Progress report for ONC23-121
Project Information
Small and beginning vegetable growers in the North-Central Region (NCR) are using organic practices and direct-marketing to add value to their products. A 2017 survey of direct-market vegetable growers in WI identified flavor, disease resistance, yield and early maturity as the most important vegetable traits. Michigan boasts a thriving conventional vegetable industry consisting of large, wholesale growers supported by university variety trials. Unfortunately, such traditional variety testing programs do not focus specifically on cultivar performance in organic production systems, nor on sensory characteristics, like flavor and texture, that drive marketability in a direct-market vegetable business. Our proposed research with the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative (SKC) based at University of Wisconsin-Madison addresses these limitations by bringing together vegetable breeders, seed companies, researchers, organic vegetable growers and professional chefs to evaluate the productivity and quality of elite vegetable varieties in organic research station and on-farm trials. We will work closely with breeders and seed companies, providing quantitative and qualitative data from university trials and collaborating growers respectively to improve methods of breeding and variety selection for organic vegetable production systems. At harvest time, partner chefs will taste the most promising vegetable varieties, providing detailed sensory evaluations to aid variety development and marketing.
We hypothesize that implementing the SKC model of vegetable variety testing focused on organic production, participatory on-farm trials and sensory evaluation will improve breeding and selection of vegetable varieties for organic, direct market growers in the NCR.
1) Identify high-performing and flavorful varieties of at least six vegetable crops for organic, direct-market growers in the NCR through expansion of the SKC trials at UW-Spooner, MSU-UPREC and on cooperating farms in MI and WI.
2) Share this research with growers and consumers through field days at experiment stations and on cooperating farms, sensory evaluation activities with partner chefs, and written reports.
Cooperators
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Research
Variety trials for tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and winter squash were conducted during the 2023 growing season at the UW Madison Spooner Agricultural Research Station in Spooner, WI, the MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Chatham, MI, (MOSA certified organic) and on four private farms in WI and MI using organic methods. The station trial design was an RCBD with 2-3 replications . On farm trials were unreplicated. At Chatham, the soil type was Ruse Ensign Nykanen complex fine sandy loam and the previous crop was a pea oat cover crop. At Spooner, the soil type was Mahtomedi Cress complex loamy sand and the previous crop was a cereal rye cover crop.
At university locations, produce was graded as marketable or unmarketable, counted and weighed. Farmers rated variety performance on multiple parameters using a 1-5 star system in the SeedLinked app. Varieties were blinded and presented to researchers , growers, chefs and others for sensory evaluation (n=43). Here we report yield and grade data from the two university locations and sensory data from all locations. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test in the agricolae package for R, at alpha = 0.10. Sensory factors were rated on a scale of 1 (low/bad) to 5 (high/good).
Summer lettuce varieties differed significantly in head weight ( p < 0.0001) and percent of bolted plants (p = 0.0003). Mean head weight was 0.59 lbs (0.38 - 1.05 lbs). Mean percent bolted was 36.65% (7.14% - 91.67%). Lovelock, Summertime, MVG 81 and Baja were among the best performers across all parameters.
| Variety | Head Weight (lbs) | Percent Bolted (%) | Appearance (1-5) | Bitterness (1-5) | Overall Flavor (1-5) | |||||
| Albachiara | 0.52 | bc | 16.67% | bc | 4.14 | a | 2.86 | a | 3.00 | a |
| Anuenue | 0.39 | c | 47.62% | abc | 3.57 | a | 2.57 | a | 3.57 | a |
| Baja | 0.56 | bc | 22.22% | bc | 4.29 | a | 2.71 | a | 3.29 | a |
| Florence | 0.57 | bc | 37.35% | bc | 4.71 | a | 2.71 | a | 4.00 | a |
| Lovelock | 0.80 | ab | 57.50% | ab | 4.71 | a | 2.48 | a | 4.29 | a |
| Magenta | 0.65 | bc | 63.54% | ab | 4.71 | a | 2.43 | a | 4.00 | a |
| Muir | 0.44 | c | 7.14% | c | 4.33 | a | 2.44 | a | 4.33 | a |
| MVG 53 | 0.52 | bc | 38.34% | abc | 4.00 | a | 2.17 | a | 3.50 | a |
| MVG 73 | 0.38 | c | 33.34% | bc | 4.56 | a | 2.88 | a | 3.44 | a |
| MVG 81 | 0.56 | bc | 8.34% | bc | 4.22 | a | 2.44 | a | 3.33 | a |
| Summertime | 0.68 | bc | 16.07% | bc | 3.89 | a | 2.44 | a | 3.33 | a |
| Sunland | 1.05 | a | 91.67% | a | 3.89 | a | 1.56 | a | 3.56 | a |
Winter squash varieties differed significantly in total fruit count ( p = 0.004), total fruit weight (Figure 2., p = 0.073), individual fruit weight p < 0.0001 ), and marketable fruit count ( p = 0.002) per plant, as well as texture (p < 0.001), sweetness (p < 0.0001) and overall flavor ( p < 0.0001). Mean fruit count per plant was 12.13 (2.00 - 31.50) with 10.37 fruit being marketable and 1.76 fruit being unmarketable due to immaturity, rodent damage or disease. Mean total fruit weight per plant was 44.55 lbs (3.70 - 95.20 lbs ) with 39.96 lbs being marketable and 4.60 lbs being unmarketable. Mean individual weight of marketable fruits was 4.83 lbs (1.85 - 13.68 lbs ). Mean overall flavor on a 1 5 scale was 3.41 (1.00 - 5.00). Autumn Frost, Black Futsu, Doran Round and Tetsukabuto were among the best performers across all parameters.
|
Variety |
Marketable Count |
Marketable Weight (lbs) |
Unmarketable Count |
Unmarketable Weight (lbs) |
Individual Fruit Weight (lbs) |
Appearance (1-5) |
Texture (1-5) |
Sweetness (1-5) |
Overall Flavor (1-5) |
|||||||||
|
Autumn Crown |
11.90 |
abc |
41.30 |
a |
0.70 |
a |
2.20 |
a |
3.46 |
bc |
3.50 |
a |
2.46 |
c |
2.35 |
bc |
2.42 |
c |
|
Autumn Frost |
15.80 |
a |
54.48 |
a |
2.40 |
a |
3.98 |
a |
3.47 |
bc |
3.92 |
a |
3.76 |
a |
3.45 |
a |
3.93 |
a |
|
Black Futsu |
12.30 |
abc |
30.89 |
a |
2.00 |
a |
5.68 |
a |
2.49 |
c |
3.41 |
a |
3.47 |
ab |
3.18 |
ab |
3.78 |
a |
|
Cheese Pumpkin |
4.33 |
c |
55.39 |
a |
1.33 |
a |
10.73 |
a |
12.31 |
a |
3.62 |
a |
3.41 |
abc |
2.59 |
bc |
3.5 |
a |
|
Doran Round |
7.90 |
bc |
34.18 |
a |
1.50 |
a |
3.50 |
a |
4.14 |
bc |
3.86 |
a |
3.61 |
a |
3.44 |
a |
3.82 |
a |
|
Gouda |
10.60 |
abc |
30.20 |
a |
1.80 |
a |
2.02 |
a |
2.81 |
bc |
3.70 |
a |
3.47 |
ab |
2.82 |
abc |
3.46 |
ab |
|
Long Island Cheese |
4.80 |
c |
43.53 |
a |
0.40 |
a |
2.40 |
a |
10.39 |
a |
3.67 |
a |
3.57 |
ab |
2.79 |
abc |
3.42 |
ab |
|
Seminole |
14.60 |
ab |
35.45 |
a |
3.50 |
a |
3.72 |
a |
2.50 |
c |
3.74 |
a |
2.80 |
bc |
2.28 |
c |
2.7 |
bc |
|
Tetsukabuto |
8.70 |
abc |
40.38 |
a |
2.00 |
a |
9.58 |
a |
4.89 |
b |
3.69 |
a |
3.12 |
abc |
2.81 |
abc |
3.47 |
a |
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
87 K-12 students from six different schools toured MSU-UPREC in 2023 and learned about the project.
Over 1,500 farmers, researchers and others attended the Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference Feb 22-24, 2024 in La Crosse, WI and had an opportunity to view a research poster reporting 2023 results of the project.
9 farmers attended a presentation by Dr. DeDecker on the project at the Agriculture for Tomorrow Conference on Feb 20, 2024 in Escanaba, MI.
Our 2023 produce tastings engaged 43 chefs, local food buyers, retailers and food system educators in blind tastings of organic produce to compare the quality of elite vegetable varieties on trial at the UPREC North Farm, UW Spooner Experiment Station, and organic vegetable farms across MI and WI.
Our 2023 field day event brought together 12 organic vegetable growers and Seed to Kitchen Researchers from MSU UPREC and UW Madison on Sept 9, 2023 for a tour of four Michigan farms participating in Seed to Kitchen vegetable variety trials.
Learning Outcomes
Increased knowledge of organic vegetable variety selection and management (trellising and pruning)
Project Outcomes
Economically viable
Small vegetable growers in the NCR are using organic practices and direct-marketing to add value to their products. Breeding and selecting vegetable cultivars within the production and marketing environments for which they are intended is critical to meeting the economic needs of growers using sustainable, low-input production practices. Identifying vegetable varieties that meet the self-identified needs of organic, direct market growers in the NCR is critical to their economic viability.
Six field day participants completed our 2023 evaluation survey (50% response rate). Respondents reported 7.5 jobs managing 17.5 acres of organic vegetables on 4+ farms. 100% of respondents reported increased knowledge of organic vegetable variety selection and management as a result of the program. 83% of respondents reported their intention to implement new management practices on their farms based on what they learned including improved direct market vegetable variety selection, trellising and pruning.
Environmentally sound
Vegetable varieties that thrive in organic production systems are generally thrifty in their use of nutrients and more resistant to pests. Breeding and selecting vegetable varieties with these strengths will allow organic growers to reduce their reliance on fertilizer and pesticides, sell more produce, and hopefully support their larger farm systems in adopting/maintaining organic practices to benefit the environment at large.
Our research poster reporting 2023 winter squash variety trial results reached hundreds of farmers, researchers and educators at the 2024 Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI.
Socially responsible
Participatory, on-farm research is a hallmark of social responsibility in agriculture development. This model, as applied by SKC, is inclusive of farmers and consumers in the vegetable breeding process, which makes variety development a conversation among diverse places and people rather than an isolated project of one person or lab deciding what plant traits should be prioritized for a given geography or industry.
Our Seed to Kitchen tastings engaged 43+ chefs, local food buyers, retailers and food system educators in blind tastings of organic produce to compare the quality of elite vegetable varieties on trial at the MSU-UPREC North Farm, UW-Madison Spooner Experiment Station, and organic vegetable farms across MI and WI.