Source: CLEMSON UNIVERSITY submitted to
KALE ALTERNATIVES LEADING TO ENHANCED ECONOMICS (KALE): IMPROVING PROFITABILITY AND EVALUATING MARKETING DECISIONS OF ORGANIC KALE FARMERS FACING ALTERNARIA LEAF SPOT IN THE SOUTHEASTERN U.S.
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1027130
Grant No.
2021-51106-35495
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2021-04819
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2021
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2025
Grant Year
2021
Program Code
[112.E]- Organic Transitions
Project Director
de Figueiredo Silva, F.
Recipient Organization
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
CLEMSON,SC 29634
Performing Department
Agricultural Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) has been a popular and nutritious leafy green for over a decade in the United States. However, U.S. organic kale producers face losses due to Alternaria leaf spot, also known as black spot, resulting in decreased sales and consumption, generating economic losses to the marketing outlets (distributors) and growers. A rough estimate of economic losses due to Alternaria leaf spot is $14.4 million dollars per year in United States. The overall goals of this project is to accurately estimate the economic losses due to Alternaria leaf spot in organic kale production, based on precise predictions of disease incidence, and to educate organic kale farmers how to improve organic disease management and marketability of the product. This project has four specific objectives that span production, economics, extension and education: (i) identify best integrated practices (biopesticides, cultivars, plant and row spacing, cover crops, and post-harvest handling); (ii) estimate growers' profitability, investigate their marketing decisions, and identify consumer preferences; (iii) disseminate research outcomes via field days, grower talks, fact sheets, videos, and enterprise budgets for organic kale; and (iv) prepare current and future agricultural educators to estimate the profitability of organic kale production and how to treat the disease with integrated best practices.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6011440301030%
2121440116030%
6071440301040%
Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 607 - Consumer Economics;

Subject Of Investigation
1440 - Cole crops;

Field Of Science
1160 - Pathology; 3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
Production Research: Identify the best combination of cultural practices, biopesticides, cultivars and post-harvesting practices to produce organic kale in Southeastern US in the presence of Alternaria leaf spot. Specifically, we seek toDetermine the effectiveness of 6 biopesticides and management practices combined with different cultivars to manage Alternaria leaf spot while maintaining or improving yields relative to the average yields of the cooperating grower (confidential information).Identify the best combinations of practices that effectively manage Alternaria leaf spot in the field. Four experiments will be done in the second and third years at the Clemson University Coastal REC in Charleston, SC.Replicate the 4 treatments identified as the best combinations of practices to effectively manage Alternaria leaf spot in Walter P. Rawl & Sons and in the NCSU research station to identify whether results change with location.Evaluate post-harvest disease development under different storage treatmentsEconomic Research: Analyze the organic kale growers supply chain and estimate growers' profitability under different scenarios with Alternaria leaf spot. Specifically, we seek toIdentify organic kale growers' current practices, disease damages, input use, yields, marketing outlets, and supply obstacles. Survey producers in South Carolina and North Carolina (majority of kale producers in the southeastern US) in 2021, 2022 and 2023.Build enterprise budgets for organic and conventional kale considering yields for the different varieties, practices and biopesticides used in objective 1, and compare their profitability given marketing strategies listed in objective 2a to estimate the benefits from transitioning from conventional to organic.Identify consumer preferences for kale labelled as organic and/or locally produced using both online survey instruments and face-to-face interviews in selected direct marketing outlets (based on Figure 1).Identify and delimit state-wide zoning areas where organic kale is profitable using estimates of yield given different management practices combined with geospatial information regarding land use and marketing locations.Extension Outreach: Educate growers on how to best produce organic kale in the presence of Alternaria leaf spot. Specifically, we seek toGenerate fact sheets to disseminate the results of objectives 1 and 2.Generate and provide MS. Excel spreadsheet with parameters from the budgets built in objective 2b.Organize and hold 2 field days in the third year of the project to guide growers through the best management practices identified in the project and present recommendations at vegetable grower meetings.Upload videos to Clemson University - PSA YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/clemsonpsa) illustrating best practices.Graduate Education: Provide multi-disciplinary experiences for graduate students in applied economics and statistics and plant and environmental sciences. Specifically, we seek toTeach pre-service agricultural educators (senior undergraduate agricultural education students) and secondary in-service agricultural educators (high school teachers) how to read and use budgets, to estimate the profitability of conventional and organic production to identify the benefits of transitioning to organic, identify the disease and treat it with integrated best practices.Provide cross-disciplinary education for graduate students working on the project. Graduate students in applied economics and statistics and plant and environmental science will learn about both the economics of disease control and field experiment design, implementation, and evaluation.
Project Methods
For objective 1,in each year, field experiments will be done in spring and fall on certified organic land at the Clemson University Coastal Research and Education Center (CREC), Charleston, SC by Anthony Keinath (Co-PI), the PES graduate student, and the temporary grant employee. In experiments in which naturally occurring inoculum is used, leaf lesions from one plot of each treatment will be cultured to recover Alternaria spp. A. japonica produces single conidia, whereas A. brassicae produces chains of conidia, so these two species can be identified based on their spores. Identification, for at least one isolate of each cultural type, will be verified with multilocus genotyping based on three diagnostic gene sequences: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), RNA polymerase second largest subunit (RPB2), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1) (Woudenberg et al. 2013). Sequences will be compared to reference sequences deposited in GenBank by Woudenberg et al. (2013).In year 1, ten cultivars, two of each of five horticultural types of kale, will be evaluated for incidence and severity of Alternaria leaf spot in repeated greenhouse experiments. Plants will be inoculated as described by Keinath et al. (2021). The least susceptible curly kale cultivar and the least susceptible cultivar among the other four types of kale will be used in field experiments in subsequent years, along with Darkibor as the standard cultivar. Five biopesticides, representing different classes of active ingredients, will be evaluated in repeated greenhouse experiments. Plants will be inoculated as described by Keinath et al. (2021) with A. japonica and A. brassicae in separate experiments. Cultivar Darkibor will be used with four replicate pots of two plants per pot. Disease incidence and severity will be evaluated 2 weeks after inoculation. Two biopesticides that significantly reduce disease compared to the nontreated control and are at least as effective as copper will be tested in field experiments in subsequent years.In year 2, the best practices identified in year 1 experiments will be integrated in a factorial 4 x 3 split-plot design with 4 blocks that includes: 2 biopesticides plus 2 controls (nontreated and copper), whole plot, and 3 cultivars, split plot. Treatments will be applied with a handheld boom and backpack sprayer weekly for 6 weeks starting 3 weeks after transplanting. If disease has not appeared from natural inoculum by 1 week before the first harvest, the end plants of each plot will be inoculated with A. japonica and A. brassicae on opposite plot ends. Alternaria leaf spot will be assessed by visually by estimating incidence, defined as the percentage of plants in a plot with symptoms on one or more leaves staring when symptoms appear.In year three, the best practices from year 2 will be tested in a factorial 2 x 2 design with 3 blocks. Plots will be rated for Alternaria leaf spot once immediately before first harvest and harvested once as described above. Data will be analyzed with an appropriate split-plot model as described above, with season as the whole plot, location as the split-plot, and treatments as split-split plots. We will replicate the experiments at Walter P. Rawl & Sons, Pelion, SC, and the Mountain Research Center, Waynesville, NC. To quantify the potential losses associated with leaf spot development in storage, post-harvest cooling/sanitation methods and storage temperatures will be evaluated in years 2 and 3 by a graduate student.For Objective 2, we will obtain information from kale growers regarding current practices, input use, yield, disease management (including Alternaria leaf spot), marketing decisions and producers' obstacles in the supply chain of kale. The data required to achieve this goal will be obtained from a survey instrument administered to growers who manage the day-to-day operations of their farms. These surveys will be sent to every farmer in the listserv by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, that use organic. These surveys will also be sent to certified organic growers listed on the USDA website. The questionnaire will include sections related to: i) demographic characteristics and risk tolerance levels of the producer, ii) agronomic characteristics of the field, iii) operation characteristics iv) the impact of Alternaria leaf spot on production, iv) current management practices, including those done to manage Alternaria leaf spot, v) produce marketing decisions, vi) adoption of organic practices and potential limiting factors towards this goal and vii) obstacles faced while transitioning to organic production. The list of questions will be reviewed with producers and stakeholders.Three more surveys will be utilized to identify consumer preferences toward organic and local produce, specifically kale. We will use focus groups with consumers, industry experts, and extension agents to pretest the questionnaire for wording errors and clarifications prior to the distribution of the survey instrument. At the regional level, an online survey to Southeastern US consumers using Quatrics will be performed to examine the impact of demographic characteristics, lifestyle preferences, and different information outlets on the probability that a consumer buys (or will buy) organic or local produce. We will also estimate consumers' willingness to pay for organic kale with lesser desirable characteristics using representative photos of the three classes, specifically, with minor leaf spots on the leaves. South Carolina has more than 200 local produce market outlets (SC Dept. Health and Environmental Control). We will survey consumers in selected locations. Graduate students will personally survey consumers.We will use the outcomes of objectives 1 and 2, and geospatial information on land use combined with marketing outlet destinations obtained in survey to determine areas in the state where organic kale is profitable. The graduate student will develop a model that integrates these datasets to identify and delimit state-wide zoning areas where organic kale is profitable.For Object 3, this project will generate peer-reviewed fact sheets published through Land-Grant Press by Clemson Extension that will be distributed in the field days and grower talks. They will summarize the outcomes of our experiments and economic analyses. The enterprise budgets built in objective 2b will be based on the most profitable treatments obtained in the experiment. Budgets will be posted on the Clemson Extension and project websites. In year 3, three field days will be organized to allow growers to see results of the on-farm research. Some of these field days will be recorded and posted online. Specifically, they will present information on how profits change with the use of biopesticides and cultivars, with the adoption of different row and plant spacing, with different post-harvest procedures and with different marketing strategies.For Objective 4, graduate students involved with the estimation of economic losses and experimental procedures will present a workshop in years 2 and 3 of the project to pre-service and secondary in-service agricultural educators in a state-wide professional development workshop to train these educators in how to read and use enterprise budgets - including the MS.Note that due to current (June 2021) COVID-19 restrictions, face-to-face interviews and in-person meetings are not allowed. These interviews and in-person meetings (such as field days and workshop) will occur only in the second and third year of the project. We expect that by the application of the surveys these restrictions will be lifted. If not, surveys of the marketing location managers will be performed seeking to identify marketing practices and meetings will be performed online.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:• Organic and conventional kale growers; • Organic and conventional produce growers; • Broad public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Trained two graduate students on survey design, implementation and analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Conferences: 2024Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA)Annual meeting. Extension field day Keinath, A. P. 2023. Biopesticides to Manage Alternaria Leaf Spot on Organic Kale. Grant-supported, on-farm field day, Pelion, SC., November 15, 2023. Attendees: 20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDoyv-ZOxac) Extension presentations Keinath, A. P. 2024. Managing Black Spot on Kale and Damping-off on Direct Seeded and Transplanted Vegetables. Midlands Vegetable Grower Meeting, Pelion, SC., February 7, 2024. Attendees: 56. Keinath, A. P. 2024. Vegetable Disease Management Update. 2024 Pee Dee Vegetable Production Meeting, Florence, SC., February 29, 2024. Attendees: 70. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Finalize the in-person interviews at Farmers markets: Advise student on data collection, data management and analysis. Submit two more papers to journals using data from farmers markets and producer survey collected through Qualtrics. Finalize the Profitability analysis using ArcGIS and submit it to publication.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Production Research: In fall 2023, two cultivars and various biopesticides were tested on-farm in Lexington, SC, and in research plots in Waynesville, NC, to assess management in two other environments. In both experiments, cultivars Darkibor and Winterbor did not differ, and biopesticides did not differ from the non-treated control. 2. Economic Research Enterprise Budget on conventional and organic kale was published online (https://www.clemson.edu/extension/agribusiness/resources/request-budget.html). Organized Field day at collaborator farmer field. Video of field day on disease management on organic kale was uploaded online (https://youtu.be/LDoyv-ZOxac?si=CPaOPa_OpnlTflTL). Workshop to Agricultural Educators at the South Carolina Association of Agricultural Educators (SCAAE) at Lexington, SC on July 15th-18th, 2024. A pre- and post-survey on knowledge about Organic was performed and indicated that, intially, ag. educators did not know what the USDA organic label meant (37% partially correctly identified its defintion), but after the workshop, they indicated to know a lot more (96% partiallycorrectly identified its defintion).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ureta, Joan, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and George Strickland. Effects of Organic and Origin Labels on Consumer Willingness to Pay for Kale: A Case Study in Southeastern US. Accepted in Journal of Food Distribution Research.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Behler, Shane; Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos, and Joan Ureta. Consumer Willingness to Pay for Visually Imperfect Organic Kale. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Published online 2024:1-25. https://doi.org/10.1017/aae.2023.42
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Keinath, A. P. 2024. Microbial and biochemical biofungicides ineffective against Alternaria black spot on organic kale. PhytoFrontiers 4. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-04-24-0039-R
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Toporek, S. M., Reich, J. N., and Keinath, A. P. 2024. Recovery of Alternaria brassicicola from chopped, bagged kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala). Plant Dis. 108. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-24-0030-SC
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Arnold, Jane, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva and Michael Vassalos. Farmers Markets: How to keep up with the expanding market? 2024 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting, New Orleans-LA, July/2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Arnold, Jane, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva and Michael Vassalos. Do Farmers Environmental Perspectives Drive their Decision to Transition to Organic Production? 2024 AAEA Annual Meeting, New Orleans-LA, July/2024.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Keinath, A. P. 2023. Management of Alternaria Black Spot on Conventional and Organic Kale Grown in the Fall. Clemson IPM Newsletter. Published July 31, 2023. https://blogs.clemson.edu/ipm/management-of-alternaria-black-spot-on-conventional-and-organic-kale-grown-in-the-fall/
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Keinath, A. 2024. White Mold on Kale and Other Cool-Season Vegetables. SC Grower blog post, Feb. 13, 2024. https://scgrower.com/2024/02/13/white-mold-on-kale-and-other-cool-season-vegetables/


Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience: Organic and conventional kale growers; Organic and conventional produce growers; Extension agents; Academic community; Broad public. Changes/Problems:Two changes were made to the initial proposal. Both were approved by Drs. Mathieu (Mat) Ngouajio. They are explained below: Producer survey modification: The response rate to the survey distributed via email was very low, probably because of COVID-19, which affected the relationship between extension agents and farmers and farmers behavior towards research and extension activities. This was constraining the ability to make meaningful conclusions. Also because of COVID-19, not all the travel money was used. We requested (and obtained approval) to use part of the travel allowances to pay $9,9987.75 to Qualtrics to obtain 85 answers to our survey seeking to strengthen our work while not affecting any other portion of the proposed work. Part of the email requesting the modification is copied below. Field experiment in year 3 modification: In years 1 and 2, 6 experiments (4 greenhouse and 2 field) were proposed, but 12 experiments (4 greenhouse and 8 field) were completed. In addition, 28 treatments were proposed and 56 (twice as many) have been evaluated. Both biopesticides and cultivars were evaluated separately in the greenhouse and in the field, plus they were evaluated together in the field in year 2. This shows that the reduced list of biopesticides and cultivars to be evaluated in years 2 and 3 in the field has been already evaluated in years 1 and 2 in the field. None of the biopesticides reduced black spot compared to the nontreated control. Thus, we requested and obtained a protocol modification from Drs. Ngouajio and Smith on 7/19/2023 to forego the field experiments planned for Charleston in year 3. The experiments in Lexington, SC, and Waynesville, NC, for year 3 will be carried out as proposed. Below we attach the entire email sent. Request 1: Producer survey modification We talked during the meeting about a change I'm having to make in the grant. We promised a producer survey where we would collect info about production practices, barriers to transition, disease management, etc. In the grant, we said that we would distribute the survey to farmers using an email list from Carolinas Farm Stewardship Association and in extension meetings. We are not obtaining a satisfactory response rate, probably because of COVID-19, which have affected the relationship between extension agents and farmers and farmers behavior towards research and extension activities. For that reason, I've talked to Qualtrics to obtain 85 responses on kale producers in the Southeast, including organic farms. The cost is U$$ 9,987.75. This survey will allow us to make important conclusions regarding transitioning to organic and disease management. This survey is very important for the grant success given that it will allow the production of extension/education material and help extension agents understanding the producer practices. So it has a big impact on producers in the long-run. The plan is to use money from other accounts that we unexpectedly used less than we promised. For instance, one of the PDs couldn't find a master student to work with him on the project due to COVID-19. We also used fewer travel dollars than we expected, also because of COVID-19. Request 2: Field experiment in year 3 modification. The two bullet points and table (in the original request) summarize the experiments proposed when the grant proposal was submitted, and the experiments actually completed after the grant (2021-51106-35495) was awarded in FY 2021. In years 1 and 2, 6 experiments (4 greenhouse and 2 field) were proposed, but 12 experiments (4 greenhouse and 8 field) were completed. In addition, 28 treatments were proposed and 56 (twice as many) have been evaluated. Both biopesticides and cultivars were evaluated separately in the greenhouse and in the field, plus they were evaluated together in the field in year 2. This shows that the reduced list of biopesticides and cultivars to be evaluated in years 2 and 3 in the field has been already evaluated in years 1 and 2 in the field. None of the biopesticides reduced black spot compared to the nontreated control. Thus, we are requesting a protocol modification to forego the field experiments planned for Charleston in year 3. The experiments in Lexington, SC, and Waynesville, NC, for year 3 will be carried out as proposed. Below we discuss each year of the grant in more detail. Year 1 Experiments. The review panel for our previous submission (FY 2020) recommended year 1 screenings be done only in the greenhouse to ensure the results would be completed in time for year 2 field experiments. However, due to the large effect of environmental conditions on plant diseases, especially when there is no known host resistance, we were concerned that greenhouse screening would not give an accurate picture of cultivar tolerance. For example, "field resistance" would not be identified in greenhouse screenings. Thus, field screenings of cultivars were added to this year's set of experiments. Dr. Anthony Keinath also expanded the cultivar list for the field experiment to 14 cultivars in case any had any resistance. In addition, we wanted an opportunity to compare conventional and organic production, which has rarely been done and seemed appropriate for an Organic Transitions grant, so four cultivar experiments were done in the field, both conventional and organic (in separate fields) in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. We also believe that the greenhouse screening for biopesticides was not sufficient, based on the extensive literature about environmental effects on plant diseases as well as effects on biopesticides (and conventional pesticides). Thus, most of the biopesticides screened in the greenhouse in separate experiments with the 2 Alternaria species were screened in the field in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 with both Alternaria species in each experiment. In addition, we screened twice as many biopesticides in the greenhouse as was proposed, based on product labels that included leafy brassica crops, in an attempt to find a product that reduced black spot. No biopesticides in any experiment, greenhouse or field, reduced black spot or increased yields (in the field). Year 2 Experiments. These 2 experiments were carried out exactly as planned. As in the biopesticide experiments, there was no effect of the 3 biopesticides (including copper) on black spot. Some cultivar differences were noted, but as in Year 1, they varied by season and sometimes by species of Alternaria. The field component of this grant has gone significantly beyond the proposed scope of work to determine if any biopesticides are effective against black spot and to determine if there are any consistent differences among cultivars, either more or less susceptible. Harvesting and grading individual kale leaves into healthy and diseased classes requires no less than 6 people for each field experiment: 1 to cut, 3 to sort, 1 to weigh, and 1 to help wherever needed. This additional effort in year 3 will not add any new results to the objective proposed given that the small factorial of biopesticides and cultivars proposed for the last year was already included in the large factorial experiments of the previous years. This modification will not affect the outcome of the project. The proposal anticipated 3 journal manuscripts from the field experiments, and three manuscripts will still be prepared and submitted from the data collected in experiments actually done: one on biopesticides, one on cultivars, and one on integrated management in 3 locations. The planned journal is Crop Protection. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Three undergraduate students and one graduate student from the agricultural mechanization program at Clemson University were trained in association with evaluating post-harvest disease development. Students: Developed post-harvest treatment protocols and associated analysis. Designed and evaluated a scale immersion hydrocooler (continuation from the previous year). Trained one undergraduate student (Emilee Hyder) from the agribusiness program at Clemson University in survey design and distribution. This student also obtained the CITI certification. Trained three masters students (Shane Behler, Samuel Francis and George Strickland) in survey design and distribution. These students also obtained the CITI certification. Trained one undergraduate student in basic plant pathology laboratory techniques plus DNA extraction, PCR DNA amplification, and use of species-specific primers to identify Alternaria spp. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Washington D.C (07/2023). Willingness to pay estimation for organic and local kale. Authors: George Strickland, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and Joan Ureta. Identifying Characteristics of Consumers Who Take Home Restaurant Leftovers. Authors: Samuel J. Francis, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and Joan Ureta. Who is the recurrent farmers' market consumer? Authors: Jane Arnold, Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, and Michael Vassalos. Farmers through extension publications: Is the Transition from Conventional to Organic Kale Production Profitable? At the Southern Ag Today on July 7, 2023 (available at https://southernagtoday.org/2023/07/07/is-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-kale-production-profitable/) Authors: Samuel Francis , Felipe de Figueiredo Silva1 and Michael Vassalos Keinath, A. P. 2023. Management of Alternaria Black Spot on Conventional and Organic Kale Grown in the Fall, posted 7/31/2023. https:/blogs.clemson.edu/ipm/management-of-alternaria-black-spot-on-conventional-and-organic-kale-grown-in-the-fall/ Farmers through extension presentations: Keinath, A. P. 2023. Tolerance of Kale Cultivars to Alternaria Leaf Spot (Black Spot) and Ineffectiveness of Biopesticides. 35th Southeast Vegetable & Fruit Expo, Raleigh, NC, 11/30/2022. Keinath, A. P. 2023. Organic kale disease trials and management. Iowa Farm Bureau Tour, Coastal REC, Charleston, SC, 3/30/2023. Keinath, A. P. 2023. 2023 Midlands Vegetable Disease Update: Downy Mildew, Black Rot, Black Spot, and Anthracnose. Midlands Spring Vegetable Meeting, Pelion, SC, 03/07/2023. 2023 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual Meeting in Omaha, NE Identifying Locations for Kale Production in South Carolina: a Suitability Analysis. Authors: Brennan Teddy Aaron P. Turner, Felipe Silva. Burkett, C.D., A.P. Turner, F. Silva, B.E. Teddy, L.A. Samenko, A. Keinath. 2022. Evaluation of a Mobile GIS data Collection Application Combined with Differential GPS for High Accuracy Field Scouting Sonoco FRESH Summit. Clemson University, September 19-21. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Publish the enterprise budget and generate the fact sheets to be delivered on field days and short courses. (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and master's student) Develop short course on transition from conventional to organic using the budget enterprise developed in the previous years to be used on short courses given to ag educators (teachers, extension agents and agricultural education students) (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos, Anthony Keinath and a master's student). Present at least one short course to ag educators. (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos, Anthnoy Keinath and a master's student). Finalize the profitability analysis (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva and Aaron Turner). Analyze the two-years data on post-harvesting (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Aaron Turner and Anthony Keinath). Finalize and submit three more papers on the consumers surveys - willingness to pay for organic kale, restaurant food waste and based on the data from the farmers markets. (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and masters' students) Complete the design of the producer survey to be distributed by Qualtrics to 85 kale producers in the southeastern US, distribute and analyze the data. Produce at least one academic publication and extension material from this data. (Felipe de Figueiredo Silva, Michael Vassalos and Jane Arnold) Field experiments in two locations: on farm at WP Rawl in Pelion, SC (Justin Ballew) and at North Carolina State University in Waynesville, NC (Inga Meadows). Write two academic papers on the field experiments (at Coastal REC Clemson University and the other two locations). (Anthony Keinath) Meadows to establish the fall field trial in Waynesville, NC in August-September 2023 and planned to be complete in Nov-Dec 2023. Ballew to establish the fall field trial in Pelion, SC in August-September 2023 and planned to be complete in Nov-Dec 2023. Organize two field days. (Justin Ballew and Anthony Keinath) Upload videos from the field days.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Production Research: As described in the objectives, in the Fall 2022 and Spring of 2023, the best practices identified in year 1 experiments were integrated in a factorial 4 x 3 split-plot design with 4 blocks that includes: 2 biopesticides plus 2 controls (nontreated and copper), whole plot 3 cultivars, split plot. The effects of post-harvest sanitation/cooling method on post-harvest disease development were evaluated in both the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 harvests. Treatments included placing material directly into storage along with pre-cooling using two common sanitizers. A preliminary evaluation of ultrasonic cleaning was also conducted. 2. Economic Research: Three undergraduate students were (1) trained and developed preliminary enterprise budgets for conventional and organic Kale; (2)improved theresearch scale immersion hydrocooler developed in the previous yearto be used in post-harvest experiments in kale; and (3) design, implemented and analyzed a post-harvest treatment (three treatments) analysis using Ms. Excel and SAS. They presented these outcomes and received feedback for an in-person audience in the Agricultural Sciences Department, Clemson University. A master's student developed the conventional and organic enterprise budget for kale.It generated an extension type publication (listed in the publication tab). A master's student analyzed the survey on consumers focused on food waste and organic produce consumption. As an outcome, the student presented a poster at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting of 2023 (see list of publications or below). A master's student analyzed the survey on consumers focused on the consumption of visually imperfect kale. As an outcome, the student along with the co-advisors submitted the paper to a reputable journal. It is currently a "Revise and Resubmit". A master's student analyzed the survey on consumers focused on the consumer willingness to pay for organic and local kale. As an outcome, the student presented a poster at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting of 2023 (see list of publications or below). An undergraduate student interviewed more than 100 consumers in the 5 largest farmers market visited in the previous summer (302 consumers interviewed in 19 farmers market in the summer of 2022). An undergraduate student discussing the results of the analysis of the surveys at the farmers markets won first place at the undergraduate research competition at the college level at Clemson University. An undergraduate student discussing the results of the analysis of the surveys at the farmers markets finished third at the undergraduate research competition at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting of 2023. A PhD student presented a poster discussing a preliminary analysis of areas suitable for kale production at the 2023 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting. 3. Extension outreach A master's student interacted extensively with WP Rawl, one of the farmers collaborators of the grant, on data collection to improve the budget developed in the previous year. This student also reached out to other farmers to refine the budget. One Extension blog post was written by Anthony Keinath (see below). Two presentations were given at a regional grower meeting (see below). One presentation was given at a field day to growers and Master Gardeners (see below).

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Francis, Samuel; Silva, Felipe de F. and Vassalos, Michael, (2023). Is the Transition from Conventional to Organic Kale Production Profitable? At the Southern Ag Today on July 7, 2023 (available at https://southernagtoday.org/2023/07/07/is-the-transition-from-conventional-to-organic-kale-production-profitable/)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Burkett, C.D., A.P. Turner, F. Silva, B.E. Teddy, L.A. Samenko, A. Keinath. 2022. Evaluation of a Mobile GIS data Collection Application Combined with Differential GPS for High Accuracy Field Scouting Sonoco FRESH Summit. Clemson University, September 19-21.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Strickland, George; de Figueiredo Silva, Felipe; Vassalos, Michael and Ureta, Joan; 2023. Willingness to pay estimation for organic and local kale. Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Washington D.C (07/2023)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Francis, Samuel; de Figueiredo Silva, Felipe; Vassalos, Michael and Ureta, Joan; 2023. Identifying Characteristics of Consumers Who Take Home Restaurant Leftovers. Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Washington D.C (07/2023)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Arnold, Jane; de Figueiredo Silva, Felipe and Vassalos, Michael; 2023. Who is the recurrent farmers' market consumer?. Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Washington D.C (07/2023)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Teddy, Brennan; Turner, Aaron P. and de Figueiredo Silva, Felipe. Identifying Locations for Kale Production in South Carolina: a Suitability Analysis. 2023 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual Meeting in Omaha, NE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2023 Citation: Arnold, Jane; 2023. Who is the recurrent farmers' market consumer?. 2022-2023 College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium and Competition, April 5th, 2023. Student was Advised by de Felipe Figueiredo Silva and Michael Vassalos.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Keinath, A. P. 2023. Management of Alternaria Black Spot on Conventional and Organic Kale Grown in the Fall, posted 7/31/2023. https:/blogs.clemson.edu/ipm/management-of-alternaria-black-spot-on-conventional-and-organic-kale-grown-in-the-fall/


Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience: Organic and conventional kale growers; Organic and conventional produce growers; Broad public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Trained three undergraduate students from the agricultural mechanization program at Clemson University in developing enterprise budgets for conventional and organic kale, using ArcGIS Pro to display and analyze agricultural and agricultural-related variables (e.g., weather and soil types), and the design, development and welding of a scale immersion hydrocooler. Trained one undergraduate student from the agribusiness program at Clemson University in survey design and distribution. This student also obtained the CITI certification. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? One virtual presentation at the Long Island Ag Forum, "Management and Economics of Three Common Foliar Diseases on Cucumber and Leafy Greens." Jan. 18, 2022. 101 attendees. Two in-person presentations at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center Field Day, "Organic Management of Alternaria Black Spot on Kale." 69 attendees, 97% reported an increase in knowledge. Publication at the website "Growing Produce" entitled "Why Disease Control Is More Challenging on Leafy Vegetables" on July 5, 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Production research: Testing 3 cultivars sprayed with 3 biopesticides. 2. Economic research: Analyze data on the three consumer surveys. Two studentswere hired and will start working on the data on Fall 2022. The third student will be hired on summer of 2023. Finalize the designing of theproducer survey, distribute it and analyze the results. 3. Extension research: Advise students on building a detailed enterprise budget and on building the profitability map. 4. Graduate education: Exposemaster students in the Applied Economics program, working on the above mentioned products, to field experiments designed and implemented by the Co-Pi Anthony Keinath. Teach them all the steps of a field experiment, from designing the random experiment to implementing the experiment.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Production Research Completed four field experiments, conventional and organic in fall 2021 and spring 2022, to evaluate susceptibility of 14 kale cultivars to Alternaria leaf spot. Screened 12 biopesticides in the greenhouse and 10 biopesticides in an organic field experiment in spring 2022. Evaluated two temperatures for postharvest storage with leaves from 14 cultivars. Evaluated citric acid as a postharvest treatment for organic kale with 4 cultivars of green curly kale. 2. Economic Research: Three undergraduate students were (1) trained and developed preliminary enterprise budgets for conventional and organic Kale; (2) trained and developed the initial framework for the state-wide zoning areas where organic kale is profitable; and (3) developed a research scale immersion hydrocooler to be used in post-harvest experiments in kale. They presented these outcomes and received feedback for an in-personaudience in the Agricultural Sciences Department, Clemson University. Recruitedone graduate studentto finalize the budget enterprises and perform the profitability analysis of organic kale in the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023. One online consumersurveywas designed and distributed through Qualtrics reaching 200 kale consumers to estimate the willingness to pay for organic kale. One graduate student was trained: (1)on survey design;and (2) in the statisticalmethods that will beused to estimate willingness to pay. This student will work on the survey data during the Fall 2022. A consumersurveywasdesigned and distributed in person at more than 15 farmers markets in SC (a couple in GA and NC) during June-July of 2022 to identify consumer preferences for kale at direct marketing outlets. The final sample is300consumers. One undergraduate was recruited, trained on survey design, and distributed the abovesurvey. The same student also collected data about the characteristics of the markets she visited to distributed the above survey. One online consumer survey was designed and pre-tested with the goal to be submitted in September through Qualtrics and to reach 800 consumers that are aware of kale products. in the process of recruiting one graduate student to work on the outcome of this survey in the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. 3. Extension outreach The development of the enterprise budgets was initiated by 3 undergraduate students. Specifically, they have collected data on information needed to build the detailed budget such as output and input prices, kale yield (organic and no organic), and input use.

Publications