Hospital expansion sows concern among scientists testing drought-resistant crops

Agricultural scientists are conducting special research into drought-resistant soybeansin the uniquelysandy-soiled research fields ofthe Central Experimental Farm that lie adjacent to theCivic campus of The Ottawa Hospital land that'snow being eyed for a possible 60-acre hospital expansion.

The first public consultation on the renewedeffortto replace the Civic were held inMarch,one year and four monthsafter the former Conservative government announced thecontroversial planto rebuild the facility on farmland across Carling Avenue.

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Thehospital agreed to go back to the drawing boardafterbacklash from the scientific communityandquestions fromthe newLiberal governmentabout how the original deal was reached.

This month, a research team led byDr.MalcolmMorrisonis sowing what could be the future hospital grounds with soybean seeds for a trial that could yield a high-protein legume capable of withstanding drought and climate change.

Sandy soil crucial to research

Morrisonand his team are conducting a drought-tolerancescreening test of32 differentvarieties of soybean.They sowtwo rows of each variety, then irrigate one row daily while leaving the other to the mercy of naturalprecipitation.

"We are looking for a plant that does well under-irrigated, and well under drought conditions," saidMorrison, who has conducted similar trials in fields along the Experimental Farm's Winding Lanefor nearly threedecades.

The sandy loam in Field 2, acrossCarlingAvenue from the hospital's Civic campus,isuniqueon the Experimental farm, and ideally suited toMorrison'sbrand ofresearch.

"I would have to go elsewhere to find another piece of soil," saidMorrison.

"In the future,withclimatechange, we might not get warmertemperaturesin eastern Ontario in the summertime, but what we are going to get is wide fluctuations in precipitation. We're kind of developing systems to mitigate climate changes differences."

'A shame' to lose research land

Morrisonsaid a hardier soybean would be valuable even in short-liveddry spells.

"If you have a period of 14-21 days without rain, this can seriously damage the crop,especiallyif it occurs during a sensitive period likefloweringor seed development.And we have periodic drought every year."

ClaireGahagan, abiology student at the University of Ottawa,isstudying soil pathogensand working in the fieldalongsideMorrison.

"Because he's been here for so long, he has shown trends that are very interesting, like the temperature changes."

Gahagansaid she'sbeen following the debate over the planned expansion of the Civic campus.

"I think it would be a shame if we lostso muchof the research land herejustbecause particularly, where it's going, they'resuch long-standing [crop] rotations."

A study by Soy Canada suggests soybeans add about $5.6 billionto Canada's gross domestic product.

Most of the Canadian crop is pressed foroil, then fed to livestock.