What's new with potatoes? Public gets chance to check out N.B. research facility

Helen Tai loves potatoes.

As a researcher studying potato genetics, she was eager for the public to get a chance to learn more about the science around them.

On Saturday, the Fredericton Research and Development Centre, also known as the experimental farm, hosted an open house for the first time since 2017.

"Well, I think that people should find out a little bit more about what they're eating and how that gets to the table," Tai said, showing off various stages of potato DNA sequencing.

Visitors of all ages were welcomed to enter laboratories to meet scientists and learn about their projects. While the scientists don't only study potatoes, it's their main focus.

"And some people are like, 'Hey, potatoes are great already. What do we need to improve on it?'" Tai said.

In reality, potatoes are a lot of work for farmers, she said, so if scientists are able to find ways to make farming more efficient, it helps. Tai and other scientists cross-breed potato varieties for traits such as growing speed, higher yields per plant, and resistance to disease and bugs.

"So when you can produce a tuber early, you can get out of the field earlier," Tai said.

"So the processing industry can now start making french fries earlier, and so we can spread out its production throughout the season."

Another aspect of the research centre is managing the potato gene bank.

"It's a collection of different strains and varieties that we maintain for research because they have unique values, unique traits that help the economy, the growers, the consumers as well," said Benoit Bizimungu, the research scientist who curates the bank.

The collection has about 300 unique varieties he said, including many that are no longer grown but are kept for research.

"I hope people become aware of the research we do and how it impacts the economy, agriculture," Bizimungu said.

He added that having a wide variety can help when farmers run into problems like diseases and pests, so scientists can use samples for cross-breeding to find strains that are resistant.

Jess Vickruck, an entomologist, studiesinsects that both help and damage potato crops.

She's been studying how bugs that target potato beetles can be used instead of insecticides.

"It's fundamental to the practices that then get implemented by growers, which then ends up on the tables of Canadians," she said.

Back in the genetic lab, Tai said she's happy that people of all ages got to seehow the science they do can have an impact.

"And so I'm really glad that everybody can have an overall look at everything that's going on."