With this cruel winter still making its presence felt, scientists and farmers met Saturday at Wolfville’s Acadia University to learn how big data can help the agricultural sector cope with extreme temperatures and other problems.

Although big data is an emerging field, attendees heard how its analysis can protect crops from cold, increase plant resilience to disease and improve plant breeding and productivity.

Big data is already lessening the impacts of extreme and fluctuating winter temperatures on grapes in Ontario’s vineyards, said keynote speaker Jim Willwerth of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).

Willwerth said temperatures have decimated fruits such as apples in Ontario this winter, but the climactic impacts on grapes have been lessened by the work of the CCOVI, based at Brock University.

With financial support from vine-growers and federal and provincial governments, the CCOVI has developed a vine alert risk management program that provides free and specific information to growers. For instance, a grower at Four Mile Creek may receive regional cold alerts or a report on the cold-hardiness of Chardonnay grape buds at Four Mile Creek during 2011-2012.  The data can even reveal hardiness variations between different vintages of the same grape.

“Winter injury is a great threat to success … Cold hardiness is a complex trait depending on genetic, environmental and seasonal factors,” Willwerth told those gathered for the inaugural event of the Acadia Institute for Data Analytics, a seminar called Data Analytics for the Wine and Fruit Growing Industries.

Since 2010, the CCOVI has tested over 40 varieties of grape at 31 locations at various times, to measure the interplay between site, grape type and climate. The data reveal the cold-tolerance of different vines and how cold-tolerance varies with the season and weather.

Research revealed that during March-April of 2012, extreme temperature swings meant that grape buds lost an alarming 15 degrees of cold hardiness over two weeks. CCOVI scientists alerted growers who were able to use warming techniques, including wind machines which circulate air to warm vines, to lessen the impact. Scientists then followed up to see how effective these methods were in reducing bud damage. 

Speaker Colin Bell, a former scientist and current farmer, also revealed his survey of Nova Scotia grape growers, which has revealed the impact of Grape Crown Gall, a plant cancer, across different vineyards and different grape varieties. Bell’s survey showed that aged vines can remain free of disease if they are well-managed. He said this kind of study can also be applied to other common problems, like mildew. 

Other speakers included Sean Myles who discussed data-driven apple breeding in the Annapolis Valley; Angus Ells, whose topic was developing a pest-monitoring system for wild blueberries and David Colville who spoke on, ‘What will grow where?’

In a final, wide-ranging discussion on the potential applications of academic research, panelists and audience members stressed the importance of communication between farmers and scientists to ensure that research translates into benefits on the farm.

“The two worlds are far apart and they have to be brought together,” said Bell. “The farmers I’ve met say, ‘Okay, prove you can do something that will benefit me on my farm.’”

Willwerth said that it’s important to build trust between the industry and the university or institution. “As a researcher I want to get ahead, to get published, but I have to step back and say, ‘I want to work with industry and help them as well.’”