September 1,
2005: In another small but significant milestone
for organic agriculture, the recent annual meeting of
the American Society for Horticultural Science included
50 individual presentations on organic horticulture,
with six multi-part sessions devoted entirely to organic
topics and a further six organic presentations offered
within other topical sessions. The increase reflects
a developing recognition among horticultural researchers
of the organic sector's commercial importance and of
the wide array of potential research questions organic
systems present.
One poster session was dedicated entirely to organic
production issues. Posters were presented on weed management
in organic bell peppers and sweet corn in Kentucky,
potato leaf hopper damage in organic potatoes in New
Jersey and organic high-tunnel tomato production in
Pennsylvania and Maryland, among other topics. Researchers
from Ohio State University reported that organic strawberries
contained higher levels of antioxidants than conventional
strawberries, although antioxidant levels varied more
widely by variety than by management system.
Extension researchers in California measured residual
soil nitrate in fall cabbage fields receiving supplemental
N from seven different organic fertilizers, including
feather and blood meals, and found that liquid fish
waste resulted in the highest residual soil nitrate
levels and the highest marketable yields. Jorge O'Ryan
of the Universidad de las Americas in Santiago shared
the results of a 2004 survey of Chilean organic vineyards,
which currently make up two percent (approaching 2,000
ha, or 5,930 ac) of Chile's total vineyard area and
enjoy ideal growing conditions.
A second poster session addressed the relationship
between sustainable and organic agriculture and water
utilization. Among other presentations, Hector Valenzuela
of the University of Hawaii reported that rape cover
crops and EM biostimulants increased yields and helped
minimize pink root in sweet onions, while Olivia Riffo
and Monica Ozores-Hampton showed that food waste compost
could be substituted for peat as a potting mix ingredient
for some annual ornamental crops in Florida.
From bananas to walnuts
In a session on tropical agriculture, J. Pablo Morales-Payan
of the University of Florida outlined the key factors
in the success of the organic banana sector in the Dominican
Republic, which in 2004 reached 3,200 ha (7,907 ac)
and 65 percent of total banana production in that country.
In an oral session on pest management, William Coates
of the University of California Cooperative Extension
reported on an assessment of susceptibility to walnut
husk fly among English walnut cultivars, noting that
although kaolin and a combination of spinosad plus bait
are effective against the pest, cultivars vary in the
timing and degree of susceptibility. Kathleen Delate
and colleagues at Iowa State University reported on
a study of weed management in organic grapes in a poster
session on viticulture.
An oral session devoted to organic horticulture featured
reports on organic transition strategies for farms on
the urban fringe, consumer responses to organic vs.
conventional spinach, and the use of surface-banded
poultry manure followed by wood chips to fertilize tangelo
trees. Using a colorimetric assay for a marker transgene,
researchers in Hawaii found that the primary source
of GE contamination in organic papaya fields is unwitting
use of contaminated seed rather than pollen drift. Other
Hawaiian researchers reported that larger, better-quality
ginger roots were obtained with organic soil amendments
than with synthetic fertilizers. A group in Minnesota
determined that transplanting was a viable production
strategy for small acreage organic sweet corn, but that
vinegar and acetic acid were not workable as organic
herbicides for carrots and onions.
Another workshop focused on post-harvest challenges
and opportunities for organic agriculture. Researchers
from the USDA-ARS station in Fort Pierce, Florida, reported
that consumers could readily differentiate between organic
and conventional tomatoes by smell or taste. Robert
Prange of Agriculture and Agri Food Canada surveyed
organic alternatives to control post-harvest decay,
noting that controlled atmosphere technologies are the
most promising and that continuous ethylene exposure,
for instance, has been registered in Canada and the
UK as an alternative to the chemical chlorpropham to
control potato sprouting.
And from propagation to education
The Plant Propagation Working Group sponsored a workshop
on organic vegetative propagation, inviting an open
discussion of techniques and research related to the
production of organically produced clonal propagules.
Finally, a three-hour session was devoted to the topic
of curriculum development for organic horticulture.
Researchers and educators from the University of California
at Santa Cruz, North Carolina State University, the
University of California at Davis, Michigan State University,
the University of Florida, Kansas State University,
the University of Minnesota, the University of Idaho,
Oregon State University and Iowa State University outlined
the challenges and successes of a variety of approaches
to training and education in organic horticulture, from
student organic farms to training sessions for farm
apprentices to new undergraduate and graduate courses
and programs. Participants described strong student
demand for organic training and considerable success
is establishing new programs despite downward budgetary
pressures on horticulture programs in general.
For more on the 2005 ASHS conference program, visit
http://www.ashs.org/annualmeeting/conference/index.lasso.
Laura Sayre is senior writer for NewFarm.org.
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