Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre facts for kids

The Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre is a special place in British Columbia, Canada. It's a science centre that studies plants and food. This centre has been very important for growing delicious tree fruits. It is run by a group called Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. You can find its locations in Summerland and Agassiz.

A Look Back: History of the Centre

Pretty flowers at the ornamental gardens, which used to be part of the centre.

The centre started in 1914. It was first called the Dominion Experimental Farm at Summerland. Its main goal was to find out which plants and animals grew best in the local area.

In 1959, its name changed to the Summerland Research Station. This happened after new labs for studying plant diseases (plant pathology) and insects (entomology) were added. Later, in 1996, it joined with another farm in Agassiz, British Columbia. Together, they became the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre.

Early on, the centre also had a section for growing beautiful plants. They started a garden in 1916 that grew very large. It became a 6-hectare English landscape garden. But as the centre focused more on fruit trees, this garden program ended. In 1991, a local garden group took over caring for the beautiful gardens.

Amazing Fruit Research and Discoveries

The Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre is famous for creating new types of tree fruits. For example, about 75 to 80 out of every 100 cherries eaten worldwide come from varieties developed here! Scientists at the centre also created the methods to make commercial fruit leather. This is a tasty snack made from dried fruit puree.

Popular Fruit Varieties Developed Here

Here are some well-known fruit types created at the centre:

The Plant Virus Collection

The centre also keeps the Canadian Plant Virus Collection. This is a huge collection of many different plant viruses. Some are kept frozen, while others are alive in plants. It is one of the biggest collections of its kind in the world. It has over 350 types of 160 different viruses. These viruses can be used as reference if a new plant disease breaks out.

A Historic Building at the Centre

The old house where the superintendent (the person in charge) used to live is a special historical site. It has been listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places since 1990. The house was built between 1923 and 1926. It sits in its own private garden within the research station. This house is the oldest building still standing at the site. It was used by the superintendent until 1969. Since then, it has been used as an office, a library, and even a museum.

See also

In Spanish: Centro de Investigación Agroalimentaria del Pacífico para niños