Horticulture research supporting growers in evaluating crop varieties, inputs, and technologies through applied growth trials and analytical services, enabling practical, data-driven production decisions.
Niagara College’s Horticultural and Environmental Sciences Innovation Centre (HESIC) specializes in validating and developing innovations through research and development projects in collaboration with industry partners.
The facility conducts growth trials with horticultural crops to evaluate innovations, products, technologies and improvements, contributing to their development and advancing them towards commercialization. The team has extensive experience evaluating innovations at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1-6. Research projects at HESIC span multiple areas of the value chain, including inputs and suppliers, production, and postharvest processes.
Their expertise includes assessing technologies, innovations, new plant varieties, production practices, media amendments, fertilizers, and pest and disease management strategies. They have the capability to evaluate and refine products with the goal of bringing them to market. All applied research projects are industry-driven, meaning each project responds to a grower or business seeking to develop or validate a new innovation or technology. Specific areas of expertise include greenhouse production, controlled environment agriculture, cannabis cultivation, media and soils, and integrated pest management.
The facility houses an Analytical Lab equipped to perform quality analyses such as texture analysis, titratable acidity, total sugar content, and cannabinoid testing. The lab includes genomics equipment for PCR and qPCR analysis to detect and quantify genetic material in plants, soil, or microbes, supporting pathogen monitoring, plant genetics verification, and gene expression studies. Additionally, the lab uses Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) technology to precisely measure nutrient and mineral concentrations in plant tissue, soil, and water, enabling detailed nutrient analysis and fertilizer management.
- Product validation and development
- Product assessment and optimization
- Greenhouse growth trials
- Crop variety trials
- Vertical grow crop trials
- Cannabis cultivation trials
- Postharvest quality analyses such as texture analysis, titratable acidity, total sugar content, and cannabinoid testing
- Genomic services, including breeding, phenotyping and screening
- Nutrient analysis in plant tissues, water, media and soils
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Clean technology
- Energy
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Professional and technical services (including legal services, architecture, engineering)
Specialized labs and equipment
- CannaResearch Bunker (CRB): Licensed indoor cannabis cultivation space (30m²) for cannabis propagation, growth trials, light spectrum recipes, fertilizer recipes, biological control agent trials, breeding and phenotyping.
- Cannabis Bay: Licensed greenhouse bay (130m²) with expanded mesh benches and direct injection fertilization via drip irrigation for cannabis propagation, growth trials, light spectrum recipes, fertilizer recipes, biological control agent trials, breeding and phenotyping.
- Highwire Bay: Greenhouse bay (130m²) with highwire troughs with direct injection fertilization via drip irrigation designed for vining crops (peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants) for trials testing new vegetable varieties, fertilizer recipes, pesticides, biological control agents, and more. Capacity for 380-400 plants.
- Light Emitting Diode (LED) Bay: Greenhouse bay (130m²) with expanded mesh benches and LED lights for growth trials on leafy greens, herbs, floriculture and tropical crops, and compact fruit and vegetables, testing new varieties, fertilizer recipes, light spectrum recipes, pesticides, biological control agents, and more.
- High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Bay: Greenhouse bay (130m²) with expanded mesh benches and traditional HPS lights for growth trials on leafy greens, herbs, floriculture and tropical crops, and dwarf or bush fruit and vegetables, testing new varieties, fertilizer recipes, pesticides, biological control agents, and more.
- Hydroponics Bay: Greenhouse bay (130m²) with two Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) systems allowing separate fertilization, total of 300 spaces for plants; ebb and flood tables allowing separate fertilization via bottom watering; and Phenospex DroughtSpotter scales. Diverse set up for growth trials on leafy greens, herbs, floriculture and tropical crops, and dwarf or bush fruit and vegetables testing new varieties, fertilizer recipes, light spectrum recipes, pesticides, biological control agents, and more.
- Vertical Grow Room: Grow space (44m²) for multi-tier plant growth trials. Capable of testing new varieties, fertilizer recipes, light spectrum recipes, pesticides, biological control agents, and more. Capability for ebb and flood style fertigation or drip irrigation. Licensed for cannabis propagation and growth.
- Postharvest Lab space: Potting space and postharvest lab space for preparing seedlings, transplanting, and performing some destructive and non-destructive data collection.
- Analytical Lab: Supports plant health, postharvest quality analysis, and genomics research housing equipment including a PCR system, a thermal cycler, electrophoresis systems, and UV-Vis spectrophotometers. This lab also performs tests for plant physiology (leaf area meter, porometer/fluorometer, photosynthesis system, multi-pigment meter), postharvest quality (refractometer, texture analyzer, colorimeter, autotitrator, cannabinoid analyzer), and analytical chemistry (Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) system).
Private and public sector research partners
• Plant Products Inc.
• Hypercann Agrogenetics
• GreenFlow Corp.
• Anatis Bioprotection Inc.
• Walker Environmental Group Inc.
• Koppert Canada Ltd.
• 360 Energy Inc.
• Zwart Systems Inc.
• SoilOptix Inc.
• International Zeolite Corp.
• Ferrero Canada Ltd.