Page 43 - CSHS 2022 Book of Abstracts - 2022-08-22 web version

CSHS 2022 Conference

Haskap Workshop

Workshop Chair: Dr. H.P. Vasantha Rupasinghe

Abstracts – Invited Speakers

(HI.1) The haskap berry jigsaw puzzle: bringing the pieces together to build a new industry
Dr. Bob Bors
Department of Plant Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
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The haskap industry is in its infancy. Components of this industry include breeding and using cultivars suitable for
commercial production, development of production and harvesting methods, manufacture and distribution of
products and marketing with resulting sales. These various components are intertwined and interactive. Not only is
Lonicera caerulea a circumpolar species with a diversity of subspecies, but also there are growers and researchers
around the globe investigating and inventing new practices. Advances made in one area have been triggering
research for improvements in other areas. For example, certain harvesting machines do best with plants trained to
be more upright and may be even more efficient if new varieties were bred with a natural tendency to grow upright.
Breakthroughs in breeding firmer fruit could lead to more fresh fruit sales if post-harvest technology is developed.
Increased knowledge about haskap nutraceuticals has influenced marketing strategies. As various components
become aligned the industry grows.

(HI.2) The Weston Family Foundation's Homegrown Innovation Challenge

Dr. Jeffrey A.M. Coull, PhD
Weston Family Foundation
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In a climate-changing world, Canada’s high dependence on imported fresh fruits and vegetables makes it vulnerable
to food systems disruption. By solving the interconnected challenges that currently prevent out-of-season
production at scale, the Homegrown Innovation Challenge will catalyze a range of solutions relevant to a broad array
of fruit and vegetable crops in Canada and around the world. The Challenge is funded and delivered by the Weston
Family Foundation. The initiative launched in February 2022 and an innovation team that progresses through all
challenge phases and ultimately claims the final awards would receive up to $8 million in funding to develop and
scale their innovation. Specifically, the challenge asks innovators to “create and deliver a market-ready system to
reliably, sustainably and competitively produce berries out of season and at scale in Canada.” Although the first
deadline for funding (“Spark”) has past, there is still an opportunity to enter the challenge. That said, the window of
opportunity closes in December 2022, so we are encouraging interested parties to assemble an application as soon
as possible.

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