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Two professors from UBC's Okanagan campus recently received $120,500 of funding for a project that could benefit local farmers.
Along with Professor Ping Liang from Brock University, Professors Soheil Mahmoud and Mark Rheault from UBC are working on a project that could significantly impact farmers in B.C. The team has two main objectives: sequencing the lavender genome and seeing if lavender's essential oils can work as an insecticide against an annoying pest for fruit farmers. The pest, the spotted wing drosophila, is an insect related to fruit flies that attacks soft fruits like cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and grapes. According to Mahmoud, the drosophila is “becoming a really big pest in the Okanagan” and he wants to test unique lavender oils against the insect to prevent its propagation. If the study shows that the oils have this application, then the industry will finally have a natural product with low toxicity to other organisms, including humans.
The spotted wing drosophila. (Photo Credit: Ministry of Agriculture)
Of course, not only fruit farmers would benefit. Mahmoud pointed out that if his research found a new application for lavender oils, then there would “definitely be a boost to lavender farmers.”
Additionally, Mahmoud's sequencing of the lavender genome with Professor Ping Liang at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario will have significant scientific applications. Scientists would then be able to better understand other plants such as peppermint and artimesia, which contains the anti-malarial compound artimisimin.
“By studying these genes, we can identify and clone genes that are responsible for production of these compounds,” says Mahmoud. “We can learn how plants can be improved and how lavenders can be improved in order to produce the kinds of oil we are interested in.”
Lavender at the Okanagan Lavender Herb Farm. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
The funding received from the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. was crucial to this project, as the genome sequencing alone costs close to $25,000. Mahmoud's application was one of 17 accepted through the Growing Forward 2 agreement in August, with B.C.'s agri-food industry receiving more than $1.4 million.
B.C. Minister of Agriculture and Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick says, “The hardworking British Columbia agri-foods industry is always looking at new ideas to earn more dollars and remain competitive. By helping support the development of innovative products and processes, we're helping support a key driver of our economy and ensure a strong future for the sector.”
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