Cucumber | Organic Farming Research Foundation

Seeding a Culture of Innovation in Organics: Farmer-led breeding of peppers, broccoli and cucumber

This project supports three breeding projects in cooperation with the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario’s Farmer-Led Research Program. All three projects focus on providing best practices to adapt to climate change by breeding varieties that are locally adapted to low-input organic systems for southern Ontario and the US northeast and meet identified needs of organic growers in the region. By supporting farmer-led breeding efforts for organic production, this project also contributes to an emerging but critically under-researched area of vegetable farming.

Development and Assessment of Bacterial Wilt and Downy Mildew Resistant Cucumber Seedstocks - Year Two

In this project I will continue to assess downy dildew (DM) resistant cucumber seedstocks, with intensified focus on evaluating and advancing the lines I selected in 2018 from Common Wealth Seed Growers’ DMR breeding population. This population performed very well in our 2018 trials, having the highest yield and best foliage ratings in the DM trial, and above average performance in the bacterial wilt (BW) trial. Because I am increasing focus on cucumbers, I am not including melon research in this year’s proposal.

On-Farm Assessment of Melon and Cucumber Feedstocks for Downy Mildew and Bacterial Wilt

In this project I will assess resistance to both Bacterial Wilt and Cucurbit Downy Mildew among selected cucumber and muskmelon seedstocks, and move forward with an ongoing project to develop a pickling cucumber that is resistant to both diseases.

Weed control with green manure and cover crops

Weeds pose one of the most important threats to crop production. Losses in both yield and quality of crops due to weeds, as well as costs of weed control, constitute an enormous economic problem in crop production. Weeds have a major influence on the production decisions made by producers. Additional land, labor, equipment, fuel, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizer, and irrigation water may be required to maintain economical production when weeds are present.

OBJECTIVES

Seed Increase Trials Lead to Release of Promising New Disease- Resistant Varieties

Summary

Investigator: Michael Mazourek, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Project location: Cornell University’s 30 acre certified organic Freeville Organic Research Farm, located 10 miles north of Cornell’s Ithaca, New York main campus.