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Dr. Peter Pauls and Tom Smith smiling in a greenhouse, one holding a bag of beans, surrounded by lush green plants.

Kidney bean developed at the Ontario Crops Research Centre wins Innovation of the Year award

  1. U of G Homepage
  2. Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance

The dark red kidney bean dubbed Dynasty has earned the University of Guelph’s 2024 Innovation of the Year award. Dynasty was recognized for its high yield, disease resistance and adaptability, translating into 15-per-cent yield increases for Ontario farmers and an estimated return of $250 more per acre.

The bean was developed by Dr. Peter Pauls, a plant agriculture professor in U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College and research technician Tom Smith at the Ontario Crops Research Centre in Elora. The centre is owned by Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO) and managed by the University of Guelph through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.

The breeding research that led to Dynasty was initiated in the early 2000s by retired U of G researcher Dr. Tom Michaels.

In 2022, Dynasty was named Seed of The Year by SeedWorld Group.

The awards recognize the success of U of G’s plant breeding programs, and the benefits of collaboration.

“Innovation and collaboration drive economic growth in Ontario’s agri-food sector,” says Dr. Rebecca Hallett, associate vice-president research (agri-food partnership) at U of G. “Seeing so many Alliance innovations recognized by the University speaks to our continued focus on moving research into practice, and commercializing innovations that benefit producers, processors and the public.”

Pauls worked with government funders, producers and industry groups to enhance the plant breeding program and provide Ontario’s growers with continuously advancing options.

Through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance – a collaboration between the Government of Ontario, ARIO, and U of G, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness has made significant contributions to public plant breeding programs by funding breeding projects, research personnel and by providing access to research centres where many of the breeding trials take place.

Access to reliable, consistent field sites like those at the Ontario Crops Research Centre – a network of crop research centres spanning micro-climates, crop varieties and soil types across Ontario – underpins provides a critical platform for innovation. Combined with expert technical personnel supported through Alliance and industry funding, researchers can breed better plants for a healthy and competitive agri-food sector.

Read more about the development of Dynasty and what’s next for U of G bean breeders

Posted: Friday, January 10, 2025
Lead photo: Dr. Peter Pauls and Tom Smith

Dynasty by the numbers

  • Increased yields by 15 per cent compared to other kidney bean varieties.
  • Accounted for 90 per cent of Ontario’s dark red kidney bean acreage as of 2022.
  • Accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of all dark red kidney bean acreage across North America; a feat unparalleled by other varieties.
  • One of 30 new varieties developed and commercialized by U of G bean breeders since 2003.
  • One of 12 bean varieties available for licensing from U of G.
  • Drove U of G dry bean licensing revenue increases by nearly 25 per cent from 2019/20 to 2020/21.

Alliance-powered Innovation of the Year winners

The win for Dynasty marks the tenth Innovation of the Year award-winner supported directly by Alliance people, places and programs.

Dr. Amar Mohanty, jointly appointed to the Department of Plant Agriculture and School of Engineering, and his team at U of G's Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC), developed a fully compostable resin used by industry to make items more sustainable, including single-serve pods for coffee and other hot beverages. Read about the product’s successful commercialization.

Physics professor Dr. John Dutcher worked with nanoparticles of phytoglycogen that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and water-soluble. The research led to a spin-off company.

Dr. Bonnie Mallard, professor in the Department of Pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College, developed High Immune Response (HIR) technology through two decades of Alliance-funded foundational and applied research. The breakthrough technology allows farmers to raise healthier animals that require less veterinary treatment and antibiotic use. In 2012, HIR was commercialized through Semex Alliance; as of 2020 it has been marketed as Immunity+ in more than 120 countries.

Plant agriculture professor Dr. Dave Wolyn led the breeding and development of asparagus varieties that have become the most popular kinds grown in North America and that are fast gaining favour in Europe and Asia. As of 2020, Guelph asparagus varieties account for more than 90 per cent of asparagus grown in Ontario.

Food scientists Dr. Keith Warriner and Dr. Mahdiyeh Hasani worked with industry partner Clean Works to develop technology using hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet light and ozone for disinfecting fruits and vegetables. Warriner has partnered with Clean Works since 2015 to market this waterless cleaning system.

Developed by Dr. Wael Ahmed, a professor in the school of Engineering, and brought to market by the start-up company FloNergia Inc., a novel airlift pump system saves fish farmers 50 to 70 per cent of energy costs. Containing no moving parts and requiring no lubrication, this revolutionary modification has been optimized for multiple food applications. Now in use at aquaculture facilities around the world, the system significantly reduces energy and maintenance costs, creating more sustainable and economically viable practices.

Dr. George van der Merwe, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, and his team have optimized local strains of brewing yeast. Commercialized through Escarpment Labs, this work has been applied to a diverse selection of specialized yeast strains for craft and industrial brewers alike. This broadened range of options, including wild Ontario yeast strains, will improve the sustainability and economics of Canadian craft brewers who previously relied on imported yeast strains. As of 2022, more than 200 breweries per month across Canada, the U.S., U.K. and Europe have purchased liquid yeast from Escarpment Labs.

"In the Know": A Mental Health Literacy program, developed by Dr. Andria Jones and Dr. Briana Hagen, researchers in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Population Medicine, is a bilingual agriculture-based training program for farmers and others in the agriculture sector. Read about its development.

U of G Animal Biosciences researchers Dr. Christine Baes, Dr. Flavio Schenkel and Dr. Saeed Shadpour, as well as Dr. Filippo Miglior from Lactanet Canada and Dr. Francesca Malchiodi from Semex have pioneered a national genetic evaluation system to identify dairy cattle with low methane emissions. Through innovative use of mid-infrared reflectance spectroscopy on milk samples, the team can accurately predict individual cows' methane emissions accurately, leading to more sustainable dairy farming: U of G-Developed Techniques for Reducing Cattle Methane Emissions Awarded

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