AALP Class 14 International Study Tour - Friday March 1, 2013

Another bright,sunny day today in Delhi. AALP Class 14 has really enjoyed their trip to India but many are looking forward to heading back home to family & friends. A trip to the food market is first order of the day. First impression was primitive & more garbage laying around. Hira Singh Wholesale Vegetable Market is one of four fruit & vegetable markets in Delhi. After going through the tight security at the Ontario Food Terminal, Toronto & Hunts Point Food Market in New York, the lack of security was quite evident. Quite the contrast to our North American tours considering the security we had to go thru to check in at a local hotel or mall in India. Plus the hygiene conditions amplified the contrast between North America & India. Monkeys & cows were roaming around randomly. A few booths were burning incense to either keep the bugs away or make a sacrifice to their god of food safety. Majority of the produce came from within India. We did see a lot of apples from China & the state of Washington, US and kiwi from Italy. Booth space is purchased through the association. The location was allocated by the government as a food market after the previous location was deemed unsuitable for the fruit & vegetable market.

There were only men around the market doing the trading & wholesaling. Wives were at home tending to the home duties. The market is divided into two sections - one for fruit & one for vegetables. An example of pricing, we found that one kilogram of basil was 120 rupees or approximately $2.40.

Our next stop was one of the largest spice markets in India. After the bustle of the street we stepped into a spice and tea shop where we were greeted with a piece of cinnamon - a great ant-acid. Too bad we didn't have that earlier on the trip. India is the world's largest grower of many spices but due to consumption, they are also a huge importer of spices. One note of interest was residents of India generally buy spices individually and make their own blends. The owner of the shop also educated us on tea. There are four different times for harvesting tea each year with different results. Different flavours. Different maturity. Smaller (early in the growing season) is higher content & sweeter. As the season progresses, the tea becomes more bitter and less valued. Spring; summer; monsoon; and fall/autumn are the four seasons or times of harvest.

According to the shop owner, Orange Pekoe is a marketing gimmick for Darjeeling tea that is no longer relevant. White tea is the most beneficial in the world. Highest level of antioxidants. 4-500kg of white tea produced each year.

Before heading back to the hotel we were treated to a show by a snake charmer with a few of Class 14 getting involved. Afterwards a few classmates got henna tattooed on their hands.

Upon returning to the hotel, we got packed & ready for dinner at Park Baluci. Our final dinner in India where we thanked our guide, Harsh, for his advice and hospitality over the past 11 days.

For those who are planning on a trip to India, Harsh says if you plan to drive in India you need 3 things:

1) good brakes

2) good horn

3) good luck

And we would like to add that a good ‘little guy’ is also a ‘must have’ to successfully navigate the hustle and bustle of Indian traffic.

Now, on to the flight home.

Wayne Black, Wes Weins, Christina Mol - AALP Class 14 bloggers

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Guinness World Record attempt to take place in St. Albert on Aug. 22

?ST. ALBERT – If you have ever wanted to witness an attempt at a Guinness World Record, then you will want to be in St. Albert, Ontario on August 22 when an attempt will be made to set a record for the most plow blades pulled simultaneously.

Why Alignment Matters: Domestic Check-Off and the Import Levy

When Canadian beef producers sell cattle, they contribute to the national beef check-off. That investment supports work that benefits the broader Canadian beef industry, including market development, consumer demand, public and stakeholder engagement, and research. When beef or beef cattle are imported into Canada, an import levy is also collected. While the structure is not identical in every detail, the principle behind it is straightforward: beef marketed in Canada should help contribute to the programs that support beef demand in Canada. The national check-off paid by producers and the import levy paid on eligible imports are two parts of a broader investment approach. Together, they help ensure that both domestic beef production and imported beef products are connected to the market development work that strengthens beef’s position with Canadian consumers. For producers, the domestic cattle check-off is collected at the point of sale and includes both national and provincial po

I’ve noticed a lot of wild oat escapes in some of my fields this year; what can I do to prevent it from getting worse next year?

Despite our best efforts, sometimes even the best laid weed control plans go wrong! The first thing to remember is that not all weed escapes are created equal. In some cases, weeds can survive because of application timing issues, challenging weather conditions or late flushes that emerge after spraying. However, when weeds aren’t controlled by herbicide applications, herbicide resistance should also be on your radar. A recent survey in Manitoba found that in fields with uncontrolled wild oats, 100 per cent of populations were resistant to Group 1 products, 82 per cent were resistant to Group 2 products, and 82 per cent were resistant to both Group 1 and 2 herbicides. Those numbers show how important it is to take a closer look at wild oat weed escapes. Identifying why your herbicide failed to control wild oats is the first step toward finding a solution. Start by scouting the field to narrow down the cause. Consider factors such as application timing, weather conditions, late flush

Is fungicide actually effective on Sclerotinia head rot in sunflower?

This is one of the most difficult questions to answer because there are many things to consider. I also don’t want to be outright negative because we do still have options for sclerotinia management in sunflowers. However, management is the operative word. First of all, sclerotinia head rot infections have an interesting pathway. Spores use dead sunflower florets, plus pollen, as the base to infect a sunflower plant. The spores grow into the receptacle, infecting and decaying the entire head after a period of time. Sclerotinia wilt (basal stalk rot) and mid-stalk rot are also infected by the same sclerotinia species, but it will be via the mycelia that grow from the sclerotia bodies in the soil for basal stalk rot. Mid-stalk rot is also infected by ascospores, but this can be earlier in the season than head rot or at the same time. So, management of sclerotinia does not start at flowering. Crop rotation is the most obvious management tool that we are familiar with in sunflowers, but

Using Water More Efficiently in Beef Packing Plants

Packing plants use a time-tested approach to clean their facilities. The first step uses high-pressure hot water to remove fat and meat scraps from equipment, floors and walls. Next, surfaces are cleaned using detergent. Finally, sanitizers are used to further reduce bacterial numbers. Processing companies want to reduce water use as part of their environmental goals and to reduce energy bills. High-pressure water and steam can produce aerosols that capture bacteria and spread them throughout the plant. They can then settle on and cross-contaminate clean surfaces long after the cleaning has been completed, which complicates efforts to effectively clean facilities. Biofilms are another problem. Biofilms are colonies of bacteria surrounded by a protective layer that firmly attaches them to surfaces and shelters the bacteria from hot water, detergents and sanitizers. Biofilms are hard to remove and are commonly found in hard-to-reach places. These researchers investigated potential cro

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service