This month, The Grower featured articles on prof. Mary Ruth McDonald, and also Shawn Janse, manager of the Muck Crops Research Station (MCRS).

Mary Ruth McDonald penned an article on "New regulations for applying soil fumigants in Canada" explaining the new soil fumigant label requirements which become effective Sept. 14, 2014. These regulations are being implemented to protect workers dealing with chemicals. The new rules primarily affect those chemicals used in pest control for crops, including nematodes and certain fungi. McDonald explained how the regulations will affect growers and workers, and suggested ways to implement them into everyday practice. She also identified some areas of concern regarding the new rules, including guidelines for buffer zones.

MCRS in Kettleby ON, focuses on vegetable crops grown in the region, especially onions, carrots, lettuce, celery and Asian vegetables. The station works on research in crop protection and production. This year specifically, Muck helped in the development of novel onion varieties, to bridge the produce gap for consumers between wintered onions, and those produced in the summer growing season. Producers were looking for varieties of onions that matured faster for early distribution, along with a high yield. Muck performed onion trials, which allowed producers to select onion varieties for the desired niche market--an earlier growing season.