Macdonald Campus Research Articles

Historical development of subsurface drainage in Quebec from 1850 to 1970

Despite its beginning in the 1850’s and being first in Canada to purchase a tile drainage trencher, subsurface drainage of agricultural lands in Quebec is poorly documented, which the present paper will try to document from 1850 to 1970. In Quebec, Catholic priests and monks played an important role in educating rural communities by establishing French agricultural schools throughout the province. For the English rural communities, Macdonald College (Macdonald Campus of McGill University) played a major role especially in preparing plans, besides promoting the technology. The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture encouraged subsurface drainage early in 1912 but would prefer investing in land clearing and watercourse deepening to establish more farms, from the employment needs created by WWI, the great 1930 depression and WWII. This work mostly completed in the early 1960’s, the Quebec Government would then initiate a major subsurface drainage program, allowing private enterprises to take over shortly after 1967. Although the Ministry changed names several times even after 1967, the term ‘Ministry of Agriculture’ will be used throughout this article. To compare trencher performance, a 15 m average spacing is presumed. This paper is limited to the main events and persons involved, without being able to cover them all.

FRACTAL

McGill's Macdonald Campus FRACTAL program is a relatively new initiative that provides freshman (U0) students with the structure and academic skills necessary for a smooth transition into all aspects of university life. Central to this initiative are three leading factors: (a) the program director and the academic advisor are also professors for the majority of the freshman courses, (b) the freshman seminar course combines academic advising with study and life skills coaching, (c) an exhibition-style Majors' Fair at the end of freshman year displays the available programs of study. This integrated approach of teaching and (intrusive) advising, the use of STEM research-based best-practices, along with the latest teaching technology in the classroom, has drastically reduced the number of students on academic probation, while also increasing retention.

From Seed to Harvest: Growing the Macdonald Campus Seed Library

In 2017, the Macdonald Campus Seed Library was launched at the Macdonald Campus Library of McGill University. This seed library, the first in an academic library in Quebec and the third in Canada, is an unusual, innovative program, and has generated a great deal of interest and enthusiasm from the university community. It has proven to be an effective tool for outreach, offering many opportunities for community engagement and library promotion. This article defines seed libraries and discusses their history and educational significance, and details the process of conceptualizing, creating, and operating a seed library in an academic library.

Uncovering the McGill Library Lyman Collection: The Lasting Legacy of an Amateur Entomologist

This article describes the efforts made by two librarians to retrace and reveal the lost story of a poorly documented special collection bequeathed to McGill University in 1914 by Henry Herbert Lyman, a local amateur entomologist. Lyman’s legacy lives on at the university through the Lyman Entomological Museum and Research Laboratory and the entomological literature collection, known as the Lyman Collection, housed at the Macdonald Campus Library. University archival materials, library records, and historical accounts of the museum and its literature collection helped trace the history and various moves of the collection and allowed us to identify those materials likely to have belonged to Lyman originally. The collection was analysed to determine its uniqueness within Canada as compared with a selection of comparator academic libraries.

Super Absorbent Polymer and Irrigation Regime Effects on Growth and Water Use Efficiency of Container-Grown Cherry Tomatoes

Abstract. There is a need to develop innovative techniques to effectively use water in agriculture to meet the growing demands for food. Super absorbent polymers (SAPs), or hydrogels, can absorb and retain large amounts of water against gravitational forces and release it on demand to meet plant water requirements. Being an artificially synthesized compound, it is imperative that SAPs should not introduce toxicity to the growing medium or produce. The objectives of this study were to determine whether SAPs can improve water use efficiency (WUE) and the physiological growth of cherry tomatoes ( var. ) without causing soil toxicity. A pot-trial experiment was carried out in 2014 at the Research Greenhouse of McGill University’s Macdonald Campus (Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada) in a completely randomized design, with three concentrations of SAP (0%, 0.1%, and 0.5%) and three irrigation intervals (daily, each alternate day, and every third day). The mean yield of the experimental cherry tomatoes was statistically significantly higher where 0.5% SAP was applied, compared to where SAP was not applied (p = 0.0056). The mean WUE was also higher where 0.5% SAP was applied when compared to where SAP was not applied (p = 0.05). To ascertain food safety, the presence of free acrylamide monomer in tomatoes was checked. The acrylamide concentrations were below the detection limit of 5 µg kg-1 in all tomato samples. To assess environmental toxicity, a Microtox toxicology analysis was also conducted on the growing medium, which revealed that the SAP used in the study was not toxic. Therefore, it can be concluded that the application of SAP could increase yield and WUE of greenhouse-grown cherry tomatoes. It also appears that SAP did not introduce toxic side-effects in the soil nor in the tomatoes, as determined by Microtox acute toxicity test and acrylamide residue analysis with LC-MS. Keywords: Acrylamide, Cherry tomatoes, Greenhouse, Microtox, Monomer, Super absorbent polymer, Toxicity, Water use efficiency, Yield.

Independent Study on Changing Student Behaviour to Increase Energy Sustainability and Efficiency at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University

This paper explores social perception towards energy consumption on Macdonald campus, as seen by different subsections of the Macdonald community: undergraduate, graduate, faculty and staff. A total of 118 community members were randomly surveyed via a semi-structured questionnaire. The main findings of our research suggest that, as a whole, community members believe Macdonald Campus to be a relatively energy-efficient place. However, results indicated a discrepancy between students and faculty/staff in terms of their perception of energy efficiency on campus. Furthermore, there was broad agreement regarding the inaccessibility of information on energy use on campus, suggesting that this was a primary leverage point for enacting social change. Various initiatives are presented that are aimed towards increasing information accessibility. With a planned implementation date of Fall 2012, these initiatives are expected to have a significant impact on environmental awareness, leading to a decrease in energy use on campus and a reduction in environmental impact.

Climate change in the North China Plain: smallholder farmer perceptions and adaptations in Quzhou County, Hebei Province

CR Climate Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials CR 69:261-273 (2016) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01407 Climate change in the North China Plain: smallholder farmer perceptions and adaptations in Quzhou County, Hebei Province David Chen1, Joann K. Whalen2,* 1Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and 2Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue QC H9X 3V9, Canada *Corresponding author: joann.whalen@mcgill.ca ABSTRACT: Climate change is expected to negatively affect production of winter wheat and maize in the North China Plain (NCP). This study examines the perceptions and adaptations to climate change of farmers in Quzhou County in the NCP. Structured interviews were held with 37 smallholder farmers to determine their perceptions of and adaptations to climate change in the past 30 yr. Historical meteorological data (1980 to 2010) showed a significant increase in mean annual temperature of 1.7°C over 30 yr and no significant change in mean annual rainfall, but farmers perceive increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall during this period. We hypothesize that this leads farmers to irrigate more, due to their perception that the changing temperature and precipitation regime is increasing crop water stress. Further increase in annual temperature predicted for the NCP will intensify irrigation and deplete the groundwater reserves used for irrigation in this area. Farmers in the NCP require decision-making tools to develop sustainable irrigation practices for long-term adaptation to climate change. KEY WORDS: Agriculture · Climate change · Meteorological data · Participatory methods Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousCite this article as: Chen D, Whalen JK (2016) Climate change in the North China Plain: smallholder farmer perceptions and adaptations in Quzhou County, Hebei Province. Clim Res 69:261-273. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01407 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in CR Vol. 69, No. 3. Online publication date: August 29, 2016 Print ISSN: 0936-577X; Online ISSN: 1616-1572 Copyright © 2016 Inter-Research.

Assessment of soil properties in situ using a prototype portable MIR spectrometer in two agricultural fields

Mid-infrared (MIR) soil spectroscopy has shown applicability to predict selected properties through various laboratory studies. However, reports on the successful use of MIR instruments in field conditions ( in situ ) have been limited. In this study, a small portable prototype MIR (898–1811 cm −1 ) spectrometer was used to collect soil spectra from two agricultural fields (predominantly organic and mineral soils). Both fields were located at Macdonald Campus of McGill University in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada. In each of the 120 predefined field locations, in situ spectroscopic measurements were repeated three times and one representative soil sample was analyzed following conventional laboratory procedures. For every soil property, a field-specific partial least squares regression (PLSR) model was developed and evaluated using a leave-one-out cross-validation routine. Each soil property was evaluated in terms of the accuracy and reproducibility of model predictions. Among tested soil properties, soil organic matter, water content, bulk density, cation exchange capacity (CEC), Ca and Mg yielded higher model performance indicators (R 2 > 0.50 and RPD > 1.40) as compared to soil pH, Fe, Cu, phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen, K or Na. In most instances, the error estimate representing the prediction reproducibility was found to be as high as 50% of the overall prediction error. This was due to the combination of optical and electrical noise and soil micro-variability causing soil spectra representing the same field location to yield different predictions.

Portable Frost-protection Misting System: Trial on Tomato and Sweet Orange Crops

During the North American crop-growing season, although daytime temperatures may remain well above freezing point, nighttime temperatures can easily drop below 0 °C for a few hours. The effects of frost are felt in small operations, such as residential gardens, or in specific areas of a larger operation. Various large-scale measures exist for crop frost protection but they are neither portable nor flexible. A fully automated portable frost-protection misting system that makes use of the latent heat of fusion of water was developed and tested on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University (Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada). The water tank stores up to 20 gal of pressurized water and detachable auxiliary air tanks provide additional line pressure. The device is lightweight, portable and provides flexible, overhead water misting for two 25-ft rows of crops. It activates autonomously using a thermostat, battery pack, and solenoid valve, and the outlet pressure is regulated using a pressure regulator. It is easily installed and dismantled for expedient relocation and the dynamic system of tubing and nozzles can be modified as required. The system was tested in subzero ambient air temperature ranging from −7.1 to 0 °C. During misting, the flesh of the targeted tomato fruit remained, on average, 3.1 and 3.6 °C warmer than ambient temperatures. The use of the system is currently limited by the infrequent formation of ice on the misting nozzles and in the water lines due drastic drops in temperature.

Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation

Aladenola, O. and Madramootoo, C. 2014. Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 303–310. In order to optimize water use in bell pepper production information about the appropriate irrigation water applications and agronomic and physiological response to mild and severe water stress is necessary. Different water applications were tested on yield, quality and water stress threshold of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Red Knight in 2011 and 2012 on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste Anne De Bellevue, QC. The study was carried out on a soil substrate in the greenhouse. Irrigation was scheduled with four treatments:120% (T1), 100% (T2), 80% (T3), and 40% (T4) replenishment of crop evapotranspiration in a completely randomized design. The highest marketable yield, water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were obtained with T1 in both years. T1 received 20% more water than T2 to produce 23% more marketable yield than T2. Fruit total soluble solids content was highest in T4, and smallest in T1. The mean crop water stress index (CWSI) of the irrigation treatments ranged between 0.08 and 1.18. Leaf stomatal conductance of bell pepper was 75 to 80% lower in T4 than in T1. Regression obtained between stomatal conductance and CWSI resulted in a polynomial curve with coefficients of determination of 0.88 and 0.97 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The result from this study indicate that the yield derived justifies the use of an extra quantity of water. Information from this study will help water regulators to make appropriate decision about water to be allocated for greenhouse production of bell pepper.

Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation

Aladenola, O. and Madramootoo, C. 2014. Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 303-310. In order to optimize water use in bell pepper production information about the appropriate irrigation water applications and agronomic and physiological response to mild and severe water stress is necessary. Different water applications were tested on yield, quality and water stress threshold of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Red Knight in 2011 and 2012 on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste Anne De Bellevue, QC. The study was carried out on a soil substrate in the greenhouse. Irrigation was scheduled with four treatments:120% (T1), 100% (T2), 80% (T3), and 40% (T4) replenishment of crop evapotranspiration in a completely randomized design. The highest marketable yield, water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were obtained with T1 in both years. T1 received 20% more water than T2 to produce 23% more marketable yield than T2. Fruit total soluble solids content was highest in T4, and smallest in T1. The mean crop water stress index (CWSI) of the irrigation treatments ranged between 0.08 and 1.18. Leaf stomatal conductance of bell pepper was 75 to 80% lower in T4 than in T1. Regression obtained between stomatal conductance and CWSI resulted in a polynomial curve with coefficients of determination of 0.88 and 0.97 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The result from this study indicate that the yield derived justifies the use of an extra quantity of water. Information from this study will help water regulators to make appropriate decision about water to be allocated for greenhouse production of bell pepper.

Design, Construction, and Operation of a Demonstration Rainwater Harvesting System for Greenhouse Irrigation at McGill University, Canada

Increasing stress on urban water demand has led to the exploration of the potential of rainwater use and water recycling to promote sustainable water resources management. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) not only has the potential to reduce water demand but also contributes to other sustainable objectives, including reducing stormwater pollutant loads, reducing erosion, and inducing natural flow regimes by means of flood control, in urban streams. This research involved the design, construction, and field-testing of an RWH system used to irrigate greenhouses at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University in Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the RWH system was to collect rainwater from a roof area of ≈610 m2 (the Horticulture Services Building on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University) to meet the irrigation demands of the two Horticulture Research Center greenhouses on the campus (≈149 m2 each) from May to October. Over its two years of operation, it was found that the amount of rainwater collected did not only meet the peak irrigation demands of the greenhouses (which amounted to almost 700 gal of water per day), but that there was also enough water for the irrigation of the nearby student-run gardens. The harvested rainwater was clear and did not cause any harm to the plants. The major problem that was experienced during the operation of the RWH system was that of algae growth in one of the water collection tanks. This issue was resolved by covering the tank with metallic green wallpaper, thereby blocking most of the sunlight from entering the tank. The RWH system is currently being used for irrigation and as a demonstration project to promote the learning of sustainable technologies on campus and in the surrounding communities.

Using signal molecule genistein to alleviate the stress of suboptimal root zone temperature on soybean-Bradyrhizobium symbiosis under different soil textures

Suboptimal root zone temperatures (RZTs) (below 25°C) in Canada until July may adversely affect the secretion of interorganismal signal molecules such as genistein by soybean and hence, the soybean-Bradyrhizobium symbiosis. We also proposed for the first time that soil texture might play a role in these biochemical communications. Soybean plants, planted in undisturbed soil samples (with sandy, loamy and clay textures), collected from the field, were subjected to three different soil temperatures (14, 19 and 24°C). Bradyrhizobium japonicum (strain 532C) inocula, preincubated with four levels of genistein (0, 5, 10 and 20 µM), were used to inoculate the plants. The experiment was conducted at the research greenhouse of Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Canada. The effects of genistein 5 and 20 µM on soybean nodulation and growth were significant at 14°C. As genistein was more effective in loamy and clay soils, soil texture may also be a determining factor in the biochemical communications between B. japonicum and soybean.

Heat treatment application to increase fruit and vegetable quality

Abstract Purpose of review: Heat treatment has been used for quarantine and decay co ntrol in an increasing variety of crops, and its use has been extended to the inhibition of the ripening processes or the induction of resistance to chilling injury. Through a brief ov erview of certain studies about the physiological, pathological and physical principles of heat treatment with emphasis on the physical o r engi-neering aspects, an effort is made to determine the focus of further research. Main findings: Research effort on heat treatment in the postharvest stage has been increasing steadily in recent years, with successful laboratory investigations and some scale-up development of the us e of hot water, radio frequencie s, microwaves and hot air in d isinfes-tation, disinfection, chilling injury control and the slowing down of the ripening process in various fresh horticultural crops. Several aspects of the mechanisms of heat treatment in terms of decay control, induction of thermotolerance, and heat transfer under un iform heating media have been thoroughly evaluated. The threshold te mperature and uniformity in space throughout the entire duration of the process are the two most important factors that should be take n into account during heat treatment process development on an in dus-trial scale. Directions for future research: The challenge for heat treatment lies in the scale-up of some treatment methods by optimising the temperature range and duration, improving the uniformity of heat treatment, and conducting research into a protocol for the ado ption of different heat treatments as part of the postharvest chain. Keywords: none Abbreviations *Correspondence to: Jianbo Lu, McGill University, Mac-donald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada Stewart Postharvest Review 2007, 3: 4 Published online 01 June 2007 doi: 10.2212/spr.2007.3.4 Symbols k Thermal conductivity (W /m °C) h Heat transfer coefficient (W/m °C) r Radial coordinate originating from the fruit centre r

Evaluation of a Fluorescent Method for Measuring Cholinesterase Activity in Mammalian Blood and Tissue

1 School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada 2 Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada 3 Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada 4 Departments of Animal Science and Environmental Toxicology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Annual Meeting, Québec, Quebec, 2006, The Canadian Phytopathological Society / Réunion annuelle, Québec, Québec, 2006, La Société canadienne de phytopathologie

Annual Meeting, Québec, Quebec, 2006, The Canadian Phytopathological Society / Réunion annuelle, Québec, Québec, 2006, La Société canadienne de phytopathologie

Environmental Dose of Toxaphene Does Not Affect the Growth, Stress Response, and Selected Physiological Parameters in Juvenile Arctic Charr, (Salvelinus alpinus)

Growth, Stress Response, and Selected Physiological Parameters in Juvenile Arctic Charr, (Salvelinus alpinus) C. A. Blanar,* M. A. Curtis, H. M. Chan 1 Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada 2 School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21, 111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada

Measurement of tensile strength of unsaturated sandy loam soil

This paper presents a method of measuring tensile strength directly on laboratory prepared soil samples. The soil used in the tests was a St. Benoit sandy loam (Bt) from the Macdonald Campus Research Station, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Que., Canada. The three experiments were: (1) measurements of tensile strength of soil samples at different moisture contents, prepared making an effort to keep constant soil density; (2) measurements of tensile strength of soil samples at different bulk densities, prepared making an effort to keep constant moisture content; and (3) measurements of tensile strength of soil samples at different moisture contents, prepared using soil at different moisture content at the time of compacting and using the same compaction force. It was concluded that drying the soil after densification can improve soil strength. However, reducing the water content before densification led to decreasing soil strength, or a higher requirement for compressive energy to achieve the same tensile strength. Densification always increased soil strength independent of the compaction path.

Efficacy of ivermectin in calves against a resistant Cooperia oncophora field isolate.

Since 1999, two Cooperia oncophora isolates, originally obtained from the United Kingdom, have been maintained by regular passage through calves at the Macdonald Campus, McGill University farm. One isolate, IVS, was originally susceptible to ivermectin, while the IVR isolate was originally resistant to ivermectin. These two isolates have been used to study the mechanisms of ivermectin resistance. To confirm the susceptible/resistant status after 4 years of passaging through calves, a controlled study was performed in which two worm-free calves were experimentally infected with IVS and another two worm-free calves with the IVR infective larvae. The calves were treated with ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg) subcutaneously (Ivomec Injection) 21 days after infection. Ivermectin at the recommended dose was 100% effective at eliminating the IVS isolate, since no eggs were found in feces, and no adult worms were found in the small intestine of the treated IVS-infected calf. In contrast, the IVR-infected calf continued to pass eggs in feces even after treatment with ivermectin, and adult worms (250) were found in the small intestine at necropsy. The untreated calves had 1,330 and 848 adult worms, respectively, for the IVS and IVR infected animals.

Report on CINE Symposium, October 15, 2003

Background Fall, 2003, was the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE) on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. The Chair of the CINE Governing Board, Chief Bill Erasmus, suggested that it was a good time to hold a university-based symposium in celebration of the event, and to invite Aboriginal People from across Canada, as well as the many friends and colleagues of CINE.