Commercial propagation and conservation of value added crops in Ontario

Lead Applicant: Praveen Saxena

Research Priority: Sustainable Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 1

Funding Cycle: 2021/2022

Research Centre: Ontario Crops Research Centre - Elora & Simcoe

Research Summary: This research aims to bring sovereignty, resilience, and economic growth to the Ontario horticulture sector through in vitro technology to produce robust, disease-free, and genetically uniform plants and reduce the need for growers to import plants. Current technologies are promising but must adapt for commercial use. This project will focus on developing technologies for a highly efficient mass production system as well as germplasm conservation through cryopreservation for value-added crops important to Ontario agriculture.