The Potato Gene Repository at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick is about to enter a new era with a $500,000 lab expansion.
The gene repository is a bank where over 150 varieties of potatoes are stored for safekeeping and research.
The new laboratory doubles the space and new equipment for storing varieties that can be used for potato breeding.
The gene repository collection will be expanded to include newer AAFC varieties along with older, historically important heritage cultivars.
The potato gene repository is part of a larger AAFC collection of plants, seeds, animals and insects used to help develop new crops for farmers with increased yield better taste and resistance to crop diseases.
Funding for the expansion was part of a $1.8 million package to modernize federal laboratories in New Brunswick announced last May as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan.
