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Nova Scotia ’ s First Aquaponics Operation Planned for Former Elementary School
Halifax ’ s CaNile Consultants Ltd . has purchased the former Newport Station elementary school in West Hants to build Nova Scotia ’ s first commercial aquaponics farm , which should start production by February 2018 . “ We have been studying aquaponics for some time now and felt it might be a very good idea to start aquaponics for the first time in Nova Scotia ,” says CaNile Consultants ’ owner Mohamad Ramadan , who adds that the project ’ s investing group will collaborate with Dalhousie Agriculture to get aquaponics on the curriculum . “ This is very good news for West Hants ,” says Warden Abraham Zebian . “ This is a great day for West Hants as this company will be developing the building to begin an aquaculture and aquaponics business , processing and packaging agricultural products . This will result in the creation of a minimum of 10-15 new jobs for our area and hopefully more as the business grows .”
- hantsjournal . ca
Millennial Parents to Drive Organic Industry
A new survey found millennials , who are already major buyers of organic products , will likely be the driving force of the organics industry as they become parents . The survey conductor says millennial parents will be looking for healthy , nutritious foods for their kids and thus will be inclined to buy organic . Baby food ranked as the number one thing participants said was important to purchase organic , surpassing fruits and vegetables . “ This year ’ s survey findings clearly show the positive relationship between organic and parenting . Exciting times lie ahead for the organic sector ,” Laura Batcha , CEO and executive director of the Organic Trade Association , says in a statement . According to estimates , 80 per cent of millennials will have children in the next 15 years .
- freshplaza . com
Gene Responsible for Big , Juicy Tomatoes Identified
Thanks to thousands of years of selective breeding , tomatoes are significantly bigger and juicier than their wild ancestors . It wasn ’ t until this year , however , that scientists figured out what is genetically responsible for making modern tomatoes so large and plump . They found that domesticated tomatoes carry a mutation in the cell size regulator gene , which increases the size of the individual cells in the fleshy part of the fruit . The mutation shortens the resulting protein in tomato cells , likely affecting its role in regulating cell differentiation and fruit / vascular tissue maturation . “ The knowledge of the gene will now open up avenues of research into how fruit size can be increased further without negatively impacting other important qualities such as disease resistance and flavour ,” says researcher Dr . Esther van der Knaap .
- sciencedaily . com
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