Partnership with SVG Ventures|THRIVE will help researchers and startups move new technologies
The University of Alberta is partnering with a leading Silicon Valley firm to support innovation growth in Alberta’s agriculture and food sectors. An agreement with SVG Ventures|THRIVE, a venture capital firm investing in agricultural technology startups and supporting corporations with open innovation, powers the U of A to accelerate its development and adoption of technology-driven solutions…
Spot-treating soil with lime could give farmers another option to stem the costly disease and improve soil health
Lime is showing promise as an additional way to help manage clubroot, a deadly disease in canola crops, University of Alberta research shows. Spot-treating soil with the mineral reduced the overall occurrence and severity of the disease by 35 to 91 per cent, growth experiments showed. The finding, published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology,…
Increases phosphorus needed for plant growth and reproduction
A new study is the first to show on a global scale that conserving plant diversity boosts a nutrient crucial for healthy land, including productive croplands. An analysis of 180 studies done worldwide on farm fields, grasslands, forests and pot-grown experiments showed that overall, mixtures of diverse plant species increased the availability of phosphorus in…
With few couples seeking traditional therapy, lower-key approaches could help
A survey of 745 troubled couples who were thinking about divorce showed that 80 per cent of them weren’t seeking professional help but turning instead to friends, books and websites for advice, according to a recent University of Alberta study. That combination of ambiguity and lack of professional guidance can prevent people from effectively sorting through…
Improving charge capacity could offer big advantages for manufacturers and consumers
Cruising down the highway in an electric car, who wouldn’t want to squeeze a few hundred extra kilometres out of a single battery charge? University of Alberta researcher Jasper Woodard is hoping to achieve just that. He’s working to improve a particular component in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) – and everyday…
Digging into decades’ worth of data to gauge soil health across the province
A new project is, for the first time, harnessing information from thousands of soil samples into one big database to get an idea of how healthy the province’s agricultural soils are. The two-year initiative brings together decades of data collection on soil samples from 44 benchmark sites across the province so that they can be…
Native studies, environmental science grad Lauren Comba now better able to respect Indigenous stories
Watching the Inuit film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner several years ago, Lauren Comba found herself riveted by its ancient story. Written, directed and acted entirely in the Inuktitut language, the 2001 landmark award-winning film retells an Inuit legend passed down through centuries of oral tradition. The film’s narrative was a part of history Comba had never heard…
Findings could help beef producers manage grasslands for economic and environmental benefits
A sweeping project co-led by University of Alberta researchers will provide the most comprehensive mapping ever of how much carbon is being stored in perennial grasslands across Saskatchewan. The resulting data from the $3.2-million initiative will help cattle farmers there – and eventually all across Canada’s prairies – manage their land to keep as much…
Researchers and agriculture company battle the crop-damaging disease and train new scientists
A $1.25-million research project is tackling clubroot resistance in canola to help battle new strains of the crop-damaging pathogen. Funded by agriculture company BASF, University of Alberta plant scientists Stephen Strelkov and Sheau-Fang Hwang will work to identify new sources of pathogen resistance that can be bred into canola seeds. New strains of clubroot, a soil-borne disease that attacks the…
Fergus McSween is applying his new knowledge of forests, plants and animals to help protect them
Fergus McSween loves the outdoors. Growing up in Calgary, he spent much of his youth outside the city, roaming Alberta’s forests as a Scout, on school outdoor education trips, or camping with friends and family. “Nature is so peaceful and tranquil. It’s a place where I can be myself, turn my brain off and just…
The University of Alberta is partnering with a leading Silicon Valley firm to support innovation growth in Alberta’s agriculture and food sectors. An agreement with SVG Ventures|THRIVE, a venture capital firm investing in agricultural technology startups and supporting corporations with open innovation, powers the U of A to accelerate its development and adoption of technology-driven solutions…
