Very little sweet corn grown commercially today is open pollinated. Farmers who wish to save their own seed have few if any good choices of varieties to grow. And the hybrids of today have been developed for conditions that are different from those found on most organic farms, as they were selected to rely on fungicides and pesticides, and to effectively utilize soluble synthetic fertilizers in large quantities.The snap bean is a vegetable in the Fabaceae family and does have the capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium spp. Historically, easy access to nitrate-based soil amendments at a relatively low cost has precluded the need to develop cultivars with improved nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE). Excessive fertilizer applications containing 40 to over 100 lbs. of N / acre have resulted in leaching and the contamination of ground and surface water.
The purpose of this five-year breeding project is to reduce transgenic contamination of organic maize grown in the USA by maintaining the integrity of organic maize seed. Organic farmers are not required to produce transgene-free crops, but they must plant seed that is free of transgene. An important objective of this project is the education of seed producers and organic farmers on how to use these “Organic-Ready” varieties for reducing the incidence of transgenic contamination.
Project title: Organic Farm Performance in Minnesota Report
Coordinator: Meg Moynihan, Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stakeholder location: Minnesota and greater U.S.
Coordinator: Lisa DiPietro, The Wisconsin Eco Apple Project, University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
Stakeholders: Eastern U.S. and in particular Upper Midwest organic apple producers
Investigator: Amy Charkowski, Dept. of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Project location: Wisconsin
Project stakeholders: Midwest organic potato producers
Investigator: Kimberly Williams, Dept. of Horticulture, Forestry and Rec. Res., Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Project location: Kansas
Organic producers are relying increasingly on high tunnels (unheated poly-covered greenhouse structures) for season extension and crop protection. Organic production in high tunnels is significantly different compared to organic field production in several ways, including soil and pest management. We propose to develop web-based
Investigator: Linda Barnes, Marshalltown Community College, Marshalltown, IA
Project location: Iowa
The objectives of the proposed project are to plan and implement a bilingual organic farmer training and mentorship program as part of the Midwest Center for
Investigator: William F. Tracy, Dept. of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, WI
Project locations: Wisconsin, Minnesota
Participatory plant breeding to improve sweet corn for organic farmers
In the upper Midwest, fresh market sweet corn is an important part of many diversified organic vegetable operations. Many organic farmers consider sweet corn crucial for attracting customers to their market stands or to their CSAs.
