EVALUATION OF CULTURAL PRACTICES FOR TWO NEW ETHNIC CROPS: LAMB'S-QUARTERS AND MALABAR SPINACH

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018518
• Project Start Date: Feb 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2022
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
4200 CONNECTICUT AVENUE N.W
WASHINGTON,DC 20008

Performing Department
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE

Non Technical Summary
Ethnic crop cultivation not only caters to the culinary desires of our demographically diverse population but also has great potential to enhance farmers' incomes. Some ethnic crops are highly valued for their medicinal and aromatic properties. However, for farmers to adopt such crops, they should be easy to grow and must yield well in local conditions, in addition to being marketable. Keeping this in view, a research project is proposed below to advance the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) programs and the Sustainable DC goals. This project will investigate the cultural techniques that are best suited for the production of two nutrient packed ethnic crops, Lambs'-quarters (Chenopodium album L.) and Malabar spinach (Basella alba L.). It will also assess the cost of production. As a start, cultural techniques recommended for amaranth greens (Amaranthus spp.), a closely related species, will be used. In addition, any weeds, disease and insect pests will be monitored and controlled. Growth evaluation of the crops will be conducted in open plots with and without mulch at the University of the District of Columbia's (UDC) Firebird Farm. Further evaluation will be done at UDC's roof top garden to identify the suitability of roof top gardens to grow these two ethnic crops. Hence, the proposed research adheres to UDC's focus on Urban Agriculture and Urban Sustainability, while simultaneously addressing the NIFA programs and the Sustainable DC goals. The crops will be introduced to farmers and general public within the community through outreach events such as standing crop demonstration as part of certification course in agroecology, during field days and other farm/UDC events; through recipe tasting, and by publishing and distributing fact sheets containing recipes and growth and nutritional information during such events.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

50%

Applied

50%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
205	2299	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
2299 - Miscellaneous and new crops, general/other;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

ethnic crops

urban farmers

growing methods

weed infestation

Goals / Objectives
This project will investigate the cultural techniques that are best suited for the production of two nutrient packed ethnic crops, Lambs'-quarters (Chenopodium album L.) and Malabar spinach (Basella alba L.). It will also assess the cost of production. As a start, cultural techniques recommended for amaranth greens (Amaranthus spp.), a closely related species, will be used. In addition, any weeds, disease and insect pests will be monitored and controlled. Growth evaluation of the crops will be conducted in open plots with and without mulch at the University of the District of Columbia's (UDC) Firebird Farm. Further evaluation will be done at UDC's roof top garden to identify the suitability of roof top gardens to grow these two ethnic crops. Hence, the proposed research adheres to UDC's focus on Urban Agriculture and Urban Sustainability, while simultaneously addressing the NIFA programs and the Sustainable DC goals. The crops will be introduced to farmers and general public within the community through outreach events such as standing crop demonstration as part of certification course in agroecology, during field days and other farm/UDC events; through recipe tasting, and by publishing and distributing fact sheets containing recipes and growth and nutritional information during such events.

Project Methods
Both lamb's-quarters and Malabar spinach are known to be hardy plants, suitable for cultivation in hot summer months (Table 2). They are very tolerant to high temperatures and dry conditions, do well in poor soils, and seem to require very little maintenance, with no known insect and disease pest. In addition, they are loaded with nutrients. Therefore, they are highly desirable candidates for farming in urban areas where the climate - temperature, water availability and wind velocity - is heavily influenced by surrounding buildings and traffic.Urban farmers who grow two crops of cool season species such as kale and spinach would be highly benefited by growing lamb's-quarters and/or Malabar spinach in the intervening months as they are very fast growing. The current project will also study the utility of using roof tops to grow the two crops.Even though the nutrient richness of the two crops is well established, and they are consumed in many parts of the world, there are very few published reports on best cultural practices. There is copious information on the internet, including extension material from well-known universities, on growing the two species in the U.S., but most are esoteric or focused on home gardens. This project aims to fill this gap by growing the two species in adequately large field plots with and without mulch, and collecting data on growth and yield. Growing without mulch will enable the investigator to monitor irrigation requirement and record weed, pest and disease infestation in bare ground plots, and to calculate final cost of production. In a separate experiment, the project will explore the utility of growing the two species on roof top. Containers will be placed on different sides of the roof to compare the effect of light intensity, heat and wind velocity on growth and yield in roof top gardens. In addition, because lamb 's quarters is known to accumulate nitrates in leaves, gas chromatographic (GC) analysis will be conducted on leaf samples. This will enable investigator to identify other compounds in the leaves of the two species. Healthy leaf samples will be collected at one time during growth and analyzed in the water resources research laboratory on campus.Within species comparison of growth and yield, and weed and pest infestation in plants grown with and without mulch will be done in field plots. Separately, comparison will be made between plants grown on different sides of the roof. The data will be recorded at appropriate stages and at different intervals as necessary.The data generated by this project will provide good information to urban growers interested in carving out a new niche in the ethnic crop market and in planning their summer season. In addition, the study will help identify good candidates suitable for climate smart agriculture in urban areas. The crops will be introduced to local farmers and the community in general through certification courses in agroecology to be offered as part of investigator's community outreach and extension activities. This outreach is not part of the research proposal and is intended as an add-on activity.Firebird Farm: Each species will be grown in 2 plots - one bare ground and the second plastic mulched (treatments). The bare ground will act as control and allow collection of data on weed infestation. There will be 3 replicates for each treatment with 15 plants in each replicate, a total of 6 plots for each species. Stakes or trellis will be erected for Malabar spinach once the plants are of a certain height. A standard t-test will be used to compare yield (grams of greens per square meter or in 10 plants per replication), and yield parameters such as plant height, leaf size, etc. The investigator will monitor weed and pest infestation on a weekly basis in 10 plants per plot, and collect information on broadleaf and grass weed biomass (grams per plot), time spent weeding (minutes per plot), type of pest and severity (e.g. #aphids per 10 plants), disease severity (e.g. occurrence of symptoms per plot), and occurrence of biocontrol agents. Weather data will be collected through county/USDA meteorological sources. Green leaves and tender stems will be harvested when they reach marketable size, in approximately 60 days after germination (2, 4). This work will be conducted in Spring-Summer 2019 and 2020.Roof top: To study the feasibility of growing lamb's-quarters and Malabar spinach in urban roof top gardens, five containers of each crop will be established on the roof top of building 44, CAUSES, UDC. Five containers, each with 6 plants, will be placed on different sides of the roof for each species. This will enable investigator to collect and compare information on the influence of light intensity, heat and wind velocity on growth and yield parameters. Containers will be monitored for weed, insect and disease on a weekly basis. Investigator will monitor weed and pest infestation, and collect information on broadleaf and grass weed biomass (grams per container), time spent weeding (minutes per container), type of pest and severity (e.g. #aphids per 4 plants), disease severity (e.g. occurrence of symptoms per container), and occurrence of biocontrol agents. Weather data will also be collected, specifically temperature, wind velocity and light intensity in the five spots where containers are placed. Green leaves and tender stems will be harvested when they reach marketable size, in about 60 days after germination (2, 4). A standard t-test will be used to compare yield (grams of greens per square meter or per container), and yield parameters such as plant height, leaf size, etc. This work will be conducted in Spring-Summer 2019 and 2020.The two growing methods (field and roof top) will be compared to assess suitability of roof top gardens using the data collected on different growth parameters, and further evaluated within the growing methods for occurrence of biotic factors (field and roof top) and the effect of abiotic factors (roof top).

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience: Students, researchers, volunteers, urban farmers and general public Changes/Problems: No changes to the project have been made except to postpone the second year cultivation by one year due to COVID-19. The project will now end in September 2021, per the extension granted by NIFA. For the same reason, PI was unable to continue to offer experiential learning opportunity to students in 2020, but a new graduate research assistant has been hired in January 2021. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student and an undergraduate student recruited to work on the project in 2019 have since completed their studies. A fresh graduate student was recruited in January 2021 to complete the remaining work. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The 2 crops were introduced to 43 participants in the "Home and Community Sustainable Food Production" online certificate course conducted by the PI between July-September 2020. Several participants showed interest and enthusiasm in growing/foraging and consuming the ethnic crops. 2 fact sheets on easy and healthy recipes using the 2 ethnic crops to showcase the nutrition benefits were published in July 2020. Links to the online articles were provided in the monthly newsletter which goes out through a mailing list. The growth habits and benefits of the 2 crops were discussed during the "Agroecology/Food Production- ENSC512" graduate course taught by the PI in Fall semester of 2020. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? By October 2021, we will have data from the second growing season. Data will include several growth and yield parameters, and cost of production. Minor revisions to experimental set up and methods will be applied based on our year 1 experience and observations. Depending on the pandemic situation, we plan to continue distributing fresh produce in farmer's market and introduce the two nutritious crops to the community. Depending on the pandemic situation, we will continue to disseminate information (growing and cooking tips, and nutrition and health benefits) and seedlings to participants in certificate courses and rooftop garden tours if conducted by PI. Fact sheets published in 2020 on recipes for easy and healthy cooking with the two ethnic crops will be distributed during above activities to enhance consumption.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project began in the 4th week of April 2019 and significant progress was made in this one whole growing season. We obtained good growth and yields, indicating that the two crops are quite adaptable to local conditions. The second growing season was to begin in April 2020 but the project was not implemented due to COVID-19 related restrictions. PI's request to extend the project for another year was granted, and the work will begin in April 2021.

Publications

Progress 02/01/19 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Students, researchers, volunteers, urban farmers and general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student in UDC's PSM Program in Urban Sustainability was recruited in May 2019 to lead this project. One undergraduate student in Urban Sustainability was recruited as an intern from April to August, 2019. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Outreach activities such as distributing fresh produce at Farmer's Market (mainly Van Ness but also at Bertie Backus), introducing the crops and educating people on their nutritious value were conducted over a period of 8 weeks in July to October, 2019. We also did follow-up oral surveys and discussions on how people consumed the produce and to receive their feedback on taste, preference and interest in buying if available at stores. 55 participants in a related Agroecology certificate course conducted by PI were shown standing ethnic crops at Van Ness roof garden and at Firebird Farm. They were also gifted one Malabar spinach plant each to grow in their home/community gardens. We have received positive feedback from the above participants including photos and recipes of how they used the produce. Some have re-grown the plants to distribute to friends and family. Fourteen (14)DMV (DC, MD, VA) residents who were given a tour of Van Ness roof garden by PI andwere gifted Malabar spinach and Lambsquarters seedlings. Standing crops with proper labels and plant information were on display at partner community sites in Columbia Heights and Capitol Heights and to visitors to Van Ness rooftop garden and Firebird Farm at Beltsville. Fact sheets on growth, cultivation and health benefits of the two ethnic crops were published. Excess produce was distributed to staff and volunteers at CAUSES and Firebird Farm. Excess Malabar spinach seedlings (about 10) were donated to an interested lease holder in Firebird farm to encourage commercial cultivation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? By October 2020, we will have data from the second growing season. Data will include several growth and yield parameters. Minor revisions to experimental set up and methods will be applied based on our year one experience and observations, and analysis of data collected in the current reporting period. We plan to continue distributing fresh produce in farmer's market and introduce the two nutritious crops to the community. We also plan to have recipe tasting events if not actual cooking events. We will continue to disseminate information (growing and cooking tips;nutrition and health benefits) and seedlings to participants in certificate courses and rooftop garden tours conducted by PI. Fact sheets on recipes for easy cooking with the two ethnic crops will be published and distributed to enhance consumption.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project began in the 4th week of April, 2019 and significant progress was made in this one whole growing season. The experimental design was finalized, supplies and seed were ordered, and plants were grown in UDC's Van Ness rooftop garden and Firebird Farm (Beltsville, MD). Additionally, three community locations in Washington, DC were identified, even though this was not originally proposed. We tested effects of both direct sowing and transplanting (seeds were sown in trays in greenhouses at Van Ness and Firebird Farm), and two (2)different planting densities (1 foot and 0.5 foot spacing), and the benefits of mulching (plastic mulch at Firebird Farm and straw mulch at other sites). We obtained good growth and yields, indicating that the two crops are quite adaptable to local conditions. This first attempt at cultivating the two ethnic crops also enabled us to understand what changes need to be made to experimental set up and methods in the next growing season.

Publications