Research Projects
Each year, IRDA's R&D Team conducts more than one hundred research projects in sustainable agriculture. What's more, IRDA is working with Quebec's key agricultural stakeholders to find concrete solutions.
Large-scale use of codling moth mating disruption in Quebec orchards
The aim of our project was to increase the acreage on which mating disruption is used against the codling moth in all of Québec’s apple-growing regions.
Researcher: Daniel Cormier
Impact of tree growth and rain on fungicide efficacy against apple scab
The aim of this project is to determine the combined impact on fungicide efficacy of rain and the appearance of new leaves to more accurately identify how long treatments remain effective.
Researcher: Vincent Philion
Improving fire blight detection, prediction, and control
The main aim of this project is to test a bacterial detection technique developed in Austria that consists of quantifying inoculum carried by bees.
Researcher: Vincent Philion
Arthropod resistance to pesticides: literature review of resistant pests and resistance tests
IRDA drew up a list of insects and mites in Québec known to be or likely to become resistant to pesticides.
Researchers: Daniel Cormier Annabelle Firlej
Posters on integrated fruit production for strawberry, raspberry, and highbush blueberry crops
IRDA produced posters to help producers and extension agents choose pest and disease control strategies that promote the use of IPM.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
A study on the link between spotted wing drosophila populations, crop damage, and yield losses
This project helped to determine if there is a significant correlation between the number of adult spotted wing drosophila captured and yield losses observed in the field.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
Selecting low-risk insecticides to control cranberry weevil on cranberry farms
The aim of this two-year project was to determine the efficacy of various pesticides in the field.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
Exclusion nets for organic apple production in Eastern Canada
The aim of this project was to test the general hypothesis that exclusion nets, when properly used, can prevent attacks by most apple pests and reduce disease incidence with no major adverse effects on fruit quality.
Researcher: Gérald Chouinard
Control strategies to reduce the impact of the spotted wing drosophila
This project aims to promote a biocontrol solution by testing a complex of natural enemies that attack the spotted wing drosophilia at different development stages.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
Exclusion nets made from biobased polymers
The purpose of this project is to test the general hypothesis that biobased polymers can be used to replace fossil-fuel-based products and reduce the use of pesticides without increasing GHG emissions.
Researchers: Gérald Chouinard Daniel Cormier
Attract and kill strategies for control of the plum curculio in conventional and organic apple orchards
An attract and kill technique to control plum curculio was recently proposed by U.S. researchers, but it is very little used in orchards and virtually unknown in Québec.
Researcher: Gérald Chouinard
Selection, mass rearing, and field efficiency of a predaceous strain of mullein bug
The goal of the project is to select a strain of the mullein bug to control two spotted and red spider mites when populations tend to explode.
Researcher: Daniel Cormier
Adapting fruit crop pest and disease control to climate change
The goal of this project was to document the impact of climate change on fruit crop pests and diseases in Québec.
Researcher: Annabelle Firlej
Repellent properties of exclusion nets used for the control of leafroller and stink bug pests of apples
The aim of the project was to measure the effect of certain natural repellents that can be used on different types of exclusion nets.
Researcher: Gérald Chouinard
The solutions developed by IRDA aim to...
Ensure the sustainability
and quality of soil, water, and air
Protect the health and well-being
of local communities by improving the quality of crop and livestock production, with an emphasis on animal welfare
Safeguard the economic viability
of crop and livestock production