Plant diseases, especially those caused by soil-borne seed infecting pathogens, pose a serious threat to the production of both greenhouse and field crops. Conventional farming operations often use fumigants and chemical seed treatments, which can be harmful to human health and the environment, for controlling seed and seedling pathogens.
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.
Identifying appropriate varieties for organic production in the mountains of Western North Carolina is considered a research priority by local growers.
There are two obvious barriers organic producers face when they consider on-farm processing. The first is psychological. On-farm processing can appear intimidating and beyond reach, on one hand; on the other, it may seem unnecessary to someone who is already “adding value” by raising crops or livestock organically. The second barrier—a more pragmatic one—is the lack of good, producer-friendly information on small-scale organic processing and handling.
Growing blackberries and raspberries in high tunnels increases yields.
Investigator: Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Project location: Florida
Investigator: Harald Scherm, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Project location: South Central Georgia
Investigator: Norma Wilson, Butterfuly Hill Plants, Lovettsville, VA
Project location: Lovettsville, VA
Coordinator: Karen Wynne, Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN), Huntsville, Alabama
Stakeholders: Alabama farmers, ranchers and educators
Alabama’s organic and sustainable farming community is growing. While only four farms in the state are certified organic, the number claiming to use organic methods or transitioning to organic is much higher.