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Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries
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| Potato Development Centre |
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| The Potato Development Centre is
located in Wicklow, Carleton County, New Brunswick (North of
Florenceville). This Provincial Centre was established in the year
2000 to aid the province in fulfilling its mandate to the potato
growers under the newly restructured Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Aquaculture. Its mandate is "To strengthen the primary
and value-added growth, competitiveness, innovation, and
sustainability of the NB potato sector." Included in the Potato
Development Centre's directive is the operation of the Plant
Propagation Centre (located in Fredericton) and the Bon Accord Elite
Seed Potato Centre (located in Bon Accord). | 
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The Potato Development Centre is strategically located in the center of the potato belt and provides specialized service to more than 750 potato growers and their counterparts (processors, agricultural chemical suppliers, consultants, and others) throughout the province. Potato production (24,000 ha. in 2000) accounted for more than 25% of the province's farm cash receipts.
With the
aid of an up-to-date: potato storage management facility, potato quality
testing laboratory, pest management laboratory, demonstration pesticide
storage, and plant pathology lab (currently under development), the Centre
and its staff are able to provide an excellent resource of management
tools and expertise to the province's potato growers. Expertise is
available in the areas of:
plant propagation;
seed, table and processing production;
crop rotation; pest, disease and storage management;
potato physiology;
potato pathology;
business entrepeneurship;
innovative technology.
The facility includes eight individual storage compartments with separate temperature and humidity control systems. Each compartment is capable of handling material either in pallets or bulk for research or demonstration activities.
The Potato Quality Testing Laboratory provides quality testing and
analysis of tuber sucrose and glucose levels as well as processing chip
and fry color
The Potato Development Centre participates in cooperative applied research, demonstration and extension projects with the federal government, producers and producer organizations, processors, consultants, and other provincial, national and US potato extension organizations. The Centre plays a lead role in developing programs and transferring new technology and information to New Brunswick's agricultural industry.
The Centre participates in the development and
publication of extension materials such as:
the Atlantic Canada Potato Guide and the annual Variety;
Weed and Pest Control Recommendation booklet;
a series of variety profile and management fact sheets;
a daily Pest Management Update hotline during the growing season;
the Technical Report on Potatoes, summarizing the NBAFA's potato research and
demonstration projects;
a Potato Varieties in Canada booklet, and other publications.
The Centre also assists in the organization of an annual NB
Potato Conference and Trade Show. |
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