The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will lead projects that use new DNA-based technologies to greatly reduce the quarantine testing time for the import and export of fruit plants. 

The current process takes an average of three years to complete, which the CFIA said significantly hampered the speed of trade.

The two new projects are worth CAD$500,000 (US$396,000) and aimed at boosting competitiveness in the CAD$240 million Canadian fruit tree industry.

"The first project will dramatically shorten the testing period of seeds, cuttings and bulbs imported into Canada to grow new varieties of plants," the CFIA said.

"With this funding, scientists will use DNA technology to test for all viruses associated with imported plants to get an early indication of any plant diseases present. This approach could reduce the quarantine testing time by up to two and a half years."

The second project streamlines the testing of strawberry plants.

"Traditionally, multiple tests for viruses are required before exporting strawberry plants to foreign markets. This project will test for multiple viruses in one single test, dramatically reducing the time and cost to get plants to market," it said.

Funding for these projects is provided through a partnership between the CFIA, Genome British Columbia, Summerland Varieties Corporation, Phyto Diagnostics, the British Columbia Cherry Association, and Vineland Research and Innovations Centre.

"Together with provincial partners and industry, our government is making the investments in innovative science that enables agriculture to be a leading growth sector of Canada's economy," Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a statement.

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com