Winter and Spring Cereal Production in the Maritimes

Organic producers have expressed an interest in diversifying their crop rotations through the inclusion of winter cereals. Winter cereals have many potential benefits, as they provide soil cover over the winter months, can often out-compete weeds in the spring and can be harvested earlier than other cereal crops. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of management history on the performance of winter cereals versus spring cereals

Management Practices for Control of European Wireworms in Canada

Significant losses in crop yield, quality and marketability have been attributed to wireworms, a pest of growing concern and widening distribution in Nova Scotia and across Canada. While the Maritime Provinces harbour indigenous wireworm species, three species introduced to North America from European ship ballast cause the lion's share of damage. The destructive larvae of these three species, Agriotes lineatus, A. obscurus, and A. sputator, persist in the soil for several years, feeding on the roots of host plants and causing significant reductions in the yield and quality of economically important crops. Root crops such as potatoes and carrots are particularly susceptible because damage (holes produced by feeding larvae) to the new tubers and carrots can appreciably reduce quality, yield and storability. To control this pest, the adult must be deterred from entering and depositing eggs in the field, the larvae must be deterred from attacking the cash crop and/or the larvae themselves must be controlled. This is a difficult challenge due to the lifecycle, feeding preferences and movement habits of the wireworm

Moving Forward: Negotiating Self and External Circumstances in Recovery

This article presents a framework for understanding the concept of recovery from serious mental illnesses and other life struggles. The framework is based on findings from a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews with 28 people who experienced serious mental health challenges. The purpose of this article is to clarify the concept of recovery by presenting a grounded theory analysis of the components of recovery. The framework recognizes the experiences of struggle constructed through the words of study participants and captures four main components of recovery: a) a drive to move forward, b) a spiral of positive and negative changes, c) the context of recovery, and d) a dialectical process of ongoing negotiation between self and external circumstances

A Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations: Values, Conceptualization, Design, and Action

This article provides a framework for the evaluation of mental health consumer/ survivor organizations that consists of four main components: (a) participatory processes, (b) conceptualization of the activities and outcomes at the individual and systems levels of these organizations, (c) the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for examining activities and outcomes, and (d) dissemination and action. We assert that these components form a comprehensive and holistic framework for evaluating mental health consumer/survivor organizations; we illustrate how these components can be put into action through a case study of four mental health consumer/survivor organizations in Ontario; and we reflect on the lessons that we have learned in conducting this evaluation

Pratiques de gestion pour le contrôle de la larve de taupin Européenne au Canada

Des pertes considérables du rendement, de la qualité et de la commercialité des cultures ont été attribuées à la larve de taupin, un ravageur qui préoccupe sans cesse davantage et dont la distribution progresse en Nouvelle-Écosse et partout au Canda. Alors que les Maritimes abritent des espèces indigènes de la larve de taupin, trois espèces introduites en Amérique du Nord par les eaux de ballast des navires européens causent la majeure partie des dommages. La larve destructrice de ces trois espèces, Agriotes lineatus, A. obscurus, et A. sputator, demeure dans le sol pendant de nombreuses années, se nourrit des racines des plantes hôtes et réduit considérablement le rendement et la qualité de cultures importantes au plan économique. Les plantes cultivées pour les tubercules ou la racine, comme les pommes de terre et les carottes, sont particulièrement vulnérables parce que les dégâts (les trous produits par les larves qui se nourrissent) aux jeunes tubercules et carottes peuvent réduire considérablement la qualité, le rendement et la facilité d’entreposage

Production de cérérales d'hiver et de printemps dans les Maritimes

Des producteurs d’aliments biologiques souhaitent étendre la rotation de leurs cultures en ajoutant les céréales d’hiver à leur production. Les céréales d’hiver peuvent offrir bien des avantages : elles peuvent servir de couverture de sol durant les mois d’hiver, faire concurrence aux mauvaises herbes au printemps et être récoltées plus tôt par rapport à d’autres types de céréales. La présente étude vise à évaluer l’incidence de l’historique de gestion de cultures sur le rendement des céréales d’hiver par rapport aux céréales du printemps