. Yurgel explains. 鈥淭here鈥檚 one person and then a second person and they get together and benefit from each other. The plant can live by itself and the bacteria can live by itself but they can combine and interact and form a specific organism that contains both.鈥�

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