Chandra Madramootoo receives 2019 World Irrigation and Drainage Prize
Professor Chandra Madramootoo is the recipient of the 2019 World Irrigation and Drainage Prize. During the Opening Ceremony of the World Irrigation Forum on September 02 in Bali, H.E. Minister Basuki Hadimulyono, Minister for Water Resources and Public Works of Indonesia, and H.E.
Montreal researchers probe muscle-loss disease in elderly
A team of Montreal researchers has devised a new set of criteria to better diagnose a disease that affects the elderly, sarcopenia, which causes loss of muscle mass.
The improved criteria raise hopes that physicians will be able to detect the disease in people earlier, and therefore, to recommend certain types of exercise and nutrition to stem the loss of muscle mass, say scientists at the Research Institute of the Ď㽶ĘÓƵ Health Centre.
Serge Lussier reçoit le Mérite du Conseil interprofessionnel du Québec (CIQ)
FMT's Serge Lussier recently received the Mérite du Conseil interprofessionnel du Québec (CIQ) from the Ordre des Agronomes du Québec, awarded for exceptional work in supporting promoting agriculture and its professional aspects. He is the fourth Macdonald staff member, and 3rd FMT staff member, to receive this award since its inception in 1990.
$5.5M support for new Canadian ecosystem service network
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) ensures Canada’s working landscapes remain biologically diverse, resilient, and adaptive
Urban agriculture gets boost in efforts to grow farming sector
Urban agriculture is getting a $750,000 boost from the province and from Montreal to help develop the farming sector.
 The goal is to spur innovation and growth in urban farming, agriculture and local greenhouses, ensuring the projects align with the needs in each part of town to add to the vitality of the area.
... These measures have been due for a long time, said Ď㽶ĘÓƵ Urban Agriculture Professor Mark Lefsrud.
Government of Canada funds collaborative research to clean Arctic oil spills
Two McGill researchers developing solutions to clean marine oil spills in the Northwest Passage and in oceans surrounding Canada to receive $3.7 million in funding from the Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI).
Murres dive deep on fishing missions
Rappelling down a 650-foot cliff to catch seabirds on a remote island just below the Arctic Circle was scary enough.
“The first time you look over and you rappel over, it’s certainly not for the faint of heart,” said Kyle Elliott, a research chair in Arctic ecology at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ in Canada.
Update on the Industrial Research Chair in the Sustainable Life of Dairy Cattle
Improving the comfort and longevity of dairy cows can improve dairy farm sustainability and profitability. This is the premise of the Industrial Research Chair in the Sustainable Life of Dairy Cattle, launched in 2016 and led by Dr. Elsa Vasseur of Ď㽶ĘÓƵ. Preliminary results of multiple studies presented in May 2019 by the scientist and her team show promise for new and innovative approaches to cow comfort and longevity.
Un bateau-robot pour « scanner » la santé des lacs
Imaginez un bateau robotisé équipé de capteurs qui sillonne les plans d’eau pour récolter des données sur la température, le pH, l’oxygène dissous et les contaminants. Grâce à la transmission d’un signal acoustique, ces données s’affichent en temps réel sur une carte qui permet de connaître la distribution et la dynamique des polluants, à des millions d’emplacements.
Urban or rural: Where to build a greenhouse
'You need political will, and it takes time' – urban greenhouses could benefit from more direct support from governments, experts say.
...Mark Lefsrud has studied different ways of growing food for more than 20 years. He is an associate professor at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ’s Macdonald Campus where he is a leader of the Biomass Production Laboratory and worked on the design of the Advanced Plant Habitat on the International Space Station.
Deep roots. Quebec's farmers are among the youngest in the country, and they're facing new challenges
Peter Enright, director of Ď㽶ĘÓƵ's farm management and technology program, said regardless of the specialization, there has been one major shift between the generations of John and Matthew Burns — social networks that are completely transformed.
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Des super patates découvertes en Colombie
Entre 12 et 14 millions de Colombiens consomment depuis peu trois super variétés de pommes de terre à chair jaune provenant des terres reculées de la cordillère des Andes. Pourtant, rien ne prédestinait ces patates à se retrouver dans autant d’assiettes.
Ď㽶ĘÓƵ’s seed library
Italian heirloom seeds for amateur gardeners
There is no one single accepted definition of an heirloom seed. “That’s a word that has a lot of different meanings to different people,” explains Dan Brisebois, a farmer at Ferme Tournesol, a cooperative based in Les Cèdres, Quebec, outside of Montreal.
Morphologie des cellules végétales : mystérieux puzzle
Communication de presse, Université McGill - 8 août 2019
La pectine et la cellulose pourraient jouer un rôle dans le mécanisme moléculaire régissant la morphologie des cellules végétales
Puzzling shapes: unlocking the mysteries of plant cell morphology
McGill Press Release - 8 August 2019New study suggests pectin and cellulose involved in molecular mechanism defining plant cell morphology
The discovery of the mechanics and molecular mechanism that dictate cell shape formation in plants by a team of McGill researchers offers new clues about the fundamental processes governing tissue formation in multicellular organisms.