Organic tomato, eggplant and watermelon production in Washington is limited by soilborne diseases such as Verticillium wilt. This project explores the efficacy and costs of grafting tomato, eggplant and watermelon in Washington and explores inexpensive and small-scale appropriate greenhouse grafting techniques.
This award will help organic seed producers increase their yields, reduce the risk of having their crops contaminated with pollen from non-organic and GMO varieties, and improve biodiversity on their farms. Growers who raise organic seed crops that are pollinated by bees, such as alfalfa, canola, cotton and beets, have increasingly had their plants contaminated with pollen from non-organic and GMO varieties.
Coordinator: Bridget Cooke, Adelante Mujeres, Forest Grove, Oregon
Stakeholder location: Washington County, Oregon