That’s according to a recent Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) research project to refine and apply technologies used in other industries to greenhouses to test their effectiveness at inhibiting virus transmission. The project included three approaches developed by service provider PRODIGie — Innovation Evolved Inc.

Why it matters: The anti-viral technologies are not chemical-based and offer a solution to the spread of viruses with the added benefit of not requiring lengthy regulatory approvals. They could offer a solution for preventing the spread of the tomato brown rugose fruit virus.

Ontario’s greenhouse vegetable growers have been dealing with tomato brown rugose fruit virus, which was first detected here in 2019. It causes distortion of leaves and brown, wrinkly spots on the fruit, making them unmarketable.

The virus can survive for long periods on surfaces away from tomato plants and can be easily picked up by people, tools and equipment, which increases the chance of infection and spread through the greenhouse.

COVID-19 has been a threat to human health, food security and business continuity since it emerged on the global stage early in 2020.

With both pathogens, time was of the essence to minimize spread and impact. Funding from the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative helped OGVG test various anti-viral technologies as possible tools to control pathogen spread.

“The rugose virus appeared almost in tandem with COVID-19 and commonly used disinfection tools like rubbing alcohol, for example, don’t work on either of these viruses,” says Niki Bennett, OGVG’s lead for innovation, adaptation and plant protection.

“Biosecurity is about keeping things out and preventing transmission and this project gave us a unique opportunity to go after both pathogens.”

Cold-spray coatings

The first anti-viral technology tested, novel composite cold spray coatings, can be applied to static objects like door handles and other high touch areas. According to Bennett, it performs like a barrier to prevent microbial adhesion and provides some antimicrobial activity.

Since it’s not a chemical and not being applied to plants, it does not have to go through a regulatory process to be approved for sale.

The studies showed up to a 97 per cent reduction in rugose virus on surfaces where the cold spray coatings were applied. This was a 10-fold increase in effectiveness compared to current copper benchmarks.

“We don’t know of anyone doing this; that’s what sparked our interest in this solution,” Bennett says. “It’s a barrier method that provides passive, preventative protection.”

Hand cleaners

The second technology evaluated was a non-alcohol, oil-based hand rub with antimicrobial properties. It can inactivate pathogens on the hands and also does not need regulatory approval since it is considered a personal care product.

Many greenhouse workers now use nitrile gloves to minimize risk of rugose virus spread, but it could still adhere to gloves so it is critical to change them often. The hand rub has potential to provide longer protection and reduce overall spread by workers hands.

Ozone oxidizers

The third solution tested was an ozone treatment containing powerful oxidizers that can kill micro-organisms or inactivate viruses when applied to surfaces. There was a 98 per cent reduction in rugose virus after three minutes of contact with aqueous ozone. That is a shorter contact time than what is necessary for many commercially available disinfectants.

Work is still underway to determine the best and most critical uses for this product.

All three solutions, which can be used together or separately, may be adopted by the industry, notes Bennett. The next step is determining how they can be best commercialized. There is initial interest by growers, but trials are needed to validate that interest.

“We have some pretty unique techniques here that we haven’t seen anyone else using in the greenhouse industry — and they could help us with future issues too, not just the issues of today like COVID and rugose,” she says.

“They challenge the traditional way of addressing viral and bacterial issues, which is usually reactive, and move us into the proactive and preventative space. That’s where the cost savings are, in reducing disease transmission and keeping people and plants healthy.”

For the vegetable growers, the ultimate goal is to make the sector more resilient to pathogen threats to its workforce and its crops and keep growers competitive and productive.

According to Bennett, that will mean changing crop protection strategies from reactive to proactive and seeking solutions that are effective but don’t require lengthy regulatory approval processes.

This project was supported through the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative, a cost-share program funded by the Ontario government and delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

“The GCII funding was incredibly important and a really unique opportunity for us because the funding focused on plant health and COVID-19,” adds Bennett.

“It’s not often that you can access both and have benefits to both, and it makes it much easier to look for solutions knowing that funding is available to help.”

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Left uncontrolled, humid air can reduce crop growth and result in poor quality produce, so growers have traditionally resorted to ventilation to manage the issue. While effective, this strategy also causes heat loss, which can increase a farm’s energy costs.

The Ontario chapter of Flowers Canada aimed to find a solution to this challenge. It obtained funding through the Greenhouse Renewable Energy Technologies Research & Development Initiative several years ago to test four different energy recovery technologies for their potential to reduce grower energy needs during the peak greenhouse use period of fall through early spring.

This included a mechanical refrigeration dehumidifier (MRD), a liquid desiccant dehumidifier (LDD) that runs humid air past a brine solution to absorb moisture and then heats the brine to regenerate it, and a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) system outside the greenhouse that warms cool, dry air as it enters the facility.

The fourth technology is an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) prototype that combines the liquid desiccant approach with heat exchange into a single system.

“We are looking for alternative ways to decrease energy consumption to both reduce grower costs and reduce fossil fuel use,” says Jingjing Han, research engineer with Flowers Canada.

Building on findings from the initial project, Flowers Canada obtained funding from the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative, a cost-share program funded by the Ontario government and delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council, on behalf of the Ontario agriculture department.

The funding was used to conduct more in-depth research into the four technologies and better understand how they can integrate into existing greenhouse control systems.

An Ontario flower greenhouse had three systems — MRD, LDD and HRV — installed in 2018, an herb greenhouse had four LDD units installed and a tomato greenhouse in Leamington had an ERV system installed.

Despite setbacks with malfunctioning units that couldn’t be fixed due to supply chain shortages and changes in crops and production strategies, the researchers were able to gather and analyze enough data to make useful assessments.

“All systems are able to control humidity much better than conventional ventilation, but each has their own advantages and disadvantages,” notes Han, adding that none of the systems were effective throughout the entire year.

The LDD and MRD systems were found to be most cost-effective during the late fall, winter and early spring, but their efficiency drops if the outdoor air temperature is above 10 C or high in humidity. HRV provides growers with economic benefits during cold and dry months, and the ERV system is effective at reducing condensation on the glass greenhouse cover.

According to Han, there are two things greenhouse growers should take from the research:

• Any of the systems can be useful tools for humidity control with reduced heat loss, but they must be properly integrated into the greenhouse’s internal control system to operate cost effectively.
• Energy and cost savings are most impactful from October to March. Some systems can result in energy cost savings of more than 10 per cent during January, February or March, but the relative price of energy (e.g., natural gas vs. electricity) plays a significant role relative to cost savings among the dehumidification systems.

Project partners included the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Enbridge, Nortek Air Solutions and participating farms.

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Why it matters: Year-round production of peppers was not previously possible.

Conventional greenhouse lighting systems rely on high pressure sodium lighting that doesn’t work well on pepper crops.

To work on the project, Allegro Acres formed a consortium with smart LED grow lights solution company Sollum Technologies in Montreal and teamed up with the Harrow Research and Development Centre, the University of Windsor, Golden Jem Produce and Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers.

“LEDs are up to 40 per cent more efficient, longer-lasting and more sustainable over traditional lighting and will let us eliminate night sky light pollution while maintaining an optimal environment for our crop,” said Gene Ingratta of Allegro Acres Inc., host greenhouse of the project trials.

“In the past, though, LED technology has been very expensive and not readily available, so we were keen to try the Sollum system.”

In 2020, four acres of peppers at Allegro were grown under Sollum’s lights, and the research team experimented with different photo periods, light intensities and spectra, and pepper varieties. The LED-lit area was expanded to 12 acres last year and refined on a second year of pepper crops, combining up to 24 hours of continuous light with low intensity lighting control techniques.

“We found that light spectrum and photo periods can be very variety specific. For example, some need far more red than others, or certain varieties will take less energy and still produce the same yield,” Ingratta says. They’re now working with seed companies to develop varieties that are LED-friendly to achieve maximum production with the most energy savings.

With the right varieties growing under the smart LED grow lights system, he expects 20 to 30 per cent more production from peppers that deliver quality, are more flavourful and have longer shelf life.

That’s because the light spectrum and intensity from the Sollum fixtures can be adjusted to create ideal growing conditions to match specific variety needs and respond to environmental changes. As well, the lights automatically dim when sunlight comes out, reducing hydro costs for growers and ensuring the plants get the right amount of light all the time.

“This trial with Sollum’s LED lighting technology was a big risk and a big experiment for everyone involved in the project, and without the partnership and the GCII, it would have been difficult to make it happen,” says Ingratta.

“To increase the resilience of our food supply, it’s important to have local greenhouse production throughout the winter, and this technology is an excellent example of how we can make that happen in Ontario,” says Doug Alexander, chair of the Agricultural Adaptation Council, the GCII delivery agent.

“This lighting system can also be adapted to other greenhouse vegetable crops, which will help advance the sustainability and competitive- ness of this industry in our province.”

This project is supported through the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative, a cost-share program funded by the Ontario Government and delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council, on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).

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