Charlottetown Research and Development Centre

The Charlottetown Research and Development Centre (Charlottetown RDC) was established in 1909 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It is one of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) network of 20 research and development centres. 

The Centre is associated with two satellite locations:

• Main laboratory and office complex in Charlottetown; and

• Harrington Research Farm with field and greenhouse research facilities north of Charlottetown. Watch the Harrington Research Farm virtual tour (video).

Areas of Research

The focus of Charlottetown RDC science activities is on environmental sustainability, diversification and innovation in primary production agriculture, and the discovery and exploitation of bio-based products from new and traditional crops.

The Charlottetown RDC conducts research on diversified, integrated cropping systems with a focus on crop rotations, agronomy of new crops species or cultivars, characterization of crop nutrient cycles and their effects on soil and water quality, as well as the integrated and sustainable management of weeds, insects, and diseases.

Search Research projects from the Charlottetown Research and Development Centre to learn more about what we do.

Sector Needs

The Charlottetown RDC carries out innovative research, development, technology and knowledge transfer activities in support of the AAFC's Strategic Plan for Science, which includes:

• Agro-ecosystem resilience

Charlottetown RDC develops best management practices in heavily leached areas that are subject to intensive production to ensure sustainable agriculture in sensitive environments. A modern suite of chemistry labs and field research facilities help monitor the effects of cropping systems and practices on soil and ground water health.

• Horticulture

Scientists develop integrated cropping systems suited to the Atlantic Region with a focus on the potato crop. Many of the cropping systems studied include cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and forages as part of a rotation involving horticultural crops. Disease, insect, and weed pressure are studied for their impacts on horticulture crops.

• Biodiversity and Bioresources

Bioproducts research focuses on screening natural products as potential bioprotectants (biopesticides, endophytes); identifying and developing bioenergy, bioindustrial chemicals, and bio-based materials using agricultural biomass platforms (cereals, oilseeds, pulses, forages, potatoes, by-products); and developing conversion technologies and engineering systems through feedstock improvement and utilization.

• Agri-food

New food or feed bioactives with health and wellness benefits are identified through screening, characterized and their preliminary efficacy demonstrated (invitro, cell and tissue culture, animal studies).

• Cereals and pulses / Oilseeds

Collaboration with cereal and oilseed breeding programs in eastern and western Canada evaluates cultivars and selections for vigour, yield and quality, and identifies/evaluates sources of genetic resistance to production diseases and potentially catastrophic threats.

• Clean technologies

Clean technologies for the discovery of natural products produced by beneficial soil microbes for the control of pathogens in potato and canola.

Meet our Scientists

Find out more about the scientists at Charlottetown Research and Development Centre through their profiles below.

You can also visit the Fields of Science campaign featuring 11 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists from coast to coast. Discover why they chose to pursue a career in agriculture and learn more about their research.