Ontario Crops Research Centre – Bradford

Ontario Crops Research Centre – Bradford is located in the Bradford/Holland Marsh, near the intersection of Highway 400 and Hwy 9. This region is the largest area of organic (muck) soil developed for agriculture in the province and one of the most intensive areas of agricultural production in the country. The Ontario Crops Research Centre is owned by Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario and managed by the University of Guelph through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.

The facilities at this station include a plant pathology lab, greenhouses with ebb and flow benches and computer monitored environment, cold storage facilities to provide the specific requirements for long term storage of onions and carrots and several sites for field research. There are 4 ha of organic soil research plots on site, a further hectare of organic soil, rented from a local grower and located in another area of the Marsh. Field trials are also conducted in commercial vegetable fields in cooperation with local growers.

Research at the Centre focuses on the vegetable crops grown in the region, especially onions, carrots, lettuce and celery, but includes a wide variety of other vegetables. The emphasis is on discovery research in crop protection and production, to contribute to improved integrated pest management and integrated crop management of the target vegetable crops.

Collaborative work with seed companies, the crop protection industry, plant breeders and other scientists continues every year. Cost recovery trials to evaluate new cultivars and crop protection materials are conducted on a regular basis. The facility is GLP certified to conduct residue trials for registration of materials.