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Smart phone sensor system put to the test


By Judie Steeves I


magine being able to use your smart phone to detect mycotoxins in the orchard or vineyard so you know you need to deal with a problem —before it gets out of control.


Such innovation is currently at the experimental stage in the Okanagan, thanks in part to $187,500 in funding from the federal- provincial Agri-Innovation Program to demonstrate the ability of wireless sensors to monitor pathogens in cherry orchards and storage facilities to help growers become more competitive for new Asian markets. A company called Flex-Alert is testing Radio Frequency Identification technology sensors in local orchards to pick up the presence of fungal infections in time to treat them.


Company consultant Gary Strachan says it’s proven technology, but needs to be refined for use with specific fungus infections of crops such as cherries. He has been doing some spore sampling in cherry orchards this summer, and sent those off to a lab for analysis.


It is predictive software that must be adapted to recognize particular spores that cause problems for different crops.


Strachan feels the technology has a lot of promise and is very innovative. He says it would be particularly helpful for organic growers, who are always on the lookout for non-systemic treatments for such issues. Ultimately, such technology could save growers hundreds of dollars an acre by pinpointing the need for sprays and their timing, said Jacek Chrostowski, president of Flex-Alert.


The company has experience in developing wireless sensor systems to detect contamination at all stages of food growth, including transportation, storage and delivery, to reduce losses.


Such an integrated mycotoxin monitoring system is based on proprietary biosensor technology, using wireless communication to deliver data to a central information control system. Real-time access to that information would be available to users in the field, during storage and in packaged products. Users could then respond rapidly to quality


issues.


Data collected in the field would be stored on the web server for further analysis for patterns. Sensors can detect temperature, humidity, soil moisture, soil nutrients etc.


KELOWNA PUBLIC ARCHIVES


Looking Back By Wayne Wilson


T


he Postill Lake Dam, in the uplands east of Lake Country, was built just prior to World War I as part of the Central Okanagan Land and Orchard Company irrigation works. A log-crib, rock-fill dam, it was typical of so many built in the Okanagan region around this time. The dimensions of the dam and the scale of the work camp give a clear sense of the size of the construction operation.


One of the more curious aspects of this professionally shot photograph is the surrounding landscape. Clearly, the entire area has been burned off by a forest fire. While the fire event may have proven a useful accident in terms of accessing local material such as gravels and fill needed for the dam, such events were a significant concern for the expanding orcharding community in the alley.


Clean and reliable supplies of water were a key component to the successful shift from cattle ranching and grain growing to intensive tree fruit production in the Okanagan Valley. Proper watershed management, including logging practices and forest fire control, became a ready topic among the increasingly well informed grower population. A reflection of just how important watershed management was becoming at the time is seen in the minutes and records of the Western Canadian Irrigation Association. A regular topic of discussion at their conferences turned around forest management (particularly forest fires) and the measures that government should take to protect watersheds and fight forest fires.


These topics remain critical to the Okanagan Valley’s agricultural production. Between existing forest legislation and the new provincial Water Act, watershed management issues for both agriculture and domestic purposes have some of the teeth needed to protect this limited resource that none of us can do without. It is historic photographs such as this that begin to hint at just how long these very topics have been in play for Okanagan growers and other Okanagan residents If you have photos or artefacts of our rich agricultural heritage, please contact the B. C. Orchard Industry Museum at 778-478-0347. — Wayne Wilson is the former executive-director of the B.C. Orchard Industry Museum and the B.C. Wine Museum.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2016 17


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