Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Eastern Broccoli Project accomplishments target several audiences. Eastern growers benefit from nine new, better broccoli varieties released since 2011 (with at least two more expected) and from the production, postharvest and food safety guidance necessary to produce high quality, high-value broccoli crowns. Seed companies have an increased market for eastern-adapted broccoli varieties, thanks to increased production acreage in the Eastern U.S. (based on data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture). Eastern buyers can now source broccoli regionally and nearly year-round. Consumers have better access to eastern-sourced broccoli that is fresher, due to less miles traveled for delivery. A northeastern food hub is already working with a grower and processor to implement recommendations from a comprehensive market analysis for eastern broccoli. If that venture succeeds, eastern-grown broccoli will be available year-round to institutions (schools, hospitals, prisons, etc.) that have incentives to source regionally. The general public benefits from the lower fuel and water demands needed to deliver eastern broccoli to eastern stores compared to western-sourced product, and from the added measure of food security that comes from a significant new production region. Broccoli researchers and now have access to an organized network of trial locations, improved genetics in broccoli breeding programs, improved understanding of the genetic diversity of broccoli and genetic locations associated with some traits. Supply chain researchers and buyers gain insights from papers published, submitted, or in press on consumer appreciation for regionally sourced broccoli, buyer attributes that make growers more likely to sell them broccoli, and transshipment model analyses of factors impacting the eastern supply chain. Growers, buyers, and distributors seeking to expand production of other produce crops on the East Coast may find a blueprint for doing so by reviewing the activities and accomplishments of the Eastern Broccoli Project. Changes/Problems:The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic slowed project activities beginning in March 2020. We applied for and received a no-cost extension year that allowed us to complete trial work, data analyses, supply chain reports and models, and other work interrupted by the pandemic. Experimental work is complete, but the publication of some papers and resources will continue to occur after the project's end. We investigated market opportunities differently than planned. However, the new approach produced an in-depth assessment of the opportunities and challenges for eastern broccoli. This study fostered relationships with a food hub, food bank, processor, and grower who are now putting into action one of the recommendations: to provide source-identified frozen eastern broccoli to institutional buyers who are incentivized to purchase local products. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The following professional development and training opportunies occured in our final year (2021-22). Jeanine Davis, Margaret Bloomquist, and Katie Learn participated in the NC Tomato Growers Association and NC Extension Winter Vegetable Conference educational sessions, held virtually on February 23 and 24. Bloomquist also taught a session on broccoli production for this conference. Working with Carl Sams, research assistant Shahla Ray, grad student Hunter Hammock, and undergraduate students Benjamin Levine, Maddie Spradley, and Alberto Fonseca Vargas gained experience in analyzing broccoli samples for secondary metabolites and nutritional quality. They also learned how to do extractions for minerals, glucosinolates, sugars, carotenoids, and flavor compounds. Laura Pineda-Bermudez, graduate student with Elizabeth Bihn, received "Trainer of Trainers" status from the Produce Safety Alliance. and participated in that capacity in a February training with participants from the US and abroad. At a June 2022 PSA Trainer Training organized by Bihn in Geneva, NY, Pineda-Bermudez organized lab materials and assisted multiple breakout groups to demonstrate the lab sampling procedure for agricultural water samples. The latter activity improves the content expertise of trainers who work with growers by helping them understand food safety risks associated with water use. Elizabeth Bihn and Laura Pineda-Bermudez took part in a roundtable discussion on "Understanding and Overcoming Challenges in Helping Underrepresented Minority Audiences Meet the FSMA PSR 112.22(c) Training Requirements" at the 2022 meeting of the International Association for Food Protection in Pittsburg, PA. The session recognized the importance of delivering produce safety information to all growers and of understanding challenges that must be addressed to reach them. Thomas Björkman and Jill Eccleston (along with seed company representatives and SC growers and Extension personnel) attended a Brassica Field Day organized by Brian Ward at the Clemson Coastal Research and Extension Center in Charleston, SC on 9 May 2022. The field day provided opportunities to: see new broccoli varieties (and other brassicas) perform in that area and season; discuss broccoli breeding progress with representatives from 3 seed companies; hear talks on aspects of plant breeding, weed control, disease control, and insect control from Clemson faculty; and discuss production with area growers and Extension personnel. The annual meeting of Multistate Project NE1839 was held in person and virtually at the Clemson Coastal Research Center in Charleston, SC on 9 May 2022 (following the field day). Outgoing chair Brian Ward organized the event. Participants discussed ongoing broccoli research and plans. USVL director Shaker Kousik updated and heard feedback from the group on the search for Mark Farnham's successor. New NE1839 officers are Andre da Silva, chair; Matt Horry, vice-chair; and Peyton Ginakes, secretary. In addition to officers, other attendees from the Eastern Broccoli Project were Mark Farnham, Thomas Björkman, Jill Eccleston, Mark Hutton, Phil Griffiths, Jim Myers, Jeanine Davis, Margaret Bloomquist, Lincoln Zotarelli, Steve Sargent, Gordon Johnson, Ashley Edwards, Christy Hoepting, and Andre da Silva. Andre da Silva's graduate student Marcos de Barros and research assistants Sthefani Oliveira and Raira Pelvine received training on disease and insect management. They and grad students Guilherme Bueno, Paulo Nakazawa, and Thiago Rutz received training on broccoli harvest and on evaluating broccoli for marketability and heat stress. Andre da Silva and grad student Marcos de Barros gave presentations on broccoli crop management and variety selection at a 31 May 2022 field day at Auburn University's E.V. Smith Research and Extension Center. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Quality trial reports from Phil Griffiths and Björkman provided feedback to breeding programs on the crown quality attributes of their broccoli hybrids. Yield trial reports prepared by Thomas Björkman were used to inform public and commercial breeding programs of the production potential of new hybrids. Björkman engaged seed companies that can market new hybrids via in-person meetings, emails, photos and videos that showed hybrid performance, and tours of a demonstration plot in Geneva, NY. At various times during the project, Griffiths and Farnham supplied seed of their lines and hybrids (under material transfer agreements) directly to seed companies interested in seeing how the materials might fit with their own breeding programs. Eastern growers learned about broccoli production, production resources, and better varieties at grower meetings, field days, updates to production guides, and individual consultations with Extension personnel. Direct contact (email, phone, or in-person conversations) with some food hubs and produce buyers made those groups aware of the increasing opportunity to source eastern-grown broccoli, as did introductions and conversations at meetings, conferences, trade shows, and the New York Produce Show. The Eastern Broccoli Research team held frequent virtual meetings via Zoom to plan trials or other experimental work and discuss results. Quarterly and annual reports and an annual phone conference kept the research team and industry partners up to date with project progress and key results in all objectives. Seasonal, biweekly updates to seed companies let them know about opportunities to view hybrid performance in project trials. Multistate Project NE1839 made and continues to make its purpose known by word of mouth, conference presence, and annual reports on the NIMSS system. Group members meet annually to learn about each other's broccoli research and discuss results and future opportunities. Publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at professional conferences reached research and academic audiences in plant breeding, genetics, and applied economics. Seed companies, growers, buyers, consumers, and the general public followed the EBP on Twitter, Instagram, the Eastern Broccoli Blog and website, and, more recently, on YouTube. The project was covered in the popular press, trade magazines, and radio interviews. Blog posts and tweets alerted all groups to the availability of new resources. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Prior to the Eastern Broccoli Project (EBP), eastern markets sourced broccoli almost entirely and at high environmental and transportation costs from western regions increasingly at risk from drought. Eastern-grown broccoli was not commonly available, despite consumer demand for regional sourcing. Production was seasonally limited due to a lack of varieties that would reliably yield marketable crowns for eastern growers. Seed companies were not motivated to develop eastern-adapted varieties due to the small market. The EBP sought to make broccoli profitable for eastern growers and increase the supply of eastern-sourced, quality broccoli for eastern consumers through development and testing of better-adapted broccoli varieties; strengthening of public broccoli programs; production, postharvest, food safety support for broccoli growers; and improved understanding of markets and supply channels for eastern broccoli. OBJ 1. Several activities pushed seed of better broccoli hybrids to market. Public breeding program leaders Mark Farnham (US Vegetable Lab (USVL)) and Phil Griffiths (Cornell) increased seed of their eastern-adapted broccoli hybrids. Hybrids were tested for production potential in Yield trials overseen by Mark Hutton (ME); Christy Hoepting (NY); Gordon Johnson (DE); Ashley Edwards (VA); Jeanine Davis and Margaret Bloomquist (NC); Brian Ward (SC); Lincoln Zotarelli (Hastings, FL); and Phil Williams (Immokalee, FL). Thomas Björkman analyzed Yield trial data, delivered reports to breeding programs, and engaged seed companies to encourage licensing of public hybrids and parental lines. Seed companies developed their own hybrids for eastern production (9 released since 2010) and made co-hybrids with public lines; 2 are close to commercial release. ARS released 2 USVL lines so that any interested party can re-create an EBP-tested hybrid or combine the lines with other inbreds into new hybrids. Multistate Project NE1839, established in 2018, holds annual meetings and provides structure to continue coordinated broccoli trials. In Year 6, Farnham ran a fall 2021 broccoli field trial to demonstrate USVL hybrid improvement and produce hybrid characterization data. Although disease caused small-cage seed increase attempts to fail this year, 17 successful previous productions demonstrated the suitability of USVL material for cage increase. Griffiths contracted a successful seed increase for a hybrid broccoli blend, demonstrating a cost-effective approach to producing hybrid seed. Two Cornell lines were licensed to a seed company that is using them in its breeding program. Ward conducted the final Yield trial in fall 2021. NE1839 held its 2022 meeting on 9 May. OBJ 2. Breeding programs were strengthened with new materials and knowledge. Farnham (USVL), Griffiths (Cornell), and Jim Myers (Oregon State University) improved parental inbred broccoli lines and bred CMS (facilitates seed production) into elite inbreds. Farnham added lines from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. Griffiths bred new traits from other brassica crops into broccoli, producing golden, pigmented, and savoy-leaved broccolis that represent potential new market classes. Public program leaders used these materials to develop 40+ new hybrids since 2017. Hybrid crown quality was tested in yearly trials overseen by Hutton (Monmouth, ME); Griffiths (Geneva, NY); Davis and Bloomquist (Waynesville, NC); and Zotarelli (Hastings, FL). Final year trials demonstrated improvements in broccoli quality over the course of the EBP. Genomics studies completed by Farnham (USVL) and Björkman and Zach Stansell (Cornell) identified genetic loci that can serve as markers for heat tolerance and structural traits. Stansell and Björkman also studied broccoli genetic diversity relative to other cultivated and wild brassicas; results provided information on genome regions where diversity has been preserved or lost. Marker and diversity information informs future breeding efforts. Carl Sams (University of Tennessee) investigated broccoli flavor and nutrient changes under different cooling and temperature treatments. Rapid cooling and storage temperatures close to 32°F are optimal. In Year 6, public program leaders hand-pollinated important inbreds, CMS backcrosses, and populations to maintain seed supplies for future use. Griffiths planted broccoli with new foliage traits for commercial quality evaluation; Quality trial plantings were conducted by Ward and Zotarelli. Björkman analyzed Quality trial data and found improved scores over the years in crown quality, bud uniformity, dome shape, crown color, and head smoothness. Sams and Sarah Parker published a paper on cooling and storage impacts on broccoli carotenoids and chlorophyll. OBJ 3. A strong grower base motivates seed companies to develop eastern-adapted broccoli hybrids by providing a market for seeds of those hybrids. The grower base is also important for achieving a year-round broccoli supply that convinces buyers to source from eastern regions. Eastern Broccoli Extension leaders conducted extensive outreach and developed resources to support broccoli growers (see Other Products and Products). Support will continue in future years, thanks to knowledge gained and connections made through the EBP. Extension leaders and affiliates include Hutton and Peyton Ginakes (ME); Björkman and Hoepting (NY); Edwards (VA); Davis and Bloomquist (NC); Ward (SC); da Silva (AL); and Zotarelli (FL). Carl Sams oversaw production of a cooling guide for eastern growers and, with Steve Sargent (University of Florida), investigated cooling method impacts on broccoli quality after commercial shipping (report in progress). Jill Eccleston is finishing insect management guidance. Betsy Bihn at Cornell and Chris Callahan at the University of Vermont investigated hygienic design for improving food safety; Callahan produced a guide to using this approach for postharvest facilities. Bihn and Laura Pineda-Bermudez provided food safety training in English and Spanish and educated growers on changes in agricultural water use rules. Pineda-Bermudez conducted a broccoli and cabbage herbicide trial. Bihn developed food safety fact sheets (in final review) for broccoli growers. Miguel Gómez and Trent Davis updated broccoli crop budgets that help eastern growers anticipate broccoli profitability. OBJ 4. Miguel Gómez worked with graduate students and colleagues on supply chain concerns. Willingness-to-pay studies showed that East Coast origin of broccoli is valued by eastern consumers. Other studies showed eastern origin is a valuable trait for produce buyers, but not at the expense of quality. A survey study investigated what incentives growers seek from intermediate buyers; flexibility in packaging was one important inducement. Transshipment model analyses showed how the eastern broccoli supply chain changed from 2007 to 2017 and investigated impacts of the California drought. Papers on some studies have been published. Additional analyses this year delayed some manuscripts, which are being prepared for publication and will provide further insights. Cheryl Bilinski worked with colleagues from non-profit Red Tomato on an eastern broccoli market assessment that was published in 2021. It identified a lack of manufacturing infrastructure and capacity as a bottleneck to freezing locally grown broccoli to produce a competitively priced, year-round supply for institutional and retail markets. Bilinski remains engaged with Red Tomato and Maine-based Good Shepherd Food Bank, which is now working with a local grower and a regional processor to freeze source-identified broccoli using individually quick-frozen technology. A presentation on the effort was made in November 2021. The long-term plan is source broccoli for the venture from both Maine and New York growers.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Parker, S.E., J.R. Wheeler, C.R. Luckett, D.E. Deyton, J. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C.E. Sams. 2021. Postharvest cooling and storage method effects on carotenoid and chlorophyll contents in broccoli. 8th International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables (FAV), Virtual meeting Online Abstracts, March 9-11. https://www.actahort.org/books/1329/1329_23.htm (Presentation and full paper cited SCRI funding, Abstract did not.)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Parker, S.E., J.R. Wheeler, C.R. Luckett, D.E. Deyton, J. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C.E. Sams. 2021. Postharvest cooling and storage method effects on carotenoid and chlorophyll contents in broccoli. Acta Horticulturae, 1329, 187-196. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1329.23.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Theodore, C., S.A. Sargent, J.K. Brecht, L. Zotarelli, and A.D. Berry. Evaluation of Three Cooling Methods (Hydrocooling, Forced-Air Cooling and Slush Icing) and Plastic Overwrap on Broccoli Quality During Simulated Commercial Handling. Agriculture 12: 1272. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081272
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
The Eastern Broccoli market assessment conducted by Cheryl Bilinski and collaborators from non-profit distributor Red Tomato fostered a collaboration between Harvesting Good, a for-profit benefit corporation of the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Maine, and a local grower and a regional processor to freeze source-identified broccoli using individually quick-frozen technology. They are currently sourcing broccoli for the venture from a Maine grower, but the long-term plan is include broccoli from both Maine and New York growers.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Dai, B., M. G�mez, and H.M. Kaiser. Impact of increased drought intensity level in California on supply chain configuration: Broccoli in the United States. Food Policy. (Submitted and currently under review in 2022.)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Bj�rkman, T. J. Davis, M. Hutton, P. Griffiths, B. Ward, and L. Zotarelli. 2021. Environmental stability of traits essential to quality broccoli. HortScience 56(9): 104-105. (Abstr.) (Original talk cited SCRI funding, published abstract did not.)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Parker, S.E, J.R. Wheeler; K.J. Walters, C.R. Luckett, J.M. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C.E. Sams, 2021. Storage temperature, duration, and cultivar alter the concentration of nutritionally important secondary metabolites and phytochemicals in broccoli. HortScience 56(9): S63, repeated on S125-6. (Abstr.)
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:OBJ 1. Seed companies are the primary target of this objective, which also targets growers and researchers in and beyond the Eastern Broccoli Project (EBP). Larger onsite and contracted seed increases of public hybrids were targeted to seed companies that can market new hybrids for eastern growers. Successful large increases of public hybrids showed the potential for scaling up seed production, a critical feature for companies that need large quantities to support sales. Hybrid seed increases permitted the entry of new public hybrids into Yield trials that produce marketable yield data showing their usefulness to growers (and thus the seed companies that would like to sell to them). Seed shared directly with seed companies let them to test the hybrids in their own trials. Public programs generated seed of inbred lines for their own research and breeding efforts and for sharing with other public or seed company programs for use in inter-program or co-hybrid development. USVL fall trials provided data that can support plant variety protection (PVP) certificates in the event of licensing interest from a commercial program. Yield trials targeted public and private breeding programs by providing regional/seasonal performance data for their hybrids. That information will be used to promote public hybrids to seed companies, and seed companies will use it to inform commercialization and marketing decisions. Growers who hosted trials saw firsthand how new hybrids performed and may ultimately provide feedback to trial leaders, breeding programs, and seed companies. OBJ 2. The target audience for this objective included researchers, seed companies, growers, and Extension personnel. Public breeding programs leaders targeted the future resilience of their own programs through efforts to advance or further develop critical heat tolerant, vigorous, and CMS lines as well as lines and populations with recently acquired germplasm; in Farnham's case, the efforts support his eventual successor. Griffiths is targeting seed companies with diversity populations that represent new market classes for broccoli; the hybrid blend will specifically target small and organic seed companies and growers. Myers's program targets the Oregon processing industry but also informed the perspectives and know-how that he shared with Multistate participants this year. Quality trials targeted public and seed company breeding programs seeking information on the performance of their hybrids relative to commercial standards in a range of eastern environments; in 2021, the trials are also targeting growers, extension personnel, seed company reps, and any other who may want to see the improvements demonstrated by the trial. ASHS presentations targeted an audience of plant science researchers. Diversity accessions at the NCBI are intended to support other researchers interested in working with them. OBJ 3. Eastern growers and the Extension educators who support them are the primary targets of this objective. Population and herbicide trials in progress in NY will inform production recommendations targeted to growers. Alternaria talks and resources target growers for whom this disease is a threat. Hoepting's collaborative swede midge report will target extension specialists and crop consultants who can increase grower awareness of this pest and help them devise management strategies. Activities conducted by Edwards support broccoli and other growers in Virginia; one potential new grower is specifically targeted with ongoing consults. Davis and Bloomquist targeted growers, extension personnel, and seed company reps with invitations to view their quality trial. Talks by Björkman, Hoepting, da Silva, Zotarelli, and Steve Sargent on broccoli production, management, or post-harvest presentations targeted growers and Extension personnel in and beyond the US. International presentations drew international attention to the EBP. Ward's broccoli production video will target growers and Extension educators. da Silva, who supported Georgia broccoli production for several years, is now directing his efforts to support growers (including organic growers) and other researchers in Alabama. OBJ. 4. The two supply chain models, one on changes from 2007-17 and the other on impacts of wester water shortages will eventually (once published) target government and industry stakeholders (including growers, aggregators, buyers, and consumers), policy makers, academics, and others interested in the evolving eastern broccoli supply chain. So far, only a preview of the results was shared with stakeholders via the EBP annual report; publication and further publicity are planned. The target audience of the thesis form of the water shortages paper was the Cornell Graduate School Faculty, which awarded Dai a Master's degree for her work. The Eastern Broccoli Market Opportunity Assessment for New York State is publicly available; it targets industry stakeholders and policy makers in New York but has broader East Coast relevance for its revealing interviews and insightful analysis of the existing eastern supply chain. Changes/Problems:Mark Farnham, who retired from the USVL in 2020, now has collaborator status that reinstates many of his USVL privileges. However, with facility access still restricted due to Covid, Farnham could not conduct activities that support the development of parental lines with high vigor and even better heat tolerance (Obj. 2). Instead, he focused on advancing/increasing critical lines and hybrids so that further improvements to broccoli can resume in the future. The new administrator for the ARS subcontract is Amnon Levi. Same person, different name: market development specialist Cheryl Thayer now goes by the name of Cheryl Bilinski. Andre da Silva moved from the University of Georgia to Auburn University in March. He completed the Georgia Yield trial (which was in progress during the move) and is already supporting broccoli research and production in Alabama. Delivery of the Year 3 (2019-2020) Quality trial report was delayed from June to October 2020 due to reduced availability of report preparation assistance during the pandemic. To speed delivery of the Year 4 (2020-2021) report, Thomas Björkman worked with a statistician to develop a program that uses R software to efficiently analyze Quality data and quickly generate custom reports. With the recent conclusion of the final North Carolina Year 4 planting (delayed from spring 2020 to spring 2021 due to the pandemic), the Year 4 data set is now complete. The new program will be used to produce the report for Year 4 entries. It will be employed again to generate the Year 5 (2021-2022) report next spring, after evaluations on the final Florida planting are completed. Jim Myers, whose contributions to the project officially concluded this year, could not accommodate hybrids from eastern breeding programs in his 2021 Oregon heat trials due to pandemic-related reductions in facility space. The cooling bulletin is very nearly finished. It will be sent for formatting and publication in early fall. The insect management recommendations have progressed and will be completed in Year 6. Food safety fact sheets are undergoing final review and will be completed in Year 6. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for in-person training and professional development were somewhat reduced this year due to the pandemic. Participants in the virtual Multistate meeting in January had the opportunity to hear about and discuss: an update on NIFA and SCRI from program leader Tom Bewick; trial and market reports from represented states; postharvest results from Steve Sargent; the Control Alt Delete SCRI project from Christy Hoepting; breeding program updates; and potential sources of future funding. Attendees included Christy Hoepting, Thomas Björkman, Brian Ward, Andre da Silva, Lincoln Zotarelli, Mark Hutton, Phil Griffiths, Ashley Edwards, Gordon Johnson, Jeanine Davis, Margaret Bloomquist, Phillip Williams, Steve Sargent, Mark Farnham, Jim Myers and tech Andy Nagy, Morgan Stone and Matt Horry (technical assistants to Ward), and Jill Eccleston. Research Associate Peyton Ginakes learned hands on about broccoli production and crown quality parameters as she assisted with Maine Quality and Yield trials. Graduate student Sarah Parker virtually attended and presented at the International Society for Horticultural Science's (ISHS) VIII International Symposium on Human Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables, 9-11 March, Stuttgart, Germany. She also attended and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) in August 2021 and participated in an international short course on Postharvest physiology and technology held virtually from Brazil. Working with Carl Sams, undergraduate student Maddie Spradley learned aspects of experimental design and gained experience in sample extraction techniques and HPLC analysis of glucosinolates and sugars. Auburn University graduate student Marcos de Barros and undergraduate Michael Phillips learned about broccoli production working with Andre da Silva. de Barros also gained experience in proposal writing as Principal Investigator on the (successful) graduate student SARE proposal he submitted with da Silva. Graduate student Laura Pineda-Bermudez learned about weed management and broccoli production (as well as produce safety) working with Elizabeth Bihn and Cornell advisor Lynn Soznoskie. The food safety portion of her program provided opportunities to give presentations on a water quality sampling study and to record a Spanish language Covid-19 training video for fresh produce farms. (The latter two projects are not funded by the Eastern Broccoli SCRI but have relevance for broccoli producers.) While interning with non-profit distributor Red Tomato, Alessandra Cancalosi, graduate student at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, assisted Cheryl Thayer and Red Tomato colleagues with stakeholder interviews and production of The Eastern Broccoli Market Opportunity Assessment for New York State. The effort provided her with opportunities to deepen her knowledge of broccoli production, postharvest cooling, and produce supply chains. Ashley Edwards advanced her broccoli expertise by attending vegetable production meetings held by Virginia Cooperative Extension specialists and through independent study. Her technical assistants, Sarah Meredith, Kelly Light, and Tanner Edwards had one on one mentoring in broccoli production from their work with Edwards. Jeanine Davis, Research Associate Margaret Bloomquist, and graduate student Katie Learn participated in virtual education sessions of the Winter Vegetable Conference, sponsored by the NC Tomato Growers Association and NC Extension. The sessions happened 24-25 February 2021. Carl Sams attended the ISHS Symposium virtually and participated in the session on secondary plant metabolites and human health. He also virtually attended the August 2021 ASHS meeting and participated in postharvest and other sessions. Thomas Björkman attended the August 2021 ASHS meeting in Denver and presented a recorded talk on broccoli environmental sensitivity based on Quality trial data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Eastern Broccoli stakeholders received updates about the project in three seasonal and one annual report and were invited to participate in the annual web conference on 13 August 2021. Seed companies heard about opportunities to place their new hybrids in Yield and Quality trials through email invitations. Participating companies and public programs received regular trial updates (approximately 2 per month) during the busy summer growing season. A final report on Quality trial results from 2019 was emailed to each program in October 2020. (Quality and Yield trial reports for 2020 are in progress.) Public breeding programs and project leaders engaged with seed companies via email, phone, web conference, and in-person discussions to promote public broccoli. Seed of public hybrids was sent to 2 additional seed companies and 3 vertical farming operations to see if the materials would be a good fit with their programs. USVL line releases were promoted to seed companies and researchers in annual and quarterly reports, in a blog post, and on twitter, and copies of the release notice were posted on the reports page of the Eastern Broccoli website. Björkman made a video to compare the performance of a public-private co-hybrid with a leading commercial standard and shared it with the seed company that developed the co-hybrid. Interested programs are receiving seed of the released lines. Participants in the multistate project participated in a web conference to update each other on broccoli-relevant efforts and funding opportunities from various eastern states. Minutes from the annual multistate meeting were posted on the NIMSS website for researchers, extension personnel, industry and government stakeholders, and anyone with interest. Some 2020 Yield trial results were presented to Extension leaders at the Multistate meeting. Scientific/academic audiences heard overviews of the eastern broccoli project in 2 presentations (by Björkman and Zotarelli) and heard the results of research on broccoli flavor and genotype x environment sensitivity of broccoli quality traits in 3 presentations (2 by Parker and 1 by Björkman). Broccoli diversity genotypes were made available to other researchers through the National Center for Biotechnology Information. A presentation by Zach Stansell delivered information on broccoli diversity and breeding history to an audience of plant breeders, seed producers, produce buyers, growers, chefs, and others. Björkman shared a video that captured broccoli hybrid variability in Alternaria susceptibility with researchers on the SCRI-funded Control Alt Delete project. Growers, Extension professionals, and some industry reps heard about Alternaria, broccoli production, and post-harvest management in presentations at vegetable conferences by Hoepting (1), Björkman (2), and Sargent (2). Da Silva gave a presentation on his 2020 Yield trial to a group of Georgia growers. Yield trials conducted by Ward, Williams, da Silva, and Edwards let 4 growers see new varieties produce on their own farms. Da Silva and Edwards also conducted individual consults with other growers on broccoli production. As part of her role as an Extension educator, Edwards provided broccoli and other growers with production, pesticide, and food safety trainings. Growers and seed company representatives were invited (via email) by Davis and Bloomquist to view 2020 Quality trial plantings that demonstrated broccoli breeding progress. Updated crop budgets were made available to growers as a downloadable pdf. The Eastern Broccoli Market Assessment is available online. It was shared directly with the funding agency and promoted to EBP stakeholders in quarterly and annual reports. A press release about the report is in progress. The EBP research team received 3 internal quarterly reports and an annual report and communicated with each other regularly via email, phone, and web conference. Trial leaders held 4 web conferences to review 2020 trials, plan for 2021, and share trial experiences and concerns. The market development group web conferenced with project participants in October to review progress. The group producing the cooling resource communicated via comments on shared drafts in Box cloud service, emails, and web conferences. The Eastern Broccoli Twitter (@easternbroccoli, 244 followers), blog, and Instagram (easternbroccoli, 228 followers) accounts were used to convey items of interest to a general audience of growers, buyers, seed companies, students, buyers, researchers, and others. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Farnham and Griffiths will continue to engage with seed companies to promote broccoli lines and hybrids for licensing and negotiate IP issues where necessary. They will document breeding program improvements in support of eastern adapted broccoli, develop supporting information on best hybrids, and deposit seed of improved lines with the US Germplasm Repository. We expect seed companies to make licensing decisions and announce additional variety releases. Ward will conduct a Yield trial in South Carolina. An additional Yield trial in Florida is being considered pending the availability of seed and other resources. Björkman will analyze Yield trial data, prepare Year 4 and Year 5 Yield trial reports, and distribute them to participating programs. Multistate Group NE1839 will hold its fourth annual meeting in January, in person if pandemic conditions permit. Review of 2021 trials, plans for 2022 trials, funding opportunities, and renewal of NE1839 will be among the topics discussed. Griffiths will make additional selections from diversity populations this fall. In June, he will learn results of his broccoli hybrid blend seed increase. If it is successful, he will use it in observation trials and distribute seed to interested seed companies. 2021 Quality trial evaluations will conclude in New York by September, in Maine by October and in South Carolina by November. The Hastings location will transplant, monitor, and evaluate two plantings from fall 2020 through early spring 2021. Thomas Björkman will use the new R software program to analyze 2020 and 2021 Quality trial data and generate custom reports for participating programs. Björkman will analyze data from population trials with two public hybrids and produce a report. Pineda-Bermudez will do the same for her herbicide trial. Edwards will continue to advise a new broccoli grower who plans to grow his first crop next spring. Ward will hold a field day to showcase broccoli trials and complete a production video. Davis and Bloomquist will update cultivar recommendations for North Carolina. Da Silva will conduct a fall broccoli variety trial in Alabama. All Extension personnel will continue to advise growers on broccoli production. The broccoli cooling bulletin, insect management guidelines, and food safety fact sheets will be completed, published, and made accessible through links on the project website. Sams and Sargent will analyze data from the shipping trial and produce a report on it. A manuscript based on former grad student Carina Theodore's broccoli cooling studies will be submitted to a refereed journal for publication; Sargent and Zotarelli are co-authors. Sams will develop two additional manuscripts on flavor and postharvest studies and submit them to journals for publication. Dai and Gómez will prepare papers on the two modelling studies (broccoli supply chain system changes from 2007-2017 and effects of western water shortages on the eastern supply chain) and submit them to journals for publication. Willingness-to-pay and grower survey papers will also be submitted for publication. A press release will be developed to publicize results of the NY broccoli opportunity assessment study. We will continue to note project related accomplishments through tweets and posts to the project blog and Instagram.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Public broccoli breeders continued breeding program efforts and engaged seed companies. A new broccoli variety brings to 4 the number of new hybrids tested and commercialized since 2016; more are on the way. Extension personnel provided production and postharvest guidance. Supply chain studies showed an expanding eastern broccoli market and offered solutions to remaining bottlenecks. OBJ 1 New cultivars commercially available. ACTIVITIES Farnham ran fall trials, increased hybrid seed, put hybrids in Yield trials and distributed seed of released USVL lines. A seed company is testing two USVL hybrids in CA and AZ. Griffiths contracted a seed increase for an interprogram hybrid; monitored 4 cohybrids that are in advanced testing with 2 seed companies; shipped seed of 4 hybrids to a 3rd company; and sent oakleaf broccoli for tests in vertical farming systems in 3 states. Björkman increased seed of 4 released USVL lines. Ward, Zotarelli, Williams, da Silva, Hutton and Edwards oversaw Yield trials. Multistate Project NE1839, which supports coordinated broccoli research, held its 3rd annual meeting virtually in January. DATA Farnham's trials gave performance data for 12 USVL hybrids and 6 checks. Yield trials produced marketable yield data. RESULTS Farnham's cages yielded 85-200g seed for 4 hybrids; a contracted increase had good flower nick but poor seed yields due to late planting. 5 programs requested seed of released USVL lines. 5 USVL hybrids were entered in 5 Yield trials, 1-2 per location. Griffiths received 545g hybrid seed from a contracted increase. Two of 6 Yield trials were lost to extreme weather; 4 sites collected data for 11 hybrids (5-6 per location). Hazera released Viper, a broccoli hybrid tested in the Quality trial. OUTCOME USVL trial data support future PVPs. USVL cage increases showed potential for scaled up production and made seed for commercial testing. Other breeding and research programs are using released USVL lines. The interprogram hybrid seed allows entry in upcoming Yield and multistate trials and closer examination by seed companies. OBJ 2 Sustained improvement of broccoli. ACTIVITIES Farnham increased seed of critical lines and put 8 entries in the 2021 Quality trial. Griffiths developed broccoli diversity populations, continued CMS introgression, created parents for a hybrid broccoli blend and contracted a seed increase of the blend (in progress). Myers conducted field trials and greenhouse pollinations; Oregon heat trials are in progress. Hutton, Griffiths, Davis, Ward and Zotarelli conducted Quality trials. Griffiths issued the 2019 Quality trial report. Data collection concluded for the 2020 Quality trial and began for the 2021 trial, which has a mix of old and new hybrids. Björkman secured new software for Quality data analysis and gave an ASHS presentation on the trials. Genotypes of 109 broccoli diversity accessions were deposited with the NCBI. Grad student Sarah parker presented results from broccoli flavor studies. DATA Quality trials gave data on 12 crown quality traits. 2020 Quality trial data was sent to Björkman for analysis. RESULTS The USVL program has seed for fertile, inbred, CMS, and AVRDC lines. Cornell diversity populations have new crown and leaf traits. CMS backcrossing is complete for 5 Cornell inbreds and underway for 4 more. The OSU program has 18 inbred broccoli lines, 33 intermediate inbreds, and 14 CMS backcross lines. 23 broccoli hybrids were evaluated in the 2020 Quality trial; 29 entries in 2021 trials demonstrate breeding progress. Accessions deposited with NCBI are available to other researchers. OUTCOMES Broccoli programs have better heat tolerance, more CMS lines, and more genetic resources compared to 2016. New traits in diversity populations represent potential new broccoli market classes. The hybrid blend is a new broccoli breeding strategy for a new type of product. OBJ 3 Grower base. ACTIVITIES Björkman conducted population trials with 2 public hybrids. Hoepting produced resources and spoke on Alternaria management as part of a related SCRI and is collaborating on a swede midge grower survey report. Bihn grad student Laura Pineda-Bermudez conducted an herbicide trial. Edwards provided production, pesticide, and food safety trainings and resources to broccoli and other growers and is advising a new broccoli grower. Davis and Bloomquist showcased the Quality trial and took tissue samples for an NC Ag Dept. analysis. Ward is producing a broccoli production video series. da Silva helped a grad student apply for broccoli crop modeling funding, advised growers, contributed cultivar recommendation updates, and sowed transplants for a fall variety trial. Björkman, Hoepting, da Silva, Zotarelli and Steve Sargent gave production, management, or post-harvest presentations. Significant progress was made on a draft cooling bulletin. Sams completed sample analysis from a 2019 postharvest experiment and collaborated with Sargent on a broccoli shipping trial. Carina Theodore, Sargent, and Zotarelli completed a manuscript on broccoli cooling studies. Bihn completed food safety fact sheets for broccoli and sent them for review. News of value to stakeholders was shared via Twitter, Instagram, and the project blog. DATA Björkman collected yield data from population trials. NC tissue sample analysis and NY herbicide trial are in progress. The shipping trial produced data on visual and nutritional quality over time in transit and storage. RESULTS Growers and seed company reps visited the NC Quality trial. Papers are being developed from postharvest and shipping experiments. da Silva and student received a SARE grant for broccoli crop modeling. OUTCOMES Presentations and resources delivered production, management and postharvest information to growers and Extension personnel. NC broccoli tissue analysis will inform fertility management updates. SARE funding will result in a decision tool for southern broccoli growers. Most other items are in progress, with outcomes yet unknown. OBJ 4 Enhanced distribution ACTIVITIES Gómez and grad student Bingyan Dai wrote a paper on transshipment model analysis of eastern broccoli supply chain changes from 2007-17. Dai modelled potential impacts of western US water shortages on the eastern broccoli supply chain for her MS thesis. Two papers on previously reported willingness-to-pay (WTP) and grower survey studies are in preparation. With non-profit distributor Red Tomato and additional NY State funding through Hudson Valley AgriBusiness Development Corp, Cheryl Bilinski completed interviews with supply chain stakeholders and wrote a broccoli opportunity assessment. Results were presented at a farm to institution conference. DATA Dai generated model output. Bilinski gathered supply chain stakeholder perspectives. RESULTS The 2007-17 supply chain comparison found that eastern broccoli's share of the eastern market grew from 12% to 15% even as total volume sold increased, and that the eastern system had lower 2017 supply chain costs and food miles than the main system. Water shortage model results indicate that reallocation of production to the East Coast would only modestly increase total supply chain costs in eastern markets while reducing food miles and altering product flow seasonally. Dai successfully defended her MS thesis. Journal publications are expected for 4 Gómez papers (2 transshipment, WTP, and grower survey). The 68-page market assessment report was released; it identified the absence of infrastructure capacity as a bottleneck to freezing local broccoli for institutional and retail markets and proposed a collaboration with a Maine-based enterprise. OUTCOMES. Models show that the eastern broccoli industry expanded significantly from 2007 to 2017. Proposed collaboration to efficiently freeze and package local broccoli would contribute to year-round supply for institutional and regional markets.
Publications
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Dai, B. 2021. Impact of Increased Drought Intensity in California on Supply Chain Configuration: Broccoli in the Eastern United States . MS Thesis, Cornell University Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. NIFA support is not in thesis but will appear in subsequent publications.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Parker, Sarah. Effects of Cooling and Postharvest Storage Methods on Broccoli Quality. MS Thesis, University of Tennessee, Department of Plant Sciences . Defense date: 5 August 2020. Defense/thesis approval date: 18 August 2020. Graduation date: December 2020. Although Parker did not cite SCRI funding in her thesis, she has acknowledged the funding in all related presentations.
|
Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Obj. 1. Efforts for this objective targeted seed companies, growers, and researchers. Seed companies were recipients of Yield trial reports, which summarized data on the eastern performance of the companies' own broccoli hybrids and of public hybrids that they may wish to license. Seed increases allowed public breeders Mark Farnham and Phil Griffiths to enter public hybrids in Yield trials and share seed for hybrids or lines with companies that were interested in taking a closer look. Thomas Björkman's video walkthrough of a small public hybrid trial in Geneva demonstrated to seed companies and interested growers the superior performance of public hybrids compared to commercial standards following hot weather. Two heat tolerant lines released by the USDA are targeted to any interested seed company or researcher. Two new commercial hybrids that were released by seed companies following good performance in project trials targeted growers seeking broccoli with better adaptation to eastern growing conditions. The Multistate project attracted a new researcher who is interested in helping growers through sustained, coordinated broccoli research on the East Coast. Obj. 2. Seed companies, researchers, and students are targets of efforts in this objective. Public breeders continued to incorporate CMS and improve broccoli germplasm to make it more attractive to seed companies considering licensing and to strengthen their own or their successor's future breeding efforts. Five companies and 3 public breeding programs received Year 3 Quality trial reports that summarized evaluation data to identify hybrids with broad adaptation to eastern conditions. Two published academic papers and related presentations on a mapping population and broccoli phylogenies and genomics were aimed at researchers in the public and commercial sector. Researchers and students interested in studying the underlying genetics of phenotypic traits in Brassicas were the targets of the the BolTBDH mapping population release. Research by Carl Sams on postharvest treatment and storage effects on broccoli quality informed the draft cooling bulletin and was shared with other researchers in presentations at the annual ASHS meeting. Obj. 3. Eastern growers are the primary target of activities for this objective; some activities also target Extension specialists that are not currently part of the Eastern Broccoli project so that they can pass on information to their own growers. Yield trial leaders interacted directly with growers hosting trials to demonstrate new hybrids and offered guidance to individual growers and Extension agents who contacted them with broccoli production questions. Presentations this past year at grower meetings, ag conferences, an online cole crop school, and food safety workshops all provided growers and Extension specialists with information that resulted from this project. Press about the project informed growers, buyers, and the general public about the current state of the eastern broccoli industry, the value of "local", the increase in eastern sourcing, and the challenges that still remain for some growers. Obj. 4. Supply chain efforts targeted eastern growers, aggregators, buyers, and consumers. Growers were the target of a survey conducted by Miguel Gómez student Rebecca Wasserman Olin to determine what attributes would make them more likely to sell to a food hub. (The results will be targeting food hubs in Year 5.) A western New York economic development project benefitted from use of Eastern Broccoli optimal infrastructure models. A published study on willingness-to-pay for eastern broccoli that showed consumers value "local" targets a scholarly audience in the journal, while press about the publication targets growers, buyers, and consumers. A market development study for eastern broccoli targeted produce industry stakeholders for interviews that will ultimately inform recommendations for a course of action for marketing that can support small and mid-size growers. Changes/Problems:Mark Farnham officially retired from the USDA-ARS on 31 July but maintains an association with the US Vegetable Lab and plans to continue coordinating activities of the Eastern Broccoli Project as much as possible through the end of SCRI funding. Due to the pandemic, his planned 2020 summer nurseries at the USVL were not allowed to happen. Phillip Williams, Assistant Professor of Horticulture with the University of Florida's Southwest Research and Education Center, assumed leadership of the Immokalee area Yield trial, taking over from interim trial leader Gene McAvoy. Brian Ward is now an Assistant Professor with Clemson University. He is still based at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center and continues to lead Eastern Broccoli Quality and Yield trials in South Carolina. Eastern broccoli Yield and Quality trials and outreach were somewhat disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. A Yield trial approaching harvest had to be abandoned in Immokalee, Florida due to research restrictions there. Two Yield trials in Maine, one of two Yield trials in North Carolina, and Mark Farnham's summer breeding nurseries in Charleston, SC, were not allowed to proceed. The first Quality trial planting in North Carolina was postponed until Spring 2021 because it was not permitted to happen in Spring 2020. Other Quality trial plantings were delayed but eventually allowed to proceed, but with limited numbers of summer workers and restrictions on the number of people allowed to travel in one vehicle. Purchases of PPE and fuel for the extra vehicles were unanticipated expenses. In-person spring and summer field days, trainings, and presentations to grower groups were cancelled or moved to a virtual platform, and travel restrictions have kept most personnel close to home. The virtual formats allow us to continue to reach some target audiences.(Anecdotally we are hearing that some virtual events are better attended than the in-person versions, partly because people can participate from much farther away without having to travel.) A repeated contracted increase of seed for a top performing Cornell hybrid was largely unsuccessful. Phil Griffiths is backcrossing CMS into the line that previously served as pollen parent to test whether the reciprocal cross will be more productive in large-scale increases. The final 2019-20 Quality trial report was delayed due to reduced availability of technical labor. (It was finally completed in fall 2020.) The cooling bulletin and insect management recommendations are progressing but still not published; they will be delivered in Year 5. A planned shipping trial and tests of FreshSmart for extension of broccoli shelf life did not happen due to the pandemic; we do not know at this point if it will be feasible to attempt them in 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?2020 Multistate meeting attendees (including Lincoln Zotarelli, Andre da Silva and post doc Joara Candian, Phil Williams, Jeanine Davis, Margaret Bloomquist, Ashley Edwards, Christy Hoepting, Mark Hutton, Mark Farnham, Thomas Björkman, Jill Eccleston, and Brian Ward technicians Morgan Stone and Matt Horry, and new Multistate participants Steve Sargent and Gordon Johnson) exchanged research results and insights and considered options for future collaboration; most also attended presentations and networked at the concurrent Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Grower conference. Carl Sams attended 2019 and 2020 annual meetings of the American Society for Horticultural Science and participated in sessions on postharvest and phytonutrients. Thomas Björkman attended and presented research results at the PASA Sustainable Agriculture Conference and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Jill Eccleston attended the New York Produce Show to speak with distributors, buyers, and others about eastern broccoli and hear a panel of industry "thought leaders" reflect on consumer expectations that go beyond appearance to a secure, safe, and sustainable supply chain. Ashley Edwards had additional professional development opportunities through VA Cooperative Extension Workshops and individual study. Cheryl Thayer, Thomas Björkman, and Jill Eccleston from the Eastern Broccoli project; Michael Rozyne, Suzannah Hinman, and Angel Mendez, and intern Alessandra Cancalosi from non-profit distributor Red Tomato; Todd Erling and Mary Ann Johnson from the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation; and Maire Ullrich of CCE Orange County met at the Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY to finalize the design and approach of a market development study for Eastern Broccoli and exchange perspectives and knowledge on the eastern broccoli industry. The group also held 3 web conferences to share updates and feedback. As an intern with Red Tomato, Tufts university undergraduate Alessandra Cancalosi learned about eastern broccoli production and postharvest and worked with Cheryl Thayer and others on interviews for a market development study. Gómez graduate students Rebecca Wasserman-Olin and Trent Davis attended the NY produce show to assist with a broccoli buyer survey and meet with people in the produce industry to learn their attitudes towards eastern broccoli. New NC State graduate student Katherine Learn learned about broccoli production and helped lead harvests for the NC Yield trial. Graduate student Marcia Quimby learned plant tissue extraction techniques to assist Carl Sams with analytical samples of broccoli. Sarah Parker, MS student with Carl Sams, worked on broccoli sample analysis as part of her Masters research and attended and presented research results at two professional conferences (Southern Region ASHS and national ASHS). University of Tennessee undergraduate intern Blake Bermuda learned techniques for analytical analysis of broccoli samples. Taran Bauer, intern with Christy Hoepting, learned about experimental design, broccoli evaluation, and general NY State vegetable production and concerns. Working with Jim Myers, undergraduates Jane Smeins and Victoria Augustine received training in vegetable production, breeding, trialing, and seed production. Temporary Research Technician Chloe Moor had training and gained experience with research methodology and evaluation working with Jeanine Davis on broccoli trials in North Carolina. Temporary technician Brittany Powell learned about broccoli and experimental design working on with Brian Ward on broccoli trials in SC. Morgan Stone, who has provided technical help to Brian Ward for the eastern broccoli project, has started a MS/PhD "split degree" in Horticulture/Breeding at Clemson University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Seed companies that have a critical role in bringing eastern adapted hybrids to eastern growers were invited participate in Eastern Broccoli Quality and Yield trials via email invitations. As each set of trials ended, they received reports on the performance of their entries relative to commercial checks and other (coded) entries. Public breeding program leaders maintained regular communication with seed company representatives to promote lines and hybrids that are strong candidates for licensing. Seed companies continued to work with public germplasm under MTAs to test combining ability of lines and observe hybrids in company trials. Thomas Björkman made a video of public hybrids that outperformed commercial standards in the heat and shared the link with interested seed companies. During the busiest (summer) growing season, seed companies received biweekly updates on trial progress. Six growers worked with trial leaders Hoepting, Edwards, Davis, Ward, Da Silva, and Williams to host Eastern Broccoli Yield trials and see close up how new broccoli hybrids compare with their own standard varieties. (In a normal year, it would be at least 8 growers.) Although the pandemic led to fewer in-person meetings this year, Extension collaborators shared project updates or production information with growers and other extension personnel in presentations at 4 grower meetings (by Callahan, Williams, Edwards, and da Silva), an online cole crops school (Hoepting), and 4 Ag conferences (Ward, Björkman). Extension collaborators regularly fielded questions about broccoli production in phone calls and individual meetings with growers and other Extension agents. (Based on calls from Extension agents and growers, Jeanine Davis and Margaret Bloomquist in North Carolina reported increased interest in broccoli production this season). Since field days were not allowed in 2020, Andre da Silva prepared a video presentation of his Yield trial to share at future meetings. Hygienic design guidelines that help growers minimize opportunities for postharvest contamination were updated and are available for download on Chris Callahan's blog. To share Covid-related food safety considerations with vegetable growers (including broccoli growers), Betsy Bihn posted information on the institute for food safety website and held virtual office hours. Other researchers learned about Eastern broccoli genomics, analytical, and willing-ness-to pay results from 4 presentations at scientific conferences, an academic seminar, and publications in academic journals. Blog posts communicated availability of the BolTBDH mapping population and results of a postharvest pathogen transfer study. An in-person meeting was held to update members of the Multistate project on recent research results and discuss options for future efforts. Eastern Broccoli team members communicated with each other regularly by email, phone, and web conference. Larger, group-specific web conferences were conducted to update members on the progress of various activities. For example, trial leaders convened via web conference several times this spring to provide updates about Covid impacts on planned activities. Members of the market development group from Cornell and Red Tomato held 4 web conferences and a workshop to share information and updates. Press releases communicated results to growers, buyers, and the general public. An Oct. 2019 Cornell Chronicle article that was later picked up by multiple outlets reported that the EBP was on target to meet its goal of a $100 million East Coast broccoli industry. VSC News interviewed Björkman, da Silva, and Ward for a Dec. 2019 article "Bringing Better Broccoli to the East Coast". An EBP study showing that eastern consumers value local broccoli was covered in multiple news outlets, from the Cornell Chronicle to the CA Farm Bureau AgAlert. An opinion piece by partnering food hub Red Tomato on what it takes to establish an East Coast broccoli industry appeared on their blog at https://redtomato.org/blog/the-quest-for-local-grown-broccoli/ and in Vegetable Growers News online. Cornell CALS posted online https://cals.cornell.edu/news/wegmans-supporting-local-food-and-agricultural-economy-cornell-agritech an interview with Bill Strassburg, VP of strategic initiatives for Wegmans, who credited the EBP for the company's shift from 100% western sourcing to 80% eastern broccoli sourcing. An annual report and quarterly reports were distributed to all research team members and collaborating industry stakeholders to update them on all aspects of project progress and ongoing activities. In August, Project Director Björkman led the annual project web conference with commercial and research partners; at least 36 people participated. The Eastern Broccoli Twitter (@easternbroccoli) and Instagram accounts promoted eastern broccoli-related activities, results, photos, etc. to numerous followers, including seed companies, growers, buyers, other researchers in multiple disciplines, students, other agricultural companies, and the general public. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A commercial seed production company will return seed from contracted increases of 4 hybrids developed by Mark Farnham at the USVL and one interprogram hybrid developed by Phil Griffiths at Cornell. Seed will be shared with interested seed companies and tested in the Eastern Broccoli trial and Multistate system. To publicize newly released USVL lines, Farnham will submit a line release notice to HortScience for publication and send out release notice letters to seed companies. USDA ARS will review Farnham's request to release a highly compatible CMS broccoli line that he developed; if approved, it will be the first CMS broccoli line released from a public program. Farnham and Griffiths will continue to communicate and negotiate with seed companies that are interested in licensing their lines and hybrids. Yield trial leaders will conduct Yield trials through summer 2021 and return data to Thomas Björkman for analysis and distribution to participating breeding programs. If the pandemic is under control by next spring and summer, we will hold some field days featuring demonstration plots of the best newer hybrids and older materials that were commercial standards at the start of this effort. Due to the pandemic, the Multistate group will convene by web conference this winter instead of a planned in-person meeting at the SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers meeting. Griffiths, Farnham, and Myers will enter hybrids, including some that contain newer germplasm incorporated since 2016, into Quality trials, which will be conducted at least through August 2021. Entries will also be requested from seed companies. Griffiths will continue to introgress CMS into his best inbreds and select for improvements to his diversity set broccolis that incorporate traits from other Brassicas. He will produce preliminary and final reports on Year 4 (2020-2021) Quality trials and a report on Year 5 Quality trials. Jim Myers will request entries from Griffiths and Farnham for his 2021 heat tolerance trials in Oregon. Björkman and Zach Stansell will complete a manuscript on their temperature sensitive gene expression study and submit it to a journal for publication. Carl Sams will write one or more papers based on his broccoli flavor experiments and submit for publication. He will also complete the Eastern Broccoli Cooling publication and make it available to eastern growers. Insect management guidelines will be posted on the project website. Elizabeth Bihn will publish at least 4 food safety fact sheets specific to broccoli production. She and Chris Callahan will continue to make use of hygienic design guidelines developed for the Eastern Broccoli Project in Food Safety workshops for trainers and growers. Miguel Gómez and former student Trent Davis will publish updated crop budget reports for North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and New York. With grad student Bingyan Dai, Gómez will finish writing and submit for publication a paper based on results from the updated transshipment model on changes in the eastern broccoli industry since the project began. Results from the grower survey conducted by Gómez and MS student Rebecca Wasserman-Olin will be published as an Extension bulletin and shared with food hubs. Thayer and collaborators with Red Tomato will complete interviews and a final report for the market development study; conclusions from the study will point to possible next steps for assisting smaller and mid-size growers seeking buyers for their broccoli crop. We're considering the possibility of a no-cost Extension request to allow time for completing activities that were delayed by the pandemic.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Eastern Broccoli project (EBP) is on target to reach its $100 million goal. In Year 4, it brought better hybrids to eastern growers, strengthened public breeding programs, investigated genetics underlying broccoli quality, delivered production information to growers, and examined preferences of key eastern broccoli supply chain players to deliver actionable information. Obj 1 ACTIVITIES Griffiths and Farnham generated seed of 12 broccoli hybrids via small cage, contracted and seed company-assisted increases. Seed companies worked with public lines and hybrids. Farnham applied for release of 2 heat tolerant lines and a CMS line. Yield trial leaders Ward, Zotarelli, Williams, da Silva, Edwards, Davis and Hoepting conducted 7 Yield trials (6 on-farm). Björkman produced Yield trial reports, set up a demo trial of public hybrids and shared a demo trial video with seed companies. Gordon Johnson of U. DE. joined the Multistate project, which met in January 2020. DATA Yield trials returned data on marketable yield of 3 to 6 hybrids per site representing 6 commercial and 7 public entries. RESULTS Hybrid seed was used for Yield and demonstration trials. Breeding programs received Yield trial reports that informed commercialization decisions. Three new commercial hybrids were released following good Yield trial performance: Abrams from Seminis,Roxanne from Emerald,and King's Crown from Tainong. A company x Cornell co-hybrid again performed well in company trials. A 2nd company advanced public-private co-hybrids and an interprogram public hybrid. Two heat-tolerant USVL broccoli lines were released by the USDA; a decision on the CMS line is pending. Multistate meeting discussions focused on recent and potential future research. OUTCOMES Three new eastern-adapted hybrids are commercially available to eastern growers. IP negotiations are in progress for a public-private broccoli co-hybrid that is nearing commercial release. Two heat-tolerant USVL broccoli lines are freely available to interested breeding programs. Björkman's video showcased heat-tolerant public hybrids to commercial companies that could license them. A new multistate site in Delaware can test broccoli hybrids in a mid-Atlantic coastal environment. Obj. 2: ACTIVITIES Farnham advanced elite and AVRDC inbreds and selections; completed 2 CMS introgressions; made new test crosses; sent seed of 5 hybrids to Quality trials. Griffiths advanced 2019 broccoli diversity set selections; continued 6 CMS introgressions; supplied seed of 7 hybrids to Quality trials; and planted 2020 diversity set trials. Griffiths solicited, coded and distributed hybrid seed for 2020 Quality trials and produced a report on 2019 trials. Myers contributed 2 entries to Quality trials and received funding for 2021 Oregon heat trials. Björkman and Stansell produced and published a paper on a 2019 geno/phenotypic broccoli study and began a manuscript based on a 2019 RNASeq study. Sams conducted experiments on postharvest treatment effects on broccoli. DATA Hutton, Griffiths, Davis, Ward and Zotarelli returned 2019 Quality trial data to Griffiths and began collecting data from 2020 trials that are still in progress. Myers sent preliminary 2019 Oregon heat trial results to Farnham and Griffiths. Björkman collected additional phenotype data in summer 2020. Sams collected data on broccoli nutrient content. RESULTS New traits introgressions in diversity set broccoli is nearly complete. Oregon heat trials test eastern-adapted broccoli for broader adaptation. Pheno/genotype paper includes phylogenies of Italian and modern broccolis and identified modern genomic regions with decreased variation, evidence of strong selection. The RNAseq manuscript will be submitted to a journal for publication. Sams found lower storage temperatures decrease glucosinolate loss and prevented off-odor development; carotenoid impacts vary by cultivar. OUTCOMES CMS facilitates seed production. Quality trial reports showed 5 seed companies how their hybrids compared to commercial checks in 5 eastern environments. Sams data was used for graduate student conference presentations. The phenotyping/genotyping study reveals genetic changes that shaped modern broccoli. RNAseq study reveals gene expression associated with high-temperature-induced inhibition of floral development. Obj. 3 ACTIVITIES Hoepting, Edwards, Davis, Ward, da Silva and Williams worked with Yield trial growers. They, Hutton, Björkman and Zotarelli advised individual growers and Extension workers. Collaborators gave presentations at grower meetings, cole crops school, and Ag conferences (see Sec. V). NY State officials discussed project progress with Björkman. Sams revised a postharvest cooling draft and collaborated with Steve Sargent on a cooling study; results are being analyzed. Callahan and Bihn updated Hygienic Design materials. Gómez student Trent Davis produced updated NC, SC, VA and NY broccoli crop budget drafts. EBP personnel collaborated on other broccoli studies: Hutton assisted an organic broccoli no-till study; Hoepting and Björkman joined an SCRI project on Alternaria in broccoli; Björkman collaborated on a proposal to fund study of the underlying genetics of broccoli sepal development; Edwards worked with Virginia Tech researchers studying Alternaria; from SARE-funded research results, Hoepting produced crop rotation recommendations for swede midge control. DATA Sams analyzed broccoli samples from Sargent for nutrient content. RESULTS Crop budgets are ready to be published, cooling bulletin is nearly so. Broccoli in no-till tarped plots grew well. OUTCOMES Information on new broccoli hybrids, cover crops after brassicas, hygienic design, swede midge management, Alternaria management, and industry outlook supports broccoli growers. A new grower who hosted a Yield trial for Williams will continue to grow broccoli. Collaborations brought EBP expertise to other research efforts that support an Eastern Broccoli industry. Hoepting's crop rotation recommendations provide small and organic growers strategies for managing swede midge. Updated hygienic design materials are being used in workshops for growers and food safety professionals. Obj. 4. ACTIVITIES Gómez and R. Wasserman-Olin conducted a grower survey. A willingness-to-pay (WTP) study by Gómez and students was published. Former student Phil Coles surveyed NY Produce Show buyer interest in eastern vs western grown broccoli; data is being analyzed. MS student Bingyan Dai updated and expanded a 2014 transshipment model. Former student Xiaoli Fan ran the infrastructure optimization model to assist an economic development project. Thayer worked with distributor Red Tomato to secure NY State funding for an eastern broccoli market development study and assisted with industry stakeholder interviews. A daylong workshop was held in Hyde Park, NY to finalize study plans. DATA The grower survey produced data on food hub attributes important to growers. Coles collected data on buyer opinions of eastern and western sourced broccoli. Dai generated model output. The market development study is collecting information on markets for growers at different scales. RESULTS Flexible packing specs are a key attribute that increases grower willingness to sell to a food hub. WTP study found that consumers value local broccoli even if appearance is slightly off. Updated transshipment model results are being used to examine changes in the broccoli supply chain since the start of the EBP. The optimization model estimated potential vegetable production acreage near a proposed facility. The market development proposal was successful; the study will conclude in Dec. 2020. OUTCOMES WTP study received widespread press attention for showing local label has value. Optimization model results inform siting and scale of a proposed processing facility in Western NY.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Fan, Xiaoli, M. G�mez, P.S. Coles. 2019. Willingness to Pay, Quality Perception, and Local Foods: The Case of Broccoli. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 48 (3): 414-432. doi: 10.1017/age.2019.21 Published online in October 2019 and in print in December.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Stansell, Z. and T. Bj�rkman. 2020. From landrace to modern hybrid broccoli: the genomic and morphological domestication syndrome within a diverse B. oleracea collection. Horticultural Research 7, Article number 159.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Stansell, Z.J. and T. Bj�rkman. 2019. Understanding Complex Horticultural-Quality Traits in Broccoli By Integrating Next-Gen Sequencing and Large-Scale Phenomics. HortScience 54 (9S): S319.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Theodore, C., S.A. Sargent, J.K. Brecht, and L. Zotarelli. 2019. Effect of Cooling Methods on Postharvest Quality of Commercial Broccoli Cultivars Grown in Florida. HortScience 54 (9S): S107.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Farnham, M.F. 2019. Progress and Challenges in Breeding Broccoli Adapted to High Temperature Environments. HortScience 54 (9S): S12. (NIFA support was mentioned during presentation but did not make it into published abstract.)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Coles, P., J.C. Dong, M.G�mez, T. Bj�rkman. 2019. Produce Buyer Quality Requirements to From an Eastern Broccoli Industry. HortScience 54 (9S): S172.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Stansell, Z. and T. Bj�rkman. 2020. Evidence of Both Strict Selection and Wide Crossing to Create Modern Broccoli. HortScience 55(9S): S39. (Acknowledged in presentation)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Parker, S.E., J. Wheeler, C.R. Luckett, D. Deyton, J. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C. Sams. 2020. Effects of Cooling and Postharvest Storage Methods on Carotenoids in Broccoli. HortScience 55(9S): S130.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Parker, S.E., J. Wheeler, C.R. Luckett, D. Deyton, J. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C. Sams. 2020. Effects of Cooling and Postharvest Storage Methods on Glucosinolates and Volatiles in Broccoli. HortScience 55(9S): S195.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Parker, S.E., J. Wheeler, C.R. Luckett, D. Deyton, J. Davis, T. Bj�rkman, and C. Sams. 2020. Effects of Cooling and Postharvest Storage Methods on the Quality of Broccoli. HortScience 55(9S): S429.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Stansell, Z.J. 2020. Building a better broccoli: is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University Department of Horticulture. Online at https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/70408
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Wasserman-Olin, Rebecca. MARKETING DECISIONS OF VEGETABLE FARMERS VIA WHOLESALERS: A CHOICE EXPERIMENT. MS Thesis, Cornell University Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
|
Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Our blog and twitter feed reach a diverse audience of growers, researchers, Extension specialists, industry and government representatives, and the general public. The Eastern Broccoli Instagram account has an equally broad audience; it features "#broccoli fail" photos that help growers and other discover what causes common broccoli defects and what quality attributes are important to commercial buyers. Obj. 1. Seed companies who have the resources to commercialize and market new hybrids were the target of public broccoli program communication and collaboration efforts. Yield trials targeted breeding programs looking for data on the yield and marketability of new hybrids. The data ultimately will inform licensing, commercialization, and marketing decisions by seed companies. Yield trials also let growers who hosted or visited see the performance of new hybrids for themselves. The multistate project targeted current Eastern Broccoli trial leaders and Extension personnel external to the SCRI-funded effort with invitations to join the multistate group. Obj. 2. Public breeding programs were the targets of efforts to increase resilience through the incorporation of new germplasm, fixing of CMS to facilitate seed production, and continued collaborations among programs. Public and commercial breeding programs were informed by the results the Year 2 Quality trials produced. These programs were also the recipients of invitations to enter new hybrids in Year 3 Quality trial. Broccoli breeders and other researchers working on broccoli and genomics were the targets of presentations and a publication on QTL mapping of the BolTBDH population. The expanded diversity and RNAseq studies will also target researchers, including plant breeders and geneticists. Sensory and analytical studies on flavor let growers, distributors, and buyers see how cultivar and storage treatment impact the flavor and quality of broccoli, which translates into actionable steps to offering a higher quality product. Obj. 3. Growers were the primary target of most activities in this objective, including field days, formal and informal talks at grower meetings, new fungicide recommendations to control Alternaria, newsletter articles, hygienic design guidelines, the new buyer page, and the related workshop. Organic growers in particular were the main audience for the organic production webinar. To make them better able to advise growers on best broccoli production practices, Extension agents outside of the broccoli project were also targeted by all of these outreach efforts and by more formal talks at scientific conferences. Publications in academic journals and presentations at scientific conferences targeted horticultural researchers, industry representatives, and government officials. The postharvest results have thus far been shared with involved growers, plus meeting attendees (researchers, industry reps, etc.) where the results have been presented. Obj. 4. Björkman and Myers publicized eastern broccoli to chefs and other influential people in the food industry at the NYC Variety showcase. Willingness-to-Pay and Buyer survey results were presented and published to show economists, scholars, industry officials and policy makers the value of local to consumers in the first study, even as the second publication revealed that traditional supermarket buyers place very little value on the local trait unless the appearance meets standards based on California broccoli. The NY Regional Economic Development Council was the target of a proposal, submitted by a food hub with assistance from Cheryl Thayer, to secure funding for a market study to explore how eastern food hubs can collaborate to make eastern broccoli even more competitive. Changes/Problems:Participant turnover is anticipated as collaborators change jobs. We have quickly found strong replacements in those roles. André da Silva is the new trial leader for Georgia, following Tim Coolong's transfer to another campus. Coolong assisted with the transition, which went smoothly; da Silva conducted his first Yield trial without issue in winter/spring 2019. When former Immokalee trial leader Monica Ozores-Hampton left the University of Florida Southwest Research and Education Center in summer 2018, Gene McAvoy stepped in as interim leader and expertly conducted the 2019 southern Florida Yield trial. McAvoy retired this summer (2019), but we have already engaged Phillip Williams, who joined the UF SWREC faculty Sept. 1, 2019, to conduct the 2020 Yield trial. Differences from 2018 CRIS "What will be done in next reporting period" Farnham has not yet applied for a PVP for his hybrids, partly because he is repeating trials of his top hybrids to confirm performance in multiple environments and gather all necessary data, and also because he has become aware of a possible alternative means of licensing. Work continues on both the cooling bulletin and insect management guidelines. Other priorities in Year 3 meant that progress has been slower than expected, but both are moving along and will be completed in Year 4. The Quality trait index model was updated and made available online. It was publicized with a press release and blog post. We plan to provide Extension programming to plant breeders. Much progress was made on synthesizing willingness-to-pay (WTP) experiments this year. Instead of a webinar, a preliminary summary was developed and presented to the research group during the Savannah gathering in January. Some of the material has since been published. Application of economics models was delayed until this year to allow completion of WTP studies and manuscripts, solid progress on crop budgets, and a revision of the Choice Experiment Survey to improve the statistical design. The delay also allowed time for determination of the most useful applications of the models (use of the Regional Distribution model to determine changes in the broccoli supply chain since the start of this effort, and application of the optimal locations model to a proposed cooling facility in western New York). The Choice Experiment Survey revision resulted in a one-year delay in administration of the survey, which will now be distributed in December 2019. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Eastern Broccoli research meeting at the 2019 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah allowed PD Thomas Björkman, PI's Phil Griffiths, Mark Hutton, Christy Hoepting, Brian Ward, Lincoln Zotarelli, Andre da Silva, Carl Sams, James Myers; collaborators Cheryl Thayer , Ashley Edwards, and Chris Callahan; Research Associates Jill Eccleston and Margaret Bloomquist; and graduate student Rebecca Wasserman-Olin to learn in depth what progress has been made in various objectives and discuss a vision for the final years of funding. Most participants also attended research talks to stay current on broccoli-related topics and visited trade show booths with relevant information. PIs Bjorkman, Farnham, and Zotarelli attended the American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV, where they were co-authors on broccoli presentations. James Myers also attended the meeting. Elizabeth Bihntoured a specialty food company that procures and distributes specialty crops, including broccoli, in the Northeast.She also toured Hunts Point Terminal Market to view distribution networks for broccoli and other specialty crops. Ashley Edwards attended vegetable production workshops, conferences, field days, and in-services hosted by Virginia Cooperative Extension, Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, and individual study. She supervised Extension intern Alexis Leonard and tech Tanner Edwards. Undergraduates Alexis Leonard, undergraduate technician for Ashley Edwards, learned about broccoli production, evaluation, and experimental design. Working for Carl Sams, undergraduate students Nicholas Ballew and Jonathan Chase learned techniques for analytical extraction and analysis of glucosinolates, minerals, sugars, organic acids and flavor volatiles; postharvest storage and handling techniques for Brassicas; and basic sensory analysis methods for broccoli. Colden Proe learned high-throughput phenotyping of broccoli and data management working with Thomas Björkman and Zach Stansell. Graduate students Rebecca Wasserman-Olin, Research Assistant for Miguel Gomez, learned about consumer willingness-to-pay studies, choice experiment studies, survey development and implementation, and enterprise budget development. Another Gomez student, Trent Davis, learned about survey development and implementation and enterprise budget development. Gwen Casebeer, Graduate Student Research Assistant with Jeanine Davis, learned about on-farm research management, yield trial scouting, and summer broccoli harvest. Sara Brunner is a Masters student at the College of Charleston who is working part time for Mark Farnham. Her work at the US Vegetable Lab is not part of her degree program, but she is getting on-the-job training in all areas of broccoli breeding, including field plot techniques and maintenance, phenotypic evaluations in the field, greenhouse plant maintenance, and bud self and cross pollinations. Hunter Hammock, grad student with Carl Sams,learned HPLC and ICPMS this year. Sarah Parker, also in the Sams lab, trained in HPLC, GCMS, and ICPMS, working on samples related to this project. New graduate student (and former UT undergrad) Jonathan Chaseassisted with broccoli harvest, storage, and sample processing and learned postharvest storage techniques. Carina Theodore studied postharvest techniques for broccoli with Lincoln Zotarelli. Her research was funded by this SCRI project, while her stipend, tuition, and other personal expenses were paid by the USAID Feed the Future AREA Project) (https://area.ifas.ufl.edu/). She presented her findings in talks at two professional meetings, completed a thesis, and was awarded a Masters Degree from UF. Zach Stansell, graduate student with Thomas Björkman, attended and presented posters on his broccoli genomic efforts at three professional conferences (Plant and Animal Genome (PAG); Phenome; and the American Society for Horticultural Science annual meeting). Stansell also learned RNASeq and published a paper on his work with a broccoli-derived mapping population. The abstract from his 2018 ASHS poster was also published. Research Associate Joara Candian, who helped conduct the 2019 GA Yield trial, was trained to identify broccoli's stages of development, head maturity for harvesting, and marketability criteria. Technicians: Tanner Edwards, technical assistant to Ashley Edwards, learned about broccoli production, evaluation, and experimental design, and attended vegetable production workshops. Emma van der Heide and Sara vande Brake, new technicians for Christy Hoepting, learned about broccoli quality and project design, and data management. Chloe Moore, summer research technician with Jeanine Davis, learned about yield trial experimental design and marketing. As part of their work at the US Vegetable Lab with Mark Farnham, Shane Robinson and Dave Couillard (as well as Farnham's technician Sara Brunner, listed under Graduate Students) receive annual training in first aid, fire safety, worker protection standard training, and IT Security training. Shane and Dave also regularly attend courses to keep their pesticide licenses up to date. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Quarterly and annual reports kept project personnel and industry collaborators up to date with activities and outputs in all objectives; our annual web conference provided a general overview and offered the opportunity for growers, distributors, buyers, food hub managers, government reps, and others to ask questions and provide feedback. Trial leaders held web conferences to review protocols and share trial successes and concerns. The full eastern broccoli research team had the opportunity to meet and discuss project goals and activities at a meeting held during the 2019 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association meeting. The Eastern Broccoli blog had 11 posts this past year. Along with our Twitter feed (@easternbroccoli, 142 followers), it drew attention to research activities, outputs, and relevant broccoli news. Our new Instagram account (easternbroccoli, 153 followers) posted photos and explanations of broccoli defects and variations. Specific presentations and publications are entered in the Products and Other Outputs sections Obj. 1. Public broccoli program leaders engaged seed companies who can commercialize their material with phone conferences, emails, in-person meetings, and sharing of seed to let companies see how public broccoli hybrids and lines perform in company trials and in combination with company lines. Yield trial results were analyzed and organized into reports for sharing with participating public and commercial breeding programs. Invitations to join the multistate project targeted current trial leaders and Extension personnel outside of the Eastern Broccoli Project who have an interest in broccoli production. Obj. 2. Seed companies that offer broccoli are made aware of the opportunity to enter material in project trials through emails and phone discussions. As a result of that effort five companies- including two not previously involved with the project - entered a total of 10 hybrids in 2019 Quality trials, while 2 advanced commercial hybrids were trialed at 8 Yield trial locations. A report on 2018 Quality was distributed to contributing breeding programs to let them see how their entries performed relative to other entries and commercial standards. Results of several breeding, genomics, and flavor studies were shared with other researchers via the publication of 2 scientific papers (Branham and Farnham 2019; Pelligrino et al. 2019) and imminent publication of a third (Stansell et al. 2019 Frontiers) that had "accepted" status; 4 published abstracts; 1 conference talk and 4 conference poster presentations; and 1 departmental academic presentation. One presentation on breeding broccoli for the East targeted growers at the UF Cole Crop Field day. The RaterRvaR softward program released in beta format last year was updated to version 1.1 and made available to researchers via GitHub. It was advertised with a press release. Obj. 3. Our Extension team maintains regular contact with growers in their region, as well as with other Extension educators and broccoli researchers in the Eastern US. Eastern Broccoli Extension personnel communicated production and postharvest information to growers through 6 formal and 3 informal talks at grower meetings, 3 extension newsletter articles, an organic production webinar, 4 field days, and many individual discussions with growers. Topics included new, improved fungicide recommendations based on a recent study by Christy Hoepting, timing of nitrogen applications for broccoli, insect and disease management, project overviews, and updates on new hybrids. A pdf of the slides of a talk by Hoepting at the NY State Producers Expo were published online so that members of the grower, Extension, scientific, and industry communities would have access to important information on control of Alternaria. Postharvest food safety information was delivered to growers, packers, and other research and Extension personnel with the online publication of 'Hygienic design information for produce farms' and a supplementary checklist; and a workshop on food safety in the packinghouse presented some of the information in a "hands on" format. Two formal talks at the ASHS meeting informed scientists, students, government officials, Extension, and industry representatives about research into the effects of postharvest cooling method, cultivar, and time in storage on broccoli quality. Abstracts from 4 previously reported 2018 ASHS talks were published in HortScience this past year, increasing awareness of the research (which covered weed management, summer production in North Carolina, plastic mulches, and storage effects on flavor) in the horticultural community. Florida postharvest cooling test results were also discussed with a local grower and presented at two meetings of the Hastings Agricultural Extension Center Advisory Committee. Obj. 4. Thayer and Bjorkman discussed broccoli project progress with food hub managers at a food hub summit that focused on the potential for collaboration of eastern food hubs around an eastern broccoli industry. Thayer worked directly with the lead food hub to develop a grant proposal related to collaborative efforts. Björkman and Jim Myers promoted new public hybrids from the Eastern Broccoli Project to Chefs and other influential people in the food industry at the Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase in New York City on 24 September 2018. The Economics group published a paper on "Produce Buyer Quality Requirements to Form an Eastern Broccoli Industry" in the open-access Journal of Food Distribution to target economists and others in the food distribution industry. A press release on the study from Lehigh University was picked up by other news outlets. Primary author Phil Coles presented the work at the 2019 ASHS meeting to reach the Horticultural community, including Extension and industry reps who are in a position to advise growers about quality requirements. An abstract of a poster presented by Jiayi Dong at the 2018 ASHS meeting was published in the Hortscience supplement, giving it a potentially broader audience of Horticultural professionals in research and industry. The WTP manuscript written by Xiaoli Fan, Coles, and Miguel Gómez was submitted (and since accepted by) the open access journal Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, which reaches people in academia, industry, policy, and government. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Obj. 1. Public broccoli breeders will continue to engage seed companies to promote public broccoli lines and hybrids for licensing and commercialization. Farnham will increase seed of additional top public hybrids in small cages. Seed from a contracted seed increase of top Cornell hybrids will be delivered in Spring 2020, used in Yield trials later in the year, and shared with seed companies that have shown a strong interest in licensing. Public and seed company programs will enter hybrids in Yield trials that will be conducted by Yield trial leaders. Data from Year 3 Yield trials will be analyzed and organized into a report for participating programs. Results will also inform updates to production recommendations. The Multistate group will meet in January 2020 to welcome new members and set the course for transition to an independent project. Obj. 2. Public broccoli programs will continue to develop improved, eastern adapted broccoli hybrids, fix CMS in elite lines, and begin to use newly incorporated germplasm in test crosses. Griffiths will make selections for crown cut quality from diversity sets that incorporate new traits (color, leaf architecture, etc.) from other Brassicas. Myers will produce a report for public breeding programs on the results of Oregon heat tolerance trials that looked for broader adaptability of public hybrids developed for eastern environments. Public and seed company breeding programs will enter new hybrids in Year 4 Quality trials that will be conducted by Quality trial leaders. The Year 3 Quality trial preliminary and final trial reports will be issued and used to identify candidates for yield trials and commercialization. Results from the expanded diversity study will be analyzed and used to develop a manuscript. An RNAseq study to identify genes expressed at high temperatures in heat tolerant broccoli will be completed and used to develop a manuscript for publication. Björkman graduate student Zach Stansell, who has had a central role in the genomics work, will finish his PhD. Sensory and analytical experiments will be conducted to compare flavor and storage potential of a new public hybrid with California sourced broccoli. Manuscripts from earlier flavor and storage experiments will be developed ans submitted for publication. Obj. 3 Extension personnel will continue to engage and advise growers through field days, individual consultations, presentations at growers' meetings, and articles in newsletters. They will also update regional production recommendations using the latest results from Eastern Broccoli trials. Zotarelli will conduct local trials with FreshSmart to see if it can significantly extend the shelf life of broccoli. He is also collaborating with Carl Sams on plans for a shipping trial from Florida to Tennessee. Sams will release the cooling bulletin draft for final review, then arrange for publication. Insect management guidelines will be posted on the project website. Gómez and his graduate students will release updated or new crop budgets for NY, FL, GA, and one other site. The hygienic design curricula will be presented in grower workshops put on by a supermarket chain that has stores in seven eastern states. Obj. 4 The revised Choice Experiment survey will be distributed, and responses will be analyzed to gain insights into factors that influence growers' decisions to sell their product through a food hub. Phil Coles will conduct a expand his broccoli buyer survey using real broccoli and a realistic, industry style "sell" at the New York Produce Show in December. The economics team plans to produce an article targeting growers that will inform them about results from WTP and buyer survey results that may impact how they produce and market broccoli. The Regional Distribution model will be updated to see how the broccoli supply chain has evolved during the course of this project. The siting model will be applied to determine potential broccoli volumes for a proposed NY cooling facility and provide input on the best cooling equipment for that scale. Pending the results of a submitted proposal, Thayer will work with food hubs on a market feasibility study for collaboration related to eastern broccoli.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This project supported an eastern broccoli industry through improved broccoli genetics, seed company engagement, better adapted and yielding broccoli hybrids, improved knowledge of optimal storage conditions, grower outreach, production resources, postharvest hygienic design guidelines, food hub support, and better understanding of buyer and consumer expectations for eastern-grown broccoli. Obj.1 Commercialization. ACTIVITIES Farnham and Griffiths engaged seed companies. Farnham ran variety heat tolerance trials; supplied seed of hybrids to Yield trials; and increased seed in pollinator cages. Griffiths sent Cornell broccoli lines to seed companies, contracted hybrid seed increases, and supplied seed for Yield trials. A seed company put 2 new hybrids into Yield trials. Year 2 Yield trials concluded; Year 3 trials began. The trial system received Multistate Project status. DATA Farnham generated PVP data and heat tolerance data. Yield and field holding data resulted from Yield trials. RESULTS Farnham has heat tolerance rankings for 13 hybrids. Cage increases produced 80-100g seed of 2 hybrids and 13-25g of 2 others. A contracted increase made under 25g seed each of 3 Cornell hybrids; an increase with a different company is underway. Bjorkman produced a Year 2 Yield trial report; Year 3 data analysis is in progress. A new seed company hybrid yielded well vs the check. Fast maturing public hybrids offer 1 or 2 cut summer harvest. OUTCOMES Increased seed allows public hybrid entry in Yield trials and evaluations by seed companies. USVL trial data supports licensing. Seed companies are testing Cornell hybrids and developing co-hybrids. New Cornell Oakleaf Broccoli is being tested as a baby green. Multistate project attracts new participants and maintains trial system beyond current funding. Obj. 2 Sustained improvement. ACTIVITIES Farnham, Griffiths and Myers supplied seed of new hybrids to Quality trials. Farnham selected lines for crown quality, vigor, and heat tolerance; incorporated new genetics from Asia; and used CMS lines to produce new hybrids. Griffiths advanced elite lines; increased and trialed 200 segregating broccoli lines that have new traits from other Brassicas; field tested 5 CMS lines to confirm type; and backcrossed CMS into 5 more lines. Myers tested USVL and Cornell hybrids in OSU heat tolerance trials. Year 2 Quality trials ended and Year 3 trials began. Bjorkman and Zach Stansell completed BolTBDH population QTL mapping and submitted a manuscript; field evaluated new broccoli accessions to expand a diversity study; and ran an RNASeq study to identify temperature sensitive genes for broccoli flower bud development. Sams ran experiments on effects of cultivar, storage treatment, time and preparation method on broccoli flavor. DATA Breeding programs collected field trial performance data; Myers has data on USVL and Cornell hybrid performance in OR. Quality trial leaders collected crown quality data. Bjorkman and Stansell collected phenotypic and GBS data on the BolTBDH population; sequencing and phenotypic data on new broccoli diversity accessions; and RNAseq data from heat-sensitive broccoli. Sams has nutrient analytical data and sensory data on human flavor perception. RESULTS Selections improved quality and heat tolerance of USVL lines; Cornell lines with new traits will be evaluated in Fall '19. Oregon trial data is being analyzed. Newly fixed CMS lines facilitate seed increases and were used in new crosses. Griffiths produced 2018 Quality trial reports. Data on BolTBDH revealed QTLs for traits that contribute to quality. Diversity and RNASeq data analysis is underway. Sams found consumers can distinguish between cultivars and between broccoli stored at different temperatures. OUTCOMES Genetic diversity in public programs has increased. Quality trial results inform Yield trial and commercialization decisions. BolTBDH QTLs can improve breeding efficiency. Consumer perceptions of better flavor with less time in storage may give eastern growers a time-to-market advantage. Obj. 3 Grower support. ACTIVITIES Christy Hoepting conducted a fungicide trial for Alternaria, which was not responding to standard sprays. Bjorkman conducted a population trial and a sulfur trial; wrote about timing nitrogen applications for broccoli; and compared 2012 and 2017 Ag Census data. Eccleston visited Maine to explore the potential for organic production. An organic production webinar was presented in January 2019. Callahan produced hygienic design guidelines for produce farms. Bihn worked on food safety fact sheets for broccoli. Sams revised a postharvest cooling bulletin. Zotarelli, Steve Sargent and Carina Theodore conducted broccoli postharvest studies in FL. New Instagram account features broccoli issues and explains causes. Gomez and students began updating crop budgets. A buyer page was added to the project website. Extension leaders shared information in field days, extension publications, presentations, informal talks, and 1 on 1 discussions. Work on insect guidelines and the cooling bulletin continued. DATA Hoepting collected disease data for different spray treatments; Bjorkman collected yield data for population and sulfur trials, plus tissue sulfur and glucosinolate contents for sulfur trial. With Sams, the FL group collected data on broccoli quality changes in storage over time following 3 cooling treatments. RESULTS Hoepting identified and publicized better fungicide options for Alternaria. Increasing population reduced yields of a small public hybrid; adding sulfur did not impact broccoli yield or sulfur content. Ag Census results show a 40% increase in broccoli acreage and double the number of eastern broccoli growers since 2012. ME site visit showed resources for and interest in organic production but weed control and swede midge are concerns. 45 people viewed the organic production webinar live; over 160 have viewed the recording. Hygienic design guidelines are online and in use for workshops. Plastic-wrapped hydro or forced air-cooled broccoli stayed firmer than slush-iced unwrapped broccoli in FL studies. OUTCOMES Growers who planned to stop growing broccoli because of Alternaria losses kept producing after switching to Hoepting's new program. Increase in broccoli farms and acreage coincides with project progress. Webinar engaged growers interested in organic production. Use of hygienic design reduces contamination risks. Alternative cooling/packaging can reduce expense and safety hazards of slush ice. Collaboration with USAID AREA resulted in Theodore's MS work. Obj. 4 ACTIVITIES Gomez and a student modified previous protocols for a Fall '18 willingness-to-pay (WTP) study. Choice experiment survey was modified to improve statistical design. A produce buyer survey paper was published. Thayer and Bjorkman attended a food hub summit. Thayer worked with a food hub on a proposal to fund a market feasibility study of food hub collaboration to promote and sell eastern broccoli. Xiaoli Fan, Phil Coles and Gomez submitted a manuscript on an older WTP experiments. DATA WTP experiments produced data on prices consumers will pay for broccoli based on taste, appearance, and local origin, plus demographic data and tasting ability. RESULTS WTP studies show local origin makes up for different appearance of broccoli if it is not too different from California product. Buyer survey paper showed supermarket produce buyers expect local variety to meet same quality standards as California broccoli, but natural food stores are more forgiving of appearance. Newly designed choice survey is ready for distribution in Dec. '19. Food hub summit explored possible food hub collaboration on eastern broccoli. Grant proposal was submitted in July, awards announced Dec. '19. OUTCOMES New WTP results are being developed into a manuscript. Project personnel and growers are learning that broccoli quality must meet high standards.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Davis, J., M. Bloomquist, T. Bj�rkman, P. Griffiths. 2018. Summer Production of Broccoli in Western North Carolina . Abstract for poster presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S357.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Dong, J., M. G�mez, and T. Bj�rkman. 2018. Consumers Willingess to Pay for the Local Attribute of a Familiar Vegetable, Broccoli. Abstract for poster presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S333.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bj�rkman, T., J. Davis, M. Hutton, M. Farnham, P. Griffiths, M. Bloomquist. 2018. A Large Genotype-environment Interaction for Challenging Adaptation Traits Promises Greater Genetic Gain in Breeding Broccoli Adapted to Eastern Growing Conditions. Abstract for poster presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S377-378. (NIFA support was on poster but not here)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Branham, S.E. and M.W. Farnham. 2018. Genomic Resequencing of Bulked Heat-tolerant and Heat-susceptible Broccoli Segregants Identifies New QTLs Associated with Tolerance. Abstract for oral presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S46.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Branham, S.E. and M.W. Farnham. 2019. Identification of heat tolerance loci in broccoli through bulked segregant analysis using whole genome resequencing. Euphytica 215: 34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-018-2334-9.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Coles, Phillip, Jiayi Dong, Miguel G�mez, and Thomas Bj�rkman. 2019. Produce Buyer Quality Requirements to Form an Eastern Broccoli Industry. Journal of Food Distribution 50(1): 63-83. Online at https://www.fdrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/JFDR-50.1-Combined.pdf
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Cutelle, M., M.W. Farnham, H. Campbell, and D.M. Couillard. 2018. Evaluation of Weed Management Techniques in East Coast Broccoli Production. Abstract for oral presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S87.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Hoepting, C.A. 2019. Control of Alternaria head rot in broccoli featuring exciting results from 2018 on-farm fungicide trial. In: Proceedings of the 2019 Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, NY: January 14-17, 2019. Online: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/pdf/20190115-all-day-hoepting.pdf.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Pellegrino, R., J. Wheeler, C.E. Sams, and C.R. Luckett. 2019. Storage Time and Temperature on the Sensory Properties Broccoli [sic]. Foods 8: 162. 12 pages. doi:10.3390/foods8050162 .
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Stansell, Z. and T. Bj�rkman. 2018. Phylogenetic Patterns, Population Structure and Domestication Footprints in Broccoli and Other Brassica oleracea Vegetables. Abstract for poster presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S399.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Stansell, Z., M. Farnham, and T. Bj�rkman. Complex horticultural quality traits in broccoli are illuminated by evaluation of the immortal BolTBDH mapping population Frontiers in Plant Science 10. Doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01104
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Ward, B., M. Horry, C. Simmons, D. M. Couilliard, and M.W. Farnham. 2018. Effect of Plastic Color on Yield and Quality of Eight Broccoli Hybrid. Abstract for oral presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S71.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wheeler, J., H.A. Hammock, C.E. Sams, C.R. Luckett, T. Bj�rkman, J.M. Davis, M. G�mez. 2018. Storage Temperature and Time Impacts Glucosinolates and Flavor Volatiles of Broccoli Grown on the East Coast. Abstract for poster presentation at the 2018 Annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, published in HortScience 52 (9): S399.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Dong J. 2018. Consumer willingness-to-pay for local produce: the case of New York broccoli. M.S. Thesis, Cornell University, Applied Economics and Management. https://doi.org/10.7298/X4QN650P
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Theodore, Carina. 2019. Increasing fresh-market broccoli production in Florida: effect of cooling methods and packaging on a promising breeding line and commercial cultivars.M.S. Thesis, Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida. Carina's research was supported by the Eastern Broccoli Project, while her stipend, tuition, other personal expenses were paid by the USAID Feed the Future AREA Project (https://area.ifas.ufl.edu/). Her work was the result of a collaborative effort with benefits for all involved.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Stansell, Zachary, �Katie Hyma, Jonathan Fresnedo-Ram�rez, Qi Sun, Sharon Mitchell, Thomas Bj�rkman, Jian Hua. 2018.�Genotyping-by-sequencing of�Brassica oleracea�vegetables reveals unique phylogenetic patterns, population structure and domestication footprints.� Horticultural Research 5, Article number:38. DOI: 10.1038/s41438-018-0040-3 [Reported last year as "awaiting publication"]
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for the Eastern Broccoli Project this past year included a diverse group of individuals and entities. Obj. 1. Commercialization of new hybrids. Seed companies were the primary targets for this objective, as they are the ones who will bring to market the new, adapted hybrids developed for this project. They had the opportunity to see new public material up close through shared seed of new hybrids and lines from Phil Griffiths, through visits with public breeding program leaders, and in demonstration trials such as the one Mark Farnham is conducting at the US Vegetable Lab (USVL) in Charleston this June and plantings of Jim Myers's Cascadia hybrid (a current entry in NC Yield trials) on the West Coast. Public and private participating breeding programs are the recipients of preliminary and final Year 1 yield trial reports. Web conferences and individual communication between seed companies and public breeders (and Technology Licensing Offices) ensured that commercial breeding programs were aware of the performance and availability of the best public broccoli hybrids and parental inbreds. Yield trials and results also targeted Extension leaders and grower collaborators, who saw the potential of new hybrids in production settings. The target audiences for the Multistate proposal were the NE Multistate Action Committee, the NE Regional Association of State Ag Experiment Station Directors, and NIFA, all of whom are reviewing or will review it. Obj. 2. Sustained improvement of broccoli. Our original three seed company partners and the multiple new companies we've engaged were one target group of this objective. Farnham and Griffiths kept them informed about new public broccoli lines that are available for licensing. Seed companies were also invited to enter new hybrids in Quality trials, and they (and contributing public programs) received the preliminary and final reports on Quality trial performance. Public breeding programs targeted their own future resiliency through efforts to increase genetic variation in their populations and to employ genomic tools. By incorporating new sources of variation from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) at the USVL and other Brassicas at Cornell, Farnham and Griffiths are expanding the genetic base upon which they will meet future breeding challenges. Seed companies are also aware of these efforts. Other scientists who are working on broccoli (including but not limited to broccoli breeders) or who are interested in genomic applications are the target audience of a recent study and publication by Thomas Bjorkman and graduate student Zach Stansell on the population structure of broccoli and cauliflower. The same audiences are the target of a just-completed QTL Seq study by Farnham and Post Doc Sandra Branham that will be submitted for publication this summer, and another study by Stansell and Bjorkman that used Genotype by Sequencing (GBS) to map traits contributing to broccoli quality. Stansell is lead author on another paper, published last fall, on a Quality trait index model that will help breeders interpret subjective ratings in multiple environments and use the information to guide their breeding efforts. The model is also freely available to breeders on a public repository. Broccoli breeders, growers, buyers, and consumers are the target audience of Carl Sams's studies of broccoli flavor and how best to preserve it postharvest. Those studies also inform work by Miguel Gomez on the value of flavor to consumers (Obj. 4). Objective 3. Grower development. Eastern growers and the Extension educators who advise them are the primary target groups for this objective. As current or potential producers of broccoli on the East Coast, growers are the group towards whom production and postharvest research, training, and outreach is directed. Production and population trials and the postharvest publication yield information that growers and extension educators can use. Growers also benefit when other audiences (seed companies, buyers, chefs, consumers, and others in the food industry) targeted by our publicity efforts seek out local and regional sources of fresh broccoli. Project crop budgets help potential growers determine whether broccoli will be profitable. The food safety webinar was developed to help growers comply with produce safety regulations and minimize the damage to their business that could result from a contamination issue. Interestingly, while growers were the target of that webinar, the diverse audience also included Extension agents, produce buyers, seed company reps, consultants, and state inspectors, regulators and auditors. The sanitary design guidelines under development by Elizabeth Bihn and Chris Callahan target companies manufacturing agricultural equipment as well as growers putting together postharvest facilities. Objective 4. Enhanced distribution. Food hubs, growers, and grower groups are the main targets of efforts to make eastern markets more accessible to eastern growers. A site visit conducted by Bjorkman this year engaged growers in southern Florida and provided information that improves our understanding of market channels and production barriers. Gomez and graduate student Carol Dong continued to communicate with growers in western and central NY to collect information for models that will help these growers optimize cooling equipment and the location of central facilities, respectively. Thayer offered business planning services to these groups and is currently targeting NC growers and NC State faculty and Extension to explore opportunities for much-needed broccoli aggregation, cooling, and storage. Thayer is also collaborating with a non-profit distributor that is trying to encourage collaboration among eastern food hubs. Growers are the target of a Choice Experiment designed by Gomez to elucidate characteristics of food hubs that make them likely to attract and maintain relationships with growers; food hubs will be the target of the results. Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) experiments targeted consumers to find out what value they place on broccoli flavor and origin; breeders, buyers, and supermarkets will be the target audiences for the results of that work, which could influence breeding for flavor volatiles, prices paid to local growers, and marketing efforts of supermarkets. Changes/Problems:Two of our founding team members have retired, but not without leaving well-trained replacements. Before Powell Smith retired from Clemson and the Eastern Broccoli Project in February 2018, he introduced Brian Ward to important growers and transitioned him into the role of SC Yield trial leader. Wythe Morris retires from the broccoli project this year, but, because of his mentoring, Ashley Edwards is well-prepared to assume full responsibility for the VA Yield trial, project-related Extension, and food safety trainings. The first year Yield trial had only one paid entry from a seed company because seed companies didn't have enough seed of new hybrids and had not put the cost of these trials in their annual budgets. Their limited seed was put to use their own private, company trials. We expect more entries as seed increases are harvested and the budgets include the fee. We are emphasizing the value of these trials for marketing and anticipate the greatest interest with hybrids close to release. The Yield trial network remains critically important for testing and gaining visibility for public hybrids in production settings. Public breeders are identifying new seed production companies because the company formerly used by Farnham is not conducting increases this year, and a company that Griffiths employed delivered seed nearly 6 months after the promised delivery date, with no advance notice or explanation. We are exploring alternatives, including another company in California and opportunities with seed companies. Planned risk-and-trust experiments were dropped because the current eastern broccoli industry structure does not meet the assumptions for that design. We are instead conducting a Choice experiment that addresses more interesting and relevant questions based on what we're finding in the grower community. Food hubs with the potential to handle broccoli had identified business-planning limitations. We made an effort to provide detailed business-model development that included budgets and optimization models for supply, infrastructure, and markets. Several of the food hubs we approached were not prepared to analyze the situation in this detail. We are now investigating some of the underlying dynamics. Choice experiments conducted by Miguel Gomez will help us understand the issue so that we can better target activities to what stakeholders are ready for and adjust our research efforts accordingly. Development of regional and national distribution models for broccoli begins this summer. This work was delayed to take advantage of opportunities to conduct consumer studies that were originally scheduled for Year 5. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Undergraduates: 6 undergraduate students (Matt Trotsky, Ronnie Moore, Jonathon Chase, Calvin Mitchell, Sarah Parker, Zach Brown, and Madison Ricketts) working with Carl Sams learned techniques for analytical extraction and analysis of glucosinolates, minerals, sugars, organic acids and flavor volatiles; postharvest storage and handling techniques for Brassicas; and basic sensory analysis methods for broccoli. 3 undergraduate students (Gus Kohler, Lindsey Ridlon, Caroline Bonenfant) working with Mark Hutton received training in broccoli production and evaluation. Miranda Penney, undergrad at Delaware State University and Summer Scholar at the Cornell NYSAES, is working with grad student mentor Zach Stansell to learn high-throughput phenotyping and analysis of sequence data for QTL identification. (Penney also learned to drive a stick shift truck.) Richie Proudfoot worked with Tim Coolong on the GA Yield trial, learning about broccoli production, experimental design, and data collection. Graduate Students: Zach Stansell, grad student with Thomas Bjorkman, learned to use the software pipeline for converting raw sequence data into molecular markers, and to use those markers in phylogeny reconstruction and QTL analysis. He will present a poster at the 2018 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) meeting. Jiayi "Carol" Dong, MS student with Miguel Gomez, received training in conducting focus groups and economic experiments in the lab, and in designing Choice Experiments. She is presenting the results of consumer willingness-to-pay studies at the June Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association meeting. Nicholas Rowley (with Mark Hutton) learned about broccoli production and evaluation. Hunter Hammock, grad student with Carl Sams, learned GCMS techniques for flavor volatile analysis. Carina Theodore received training on broccoli management, grading, and quality evaluation working with Lincoln Zotarelli. Project personnel and staff: Carl Sams attended ASHS annual meetings in September 2017 and August 2018. His Research Associate, Jennifer Wheeler, also participated in those two meetings. Research Associate John Cummins assisted with broccoli harvest, storage, and sample processing and learned postharvest storage techniques. Dr. Curtis Luckett of the University of Tennessee Food Science Department collaborated with Sams to conduct sensory panels on broccoli, which gave Luckett the opportunity to learn about postharvest handling of broccoli and handling broccoli sensory data from different panels. Luckett's Post Doc Robert Pellegrino assisted with and learned about sensory analysis of broccoli, and also learned about broccoli postharvest storage. Mark Farnham has expanded his knowledge of broccoli by visiting numerous test sites for the project and learning about specific production practices used by other coPIs and cooperators. He will attend the August 2018 ASHS meeting. Farnham Post Doc Sandra Branham received training on bioinformatics procedures designed to analyze data from segregating populations or other genotypes. Branham presented the results of her studies at two Plant and Animal Genome conferences and an ASHS conference. Farnham technician Shane Robertson regularly attends scientific seminars at the US Vegetable Laboratory, participates in state field days to learn about vegetable production practices, and was trained and licensed to apply pesticides. Recent college graduate and Farnham technician Bridgett Knudson received on-the-job training in maintaining broccoli field plots, recording trial data, making greenhouse pollinations, and processing the resulting seed. Thomas Bjorkman was named a Fellow of the ASHS in September 2107. He traveled to the Netherlands in September 2017 to learn about the facilities and practices of seed company programs based there and gave a talk about the project to the University of Wageningen plant breeding department. He joined other Extension and industry personnel to assist with a "Growing Better Brassicas" in a November 2017 workshop in Saratoga Springs, NY, and discussed trends in broccoli production with seed company reps and growers at the 2018 NY Producers Expo. In February 2018, he visited growers in the Immokalee, FL region to learn about broccoli production systems and marketing models there. He gave additional presentations on the project to the Long Island Agricultural Forum in January and the Cornell Plant Pathology Section in March. Jeanine Davis attended and discussed the project at the CFSA Sustainable Agricultural Conference in Durham in November 2017 and the North Carolina Winter Vegetable Conference in Asheville in February 2018. She will attend the August 2018 ASHS meeting. Her assistant, Margaret Bloomquist, participated in the November 2017 CFSA Sustainable Agricultural Conference in Durham and the February 2018 NC Winter Vegetable Conference in Asheville. Leonora Stafanile, Luping Qu, and Gwen Casebeer, all technical assistants to Davis, attended the NC Winter Vegetable Conference. Stefanile and Casebeer also attended the CFSA Sustainable Agricultural Conference in Durham. Brian Ward transitioned into the role of SC Yield trial leader in the Fall of 2017, under the mentorship of Powell Smith. He will attend the ASHS meeting in August 2018. Ward technicians Matt Horry and Chris Simmons and technical assistants Daisy Ward and Sarah Quinn learned trial design, broccoli evaluation, and data collection. 25 Members of the American Association for Agricultural Education toured Ward's Quality trial plots in May 2018 and learned about the Eastern Broccoli Project. Ashley Light learned about experimental design and data collection as she transitioned into the role of VA Yield Trial leader (with guidance from mentor Wythe Morris). She web conferenced with experienced Yield trial leaders Bloomquist and Ward to gain additional insights into running the trials and dealing with challenges. She attended three 2018 conferences (Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA, the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA, and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Professional Development Conference in Blacksburg, VA) to bring herself up to speed with broccoli research, vegetable production information, and food safety, and became certified as a Produce Safety Alliance Trainer. Elizabeth Bihn and Christopher Callahan have been teaching themselves about sanitary design from textbooks developed for the processed food industry, with the intention of translating important concepts to agriculture. (There are currently no such resources for agricultural situations.) In September 2017, they visited western NY growers, packers, and distributors to learn about current practices, equipment, and challenges. This month, they will attend a "Hygienic Design Training" meeting offered by Commercial Food Sanitation in New Orleans. Callahan is quickly becoming one of the few (and perhaps only) experts on agricultural sanitary design. James Myers attended the October 2017 USDA-NIFA-OREI Project Directors meeting in Washington, DC, where he reported on OREI activities and learned about other projects. Luis Gomez Pesantes, technical assistant with Lincoln Zotarelli, received training on broccoli management, grading and quality evaluation. 30 Florida elected officials learned about the Eastern Broccoli project and the importance of the broccoli industry to the northeast Florida economy from Zotarelli in a November 2017 tour of the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural and Extension Center research farm. A similar tour in March 2018 included about 30 professors, researchers, extension agents and growers from Brazil.34 Attendees of the Cole crop field day at the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural and Extension Center toured broccoli plots with Zotarelli and learned about broccoli production and project efforts to develop new, adapted broccoli varieties. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project participants and collaborating industry partners are kept up to date via quarterly and annual reports that summarize activities and outputs from all objectives. We hold an annual phone conference for all research and industry collaborators to review and discuss progress and plans. Eastern Broccoli Project website updates, blog entries, and tweets keep followers (in various sectors of industry, Extension, academia, and government) informed on of current happenings and news of interest. We have a presence on the scientific social media site ResearchGate to share project news and results with other researchers. Objective-specific modes of dissemination follow. Obj. 1 Commercialization of new hybrids. Seed of good public hybrids and lines are shared with seed companies interested in seeing the results of public breeding up close. This and every year, new public and private hybrids that are candidates for commercialization are entered in Yield trials, where Extension leaders, growers, and visitors can see them. Yield trial reports are shared with participating breeding programs to give broccoli breeders feedback on the production potential of their hybrids. January web conferences with three seed companies this year highlighted the performance of their own and top public hybrids to point out hybrids with commercial potential. A Multistate proposal shared plans and justifications for an Eastern Broccoli Multistate Project with the organizations involved in determining that status. Mark Farnham showcased the performance of his best adapted hybrids against top commercially available contenders in a demonstration trial that was part of a 6 June 2018 joint field day at the US Vegetable Lab and Clemson Coastal Research Center. Obj. 2 Sustained improvement of broccoli. Public broccoli breeders maintain regular contact with seed company programs to keep them informed of public breeding progress and lines with novel genetics first hand. Seed companies also have ongoing invitations to visit public program and project trials (both Yield (Obj. 1) and Quality). Quality trial reports are shared with public and private breeding programs that supply entries. Publication is the ultimate method of disseminating results from genomics work completed this past year by Farnham, Branham, Bjorkman, and Stansell; one paper (on population structure) has been published, another will soon be submitted, and much of the work will appear in Stansell's PhD dissertation and possibly additional publications. The Quality trait index model was also published, and the program for the model itself was made freely on a public repository. The population structure study and QTL Seq studies will be presented this August at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), as will results from a study by Sams on postharvest storage effects on broccoli flavor. Obj. 3. Grower development. Extension leaders shared project results in 3 formal talks, 5 presentations at regional grower meetings, and 8 informal updates at grower meetings. This summer, they will give two additional presentations (on NC production and mulch color) at the ASHS meeting in August. Trials, tours, and demonstrations that showcase the Eastern Broccoli effort are regularly included in field days at host institutions. Our booth at the September 2018 Variety Showcase in New York City will reach chefs, produce buyers, consumers, and food journalists, all of whom could help support or promote eastern broccoli. A "virtual field day" PowerPoint was produced by VA Yield trial leader Ashley Edwards; in February, it was shared with growers at the 5thannual Foothills Specialty Crop Roundtable in Pilot Mountain, NC. In addition to showing his trials at the Hastings Field day last December, Lincoln Zotarelli gave tours and spoke about the project to a legislative tour and to a group of professors, researchers, and extension agents from Brazil. Sams will soon release his postharvest bulletin to inform growers of best practices and equipment options to fit their cooling needs. He presented results of a study on the effects of postharvest treatment on broccoli quality at the 2017 ASHS meeting last September. Elizabeth Bihn and Chris Callahan delivered produce safety advice targeted to broccoli growers in a May webinar that also attracted Extension personnel, buyers, seed company reps, consultants, inspectors, regulators and auditors. The webinar was advertised on the project website, in emails to collaborators, and on the NY Extension listserv. Based on grower requests, Gomez drafted an interactive crop budget and will work with a programmer this summer to make it available online. Objective 4. Enhanced distribution. Direct engagement with individual grower groups and food hubs in NY and NC and with an MA non-profit distributor made them aware of business planning and optimization opportunities that the project provides. The pilot Choice Experiment was accessed by participating growers via an online survey and follow-up phone interview. Results from the fall Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) Experiment will be shared in presentations this summer at the ASHS meeting, the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association Annual Meeting in June, and the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting in August. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Our full research team will convene at the January 2019 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA, to review progress and confirm or adjust plans for the remaining two and half years. Obj. 1. Commercialization of new hybrids. Public breeders will continue to communicate and share hybrids with seed companies to encourage licensing. Farnham will apply for a PVP for at least one USVL hybrid. (Griffiths will not apply for PVPs because it is Cornell's policy for the licensing company to complete those applications.) All public programs will increase seed of additional candidate hybrids through contracted production and small cage increases. As larger quantities of seed become available, additional candidate hybrids will be entered in Yield trials. Yield trial leaders will continue and complete Year 2 Yield trial evaluations and begin Year 3 evaluations. Preliminary and final reports for Year 2 Yield trials will be issued in January and June 2019, respectively. We will learn whether the Yield trial system has been granted multistate project status. Obj. 2. Sustained improvement. Public broccoli breeders will continue to develop new inbred broccoli lines with traits of interest from selection efforts or newly incorporated genetics. New within and between program test crosses will be generated from these new lines, and the best test crosses from Year 2 (including the best USVL x AVRDC hybrids) will be recreated for entry into Year 3 Quality trials. Griffiths will further increase his genetic diversity populations for targeted trait selection and backcrossing into elite, heat tolerant Cornell inbred lines. Farnham and Branham will submit the QTL Seq study for publication. Bjorkman and Stansell will collect additional phenotypic data on the BolTBDH mapping population and genotype some modern hybrids with known phenotypes. They will also test additional modern breeding lines and Italian landraces to further elucidate the population structure of modern broccoli. To better understand the physiology of heat tolerance, Björkman and Stansell will use RNASeq to identify all genes whose expression is associated with temperature-dependent sepal initiation and enlargement in a highly temperature-sensitive genotype, relative to one of the new insensitive genotypes. This work will identify genes that can be the subject of selection for superior genotypes. The Quality trait index model will be the subject of Extension programming to plant breeders. Quality trial leaders will complete Year 2 Quality trial evaluations and begin Year 3 trials. Griffiths will produce a preliminary report on Year 2 Quality trials in December 2018 and begin the final Year 2 report in late April 2019. Sams will conduct additional analytical and sensory studies to see if consumers detect and prefer the flavor of fresh broccoli and begin investigations of the preferred concentrations of flavor compounds. Obj. 3. Grower Development. We will continue to maintain a presence at grower conferences throughout the region and meet regularly with seed distributors, extension educators and others who engage with growers who can increase broccoli production. Our presence at the September 2018 Variety Showcase in New York City will publicize the project to an influential audience of chefs, produce buyers, consumers, and food journalists. Research-based guidelines for controlling insect pests on broccoli will be posted on the project website. The postharvest bulletin will be available to growers as a downloadable pdf. Bjorkman will present a webinar on adjusting populations and fertility for optimal yield, and Sams will present a webinar on postharvest options for preserving crown quality. Bihn and Callahan will release their remaining food safety documents and compile them into a resource to share with growers and manufacturers of agricultural postharvest equipment and storage facilities. Work on a PA crop budget will begin in the fall, after completion of VA, NC, and FL budgets. Gomez will work with a programmer to put the interactive budget form online. Obj. 4. Enhanced Distribution. Development of the regional and national distribution models for broccoli begins this summer. Using data collected from previous site visits, optimization models will be applied to cooling equipment usage in western NY and to the location of a prospective centralized food hub facility in central NY. Thayer will continue to collaborate with the non-profit distributor and will work with NC State faculty and Extension to address marketing and business development opportunities for broccoli aggregation, cooling, and storage, which this project previously identified as a major barrier to increasing production in the region. We will follow up with a food hub that recently contacted us about possibilities for collaboration and choose one to two other hubs to engage for Year 3. Data from the Choice Experiment will be analyzed in Fall 2018, and a report will be produced in Spring. A manuscript on the WTP studies will be produced and submitted for publication, and additional WTP experiments will be planned in a different eastern region. Gómez will present two webinars, one in Fall of 2018 on WTP results through this summer and another in Spring 2019 on the Choice Experiment results. We will seek out data on broccoli production from the 2017 Census of Agriculture to assess changes in production since 2012.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Eastern Broccoli project is on target for all objectives. Public breeders promoting new broccoli hybrids are engaged with seed companies that can commercialize them. Yield trials demonstrate the usefulness of new hybrids; a recently submitted MultiState proposal seeks to make the trial system permanent. Public broccoli breeders are updating programs with new genetics and technologies to improve efficiency. Several new seed companies entered hybrids in Quality trials, demonstrating that interest in the eastern market is growing. We are identifying flavor compounds that can be targeted in future breeding efforts, as well as best strategies to preserve flavor to deliver better-tasting broccoli to consumers. We provide growers with the information they need to produce, harvest and cool high-quality broccoli in accordance with produce safety regulations. We are engaging food hubs that can provide aggregation services and conducting experiments to help them attract and retain growers. Finally, we are studying the value of eastern broccoli to eastern consumers. Obj. 1 Commercialization of new cultivars. ACTIVITIES: A US Vegetable Lab (USVL) field day trial featured 6 of Mark Farnham's broccoli hybrids against top commercial varieties. Phil Griffiths shared seed of Cornell (CU) hybrids with 8 seed companies. James Myers released the broccoli hybrid Cascadia. Contracted hybrid seed was returned. Farnham increased seed in cages. Year 1 Yield trials concluded; Year 2 Yield trials began. Two companies advanced public-private and their own hybrids. Four companies entered new hybrids in Quality trials (Obj. 2); more are engaged. Zotarelli submitted a MultiState proposal. DATA: Farnham has PVP data for 5 hybrids. Yield trials produced production-setting yield, weight and marketability data. RESULTS: Contract increases made seed of a USVL hybrid, inbred and 6 CU hybrids. USVL cages produced 100g seed each of 4 hybrids and 1 inbred. A CU line has high seed production potential for broccoli and for baby greens, which plant at 5 million seeds/acre. Thomas Bjorkman produced Yield trial reports. OUTCOMES: Large seed increases let public breeders enter hybrids in Yield trials and share seed with companies. PVP data supports PVP applications. Yield trial results inspired a population and fertility study for fast maturing new hybrids that fit in summer rotations. A seed company maintains contact with Cornell's Technology Licensing office concerning several lines. Multistate project status will extend the trial system beyond the current grant. Yield trial reports showed commercial advantages of some new hybrids in specific slots. Objective 2: Sustained Improvement. ACTIVITIES: Two CU inbreds and 3 USVL lines were converted to CMS. Griffiths increased 40 genetic diversity lines from crosses with related Brassicas to develop segregating populations. Farnham is evaluating hybrids from crosses between USVL and ACRDC-derived lines. Farnham and Sandra Branham completed a QTL Seq study. Bjorkman and Zach Stansell used GBS to analyze the BolTBDH mapping population and to describe the population structure of broccoli and cauliflower and began an RNA Seq study of temperature effects on flower bud initiation. Stansell published a Quality trait index model; it is also publicly available in R software script. Year 1 Quality trials concluded; Year 2 trials began. Carl Sams conducted experiments on broccoli flavor. DATA: Quality trials gave crown quality data for 31 entries in 15 environments. Sams collected analytical and sensory data of broccoli stored at 0°C or 4°C. Stansell evaluated 20 phenotypic traits in the mapping populationover 2 field seasons and obtained sequence data for 225 progeny and the parents.RESULTS: Griffiths now has 9 CMS inbreds with a range of maturities. Farnham has 6 heat-tolerant and 9 traditional CMS lines. Griffiths produced Year 1 Quality trial reports for contributing programs. A Cornell hybrid scored highest overall. CU and USVL programs added genetic variation for trait improvement. The QTL Seq study identified additional heat tolerance QTLs. 45,000 polymorphic loci contributing to broccoli quality were identified and positioned in the BolTBDH population. The population structure study shows that most genetic diversity in recent commercial breeding derives from Calabrian landraces. Sams found storage at 0°C gives better retention of desirable flavor, aroma, and anticarcinogenic compounds compared to 4°C storage. OUTCOMES: CMS facilitates large seed increases. New variation in breeding programs broadens resources available to meet breeding challenges. QTL Seq and BolTBDH studies support QTL mapping. Population structure results inform efforts to rediversify broccoli genetics to improve quality without adding back undesirable traits. The Quality trait index can improve concordance among subjective ratings. Flavor results inform breeding, the postharvest bulletin (Obj. 3) and consumer acceptance studies. Objective 3: Grower Development. ACTIVITIES: Extension leaders updated production recommendations, advised growers, hosted tours and field days and presented the project at conferences and grower meetings. Bjorkman visited growers in the important winter production region of Immokalee, FL. He is now overseeing a sulfur trial and development of insect control guidelines for broccoli. Ward is conducting SARE grant-supplemented research on no-till production and mulch color. We secured a booth at the Sept. 2018 Variety Showcase in NYC and maintain an active website, blog, and twitter feed. Sams updated a draft postharvest cooling bulletin. Elizabeth Bihn and Chris Callahan presented a webinar on produce safety for broccoli producers and developed 3 sanitary design guideline documents. Wythe Morris gave 18 food safety trainings in WV, MS, NC, and VA. Miguel Gomez drafted an interactive crop budget and updated the NY budget; VA, NC, and FL budgets are in progress. DATA: Gomez supplied cooling cost and energy usage data for the postharvest publication. RESULTS: Social media presence spreads awareness of the project. OUTCOMES: Bjorkman learned about market access models of Immokalee growers. The postharvest bulletin will summarize previously hard-to-get information to help growers choose cooling equipment that best suits their needs. Sulfur trial results will inform fertility recommendations. Objective 4: Enhanced distribution channels. ACTIVITIES: Cheryl Thayer is working with a non-profit distributor seeking to source more broccoli and increase collaboration among food hubs. She also engaged NC State faculty and Extension to address business development opportunities for broccoli aggregation, cooling and storage. Gomez and Carol Dong conducted a willingness-to-pay experiment on broccoli flavor and origin. A summer WTP study is comparing the flavor of new hybrids to that of a leading commercial standard. A Choice Experiment pilot study was designed and conducted. Development of regional and national distribution models for broccoli begins this summer. DATA: The pilot Choice Experiment produced survey and interview data. The WTP studies yield data on the value of attributes to consumers. RESULTS: An August 2018 food hub summit was scheduled by the collaborating distributor. In the fall WTP, consumers preferred CA broccoli appearance to that of NY varieties but had no preference for the taste and would not pay a premium for local. Pilot study results informed the final design of the Choice Experiment. OUTCOMES: The food hub summit will assess the potential for collaboration among eastern food hubs. Local varieties can compete for market share if priced at the same level as CA broccoli. Dong will present WTP results, which are part of her MS thesis, at 3 meetings this summer. Formal launch of the Choice Experiment begins this summer; it will provide insights into how food hubs can attract and retain growers.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Stansell, Zachary, Thomas Bj�rkman, Dave Couillard, Sandra Branham, and Mark Farnham. 2017. Use of a Quality Trait Index to Increase the Reliability of Phenotypic Evaluations in Broccoli. Hortscience. 52:1490-1495. doi 10.21273/HORTSCI12202-17
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Stansell, Zachary, Katie Hyma, Jonathan Fresnedo-Ram�rez, Qi Sun, Sharon Mitchell, Thomas Bj�rkman, Jian Hua. 2018. Genotyping-by-sequencing of Brassica oleracea vegetables reveals unique phylogenetic patterns, population structure and domestication footprints. Horticultural Research (in press) DOI: 10.1038/s41438-018-0040-3
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Coles, Phillip Scott, and Miguel I Gomez. 2016. Produce Buyer Quality Requirements to Form an Eastern Broccoli Industry . MS Thesis, Cornell University. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/43690.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Fan, Xiaoli, and Miguel I Gomez. 2017. Chapter 3, Examining Spatial Efficiency of the United States Fresh Vegetable Market: the case of broccoli expansion on the East Coast, pp. 45-68 and Chapter 4, Willingness to Pay, Quality Perceptions, and Local Foods: the Case of Broccoli, pp. 69-93 in Three Essays on Agribusiness economics and Management. PhD Dissertation, Cornell University. ProQuest Information and Learning, 2017. http://doi.org/10.7298/X4DB7ZZ7
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Wheeler, J., C.E. Sams, T. Bjorkman, J. M. Davis, M. Gomez. 2017. Storage Temperature and Time Impacts the Quality of East Coast Broccoli. Poster Presentation. HortScience 52(9):S336.
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Seed companies Bejo, Seminis, and Syngenta and public broccoli programs leaders were the primary audiences of 2015 Phase I and II trial reports. The three seed companies were also the target of separate web conferences in January to review best hybrids to date and explain new trial terms. These companies received seed of 11 hybrids from Phil Griffiths to assess the value of the material to their own breeding programs. Seed companies not previously participating in the Eastern Broccoli project were the target of invitations to enter material in Quality trials on a fee per entry basis. Two new companies had sufficient seed of broccoli hybrids to accept the invitation this year, and two more have expressed interest for 2018. Efforts by public breeding programs to backcross public lines into CMS will benefit licensing seed companies that require large scale production of hybrid seed for marketing purposes. Project personnel and staff conducting Yield and Quality trials were the target audience for several web conferences and a December meeting in the US Vegetable Lab in Charleston. Participants reviewed the updated protocols and reference cards, offered ideas for improvements, and practiced rating broccoli in the field to standardize interpretation of crown quality attributes. Seed companies supplying trial entries, growers hosting Yield trials (in ME, NY, VA, NC, and GA to date, with SC and FL Yield trials happening this fall), other extension personnel, and visitors (including several large buyers) to both Yield and Quality trials saw performance of new broccoli hybrids. Other scientists working with broccoli are the target audience of ongoing genomics work that will ultimately lead to the development of markers for traits contributing to heat tolerance to aid recovery of that trait in future breeding efforts. Growers, buyers, and consumers are the target audience of Carl Sams' work on determining the role of storage time and temperature on broccoli flavor components. Growers and food hubs are the target of his draft outreach document on postharvest cooling options for broccoli. Growers were the target audience of presentations at grower meetings, field days, a spacing demonstration in GA, and, in NC, a broccoli production panel at the Annual Winter Vegetable Conference in Asheville and a "Bring on the Broccoli, WNC!" discussion with Jeanine Davis, Margaret Bloomquist, and Thomas Bjorkman. Growers in VA, NC, and WV, including one transitioning from tobacco to broccoli production, were the target of food safety and GAPs training by Wythe Morris. Economic efforts also targeted growers, who will benefit from new and updated crop budgets that will ultimately be available in the form of an interactive spreadsheet. The website update to a responsive design mainly targeted growers, as well as others who view the site on mobile devices. Food hubs are the target audience of visits by Dong, Gomez, Bjorkman, and Thayer for the purpose of engaging them in broccoli-related opportunities, including business plans and optimal infrastructure. All growers, industry representatives, and project personnel were the target of our annual phone call with commercial and research partners. These same communities and interested members of the general public are the target of blog postings and tweets. Changes/Problems:Critical staff and graduate positions for some researchers could not be filled immediately due to the 2.5-month delay in release of funds relative to the award date. As a result, progress on postharvest, flavor and economics activities is just slightly behind schedule. Late arrival of project funding also forced us to focus on arrangements of imminent, highest priority activities (like trial planning, protocol updates, and seed requests and distribution over more flexible ones (for example, developing a publicity plan with an experienced partner.) Earlier production of the 2015 Phase I and II report, which normally would have been issued in fall 2015, was not possible due to the lapse in SCRI funding from September 2015 through August 2016. The addition to the project of sanitary engineering consultant Chris Callahan took longer than expected because specialists in the emerging field of sanitary equipment design are extremely rare. Callahan, who also brings expertise in postharvest equipment, has already established a good working relationship with several members of the Eastern Broccoli Team. Cheryl Thayer has made business plan services available to several food hubs and has been identifying needs and constraints. After speaking with growers in North Carolina, project director Thomas Bjorkman would like to have her develop an enterprise budget to attract a business that offers postharvest cooling services to the area. The budget could also be used in applications for economic development funds. Yield trial entry numbers (3/location) were light this year because seed companies had not budgeted for trial fees. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Undergraduates: Virginia Tech freshman intern Justin Light worked with Wythe Morris to manage the VA Yield trial, learning about broccoli production, crown quality, and experimental design. Cayla Martin at Cornell trained in economic experiments to elicit consumer willingness to pay for broccoli traits. In Georgia, Kalen Fleming and Matthew Massey from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College were trained in broccoli production, evaluation and data collection. University of Tennessee undergrads Ronald Moore, Matthew Trotsky, Jonathon Chase, Calvin Mitchel, and Madison Rickett received training in analytical techniques for mineral, sugar, carotenoid, glucosinolate, and flavor volatile analysis and on cooling and storage of broccoli. Angus Koller, Lindsey Ridlon, and Kegan Foster at the University of Maine received technical training on broccoli production and evaluation. An Oregon State undergrad worked with Jim Myers on his broccoli program. Graduate Students: At Cornell, Jiayi Dong, Grad Research Assistant with Miguel Gomez, was trained in optimization models and design of economic experiments. In information gathering visits to farms and food hubs in NY and VA, she gained knowledge about broccoli production, handling, cooling, storage, and marketing. Grad Research Assistant Thomas Anderson, also with Gomez, was trained in satellite image interpretation and optimization models. Gomez grad student Xiaoli Fan, who in the first five years of this project worked on market efficiency, willingness to pay studies, and optimization models, received her PhD in July 2017 and is joining the faculty in Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta. Hannah Sweringen is learning about broccoli x kale introgressions and genetics for work she is doing as part of her graduate research with Phil Griffiths. UT grad student Hunter Hammock received training in mineral analysis, flavor volatile analysis and postharvest cooling and storage techniques. At the University of Maine, Grad Research Assistant Nicholas Rowley and grad student Jeremiah Vallotton received technical training on broccoli production and evaluation. Yuezhi Wu, MS student with Ashim Dattain theDepartment of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell and advisee of Elizabeth Bihn, learned about broccoli production and food safety as part of his graduate work to model E. coli survival on relevant surfaces. Jordan Taylor, who recently completed an MS degree at the College of Charleston, learned about broccoli breeding as a part-time assistant to Mark Farnham at the US Vegetable Lab. Zachary Stansell, graduate student with Thomas Bjorkman at Cornell, received extensive training in genomics techniques for a genome-wide association study of broccoli phylogeny. Project personnel and staff: Quality trial personnel including Brian Ward and tech Matt Horry, Jeanine Davis and assistant Margaret Bloomquist, Mark Hutton, Lincoln Zotarelli, post doc Christian Christensen, and tech Pam Solano attended a Quality trial training session hosted by Mark Farnham at the US Vegetable Lab in Charleston, SC. The group learned how to implement new protocols, set up and manage quality trials, evaluate broccoli hybrids, and collect and return data. Ward provided individual broccoli production and evaluation training to technician Chris Simmons. Farnham's tech Shane Robinson also attended the Quality trial training and has been learning about broccoli breeding. Tim Coolong trained technician Melissa Brannon in broccoli production, evaluation, and data collection. Jennifer Wheeler, Research Associate with Carl Sams, was trained in postharvest cooling and storage techniques and flavor volatile analysis. Project Manager Jill Eccleston attended a food safety "Train the trainer" course put on by the Produce Safety Alliance in Geneva, NY. VA Food Safety Consultant Wythe Morris, Appalachian Harvest Manager Robin Robbins and warehouse manager Adam Pendleton attended a FSMA "Train the Trainer" course in Beckley, WV. Ashley Edwards, new Virginia Extension Horticulture agent, worked with Wythe Morris to learn how to conduct Eastern Broccoli Yield trials, including experimental design and data collection. (She will take over trial management next year.) Elizabeth Bihn and Produce Safety Alliance Support Specialist Michelle Humiston toured NY broccoli operations with Thomas Bjorkman in Fall 2016 to learn about production and postharvest practices for work they will be doing on food safety resources and sanitary equipment design. Other professionals: In Maine, Mark Hutton provided technical training on broccoli production and evaluation to Extension Sustainable Agriculture Professional Jason Lilley and Extension Educator Mark Hutchinson. In Virginia, a grower transitioning from tobacco to broccoli learned broccoli production, harvest, and grading. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Seed company and public breeding programs received reports of results from 2015 Phase I and II trials, which inform breeding decisions. Individual web conferences with each of the three original partnering seed companies were employed to explain trial modifications and fees, solicit new trial entries, and discuss candidates for Yield trials and commercialization. Formerly unaffiliated but interested seed companies were targeted by email with invitations to participate and a summary of trial terms. Communication was maintained with regular project updates, emails, phone calls, and one-on-one discussions at conferences and grower meetings. Growers heard about the project and eastern broccoli production and marketing opportunities through 11 talks at grower meetings; field days in ME, NC, and SC; workshops; and one-on one consultations. Tim Coolong used a demonstration plot to show his Yield trial host and visitors to the site how tightening spacing can improve crown quality. Site visits by Thomas Bjorkman to important growing regions in GA, FL, NC, VA, and NY brought growers and food hubs in these regions up to date with the eastern broccoli effort and allowed them to provide feedback about how the project can best serve these regions. For example, growers in North Carolina are limited by the lack of cooling facilities and are willing to pay for the service. As a result, we will produce an enterprise budget to attract a business and economic development funds. Jeanine Davis and her assistant, Margaret Bloomquist, conducted two broccoli-specific outreach programs: a Broccoli Production Panel at the North Carolina Tomato Growers Annual Winter Vegetable Conference in Asheville, and a "Bring on the Broccoli, WNC!" discussion with growers that coincided with a field day at the Waynesville station where Quality trials are held. The NC team is actively engaged with NC Cooperative Extension agents, specialists, and directors with regard to broccoli growers, production, and post-harvest handling issues. Their meetings with broccoli trial growers and growers expanding production in the region have been successful. Meetings with industry representatives, including select buyers, have shown sustained demand for local broccoli, especially from June through August. Site visits to two NY food hubs by Miguel Gomez, Carol Dong, and Cheryl Thayer and to growers and food hubs in VA by Dong opened lines of communication that provided growers and food hub marketing personnel the opportunity to communicate needs that can be addressed through the eastern broccoli project. For example, one NY hub needs help optimizing use of its new ice-slurry cooling machine, while the other may benefit from economic modelling approaches to optimal infrastructure. Thomas Bjorkman has personally contacted representatives from over a dozen eastern distributors and food hubs to discuss interest in and ability to secure loads from eastern producers. The level of engagement has ranged from emails and initial conversations to recurring discussions and site visits. Wythe Morris is providing food safety guidance to a former tobacco grower transitioning to broccoli. Morris's extensive involvement with GAPs training puts him in regular contact with growers, some of whom are prospective broccoli producers. A tour of the US Vegetable Laboratory introduced US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to Eastern Broccoli project efforts. The project blog and twitter feed were used to alert a wide audience of subscribers, including growers, industry, academia, government, and the media, to ongoing project activities. All public and private organizations and individuals involved with the project were invited to the annual phone conference with commercial partners. About 28 people participated. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Yield trial results will be issued to programs that supplied entries to informa commercialization decisions. Based on results of 2017 Quality trials, additional candidates for commercialization will be identified. Public programs will increase seed of candidate hybrids through small cage productions or contracted larger increases. Candidates with sufficient seed from 2017 and earlier increases will be evaluated in Year 2 Yield trials, which will begin with sowing of seed for the first trial (in GA) in January 2018 and conclude with evaluation and harvest of the last trial in April 2019. We will hear whether the trial system receives Multistate status. Griffiths will continue to backcross CMS into several new lines as part of his effort to develop a set of male-sterile inbreds that vary in time to maturity and have strong combining ability. He will also make selections from and continue to advance lines derived from crosses between heat-tolerant Cornell lines and other brassicas with desirable traits such as good flavor, disease resistance, etc. Farnham will continue to select for even greater heat tolerance and also bring in traits from tropical broccoli derived from material from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center. Public broccoli breeders will maintain additional lines or populations, make selections, and create new hybrids in support of this effort. Farnham and Bjorkman will collect additional sequencing data on new genotypes and populations in preparation for mapping quantitative trait loci in years 3-5. A report on Year 1 Quality trial results will be produced and issued to participating breeding programs. Quality trial leaders will conduct Year 2 Quality trials, which will begin with sowing of the first (SC) planting in February 2017 and conclude 14 months later with completion of data collection from the last planting in Florida in April 2019. Carl Sams will conduct a sensory and chemical analysis to determine which volatiles have the biggest impact on human sensory perception of broccoli and how those compounds change with variety and storage conditions. The results of preliminary experiments on effects of postharvest storage time and temperature will be presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Waikoloa, Hawaii on 20 September 2017. Sams will also conduct site visits to verify information in his draft postharvest cooling document, which will be released as an extension publication for growers. Results will be presented in a webinar. Extension personnel will continue to engage and advise growers through talks at meetings, field days, articles in trade magazines, individual consultation, production webinars, and social media. Updates to content on the Eastern Broccoli project website will continue. Bihn will release food safety fact sheets for broccoli production that she drafted in Year 1. She and Chris Callahan will begin to develop guidelines for the sanitary design of postharvest equipment that complies with new food safety rules. Wythe Morris will transition leadership of the VA Yield trial to Ashley Edwards but will continue to advise food hubs and conduct food safety trainings in the mid-Atlantic. Updated crop budgets for NY and VA will be made available in interactive spreadsheet format. Work will begin on new or updated crop budgets for 2 to 3 more regions to be chosen based on grower interest. We will encourage growers to respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture and will make arrangements to obtain production data. Cheryl Thayer will produce an enterprise budget to attract a commercial cooling company to western NC and continue work on food hub business plans. Miguel Gomez and Carol Dong will begin risk-and-trust experiments to understand and increase growers' commitments to local food hubs. Theoptimization model will be applied to a food hub in NY that wants to optimize usage of its cooling facility and to infrastructure development at one or two other locations. Presentations at produce shows will engage distributors and buyers. A publicity committee will be assembled and will formalize plans to choreograph publicity to appropriate target audiences as important outcomes are realized. Two additional members, representing a grower and a produce buyer, will be appointed to the Advisory Board.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Eastern Broccoli Project is advancing towards the goal of year-round production of high quality broccoli crowns in the eastern US. It will provide eastern growers with a high-value crop, reduce the carbon footprint and water used to grow and transport broccoli from western regions, increase food security, and help retailers meet rising consumer demand for fresh supplies of this healthy vegetable. Significant progress breeding eastern-adapted hybrids was made under earlier funding. Current efforts focus on making those hybrids commercially available to eastern growers, strengthening public breeding programs to meet future challenges, supporting eastern growers, and removing barriers that limit growers' access to critical postharvest and supply chain points. Progress on all objectives this year was strong. Obj. 1 Seed of new cultivars commercially available. ACTIVITIES: Seed companies received new trial terms, 2015 trial reports and web discussions on hybrid performance. Public program leaders identified hybrid candidates for Yield trials and commercial release. Mark Farnham increased seed of 3 candidates in small cages at the US Vegetable Lab (USVL) and contracted a larger increase in CA. Griffiths contracted seed increases of 6 hybrids in Chile and sent seed of better hybrids and lines to seed companies. Yield trials led by Tim Coolong (GA), Jeanine Davis (NC), Wythe Morris (VA), Christy Hoepting (NY), Mark Hutton (ME), Powell Smith and Brian Ward (SC), Lincoln Zotarelli (FL) and Monica Ozores-Hampton (FL) are underway. Zotarelli drafted a Multistate proposal to sustain the trial system beyond current funding. DATA: Farnham collected PVP data for candidate hybrids. Yield trial data collection for Year 1 is in progress. RESULTS: 6 public candidate hybrids were identified. USVL cage increases of 3 hybrids yielded 100g seed each. Seed companies are assessing public materials' usefulness to their breeding programs. Submission of the Multistate proposal is imminent. OUTCOMES: Communication with seed companies informed their breeding and commercialization plans. At least 4 public hybrids have enough seed for 2018 Yield trials. For the first time, a public hybrid is an entry in all Yield trial locations. Obj. 2 Sustained improvement. ACTIVITIES: Farnham and Griffiths backcrossed CMS into better parental lines. Public program leaders increased populations, made selections, exchanged lines and continued developing new hybrids. To bring new traits into breeding programs, Farnham made selections from tropical broccoli, and Griffiths conducted field trials of material derived from crosses with other brassicas. Quality trials to assess crown quality of new hybrids are in progress, conducted by Hutton (ME), Griffiths (NY), Davis (NC), Ward (SC), and Zotarelli (FL). Farnham collected samples for DNA extraction and sequencing from a heat tolerant segregating doubled haploid broccoli population. Bjorkman student Zach Stansell increased and planted seed of a segregating broccoli population to obtain phenotype data and DNA samples. Carl Sams ran preliminary experiments to determine effects of postharvest storage time and temperature on broccoli flavor. DATA: Quality trials have 31 entries (19 public, 7 commercial, 5 checks); data collection concludes March 2018. Stansell obtained DNA sequencing and phenotypic data from 225 lines. Sams collected sugar and flavor volatiles data over time for broccoli stored at 2 temperatures. RESULTS: 3 USVL and 8 Cornell lines are being converted to CMS. Incorporation of new traits will continue for several generations. DNA sequencing data will help identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that contribute to heat tolerance and other traits. An abstract of Sam's postharvest work was submitted for poster presentation at the September ASHS meeting. OUTCOMES: Adapted lines in a CMS background allow more efficient and larger productions of hybrid seed. Stansell's data will inform his work on a relationship model of ancestral and modern broccoli. Obj. 3 Grower development. ACTIVITIES: Presentations were made at 11 grower and other venues. Coolong demonstrated tighter plant spacing at his Yield trial site. Field days in SC, NC and ME allowed Ward, Davis and Hutton to showcase broccoli trials. Ward advised 5 growers planning fall broccoli crops. Bjorkman traveled to GA and FL to meet growers and observe production and postharvest practices, to NC to learn about barriers to increasing production, and to VA to meet growers and gain marketing insights from food hubs. Regional vegetable production guides were updated for New England and the Southeast; updates for remaining locations are scheduled for fall. The Eastern Broccoli website was given a new, responsive design and integrated with the project blog, which notifies subscribers of new posts. The Eastern Broccoli Twitter feed has 70 followers in industry, government, media and academia. Sams developed a draft document on postharvest cooling options for broccoli, with cost information from Miguel Gomez. Elizabeth Bihn recruited Chris Callahan as sanitary design consultant and worked with Cornell Engineering Prof. Ashim Datta's grad student to begin modeling microbial risks associated with broccoli handling. Morris conducted 7 food safety trainings and helped 7 growers in WV obtain GAP certification. Gomez and grad student Carol Dong are updating crop budgets for NY and VA using information obtained by Dong in visits to growers and food hubs in NY and VA. They also developed a draft interactive crop budget template that incorporates growers' inputs on key cost drivers. Grad student Thomas Anderson is working with Monica Ozores-Hampton to collect data for a new crop budget for Immokalee, FL. Cheryl Thayer met with NY food hub managers to assess needs related to broccoli production and marketing. DATA: Sams collected cost and energy data on postharvest cooling equipment. Dong collected data on cost drivers and prices from VA and NY growers. RESULTS: Growers and buyers visiting the GA spacing demonstration saw improved crown quality from tighter plant spacing. New website design is easier to view on mobile devices. Dong found increasing labor costs have been offset by declining diesel prices in VA. Food safety trainings by Morris reached 57 people. OUTCOMES: The increasing preference of VA buyers for crown-cut broccoli over bunches led a VA grower to tighten spacing to produce crowns. Bjorkman's site visits will inform crop and business budgets and optimization models, as will data collected by Dong and Anderson. Obj. 4 Enhanced Distribution. ACTIVITIES: Much effort this year was to collect information for crop budgets updates, business plan development, and optimization model application. Site visits were made by: Gomez, Dong, and Thayer to a western NY Food hub; Dong to VA; and Bjorkman to VA and NC. In preparation for business plan development, Thayer engaged and visited two upstate NY food hubs to learn their needs and constraints. Gomez and Dong drafted the experimental design for risk-and-trust experiments that will focus on growers' commitments to local food hubs to inform decisions about hub structure and size. DATA: Site visits in NY resulted in data for a model to optimize usage of a new ice-slurry cooling facility and to update cost-estimate assumptions for postharvest cooling in NY. RESULTS: The project had varying levels of engagement with 13 food hubs that provide infrastructure for cooling and distribution for small growers supplying wholesale, retail, and food-service buyers. OUTCOMES: Bjorkman found that rejection by buyers of loads that met agreed-upon specifications limits the attractiveness of broccoli relative to other crops. Based on the identified need for postharvest cooling in NC, Thayer will develop an enterprise budget to attract both economic development funds and a company that can provide the service.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Bjorkman, T. 2017. More broccoli from New York? Profiting from the growing demand. NY Producers Expo, Syracuse, NY. 19 January.
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