Evaluating Edible Flowers for Intercropping with Vegetables to Enhance Producer Market Diversification

Commodities

• Vegetables: other
• Additional Plants: ornamentals

Practices

• Crop Production: intercropping, multiple cropping
• Education and Training: extension, networking, on-farm/ranch research
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities

Edible flowers are an emerging market with an anticipated growth rate of 4.7% in the coming years (Pires et al. 2023). Countries in Europe and South America have tapped into this market as a secondary crop for vegetable growers, but North America has yet to fully capitalize (Fernandes et. al 2019, Pires et. al 2023). A lack of infrastructure and regulation has led to knowledge gaps in cultivation methods such as pest control. A popular sustainable approach for pest management is intercropping diverse species such as flowers and vegetables. Our proposed work will analyze the effectiveness of intercropping edible flowers with zucchini. Research Objective 1 would look at the impacts on yield and pest pressure of the edible flowers and zucchini when intercropped and the impact on the edible flowers' phytochemical profiles. Our partnership with a local producer, Dandelion Farms, will provide a real-world setting for trialing this approach and an avenue for producer-level feedback. Research Objective 2 will involve a sensory discrimination test in which we will test if intercropping affects the sensory components of the zucchini and flowers. Our first educational study, Education Objective 1, will provide information on the experience and likelihood of other growers in the Western region of utilizing edible flowers as an intercrop and an additional source of revenue. Finally, Education Objectives 2 and 3 will be dissemination methods for our research team to share our findings from the other objectives through educational materials such as extension papers, an open-access journal, and presentations to local communities. Our study's results on crop yields and pest damage while providing a secondary source of income will attract Western region growers to expand the North American edible flower market through intercropping. 

Research Objective 1: Evaluate the impact that intercropping edible flowers with zucchini will have on yields and pest pressure of the crops and phytochemical profiles of the edible flowers.

Research Objective 2:

Education Objective 1: Utilize a voluntary opinion study to assess Western region grower interest in integrating edible flower crops into their production.

Education Objective 2: To educate local farmers, agricultural stakeholders, and the public about the benefits of edible flowers and intercropping them with vegetable crops through educational materials such as extension fact sheets and open-access journals. 

Education Objective 3: To educate local farmers, agricultural stakeholders, and the public about the benefits of edible flowers and intercropping them with vegetable crops through presentations.