(ECORC) (CRECO) Michele Marcotte, Director Research and Development Procinorte – Ottawa – March 6, 2014 EASTERN CEREAL AND OILSEED RESEARCH CENTRE (ECORC) CENTRE DE RECHERCHES DE L’EST SUR LES CÉRÉALES ET LES OLÉAGINEUX (CRECO) Michele Marcotte, Director Research and Development Procinorte – Ottawa – March 6, 2014 K.W. NEATBY BLDG CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM 960 Carling Avenue, OTTAWA, Ontario, K1A 0C6

Lacombe Lethbridge Winnipeg Harrow St-Jean St-Hyacinthe Lennoxville Québec Charlottetown Kentville Ottawa Frederict on Brandon Saskatoon Swift Current Summerland AAFC S&T Centres AAFC S&T Facilities, Sites, Offices Guelph London AAFC Network of Centers with a presence with a broad coverage of ecosystems and commodities Agassiz St. John’s MWP ECORC

Established in 1887, by an Act of Parliament, as one of the 5 demonstration farms in the country 1052 acres (425 hectares); 85 buildings (27 heritage designated) Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm 3 Rooted in Science – Innovating for the Future S’enraciner dans la science – Innover pour l’avenir0

44 Our mandate... Regional : for crop development for Eastern Canadian producers located between Manitoba and PEI. Our focus is on Oats, Wheat, Barley, Corn and Soybean National : for assessing and utilizing biodiversity and environmental resources for Canadian agriculture

Area of Research (1) Better Products for Stronger Markets –Improving the genetic makeup of corn and corn populations that have been bred for desirable traits for the short-season areas –Developing new varieties of soybeans for short-season areas –Developing winter and spring wheat, oats and barley for eastern Canada, typically a humid climate. Traits of importance are resistance to disease and insects, improved quality, early maturity and tolerance for cold and drought –Developing methods to control Fusarium (a fungal disease for corn, wheat, barley and oats), as well as other cereal and oilseed diseases (e.g. Ug99, Asian Soybean Rust), and other plant diseases (e.g. potato wart, cabbage seedpod weevil, and nematodes) 5

Area of Research (2) Investing in Healthier Crops –Determining the best methods to produce crops by less frequent tilling of the soil, and making better use of organic nitrogen sources –Characterizing nitrogen and fertilizer needs and their use by crops; the interactions between crop yield and environment; optimal crop rotations, as well as methods of cultivating crops to reduce soil erosion –Studying the interaction between plants and the bacteria or fungi that infect them, the effects of agricultural practices on crop diseases, and cereal seed fungi 6

SOYBEAN RESEARCH – Breeding and Markers, Agronomy, Pathology, Food Attributes (e.g. GABA) for Niche Markets

8 Mycotoxin Research – Multidisciplinary Approach Mycotoxin Chemistry Genomics/ Proteomics Mycology CCFC Breeding/ Pathology

Area of research (3) Delivering Value through Science –Isolating, characterizing and manipulating useful plant genes and the elements that control or regulate them to allow research to add product value, reduce environmental impacts on crops and increase resistance to insects and disease –Identifying the molecular markers associated with important crop traits to facilitate the genetic enhancement of crops –Evaluating and documenting the genetic profiles for corn, small grain cereals, canola, and their resistance to fungal diseases (e.g., Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, etc.) 9

Areas of Research (4) Enhancing Environmental Performance –Establishing environmentally sustainable ways to develop and use land for field crop production in eastern Ontario and western Quebec –Formulating methods and models to evaluate the impact of agriculture on levels of carbon in the soil, as well as greenhouse gas emissions –Evaluating and modeling the dynamics of agriculture-based contaminants in soil and water, and studying best management practices to reduce movements of contaminants into the environment –Creating resource databases for land use and environmental assessments 10 -Three areas of applications -Crop Inventory -Soil Moisture -Land Management

Area of Research (5) New Knowledge and Innovation –Identifying and characterizing Canada's flora and fauna to define economically important fungi, insects, weeds, and crops –Studying ways to detect, measure, monitor and assess changes to support conservation and sustainable use of Canadian biological resources –Using molecular techniques to determine the genetic diversity of crops, weeds, and to identify economically important fungi or insects affecting agriculture –Developing knowledge on the classifications and relationships of important insect groups –Developing identification tools to facilitate diagnostics of domestic and invasive pests of agricultural products for border protection –Developing novel pest management strategies that exploit natural enemies and that can be integrated with current agricultural practices 12

AAFC Core Biological Resources Biodiversity Collections: Fungi – 18,000 Bacteria– 2,000 Viruses– 450 Insects– 17 million Plants– 1.2 million Nematodes– 40,000 Fungi (DAOM)– 350,000 Taxonomy library reference collection maintained alive non-living specimens

Plant Protection/Integrated Pest Management Strategy Eastern Canada CEF/ECORC -Reference Collections (CNC, DAO, DAOM, CCFC) -Genomics -ID/Survey/BOLD DFO NRCan CFS PHA C Support trade export Border Protection Import CFIA RISK IDENTIFICATION NEW TOOLS DEVELOPMENT OF MITIGATION STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES MINOR USE PROGRAM PESTICIDE RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM AAFC PMC HC PMRA INDUSTRY CEF/ECORC BIOCONTROL Biocontainment AAFC London AAFC Saint-Jean AAFC Harrow AAFC West Lethbridge Summerland Saskatoon Winnipeg R D T MISB Biocontrol Biopesticides

Facts, Figures, and Facilities 68 research scientists and a total staff of honorary research associates or emeritus researchers 9 terms and 9 casuals, students, ~50 personnel for Integrated Services Management 425 hectares of experimental fields and plots on the historic Central Experimental Farm in downtown Ottawa Integrated Growth Facility – Greenhouses (2200 m 2 ) established in 2008 Research Laboratories (mainly Neatby for m 2 but also Saunders for m 2 ) One of nine national sites in the AAFC Watershed Evaluation of Beneficial Management Practices (South Nation) National Arthropod Containment Facility providing a single entry point for exotic insects with beneficial biocontrol potential National Mycotoxin Analysis Laboratory serving AAFC cereal breeders and Fusarium resistance research projects National Soil Databases containing soil, climate, land use, and crop yield Central genomics facility performing global gene expression profiling for a variety of organisms (plant, fungal, animal) using an extensive DNA sequence database, a DNA microarray printer and scanner, and robotic equipment Electronic microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance center for use by AAFC scientists National bioinformatics capacity for “biodiversity” 16