Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The audience was organic growers, restaurant managers, extension personnel, students, and consumers in the Southeast United States. Changes/Problems:No major changes were made to the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As part of objectives 1 and 3, we organized Food & Farm Forum and Youth Food & Farm Forum. A Central Alabama CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training Network was created to conduct peer-to-peer, on-farm, and farmer-led training that included intentional space for community-building and social support with the aim of building a network that provided existing and aspiring organic farmers in Central Alabama more effective opportunities to build skills, exchange knowledge, and build community with one another. We provided Site Specific Recommendations and Farm Visits with Organic Grower Partners on the use of organic crop varieties and OMRI approved throughout the Southeast. We engaged grower partners in teaching roles throughout winters to tackle specific crop and regional wisdom, knowledge and problem identification. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our findings have been disseminated to organic growers and consumers throughout the Southeast. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Conduct consumer education and marketing research on organic produce focusing on Alabama. Project scientists organized workshops throughout Alabama to educate consumers on benefits of organic foods. They also conducted market studies and communicated with industry stakeholders and determined best avenues to acquire producer and market intermediary survey participation and developed relationships for further learning. We published quarterly articles relevant to organic growers and consumers. Forums were also organized to share and listen to concerns of organic growers and consumers in Alabama. We conducted Organic Foods Forums on Alabama universities campuses and in major cities of the state. In each even, a panel of experts presented their knowledge briefly and then the audience was invited to engage in through questioning and commenting. This model has shown illicit high response and engagement from learners. As a part of these consumer education events, the audience was invited to experience organic cuisine through a fully cooked, 100% organic meal as well as participate in an organic food taste experiment. Pre-test, post-tests, and surveys were administered at the events. Together with our partners we developed a comprehensive events calendar featuring more than 220 events from a wide variety of partner organizations and farms, including food-related social events and food festivals, on-farm field days, workshops, and conferences. Upcoming events were featured in monthly e-blasts and in quarterly print newsletter, which reach roughly 3000 around the state and beyond. Farm-to-fork picnics were held in Huntsville. Surveys via online platform and in-person at the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association annual conferences. Each year, roughly 50 grower responses were collected across all survey collection methods. We conducted preliminary analysis of grower data, and published results in Alabama Farmer's Cooperative magazine. Some major findings were: Major barriers to certifying organic among the respondents involved the cost of certification, both the initial and maintenance costs and paperwork involved with the certification and record keeping process. Producers indicated that insect, weed, and disease control were more challenging in organic production than in conventional. Producers indicated that high costs of labor and organic inputs, and finding consistent buyers and price premiums are all challenges with organic production. We finalized in Alabama with Qualtrics and nat various industry conferences and determined market intermediaries that constitute logistic barriers to Southeast organic markets. Objective 2. Provide organic growers with site specific recommendations on selected vegetable crops. Tuskegee University completed the Organic Farm Certification process with Quality Certification Services - Project staff and scientists underwent a complete organic farm inspection process and officially applied and obtained organic status. Based on field trials conducted at three research stations throughout the Southeast region (North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi), we provided site specific recommendations on vegetable crop varieties and OMRI approved pesticides. Major findings have been published in journals and extension factsheets. On-farm field trials were conducted in Tennessee (McMinnville, Nashville, College Grove, Memphis, and Stanton), in Georgia (Monroe and Rincon), in Alabama (Roanoke, Tuskegee, Moundville, Hampton Cove, Tuscaloosa, Cuba, Fairhope, Shorter, and Ariton), in North Carolina (Calabash, Leicester, Monroe, Penrose, Snow Hill, and Willard), in South Carolina (Johns Island and Wares Shoals), and in Mississippi (Tupelo, Starkville, Flora, Houston, and Philidelphia) on three main vegetable crop varieties of tomato, sweet potato, squash, and southern pea and on several varieties of secondary vegetable crops. Average number of trials in each category is shown in Tables below. Table 1. Average number of on-farm trials conducted on main (mandated by project) vegetable crops each year. Main Study Crop Number of On-farm Trials in Study Squash 26 Tomato 23 Southern Pea 20 Sweet Potato 19 Table 1. Number of on-farm trials conducted on secondary (challenging vegetable crops at specific farms) vegetable crops each year. CROP NUMBER OF ON-FARM TRIALS IN STUDY Squash 17 Tomato 14 Southern Pea 10 Sweet Potato 10 Peppers 3 Beet 2 Carrots 2 Cucumber 2 Kale 2 Lettuce 2 Watermelon 2 Beans 1 Canteloupe 1 Cauliflower 1 Edamame 1 Leeks 1 Okra 1 Sweet Corn 1 White Potato 1 Number of On-farm Trials by Crop Type Note that each crop trial includes two varieties, so the actual number of trials is double the crop number. Objective 3. Develop a participatory extension and evaluation program to support organic food systems. A Food & Farm Forum was organized and attended by adults and youth. The adult attendees enjoyed a rich program of 28 concurrent sessions, with an emphasis on farmer-led and hands-on sessions on organic production and consumption. The Youth Forum comprised 13 sessions on everything from greywater to seed saving, to hog butchery and vegan cooking, to equity and adultism. We organized four Tailgate Trainings -- peer-to-peer on-farm trainings conducted by producers for producers. Each training was structured to meet the particular needs, questions, and circumstances of those in attendance. Trainings occurred in conjunction with a social component. We conducted organic research trials, train extension, and served as extension agents for new crops and organics. Our project provided a test site at the Mountain Research Station to help fulfill education opportunities for regional organic growers. Researchers and extension agents field inquired and hosted field days with hands-on learning opportunities throughout growing seasons and over 50 participants every year viewed the on station field trials for field days. Our project contributed to the training of state research station staff and summer student workers from participating institutions. Opportunities for organic production and field maintenance skill building, entomological data collection, and education on the issues and needs of our regions organic producers were ongoing. Also North Carolina and Alabama Cooperative Extension agents received education and opportunities for professional development from our project. We organized at the NCDA Mountain Research Station in North Carolina an Alternative Crops and Organics Field Day that was focused on variety and pesticide trials of our research project. 50 attendees were educated on organic production and pest control, and the project goals. A soil health workshop followed the field tour. A diversity of age groups was present. In addition, the research center served as a destination for Haywood County High School and Elementary Schools throughout the growing seasons. Leftover produce was received by regional gleaners with the St. Andrews society - providing organic food and education to more stakeholders in the regional organic food. Objective 4. Build a database for organic information for the benefits of organic farmers in all regions of the nation. On eOrganic Website, we developed pages on our project for sharing information with growers: https://eorganic.info/southeast We developed Video Resources and Virtual web resources for Training and Engagement. Twelve Lunchboxes and Grower spotlights were also developed at selected project farms
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Sonu Koirala B. K. Franklin Quarcoo, Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A, Desmond Mortley. 2021. Organic Tomato Production in Alabama: Host Preference of the Tomato Hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and Performance of Selected Biopesticides. 2021; 5(1): 10-17 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/aje doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20210501.12 ISSN: 2640-0529.
K. Kpomblekou-A, M. Schonbeck, A. C. Bovell-Benjamin, and L. Snyder. 2020.
Proceedings of the 2020 Organic Agriculture Research Forum. January 23, 2020, Little Rock, AR. https://ofrf.org.reports.
Anitha Chitturi, Olufemi S. Ajayi, Franklin Quarcoo, Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A, and Desmond Mortley. 2021. Management of aphids in organic tomato production in Alabama. Alabama Extension Fact sheets at https://www.tuskegee.edu/extension
Anitha Chitturi, Olufemi S. Ajayi, Franklin Quarcoo, Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A, and Desmond Mortley. 2021. Management of the tomato hornworm in Organic tomato production in Alabama. Alabama Extension Fact sheets at https://www.tuskegee.edu/extension
Anitha Chitturi, Olufemi S. Ajayi, Franklin Quarcoo, Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A, and Desmond Mortley. 2021. Management of stink bugs in organic tomato production in Alabama. Alabama Extension Fact sheets at https://www.tuskegee.edu/extension
Anitha Chitturi, Olufemi S. Ajayi, Franklin Quarcoo, Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A, and Desmond Mortley. 2021. Management of Tomato Fruitworm in Organic Tomato Production in Alabama.
Alabama Extension Fact sheets at https://www.tuskegee.edu/extension
Chitturi Anitha, Davis Jeanine, Bloomquist Margaret, Quarcoo Franklin, Kpomblekou-A Kokoasse, Mortley Desmond. 2019. Insect Population Dynamics, Varietal Preference and Performance of Organic Bio-Pesticides. Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 7: No. 1, 11. Available at https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol7/iss1/11 1
Davis, Keniya and Julian Jones. 2019, Nutritional and Physical Contents of Organic Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) Treated with Organic Pesticides
Goodrich, Brittney, Joel Cuffey, and Kokoasse Kpomblekou-A. 2020. Challenges and Barriers to Certified Organic Production in Alabama. eOrganic article. Available at http://eorganic.org/node/34351
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience was organic growers and consumers in the southeast. Changes/Problems:The major challenges encountered relateto: Unpredictability in weather events. Several growers could not plant their crops on time because of hurricanes and/or long rainfall events for example in North and South Carolinas, and in Tennessee. Some growers are not following recommendations made by the project team (row lengths, weeding, irrigation, and harvest procedures). Some growers do not plant their crops although they received their contract money. Some have not fixed their irrigation systems and or have not put fence around their field even though they promise to do so. As a results, deer devastated their crops. Some farmers do not participate in the lunchbox events organized for their benefits. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A student completed a MS degree using research data obtained on field experiments and an international student worked with the project team as an intern. In addition, ten other students provided research support to the team during summer 2019. A student in agriculture economics conducted a marketing test on organic produce in Alabama and Georgia. A Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) Program was developed in May 2019. This effort is slightly a new approach to familiar work -- peer-to-peer, on-farm, and farmer-led training that includes intentional space for community-building and social support. CRAFT is a model well-established elsewhere, but relatively unestablished in the Deep South. We plan to synthesize feedback from four pre-pilot workshops in 2019, and set the topics, host farms, and dates for the 2020 workshop series. Of the four trainings slated for this fall, we have held one so far - on 8/26 at Walden Farms and Farmacy in Bessemer, focusing on Permaculture. The three remaining events will be: 9/23/19 at Hepzibah Farms in Talladega - Cut Flower Production 10/13/19 at Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham - Perennial Fruit Production 11/17/19 at BDA Farm in Uniontown - No-Till Production. Over 50 participants viewed the on-station bio pesticide field trials during for a field day on July 18, 2019. This project contributed to training of state research station staff and summer student workers from participating institutions. Opportunities for organic production and field maintenance skill building, entomological data collection, and education on the issues and needs of our regions organic producers were ongoing. North Carolinan Cooperative Extension agents also received education and opportunities for professional development from this project. At the Mountain Research Station, an event was held on July 18thcalled the Alternative Crops and Organics Field Day. Part of this event focused entirely on the variety and pesticide trials of this research project. Over 50 attendees were educated on organic production and pest control. A soil health workshop followed the field tour. A diversity of age groups were present. In addition, the research center served as a destination for Haywood County High School and Elementary Schools throughout the season. Leftover produce was received by regional gleaners with the St. Andrews society - providing organic food and education to more stakeholders in the regional organic food system. Extension Service.The project team provided extension services and site-specific recommendations to our organic grower partners in AL, GA, NC, MS, SC, and TN. Each grower partner in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Mississippi was visited during the 2019 growing season in order to confirm that planting and site-specific recommendations provided were followed. The Tuskegee team, visited farms in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. In all, 16 of the 18 farms were visited this year. Each farm was evaluated by a project Entomologist and provided site-specific recommendations as needed. Detailed logs were completed for each farm visit that included photo documentation. The farm visited were located in Tennessee: McMinnville, Nashville Memphis, College Grove, and Stanton, in Georgia: Monroe, Rincon, and Rincon, in Alabama: Roanoke, Tuskegee, Moundville, Hampton Cove, Tuscaloosa, Cuba, Fairhope, Shorter, and Ariton, in North Carolina: Calabash, Leicester, Monroe, Penrose, Snow Hill, Willard, and Wares Shoals, in South Carolina: Johns Island, in Mississippi: Tupelo, Starkville, Flora, Houston, and Philadelphia. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A comprehensive event-calendarfeaturing events from a wide variety of partner organizations and farms, including food-related social events and food festivals, to on-farm field days, workshops, and conferences is available athttp://asanonline.org/events. A running preview of upcoming events is featured in monthly e-blasts and in quarterly print newsletter, which reach roughly 3000 around the state and beyond. On July 14, we held a farm-to-fork picnic fundraiser in Birmingham and in Huntsville for the first time. We also conducted a producer survey via online platform and in-person at the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association annual conference in November 2018. Roughly 50 grower responses across all survey collection methods. Conducted preliminary analysis of grower data, and published results in Alabama Farmer's Cooperative magazine. Some major findings from the survey were: 1) Major barriers to certifying organic among the respondents involved the cost of certification, both the initial and maintenance costs and paperwork involved with the certification and record keeping process; 2) Producers indicated that insect, weed, and disease control were more challenging in organic production than in conventional; 3) Producers indicated that high costs of labor and organic inputs, and finding consistent buyers and price premiums are all challenges with organic production. In addition, we conducted two Organic Foods Forums on October 25, 2018 on the campus of Tuskegee University (well over 100 participants in attendance) and on February 22, 2018 at the Farmer's Conference in Montgomery, Alabama. As part of these consumer education events, the audience was invited to experience organic cuisine through a fully cooked, 100% organic meal as well as participate in an organic food taste experiment. Pre-test, post-tests, and surveys were administered at the events. We continue to develop resources for the eOrganic resource bank. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will conduct social events aimed at connecting producers, food service industry professionals, and consumers. We will finalize market research surveys and present findings; we will conduct organic food forums at three universities in Alabama; will produce short videos to highlight organic/transitioning growers in Alabama; local media in participating growers' communities will be informed of the project and be encouraged to cover it at the local level. Press releases will be developed and dispersed, interviews on local (Alabama) public radio and television stations will be conducted with project staff. One or two cooking events are planned andwill berecorded. During the growing season for the coming year, the project team will continue to make field visits to participating farms in order to address issues specific to the growing site. Each grower will be provided a report, a set of recommendations, and a follow up. The project team will continue to conduct on-farm research trials at the three experiment stations taking into consideration lessons learned from the previous years in order to continue the development of site-specific recommendations. The Lunchbox Meetings will continue where institutional partners will make themselves available to interact with grower partners to address critical topics. In addition, the growers will facilitate some of the meetings as a time to share knowledge, wisdom and feedback from the project. We will continue to process, organize and analyze research data. Will continue the development of eOrganic website for sharing information with growers. We will continue developing video and virtual web resources in order to make resources available for the eOrganic webpage.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Conduct consumer education and marketing research on organic produce focusing on Alabama We continued communication with industry stakeholders to determine best avenues to acquire producer and market intermediary survey participation. An electronic publication is released quarterly including 4 times during this reporting period.An overwhelming portion of the newsletter is relevant to organic growers and organic consumers. All the publications are archived and available athttp://asanonline.org/archived-newsletters. Objective 2. Provide organic growers with site specific recommendations on selected vegetable crops. Tuskegee University now has a 20-acre certified organic research plot located on the George Washington Carver Agriculture Experiment Station at Tuskegee University. At the three research stations (Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina), three bio pesticides were investigated.Azadirachtin, Pyrethrin, and Spinosad were tested on three varieties each of summer squash (Gentry, Spineless Beauty, and Zephyr) and southern pea (Pinkeye Purple Hull, Queen Anne, and Mississippi Silver). In addition to those two crops, Tuskegee University tested the bio pesticides on three varieties of tomato (Mountain Magic, Celebrity, and Rocky Top); also different rates of a certified organic fertilizer were tested on yields ofthree varieties of sweet potatoes (Garnet, Covington, Orleans). Sticky card were placed to monitor insect thresholds and when treshholder was achieved, we followed-up with application of each pesticides every week. Monitoring the fields with sticky cards and scouting every week and applying organic pesticide based on insect population thresholds. At Tuskegee University Experiment Station, this research resulted in a thesis entitled: Performance of Selected Biopesticides against Major Insect Pests in the Organic Production of Summer squash and Southern pea in Alabama. Major insect pests recorded on the tomatoes include: Tomato hornworm, tomato fruit worm, armyworm, thrips, aphids, brown marmorated stink bug, and green stink bug. Armyworms, brown marmorated bugs, hornworms, and tomato fruit worms attained economic threshold levels and were sprayed with biopesticides to reduce their populations. Data for the other major listed insects and some minor insect pests are currently being analyzed. Insect population data will be analyzed to determine possible differences in the population of major insects recorded on the three varieties of tomatoes. Major insect pests recorded on summer squash include the squash bug, cucumber beetle, leaf-footed bug, brown marmorated stink bug, and green stink bugs. All these pests attained their respective economic threshold population levels and were sprayed with the candidate biopesticides.Analysis of the 2019 data is ongoing. No cow pea pods were harvested because of insects that devasted the crop. Several pests were recorded and the bio pesticides were not not effective. Analysis of the 2019 data is ongoing and will determine next step measures to take. In Mississippi, from the weekly visual scouting, the key pests observed in southern pea included leafhoppers, stinkbugs and leaf footed bugs. Leafhoppers were observed as a major pest throughout the cropping season beginning mid-June to mid-July. Leaf footed bugs and grasshoppers were observed during the harvest season beginning early August and continued until the end of cropping season. Four harvests were conducted between August 6 and August 23. At the North Carolina State University MountainResearch Center, green peach aphids (Myzus persicae), cucumber beetles, pickle worms, powdery mildew spores,leafhoppers, and amaranth flea beetles were observed throughout the field in the beginning of August through harvest. Cucumber mosaic virus was confirmed by NCSU's Plant Disease and Insect Lab on August 19, 2019 though was not widespread and only on < 2% of plants on the field.Insect pest population in S. pea were monitored every week with yellow sticky traps;the key pests observed in southern pea include leafhoppers, flea beetles and cucumber beetles (spotted and striped). Leafhoppers and flea beetles were observed as a major pest beginning late July and continued throughout the cropping season until end of August. Cucumber beetles were observed in very low numbers all through the cropping season. Objective 3. Develop a participatory extension and evaluation program to support organic food systems. A Food & Farm Forum was attended by 168 people, including 132 adults and 23 youth. The adult attendees enjoyed a rich program of 28 concurrent sessions, with an emphasis on farmer-led and hands-on sessions. An overwhelming portion of the featured topics/sessions related to organic production and/or consumption in some way. A first Youth Food & Farm Forum planned by a Youth Forum Coordinator along with a 6-member Youth Council from across Alabama was held in Alabama. The Youth Forum comprised 13 sessions on everything from greywater to seed saving, to hog butchery and vegan cooking, to equity and adultism. The inaugural Youth Forum was attended by 23 youth ages 13-23, representing all parts of Alabama. In North Carolina, we continue to host organic research trials, train extension personnel, and serve as extension agents for new crops and organics. This project provides a test site at the Mountain Research Station to help fulfill education opportunities for regional organic growers. Researchers and extension agents field inquires and host field days with hands on learning opportunities throughout the season. In March 2019, the project team hosted lunch box series #9: 2019 New Grower Data Log Review and Planting Discussion. Recording of the discussion was uploaded to site April 2nd, 2019. Objective 4. Build a database for organic information for the benefits of organic farmers in all regions of the nation. The project shares information with growers on eOrganic website: https://eorganic.info/southeast. We also develop Video Resources for Training and Engagement, virtual web resources for the eOrganic webpage. The Lunchbox #10 - Pest Overview in Organic Systems: Spotlight on Tomato is posted on https://youtu.be/CaZsFdI0Zrw. Lunchbox #11 - Pest Issues - Spotlight on Squash is posted on https://youtu.be/-dVtAYBwbPM. Lunchbox #12 - Pest Issues - Spotlight on Southern Pea is posted on https://youtu.be/uPhcIjF3TrY. Pest Management of Tomato Hornworm is posted on: https://youtu.be/-4mbCVrktWw and Don't kill every single pest! Integrated Pest Management Tips is posted on: https://youtu.be/968lDHRfEmk.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Chitturi Anitha, Davis Jeanine, Bloomquist Margaret, Quarcoo Franklin, Kpomblekou-A Kokoasse, Mortley Desmond. 2019.Insect Population Dynamics, Varietal Preference and Performance of Organic Bio-Pesticides. Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 7: No. 1, 11. https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol7/iss1/11
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience: We reached out to organic growers and organic growers in transition in the southeast. Specifically, we have been working with 38 growers in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi. We surveyed consumers in Alabama and educated Alabama consumers on organic foods. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Four graduate students and four undergraduate students assisted in the field research. In addition, the Graduate Student Association at TU experientially learned about marketing produce grown at the TU research experiment station at local farmers' markets and restaurants and efforts were made to increase student participation in the organic project. In January 2018, project team members attended the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A poster highlighting the project was presented in addition to networking with organic growers. Project staff networked by attending and contributing to collaborative meetings on organic research in addition to state-specific meetings at the conference. Plans were made for increased involvement in this conference over the next two years. At the North Carolina State University Mountain Research Center, an event was held on July 25th called the Alternative Crops and Organics Field Day. Part of this event focused entirely on the variety and pesticide trials of this research project. Attendants were educated on organic production and pest control, taught how to scout and monitor pests. A diversity of age groups were present. In addition, the research center served as a destination for Haywood County High School and Elementary Schools. The research team represented the OREI project at the Mother Earth News Fair on April 28-29, 2018; hundreds attended and received informational materials. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?So far our dissemination efforts have been focused on oral and poster presentations at various conferences and providing individual assistance and trainings to growers participating in the project.Now that we have collected our first experimental fielddata, it is our intention to disseminate our results to all growers and consumers in the southeast. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1. Conduct consumer education and marketing research on organic produce focusing on Alabama. We will conduct social events aimed at connecting producers, food service industry professionals and consumers (i.e., GRAZE 2019); We will finalize market research surveys and present findings; We will conduct organic food forums at three Universities in Alabama; Short videos will be developed to highlight organic/transitioning growers in the southeast; Local media around participating growers will be informed of project and encouraged to cover it at the local level. Press releases will be developed and dispersed. One or two organic cooking events will be planned, developed and recorded. Objective 2. Provide organic growers with site specific recommendations on selected vegetable crops. During the growing season for the coming year, project staff will continue to make field visits to participating farms in order to address issues specific to the growing sites. The growers will be provided with a report and recommendations and follow up. During the growing season for the coming year, project staff will continue to conduct on-farm research at three experiment stations in order to continue the development of site-specific recommendations on OMRI-approved pesticides. Project staff will analyze and interpret individual recommendations over time in order to develop some general conclusions specific to the region. Objective 3. Develop a participatory extension and evaluation program to support organic food systems. Extension Plan Development will begin at the start of this project year by our Extension Specialist. Food and Farm Forum 2018: The statewide Forum in December 2018 will feature scheduled sessions. The majority of the featured topics/sessions relate to organic production and/or consumption, helping build and strengthen the infrastructure and popular support needed to sustain a thriving organic market in Alabama. Sessions will be led by farmers themselves, which helps to build a sense of confidence and expertise as farmers come to identify themselves as leaders in their work. We will continue to work with organic farms in the southeast to develop organic systems plans. The Lunchbox Meetings will continue where institutional partners will make themselves available to interact with grower partners to address critical topics. In addition, the growers will facilitate some of the meetings as a time to share knowledge, wisdom and feedback from the project. Objective 4. Build a database for organic information for the benefits of organic farmers in all regions of the nation. We will continue the development of eOrganic website for sharing information with growers: https://eorganic.info/southeast. eOrganic has been compiling materials from project members for a website that will describe the project and provide resources on organic farming in the southeast which will launch within the coming year."
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Developed surveys to obtain information on organic consumers, producers and market intermediaries. Finalized producer survey to determine where producers are marketing fruits and vegetables within Alabama and what factors inhibit their ability to become certified organic. Communicated with industry stakeholders to determine best avenues to acquire producer and market intermediary survey participation. Objective 2. Two activities were pursued during this fiscal year: On-farm field trials Thirty-eight organic growers were recruited throughout the southeast to participate in on-farm organic crop variety research trials. The growers were certified or transitioning organic farmers who agreed to participate in the trials growing two varieties of one of four crops. The organic growers were provided with seedsand a general crop layout guide. During the growing season, growers were advised to contact project contact project team members with any issues or concerns related to production of their selected crops. Once notified, an appropriate project personnel addressed the specific concerns with appropriate recommendations for improvement. As expected, those challenges were mainly related to insect and disease management. Each farm was visited at least once by one or more project team members. The farms were visited during the 2018 growing season in order to verify that growers were following organic fertilizer and planting and site specific recommendations. Pesticide trials at university experiment stations. In order to evaluate performance of organic crop (sweet potato, squash, southern pea, and tomato) varieties and effectiveness of OMRI-approved organic pesticides against major pests in the southeast, three trials were conducted at three research stations in North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. In Alabama, the on-farm organic farming research project at Tuskegee was initiated in the first week of Maywith four crops namely Squash, Southern pea, Tomato and Sweet potato with three varieties each. The research focused on two aspects, pest management and biomass studies. First, the population dynamics of the major insect pests were monitored and the performance of three major organic pesticides were evaluated to manage at least two key pests for the selected crops. Insect sampling and monitoring were done at weekly intervals up to one week before the crop harvest by sticky traps, visual sampling and sweep nets. In Mississippi, research experiments were initiated in early May with over 1400 summer squash transplants over a half-acre. The trial showcased a beautiful summer squash field that was close to ideal. Over the period of the research trails, there was adequate rainfall with periods of dry weather that made for low incidence of disease pressure. However, with the dry periods there was an increase of striped and spotted cucumber beetles. As with the research objectives, the incidence of insects was monitored and three different pesticides (pyganic, spinosad, and neem oil) were applied as indicated by the threshold of the insect population. Sticky cards were placed to monitor these thresholds, and every week targets were reached. Thus, each pesticide was applied every week. There were excellent summer squash yields, which surpassed previous seasons of organic summer squash. It was concluded that monitoring the fields with sticky cards and scouting every week and applying organic pesticide based on insect population thresholds were the differences. In early June, over 1400 southern peas were direct seeded in over a half-acre. The weather in Mississippi was ideal for southern peas with moderately high temperatures and moderate periods of dry weather. The southern pea plots were monitored for insects by sweeping the plants with insect nets, after scouting the fields. The first phase was to scout the fields for visual incidence of insects and if noticeable amounts of insects were present, then sweeping the fields with insect nets were initiated. The fields were swept twice after visual scouting and incidence of Mexican bean beetles were notice. Those two incidences were then followed with application of the respective pesticides in each plot. There were excellent yields for southern peas. In North Carolina, project staff grew summer squash and southern peas, did the sweeps, harvested, collected data, and made observations. There were excellent yields of summer squash. Those harvests were completed in mid-August. There was minimal insect pressure throughout the growing season. The spray program was initiated mid-season when bean beetle thresholds were reached. Powdery mildew was the most pressing issue. Weekly visual insect data and sticky traps collection were taken for evaluation each week. There has been low insect pressure, though the threshold for Mexican bean beetles was reached and the spray program was initiated. Weekly visual insect data were collected. Objective 3. Develop a participatory extension and evaluation program to support organic food systems. In December 2017 at statewide Forum was organized and featured 34 scheduled sessions along similar lines as the Regional Forums. The majority of the featured topics/sessions relate to organic production and/or consumption, helping build and strengthen the infrastructure and popular support needed to sustain a thriving organic market in Alabama. Sessions were led by farmers themselves, which helps to build a sense of confidence and expertise as farmers come to identify themselves as leaders in their work. Full Agenda is provided at: https://asanonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/agenda-web.pdf. In addition, the project helped organic growers to develop organic systems plans. Eight virtual meetings (called "The Lunchbox" Meetings) were offered to cover topics dealing with weather, cover cropping, pests, disease, and harvesting specific to the four main research crops. The meetings were included in a series called The Lunchbox where institutional partners made themselves available to interact with grower partners to address critical topics. Organic System Plan development assistance in Alabama provided for the following farms in Alabama: Tyler McLaney, Geneva County Fredrick Foster, Dale County Oakwood Farms, Madison County Gardens on Air, Talladega County Green Hill Farms, Lee County (renewal) Jim Walker, Marshall County Southern Fresh Produce, Barbour County Objective 4. Build a database for organic information for the benefits of organic farmers in all regions of the nation. The project has developed a page on the eOrganic website for sharing information with growers: https://eorganic.info/southeast eOrganic has facilitated monthly project meetings between geographically dispersed project leaders via an online meeting room. We have also provided an online platform for "lunchbox" meetings between project researchers and extension educators and participating growers on the topics of pest management in the crops in the on-farm trials, and harvest practices.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
eOrganic.info ARCHIVES: https://eorganic.info/node/26687
The Lunchbox #1: Grower Data Logs (73 views); May 25, 2018
The Lunchbox #2: Weather Blunders and Recovery Strategies (36 views); Jun 11, 2018
The Lunchbox #3: Spotlight on Squash (17 views; Jul 27, 2018
The Lunchbox #4: Spotlight on Tomato (17 views); Jul 27, 2018
The Lunchbox #5: Spotlight on Sweet Potato (22 views);Jul 27, 2018
The Lunchbox #6: Spotlight on Southern Pea (39 views);Jul 27, 2018
The Lunchbox 7: Harvesting Considerations (7 views);Aug 21, 2018
The Lunchbox #8: Cover Cropping (38 views);Sept. 1, 2018
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