Alternative Specialty Crops in Florida: Opportunities and Challenges

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1 IST (31438) New Technology for Commercial Crop Production (Gainesville, FL Feb 28, 2018) Alternative Specialty Crops in Florida: Opportunities and Challenges Shinsuke Agehara Assistant Professor, Plant Physiology Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

2 Pomegranate Artichoke Alternative crop research at GCREC Blackberries Hops

3 Artichoke

4 Artichoke vs. Florida s major crops Grower price Production value Crop ($/lb) ($/acre) Strawberry ,025 Pepper, Bell ,255 Bueberry ,109 Tomato ,650 Artichoke ,853 Cabbage ,256 Watermelon ,555 Cucumber ,393 Squash ,187 Cantaloupe ,157 Sweet Corn ,640 Snap Beans ,960 Potato ,784

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7 Challenges Chilling requirement to 500 hours < hours in the season hours in the season Lack of information - Cultivars - Pests and diseases - Cultural practices Market? - Italian restaurants in Tampa - Farmers market

8 Little bud formation in Florida Imperial Star Opal Green Globe Imp. Madrigal Green buds Red buds Green buds Green buds Low chill Moderate chill High chill Extremely high chill Budding 0-38% Budding 0-10% Budding 0% Budding 0%

9 Artificial induction of bud formation by GA Cold weather Gibberellic acid (plant hormone) Bud formation

10 Nov 24, 2015 (14 DAP) Dec 10, 2015 (30 DAP) Dec 21, 2015 (41 DAP) Jan 5, 2016 (56 DAP) Mar 2, 2016 (113 DAP) Mar 28, 2016 (139 DAP)

11 Induction of bud formation by GA season data GA 3 Bud formation Cultivar (mg/l) (% of plants) GGI c b IS b a Tukey-Kramer test at P < 0.05.

12 Marketable yield season data GA 3 Bud number Marketable yield Cultivar (mg/l) (no./plant) (t/ha) GGI c 0.00 c bc 0.48 bc IS b 0.71 b a 2.91 a Tukey-Kramer test at P < 0.05.

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18 Cultivar evaluation with GA Imperial Star Opal Green Globe Imp. Madrigal Green buds Red buds Green buds Green buds Low chill Moderate chill High chill Extremely high chill Budding 100% with GA Budding 100% with GA Budding 60-90% with GA Budding 0% with GA This season s yield will be > 6,000 lb/a (California = 13,000 lb/a)

19 42 Plant spacing Nitrogen application rate (lb/acre/d)

20 Artichoke production guidelines Planting Vegetative growth Bud formation Harvest Month Plant as early as mid-sep to maximize yield in Jan-Feb (highest market prices). GA spray is necessary 10 fl oz of ProGibb at Wk 6, 8, and 10. Standard tomato beds can be used 5-6 ft row spacing. Optimal plant spacing is 3 ft. 300 lbs of N/acre is recommended.

21 Blackberry

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23 Opportunities High nutritional values and antioxidants Increasing consumption High grower prices - $0.56/lb in 2009 $1.11/lb in 2014 (US) - Up to $4/lb (Florida) Keep labor force - A lot of interests by strawberry and blueberry growers

24 Blackberry vs. Florida s major crops Grower price Production value Crop ($/lb) ($/acre) Strawberry ,025 Pepper, Bell ,255 Bueberry ,109 Tomato ,650 Blackberry (US) ,203 Cabbage ,256 Watermelon ,555 Cucumber ,393 Squash ,187 Cantaloupe ,157 Sweet Corn ,640 Snap Beans ,960 Potato ,784

25 Challenges Chilling requirement to 900 hours < hours in the season hours in the season Lack of information - Cultivars - Pests and diseases - Cultural practices - Pruning

26 8/13/15 9/13/15 11/15/15 12/21/15 1/31/16 3/28/16 4/22/16 6/2/16

27 Marketable yield (lb/acre) Limited yield by insufficient chill hours Natchez Ouachita High chilling requirement 0 5/1 5/11 5/21 5/31 6/10 6/20 6/30 7/10 Date

28 Artificial bud break induction by GA Cold weather Gibberellic acid (plant hormone) Bud formation

29 Marketable yield (lb/acre) % yield increases by GA 'Natchez' 0 g GA/A 'Natchez' 20 g GA/A 'Ouachita' 0 g GA/A 'Ouachita' 20 g GA/A 35% % 0 5/1 5/11 5/21 5/31 6/10 6/20 6/30 7/10 Date

30 Blackberry production guidelines Primocane growth Dormancy Flowering/floricane growth Harvest Month Highest yielding floricane-fruiting cultivar is Natchez. High fruit quality floricane-fruiting cultivars are Ouachita and Osage. GA spray can improve bud break but no commercial product is currently available. Cane management is important: more canes fruit set berry size. Artificial defoliation in late Dec may be beneficial. Primocane-fruiting cultivars need to be evaluated.

31 Pomegranate

32 Opportunities Increasing popularity among consumers farms and 24,517 acres in ,056 farms and 32,887 acres in 2012 High health benefits - High antioxidant contents - Fiber, potassium, vitamin C & K, folate, etc. Multiple uses - Fresh fruit, juice, extracts, etc. Alternative crop for Florida citrus growers? - Similar production practices for citrus and pomegranate

33 Challenges Disease management - Leaf spot, fruit rot, and more - Fruit development during hot and humid summer - Limited fungicide options Poor fruit quality - Sunburn, fruit cracking, etc. Lack of information - Cultivars - Fertilization and irrigation - Pruning

34 Ongoing pomegranate research Breeding program (Dr. Deng) - 16 crosses in 2014 and more in 2017, selection, etc. Disease management (Dr. Vallad) - Pathogen identification, registration of new fungicides, etc. Nutrient management - Soil/tissue analysis, fertilization recommendations, etc.

35 NPK recommendations for pomegranate Recommendation rate (lb/tree) Age (year) N P 2 O 5 K 2 O

36 Leaf sampling for tissue analysis

37 Interpreting leaf tissue analysis Sufficient Farm 1 level Normal Tip-burn Farm 2 Farm 3 N (%) P (%) K (%) Ca (%) Mg (%) Mn (ppm) Zn (ppm) Fe (ppm) B (ppm) Cu (ppm)

38 Iron deficiency

39 Pruning to manipulate tree architecture Multiple trunks (US) Single trunk (Spain)

40 Single-trunk system in Spain

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42 Hops

43 Opportunities Rapidly growing craft beer industry - 12% market share of the overall beer industry - Breweries in Florida: 45 (2011) 182 (2016) - Craft beer production: 5.4 MG (2013) 37 MG (2015) - Economic impact: $876 million (2013) $2 billion (2015) Increasing grower price - $1.94/lb (2005) $5.72/lb (2016) High demands for locally produced hops

44 Hops vs. Florida s major crops Grower price Production value Crop ($/lb) ($/acre) Strawberry ,025 Pepper, Bell ,255 Bueberry ,109 Tomato ,650 Hop (US) ,801 Cabbage ,256 Watermelon ,555 Cucumber ,393 Squash ,187 Cantaloupe ,157 Sweet Corn ,640 Snap Beans ,960 Potato ,784

45 Insufficient photoperiod in Florida Optimum environment Latitude : >15 hr daytime until early summer, <15 hr thereafter Yakima Valley, WA: 46, max daytime 15 hr 51 min Vegetative growth (>15 hr) flowering (<15 hr) high yield in a single harvest Florida Tampa: 28, max daytime 13 hr 46 min Immature flowering limited vegetative growth low yield and multiple harvests

46 Other challenges Diseases and pests - Viruses (Apple Mosaic Virus and more) - Downey mildew? - Aphids, mites, armyworms, root knot nematodes, and more? Lack of information - Cultivars - Cultural practices (planting density, fertilization, etc.)

47 Hop yard at GCREC 20 ft (19 ft from ground to wire) 15 ft between rows

48 Apr 8, 2016 Apr 22, 2016

49 July 11, 2016

50 Cascade Nugget Centennial CTZ Chinook Fuggle Perle Willamette

51 Cone yield (g/plant) Cascade Cascade Chinook Plant height Cascade Chinook Bine #/plant Bine length (ft) Bine #/plant /8 4/22 5/6 5/20 6/3 6/17 7/1 7/15 0 4/8 4/22 5/6 5/20 6/3 6/17 7/1 7/15 Days after planting Days after planting Chinook Yield 400 Cascade 300 Chinook /1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 Days after planting

52 Cone yield (g/plant) Yield response to N fertilization 31% N fertilization rate 'Cascade' 0.75 lb N/acre/d 1 lb N/acre/d 'Chinook' /1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 6/1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 8/24 Days after planting

53 Cone yield (g/plant) Yield response to plant spacing 39% 'Cascade' Plant spacing 30" 36" 42" 'Chinook' /1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 6/1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 8/24 Days after planting

54 10/31/16

55 Rhizomes vs. Tissue culture seedlings

56 LEDs for day length extension

57 Our strategies Select cultivars yield, quality, disease resistance, etc. Develop disease management options Optimize management practices Develop optimal pruning practices (pomegranate and blackberry) Hormone application to overcome chilling requirements (artichoke and blackberry) Photoperiod manipulation by artificial lighting (hops)

58 Acknowledgements Collaborators Drs. Zhanao Deng, Gary Vallad, Hugh Smith, Johan Desaeger, and Brian Pearson Mr. Simon Bollin and Ms. Sonia Tighe Florida growers Florida Specialty Crop Foundation Florida Pomegranate Association Quick Starts Funding FDACS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Donation from Redner Foundation, Bailey Family Foundation, 3 Daughters Brewing, Chemical Dynamics, Cigar City Brewing, Coppertail Brewing, Crooked Can Brewing Company, and Hopsteiner Plant Physiology Lab Tia Silvasy (Biological Scientist II) Bill Wang (Lab/field technician) Evan McClenthan (Lab technician) Chris DelCastillo (Field technician) Anthony Ellis (Field technician) Evangelon James (Field technician) Lukas Vallad (Field technician) Syuan-You Lin (PhD) Stephen Deschamps (MS) Sana Shahzad (PhD visiting scholar)