Horticulture in Canada - spotlight on the Atlantic provinces

摘要

Horticulture in Canada's Atlantic region faces some major challenges (Figure 1). Yet the four Atlantic provinces - Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward island and New Brunswick - have each been able to meet these challenges. There is a great variation in the quality of soils for horticultural crops yet there are favourable locations in each province: the St-John river valley in New Brunswick, the Avalon peninsula in Newfoundland, the red soils of Prince Edward Island in which potatoes thrive and perhaps the area with the greatest diversity, the Annapolis valley in Nova Scotia. The proximity to the ocean greatly affects the climate of these provinces; coastal areas are cooler in summer but warmer in winter compared to inland areas: this favoursthe production of cool-season vegetables yet also allows the cultivation of many fruit crops. The population of the Atlantic provinces, 2.4 million or less than 10 percent of the Canadian total, provides only a small internal markst for horticultural produce but at the same time this means littie loss of arable land to urbanisation and comparatively lew land prices. Furthermore, Atlantic Canada has developed strong export markets for many of its horticultural crops such as frozen blueberries and seed potatoes.