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Differentiating Small Farm Produce Offerings through Nutritionally Superior Cultivars, Marketing, and Extension Programs - Materials and Methods
Years One and Two (vegetable production/analyses)
- Grow ten cultivars (Table 1) over two growing seasons in three replicates using a RCBD of six vegetables: broccoli, garlic, lettuce, melons, spinach, and tomatoes.
- Adhere to National Organic Program Requirements and conventional production methods. Plots are within 50 meters of each other on identical soil types, maintained at non-stress moisture levels with drip irrigation monitored and regulated with Watermark soil moisture probes.
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- Adjust fertility levels of organic and conventional plots as near as possible to equal content of N, P, and K using organic and conventional sources. Initial organic matter was 2.8% in the organic plot and 1.8% in the conventional plot.
- Employ organic pest controls on organic plots and conventional controls on conventional plots.
- Harvest at commercial maturity and lyophilize samples for antioxidant analyses.
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We will be using the following cultivars for the 2005 and 2006 field seasons:
Table 1. List of cultivars |
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| Lettuce |
Spinach |
Broccoli |
Melon |
Garlic |
Tomato |
| Capistrano |
Cherokee |
Arcadia |
Arava |
Ajo Rojo |
Big Beef |
| Crisp and Green |
Correnta |
Di Cicco |
Burpee Hybrid |
Chesnok Red |
Celebrity |
| Envy |
Lazio |
Emerald Pride |
Earliqueen |
Chinese Purple |
Early Girl |
| Green Forest |
Mig |
Gypsy |
Edonis |
German White |
Fantastic |
| Nevada |
Regiment |
Legend |
Haogen |
Inchilium |
First Lady |
| New Red Fire |
Spinner |
Marathon |
Honey Orange |
Purple Glazer |
Husky Red |
| PIC 714 |
Springer |
Nutri-bud |
Rayan |
Sakura |
Jet Star |
| Red Sails |
Tarpy |
Packman |
Savor |
Siberian |
New Girl |
| Vulcan |
Umbria |
Premium Crop |
Swan Lake |
Silverwhite |
Red Sun |
| Waldmann's Dark Green |
Whale |
SBC8410 |
Sweetie #6 |
Spanish Roja |
Roma VF |
Antioxidant/Phytochemical Attributes
- Analyze each cultivar/treatment combination for antioxidant properties, using a microplate based Folin-Ciocalteu assay for total phenolics, an ABTS assay to estimate radical scavenging capacity, and HPLC for vitamin C.
- Collect yield, disease and insect resistance, and product quality information.
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Years Two and Three
(2006, 2007)
- Address possible deficiencies in analyses and production.
- Assess enterprise budgets for producing superior cultivars.
- Assess consumer interest and demand emphasizing direct markets.
- Evaluate potential labeling, promotional and educational marketing strategies.
- Develop educational materials for small farm producers of non-traditional health-oriented cultivars.
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