Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Constructed and instrumented two 30 ft x 98 ft high tunnels with adjacent paired field plots for demonstration and research. Compared production, fruit quality and disease and insect incidence in grafted plants of the heirloom tomato cultivar 'Cherokee Purple' with ungrafted plants of the same cultivar under three organic fertility regimes. Performed research experiments on nutrient uptake and performance of grafted plants at different fertility levels and in different production systems. Compared grafted and ungrafted heirloom tomatoes for yield in organic production systems in the field and high tunnels. Grafted tomato seedlings, tissue sampling and data collection were provided to NC and Pennsylvania growers for on-farm research in replicated field trials. Field trials were implemented on-farm to improve disease susceptibility, nutrient uptake, fruit quality and yield of grafted tomatoes. Performed a detailed cost analysis comparing high tunnel tomato production with conventional field production. Conducted grafting demonstrations for undergraduate and graduate students, and mentored multiple students and interns who chose grafting research projects. Improved grafting, acclimation and transplanting techniques, including working with new organic media, new rootstocks and improving the acclimation chamber performance. Conducted on-farm grafting demonstrations in Spanish and English and grafting demonstrations at Extension workshops. Several presentations on season extension and grafting have been made at professional and trade meetings. Frequent CEFS tours have been held in the research high tunnels. Multiple publications from this research are being prepared for publication in scientific journals. A handout has been prepared for distribution to tour groups. A handout on grafting techniques was prepared and 1000 copies distributed. The handout is also available online. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Mary Peet served as the project director through August 1, 2009, when she retired from NCSU. Peet's role included budget management, hiring additional labor, coordinating meetings, ensuring that the project timetable was followed and taking responsibility for maintaining a high-quality research program, concentrating on the horticultural aspects of grafting and high tunnel research. After Peet's retirement, Dr. Frank Louws, Plant Pathology, took over responsibility for project direction. Louws now coordinates talks and other means of information dissemination. Dr. Louws and Dr. Cary Rivard, now at Kansas State University, took the lead in disease evaluations both at the research plots at CEFS, the Mountain Horticultural Research Station and in the on-farm trials. Ms. Suzanne O'Connell conducted research toward her M.S. degree in this project and coordinated all fertility experiments. Ms. O'Connell completed her M.S. and currently is working on a PhD at N.C. State University. Dr. Olha Sydorovych and Dr. Edmund Estes, both in the Department of Agricultural Resources Management have worked on evaluating the economic aspects of high tunnel production and grafting. Farmers cooperating on trials included Alex Hitt, Ken Dawson, Stefan Hartman and Steve Groff. Mary Roberts is cooperating in propagating grafted organic transplants and sold a number of grafted organic transplants. Partner organizations include CEFS, established in 1994 by North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and the North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Several individuals working at CEFS, including Steve Moore, Small Farm Coordinator, Lisa Forehand, Extension & Outreach Coordinator, and CEFS apprentices provided assistance with research and workshops. Ken Fager, NCSU technician on another project at CEFS, also provided valuable help. Summer hires included Amanda McWhirt, an intern, who helped with routine plant care and data collection and also developed an IPM plan for the CEFS experiment, Seth Avis, and Ryan Faulk, both NCSU undergraduates. Josh Moore and Carolyn Lowry were on-site project coordinators. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include small and organic farmers, plant propagators, direct marketers, and Hispanic workers. An internship was developed on IPM for tomatoes in high tunnels and the field. Efforts included grafting demonstrations and lectures in an undergraduate vegetable production class and a graduate level greenhouse food production class. The graduate class included 4 NCSU extension agents and 2 from NC A&T and a class trip to view high tunnels in Pennsylvania and grafted tomato production in a greenhouse in Virginia. In addition, an undergraduate student research project in the NCSU phytotron was mentored. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
In replicated trials at CEFS, the high tunnel system produced greater fruit yields for all treatments and hit peak production three weeks earlier than the field system. The greatest yield response was achieved in the high tunnel system with the 'Cherokee Purple-Maxifort' grafts. The high tunnel system had a higher incidence of blossom end rot, cat-facing, and cracking but lower incidence of TSWV and insect damage compared to the field system. The N input level effect on yield was not consistent across the two seasons, but in 2008 both the high and medium N input levels (168 kg ha-1 and 122 kg ha-1, respectively) produced greater total harvest yields compared to the low N level (93 kg ha-1). Grafted plants produced a greater fruit yield compared to non-grafted plants in a low disease pressure environment at CEFS. Grafted plants in the high tunnel system also displayed greater plant growth compared to the non-grafted plants. In on-farm experiments, the greatest total fruit yields were achieved with Celebrity- RST-04-105-T grafts (19.5 T/A), followed by Celebrity-BWR grafts (14.4 T/A), Celebrity-Dai Honmei grafts (13.9 T/A), Celebrity-Sweet Olive grafts (6.7 T/A), Celebrity non-grafted (5.4 T/A), and Celebrity self-grafted (4.6 T/A). A cost and benefit analysis based on variable costs of grafted transplant production at the 1-acre scale, estimated $2,275 of additional transplant costs when grafted plants were utilized. The per acre net returns of the top yielding scion-rootstock combination, Celebrity-RST-04-105-T was $59,635 and the non-grafted Celebrity crop generated $8780 per acre. Because the grafted plants were able to maintain production under severe soilborne disease pressure, this cost-benefit analysis reflects the ability of disease resistant rootstock to reduce the risk of pathogen outbreaks and therefore add to on-farm economic stability. Impacts: This project generated great interest in grafted tomatoes, especially among small and organic growers and those producing heirlooms for direct markets. Grafting workshop participants provided positive feedback and responded that the knowledge gained would save or make them money and all said they would go home with ideas to improve the sustainability or profitability of their farm. One participant estimated a savings of $5,000.
Publications
- Rivard, C. 2010. Grafting for Open-field and High Tunnel Tomato Production. PhD dissertation available at North Carolina State University as an electronic dissertation. Online access available at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.16/6068
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities: Herbaceous grafting is a site-specific management tool that can be tailored to the challenges of individual production systems based on rootstock and scion selections. The objectives of this study were to investigate the use of grafting to enhance organic field production of tomatoes at Black River Organic Farm in NC. At this farm, high disease pressure from bacterial wilt (caused by Ralstonia solanacearum) has resulted in the grower abandoning open-field fresh-market tomato production. Preliminary studies in 2007 indicated that Celebrity scion grafted onto RST-04-105-T (D. Palmer Seed Co., U.S.A) rootstock and Dai Honmei (Asahi Seed Co., Japan) rootstock demonstrated complete and intermediate levels of resistance, respectively to bacterial wilt. In 2008, the study was duplicated and expanded to include two additional rootstocks and to assist the grower with propagating grafted transplants on-farm. In 2008, we compared Celebrity scion grafted onto four different rootstocks (RST-04-105-T, Dai Honmei, BWR, and Sweet Olive) compared to non-grafted and self-grafted (scion grafted back onto itself) controls. In 2008, soilborne disease pressure was very high as anticipated, but southern blight, caused by Sclerotium rolfsii, was the dominant disease rather than bacterial wilt. The rootstocks utilized in this study were selected for resistance to bacterial wilt, but demonstrated a range of resistance to southern blight. Celebrity- RST-04-105-T grafts had the lowest incidence of southern blight and AUDPC values were significantly lower among the three rootstocks than the self-grafted and non-grafted controls. Grafting effects on leaf nutrient concentrations did not indicate greater nutrient uptake ability of grafted treatments although significant differences among treatments for selected nutrients including phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and boron (B) were present. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Mary Peet directed the project and served as the project directorI through August 1, 2009, when she retired from NCSU. At that time Dr. Frank Louws, Plant Pathology, took over responsibility for project direction. Peet continues to serve on the Ph.D. committee of a Ph.D. student if Dr. Louws who is involved in the project (Cary Rivard). Currently publications from the project are being written up and submitted to journals. Louws now coordinates talks and other means of information dissemination. Dr. Louws and his graduate student, Cary Rivard take the lead in disease evaluations both at the research plots at CEFS, the Mountain Horticultural Research Station and in the on-farm trials. Their data is not included in this report. Other individuals working in the Louws lab have also assisted. Peet worked collaboratively with Dr. Louws, Olha Sydorovych and Dr. Edmund Estes, both in the Department of Agricultural Resources Management on evaluating the economic aspects of high tunnel production and grafting. Farmers cooperating on trials included Alex Hitt, Ken Dawson, Stefan Hartman and Steve Groff. Mary Roberts is cooperating in propagating grafted organic transplants and sold a number of grafted organic transplants in spring 2009. Partner organizations include CEFS, established in 1994 by North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and the North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. CEFS is located at the Cherry Research Farm near Goldsboro. Several individuals working at CEFS, including Steve Moore, Small Farm Coordinator, Lisa Forehand, Extension & Outreach Coordinator and CEFS apprentices provided assistance with research and workshops. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include small and organic farmers, plant propagators, direct marketers, and Hispanic workers. For additional information, see outputs and participants sections of this report. An internship was developed on IPM for tomatoes in high tunnels and the field in 2007. A .pdf grafting instructional document was developed by Rivard and Louws, and is available online: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/pdf/Grafting.Rivard .pdf. This document was downloaded by a grower in Kansas on one of the 2008 National SARE tours. He reported to the tour group that reading our document allowed him to produce grafted tomato transplants in the 2007 production season. These transplants were so successful that he planned on expanding his production of grafted transplants in the 2008 production season. Cary Rivard, a graduate student on the project has also developed a grafting information website: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~clrivard/index.html. His M.S. thesis 'Grafting Tomato to Manage Soilborne Diseases and Improve Yield in Organic Production Systems' was accepted in 2006 and is available as an electronic dissertation: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03192007-204532/. An M.S. thesis by Suzanne O'Connell was completed in 2008 and is also available in electronic form at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11072008-152636/. For additional information, see Outputs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Following Dr. Peet's retirement, continued direction will be coordinated by Dr. Frank Louws in the Department of Plant Pathology and Drs. Chris Gunter and Barclay Poling in the Department of Horticultural Science.
Impacts
The greatest total fruit yields were achieved with Celebrity- RST-04-105-T grafts (19.5 T/A), followed by Celebrity-BWR grafts (14.4 T/A), Celebrity-Dai Honmei grafts (13.9 T/A), Celebrity-Sweet Olive grafts (6.7 T/A), Celebrity non-grafted (5.4 T/A), and Celebrity self-grafted (4.6 T/A). A cost and benefit analysis based on variable costs of grafted transplant production at the 1-acre scale, estimated $2,275 of additional transplant costs when grafted plants were utilized. The per acre net returns of the top yielding scion-rootstock combination, Celebrity-RST-04-105-T was $59,635 and the non-grafted Celebrity crop generated $8780 per acre. Because the grafted plants were able to maintain production under severe soilborne disease pressure, this cost-benefit analysis reflects the ability of disease resistant rootstock to reduce the risk of pathogen outbreaks and therefore add to on-farm economic stability. Overall, the grower was very pleased with the results of this study and in 2009 continued to propagate and utilize grafted plants on-farm.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities: Compared production, fruit quality and disease and insect incidence in grafted plants of the heirloom tomato cultivar Cherokee Purple with ungrafted plants of the same cultivar under 3 organic fertility regimes in two 30 ft x 98 ft high tunnels with adjacent paired field plots at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro, NC in 2007 and 2008. Results of this research were widely distributed through workshops, tours, and presentations at grower and professional meetings. Mentored two graduate students and a total of 3 summer interns. Field trials were conducted on-farm to observe disease susceptibility, nutrient uptake, fruit quality and yield of grafted tomatoes compared to controls with and without pressure from soilborne plant pathogens. Services: Grafted tomato seedlings, tissue sampling and data collection were provided to 3 NC and 1 Pa grower for 2007 and 2008 replicated on-farm field trials. Conducted on-farm grafting demonstration in Spanish to Hispanic greenhouse workers in Zebulon, NC in Nov. 2007. Events/Dissemination: Season extension and grafting presentations: Southeastern Veg. Expo Dec. 2007 Myrtle Beach, SC; SARE Annual Conference, March 2008, Kansas City, MO (3 presentations); Sustainable Ag Conference, Durham, NC, Nov. 2007; Organic Growers School, March 2008, Flat Rock, NC; half day grafting and high tunnel workshops at CEFS Oct. 2007 and May 2008. Invited presentations were given at the SARE luncheon at the National Assoc. of County Agricultural Agents Conference July 2008 in Greensboro, NC. Special tunnel and grafting research tours were included in the CEFS Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture Series in March and May 2008. In addition, the research plots were included in most CEFS tours, so at least 200 additional visitors in 13 groups toured over the course of the 2008 season, including a group from Honduras. Some of these tours included two smaller demonstration tunnels differing in the degree of insulation and cost. Presentations on research were given at the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course in Jackson, MS in March 2008, the Plant Pathology National meeting in Minneapolis, MN July 2008 and International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Workshops in Colombia, South America and Tucson AZ in Sept. and October 2008, respectively. Project posters won the 2008 regional and national graduate student poster competitions at the American Society for Horticultural Science Conferences in Dallas, TX and Orlando, FL, respectively. Products: A handout on grafting techniques was prepared and over 1000 copies distributed. The handout is also available in .pdf format online in a section of the greenhouse food production website on grafting: grafting: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/topics/topics-pages /Grafting.html, which contains additional information on the project. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals, Collaborators and Contacts: Dr. Mary Peet directs the project and is the PI. She supervises a graduate student (Suzanne O'Connell) and serves on the Ph.D. committee of another graduate student involved in the project (Cary Rivard). Peet's role includes budget management, hiring additional labor, coordinating meetings, ensuring that the project timetable is followed and taking responsibility for maintaining a high-quality research program, concentrating on the horticultural aspects of grafting and high tunnel research. Summer hires in 2007 included Amanda McWhirt, an intern, who helped with routine plant care and data collection and also developed an IPM plan for the CEFS experiment and has since applied to the Peace Corps. Summer 2008 hires included Seth Avis and Ryan Faulk, both NCSU undergraduates. Josh Moore was on-site project coordinator in 2007 and Carolyn Lowry in 2008. Carolyn currently serves as CEFS small farm manager. Peet also helps coordinate talks and other means of information dissemination, such as the additions to the Greenhouse Food Production website on high tunnels and grafting. Peet coordinates with Dr. Frank Louws, Plant Pathology, on the disease aspects of the project, and on overall implementation of the research and extension objectives. Dr. Louws and his graduate student, Cary Rivard take the lead in disease evaluations both at the research plots at CEFS, the Mountain Horticultural Research Station and in the on-farm trials. Their data is not included in this report. Other individuals working in the Louws lab have also assisted. Peet works collaboratively with Dr. Louws, Gary Bullen and Dr. Edmund Estes, both in the Department of Agricultural Resources Management on evaluating the economic aspects of high tunnel production and grafting. Farmers cooperating on trials included Alex Hitt, Ken Dawson, Stefan Hartman and Steve Groff. Mary Roberts is cooperating in propagating grafted organic transplants. The Spanish language grafting presentation was held at the greenhouse of Julian Barham. Partner organizations include CEFS, established in 1994 by North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and the North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. CEFS is located at the Cherry Research Farm near Goldsboro. Several individuals working at CEFS, including Steve Moore, Small Farm Coordinator, Lisa Forehand, Extension & Outreach Coordinator and CEFS apprentices provided assistance with research and workshops. CEFS/Cherry Research Farm Superintendent, Eddie Pitzer was particularly helpful in providing work crews and maintaining infrastructure. Ken Fager, NCSU technician on another project at CEFS also provided valuable help. Area Sustainable Agriculture Agent, Debbie Roos helped organize a half-day training session on Nov. 12, 2008 at the Pittsboro Extension Center. 2008 training/professional development includes 2 graduate students (Rivard and O'Connell), two interns (Faulk and Avis), extension agents, farmer cooperators and Hispanic greenhouse workers. For additional details, see Outputs section of this report. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include small and organic farmers, plant propagators, direct marketers, and Hispanic workers. For additional information, see outputs and participants sections of this report. An internship was developed on IPM for tomatoes in high tunnels and the field in 2007. A .pdf grafting instructional document was developed by Rivard and Louws, and is available online: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/pdf/Grafting.Rivard .pdf. This document was downloaded by a grower in Kansas on one of the 2008 National SARE tours. He reported to the tour group that reading our document allowed him to produce grafted tomato transplants in the 2007 production season. These transplants were so successful that he planned on expanding his production of grafted transplants in the 2008 production season. Cary Rivard, a graduate student on the project has also developed a grafting information website: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~clrivard/index.html. His M.S. thesis 'Grafting Tomato to Manage Soilborne Diseases and Improve Yield in Organic Production Systems' was accepted in 2006 and is available as an electronic dissertation: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03192007-204532/. An M.S. thesis by Suzanne O'Connell was completed in 2008 and is also available in electronic form at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11072008-152636/. For additional information, see Outputs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Research Results: In replicated trials at CEFS in 2007 and 2008, the high tunnel system produced greater fruit yields for all treatments and hit peak production three weeks earlier than the field system. The high tunnel system had a higher incidence of blossom end rot, cat-facing, and cracking but lower incidence of TSWV and insect damage compared to the field system. Mean leaf tissue N concentrations were highly correlated with total harvest weight (>70.4%) in 2008. The N input level effect on yield was not consistent across the two seasons, but in 2008 both the high and medium N input levels (168 kg ha-1 and 122 kg ha-1, respectively) produced greater total harvest yields compared to the low N level (93 kg ha-1). Grafted plants had higher mean leaf tissue concentrations for: N, P, K, Mn, Cu, Zn, and B but lower concentrations of Mg and Na compared to non-grafted plants. Grafted plants produced a greater fruit yield compared to non-grafted plants in a low disease pressure environment at CEFS. Grafted plants in the high tunnel system also displayed greater plant growth compared to the non-grafted plants. Self-grafted plants (2008 only) were not different from non-grafted plants in terms of nutrient uptake, plant growth, or fruit yield. Both the 'Cherokee Purple-Maxifort' and 'Cherokee Purple-Beaufort' grafting treatments produced a greater number of fruit in the high tunnel system compared to the field system. The greatest yield response was achieved in the high tunnel system with the 'Cherokee Purple-Maxifort' grafts. These results are described in an MS thesis available online at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11072008-152636/. Impact: This project generated interest in grafted tomatoes, especially among small and organic growers and those producing heirlooms for direct markets. At the May 15 2008 CEFS workshop 20% rated it outstanding, and 80% rated it good or excellent. 60% rated the information presented very useful and the remainder rated it moderately useful. 80% said they gained much and 20% said they gained very much knowledge from the workshop. 80% also said the knowledge gained would save or make them money and all said they would go home with ideas to improve the sustainability or profitability of their farm. One participant estimated a savings of $5,000. 80% planned to use 2-3 ideas within the next year and 20% planned to use 5 ideas. The next step is to develop commercial sources of grafted tomato transplants now that the commercial viability of grafting has been demonstrated. Although all the growers involved in on-farm trials, and many others, wanted to use grafted transplants again, there were mixed results when two growers grafted on-farm, due to lack of expertise and inadequate propagation facilities. We have interested a grower of organic transplants in western NC in offering grafted tomato transplants. She attended an individualized demonstration in August to develop the required skills and a November 2008 workshop in Pittsboro to set up contacts with potential purchasers. The PA grower collaborator and a PA propagator also attended this workshop and plan to produce their own transplants in 2009.
Publications
- Peet, M.M., Larrea, E.S., and Harlow, C. 2008. Tomato Seed Germination in Organic Mixes: Role of EC and Mix Components. Acta Hort. (ISHS) 797: 393-398.
- O'Connell, S. and Peet, M.M. 2008. Nutrient uptake efficiency and plant growth indicators of grafted tomatoes. 68th Annual Meeting Southern Region American Society for Horticultural Science. Dallas, TX Feb. 2-4 2008. HortScience 43:627.
- Rivard, C.L., Louws F.J., Peet M.M., and O'Connell, S. 2008. High tunnels and grafting for disease management in organic tomato production. Phytopathology 98:S133-S133 American Phytopathological Society Centennial Meeting 2008 Minneapolis, Minnesota July 26-30.
- O'Connell, S., Peet, M., Harlow, C., Louws, F., and Rivard, C. 2008. The performance of grafted heirloom tomatoes in organic production systems: High- tunnels and the open field. HortScience 43:1260. American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference Orlando, FL July 21-24 2008.
- Peet, M., O'Connell, S., Rivard, C., Louws, F., and Harlow, C. 2008. Improving performance of organic heirloom tomatoes Using high tunnels and grafting. ISHS Symposium on Tomato in the Tropics. September 9-12. 2008 Villa de Leyva, Colombia.
- Peet, M., Rivard, C., O'Connell, S., Louws, F., and Harlow, C. 2008. Use of high tunnels and grafting for organic production of heirloom tomatoes in North Carolina. ISHS International Workshop on greenhouse Environmental Control and Crop Production in Semi-Arid Regions. October 20-24, 2008. Tucson, Arizona.
- O'Connell, S. 2008. Grafted Tomato Performance in Organic Production Systems: Nutrient Uptake, Plant Growth and Yield. MS thesis available at North Carolina State University as an electronic dissertation: etd-11072008-152636. Online access available at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11072008-152636/.
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities: Constructed and instrumented 2 30 ft x 98 ft high tunnels with adjacent paired field plots. Conducted grafting demonstrations for students in Vegetable Crop Production (HS431) Conducted grafting demonstration for students in Greenhouse and High Tunnel Food Production (HS590C). Mentored 4 students who chose grafting research projects. Mentored two graduate student, one undergraduate grafting and one summer intern research project. Improved grafting, acclimation and transplanting techniques, including working with new organic media, new rootstocks and improving the acclimation chamber performance. Field trials were implemented in grower fields to observe disease susceptibility, nutrient uptake, fruit quality and yield of grafted tomatoes compared to controls under conditions with and without pressure from soilborne plant pathogens. Performance of grafted and control rootstocks was also compared in fields in continuous tomato cultivation for 12 years with those
rotated to other crops. Nutrient uptake and performance of grafted plants at different fertility levels was compared in an organic soil production system and in a conventional soilless system at a standard fertility level. Compared grafted and ungrafted heirloom tomatoes for yield in organic production systems in the field and high tunnels. Additional rootstocks and training systems for heirloom tomatoes were compared in the field. Services/Products: Grafted tomato seedlings, tissue sampling and data collection were provided to 3 NC growers and one in Pennsylvania for on-farm research in replicated field trials. Conductede on-farm grafting demonstration in Spanish to greenhouse workers in Zebulon, NC. Events/Dissemination: Season extension and grafting presentations: Southeastern Veg. Expo 2006,07 Myrtle Beach, SC; High Tunnel Greenhouse Production Workshop, Goldsboro, NC 2006,07; Women in Agriculture regional Conference Raleigh, NC, September, 2006; Grafting workshop, Pittsboro, NC,
March 2007; SARE annual conference, July 2006; Sustainable Ag Conference in Durham, NC, November 2006 and 2007; Organic Growers School, March 2006 and 2007. Half day grafting and high tunnel workshops at the Center for Environment Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro, NC 2006,07 as part of the Seasons of Sustainability program. Talks at the CEFS Fall Festival, September, 2007 and the Tomato Field Day, Fletcher, NC, August 2007. Frequent CEFS tours have been held in the newly constructed tunnels. A handout has been prepared for distribution to tour groups. Products: Demonstration of superior performance of plants grown on grafted rootstocks in on-farms trials where diseases and nematodes were present. A total of 17 on-farm trials were conducted from 2005-2007. A handout on grafting techniques was prepared and 1000 copies distributed. The handout is also available in .pdf format online in a section of the greenhouse food production website on grafting: grafting:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/topics/topics-pages /Grafting.html. High tunnel information is also available: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/topics/topics-pages /HighTunnels.html
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals, Collaborators and Contacts: Dr. Mary Peet directs the project and is PI. She supervises a graduate student (Suzanne O'Connell) and serves on the Ph.D. committee of another graduate student involved in the project (Cary Rivard). This includes budget management, hiring additional students, coordinating meetings, ensuring that the project timetable is followed and taking responsibility for maintaining a high-quality research program, especially on the horticultural aspects of grafting and high tunnel research. Summer hires include Amanda McWhirt, an intern, who helped wiith routine plant care and data colllection and also developed an IPM plan for the CEFS experiment. Josh Moore was also hired for the summer to provide on-site supervision of the project and assist with plant care, environmental monitoring, and data collection. Jessica Best was another summer hire. Peet also helps coordinate talks and other means of information dissemination, such as the
additions to the Greenhouse Food Production website on high tunnels and grafting. Peet coordinates with Dr. Frank Louws, Plant Pathology, on the disease aspects of the project, and on overall implementation of the research and extension objectives. Dr. Louws and his graduate student, Cary Rivard take the lead in disease evaluations both at the research plots at CEFS and the Mountain Horticultural Research Station and in the on-farm trials. Other individuals working in his lab have also assisted. Peet works collaboratively with Dr. Louws, Gary Bullen and Dr. Edmund Estes, both in the Department of Agricultural Resources Management on evaluating the economic aspects of high tunnel production and grafting. Farmers cooperating on trials included Alex Hitt, Ken Dawson, Stefan Hartman and Steve Groff. Partner organizations include CEFS, established in 1994 by North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services. CEFS is located at the Cherry Research Farm near Goldsboro. Several individuals working at CEFS, including Steve Moore, Small Farm Coordinator and Lisa Forehand, Extension & Outreach Coordinator provided assistance with tunnel construction and maintainance, and workshops, respectively. CEFS/Cherry Research Farm Superintendent, Eddie Pitzer was particularly helpful in tunnel construction by providing works crews and installing infrastructure. Ken Fager, NCSU technician on another project at CEFS also provided valuable help. The NCSU Phytotron also provided valuable resources and cooperation for the grafting research. Training or professional development includes 2 graduate students (Rivard and O'Connell), an intern (McWhirt), an undergraduate, extension agents with projects involving grafting, farmer cooperators and hispanic greenhouse workers. For additional details, see Outputs section of this report.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences include small and organic farmers, direct marketers, and hispanic workers. Efforts include grafting demonstrations and lectures in 2006 and 2007 in an undergraduate vegetable production class and in 2007 in a graduate level greenhouse food production class. The graduate class included 4 NCSU extension agents and 2 from NC A&T and a class trip to view high tunnels in Pennsylvania and grafted tomato production in a greenhouse in Virginia. In addition, an undergraduate student research project in the NCSU phytotron was mentored. For additional information, see outputs and participants sections of this report. An internship was developed on IPM for tomatoes in high tunnels and the field. A .pdf grafting instructional document was developed by Rivard and Louws, and is available online: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/pdf/Grafting.Rivard .pdf. Cary Rivard, a graduate student on the project has also developed a grafting information
website: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~clrivard/index.html. His M.S. 'Grafting Tomato to Manage Soilborne Diseases and Improve Yield in Organic Production Systems' was accepted in 2006 and is available as an electronic dissertation: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-03192007-204532/. For additional information, see Outputs.
Impacts
Increased interest in and use of grafted tomato rootstocks, especially among small and organic growers and those utilizing heirlooms for direct markets. We are holding training sessions for growers and extension agents so grafted seedlings can be produced on-farm. Improved our ability to suggest specific rootstocks which will reduce susceptibility to specific diseases Demonstrated 1 month earlier and higher total yield in tunnel production in Goldsboro, NC. Demonstrated higher yields in heirloom tomatoes grafted on both Maxifort and Beaufort rootstocks. Demonstrated reduced bacterial wilt incidence in self-graft and one rootstock, and virtually no incidence in heirloom tomatoes grafted on another rootstock, which also had almost twice as high yields. Demonstrated higher nutrient uptake of N, K, Ca, Mn, Cu and B in heirloom tomatoes on grafted rootstocks. Demonstrated superiority of grafted rootstocks in soils containing bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt, root-knot
nematodes, verticillium wilt and southern stem blight. Evaluations from the tomato grafting workshop held at CEFS September, 2007: 90% rated overall quality as excellent or outstanding: all found the information eith moderately or very useful; 90% gained either much or very much knowledge; more than half said the knowledge gained would save or make money for them; 80% said they were going home with 1-4 ideas to improve either the sustainability or profitability of their farm.
Publications
- Rivard, C.L., Peet , M.M. and Louws, F.J. 2007. Disease management and crop productivity utilizing grafted tomatoes. Proc. of the Int. Res. Page 61/1-61/3 in Conf. on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reduction, San Diego, CA.
- Rivard, C.L., O'Connell, S., Peet, M.M. and Louws, F.J. 2007. High Tunnel Research and Grafting Tomatoes. 22nd Annual Tomato Disease Workshop. Williamsburg, VA.
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
Two small demonstration tunnels are underconstruction at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. Land preparation and grading are almost completed for two additional research tunnels and paired field plots. Construction on the research tunnels is expected to begin in January. Preliminary experiments on growth and nutrient uptake in grafted, control, and self-grafted plants under heat stress and optimal temperatures has also taken place in the NCSU controlled environment facilities (Phytotron) greenhouses. Grafting consistently increased plant height, but there was considerable variability in all other characteristics measured, including tissue nutrient levels and shoot dry weight. An additional set of experiments will be run in the phytotron growth chambers with additional scions and more replication to reduce and/or document sources of variability. Field studies both on-farm and at the research stations documented better growth of grafted
material when disease was present or under non-rotational conditions. On farm, grafted material was more vigorous and provided some yield advantage, but additional research is necessary to develop training systems to take advantage of the improved vigor. Studies on the use of soluble organic fertilizers in soilless production are continuing, with testing of new fertilizers, and development of new protocols for reducing emitter clogging without reducing fertilizer nutrients.
Impacts
No data has been published from this project, but several presentations have been given to grower groups on the advantages and disadvantages of high tunnels and grafting. A publication on grafting has been published and is posted online. Both topics have generated interest from growers and agricultural professionals alike. Cooperating farmers have expressed satisfaction with the grafted heirloom tomatoes provided, and cooperation is expected to continue in 2007. Several of the experienced growers in the NC Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association are considering purchase of grafted transplants next year. A number of additional tunnels have also been constructed in the region. In both 2006 and 2007, a number of grower-based organizations requested talks on providing soluble organic fertilizers for soilless greenhouse production of tomatoes.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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