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The goal of this project is to integrate organic production systems with environment-modifying techniques, such as high tunnels, to develop synergistic strategies for crop protection, soil building, season extension, and the expansion of organic production potential for perennial fruit crops like apples, brambles and cherries suitable for this climate. <P>Management practices to be studied include composts, cover crops, pest exclusion and biodiversification, ecological weed management, and environmental modification.<P> Production Research Objectives: <OL> <LI> Determine critical organic propagation media components, environmental modifications, and nursery tree production practices for on-farm propagation, grafting and development of organic apple nursery trees.<LI> Determine critical soil, orchard floor, and planting system practices and management to optimize organic high tunnel production of raspberries and sweet cherries. <LI>Determine key insect and disease management components and practices to optimize organic high tunnel production of raspberries and sweet cherries. </OL>Economic Research Objectives: <OL> <LI> To identify and compare the costs of the various modified environment production system components under study in this project, and their impacts on potential market returns, for organic fruit producers in the northern cool climate Great Lakes/Midwest region. </OL>Outreach Program Objectives: <OL> <LI> Provide field days, organize visits to on-farm demonstration plots, and workshops to educate extension and agriculture professionals, growers, consumers, legislators (due to our close proximity to the State Capitol), and the public about management methods and economic potential for organic high tunnel fruit production in the northern temperate climate of the Great Lakes/Midwest states. <LI> Provide on-line courses to educate extension and agriculture professionals, growers, and the public about basic organic farming principles and practices, including management methods and economic potential for organic high tunnel fruit production in the Great Lakes/Midwest states. </OL>The long-term goal is to contribute to the economic, environmental, social and personal health and well-being of the organic farming community and consumers in the Midwest/Great Lakes region and beyond. Long-term impacts will be measured by the number of Michigan and Midwest farms adopting organic high tunnel culture of fruits or other sustainable fruit production components derived from the research results that are developed at the HTRC fruit research high tunnels.
Non-Technical Summary: Growers who want to produce organic fruits in non-arid cool climates like the Great Lakes/Midwest need expanded strategies for soil, plant, pest (insect, disease, weed) and environmental management to enhance crop diversity, productivity and profitability. The goal of this project is to develop and disseminate knowledge for integrating organic production systems with environment-modifying techniques, such as high tunnels, to discover synergistic strategies for crop protection, soil building, season extension, and the expansion of organic production potential for perennial fruit crops like apples, brambles and cherries. Practices to be studied include composts, cover crops, pest exclusion and biodiversification, ecological weed management, nursery tree production, and crop canopy management. Growers and agriculture professionals need educational resources, including small plot and on-farm research workshops as well as on-line course content, that integrate the multitude of environmental, economic and human factors that influence sustainable organic farm management. <P> Approach: The main experiments will be imposed in the 3-season organic fruit high tunnels constructed at the MSU Horticultural Teaching and Research Center (HTRC) on the MSU campus in association with the Student Organic Farm (SOF). Replicated plots of sweet cherries on dwarfing rootstocks and raspberries will be planted in 6 of the 9 tunnels, three each to cherries and to raspberries. The remaining 3 tunnels will serve as guard tunnels (i.e., tunnels #1, 5, and 9) to eliminate "edge effects". These will be interplanted to small groupings of both cherries and raspberries (a raspberry row along each side of the tunnel, and an offset double row of cherries in the center); a portion of each tunnel will also be used for apple nursery tree production. These tunnels will be utilized for demonstration plots to test additional varieties and selections from breeding programs, as well as research plots with banker plants for diversified plant protection strategies. We anticipate that powdery mildew, gray mold, and brown rot will be troublesome diseases, and may require efficacy trials with organic fungicides such as potassium bicarbonate, Serenade (Bacillus subtillis) and Sonata (B. pumilis). Organic pest management strategies will be studied and developed not only at the HTRC high tunnel plots, but also in the collaborative commercial organic fruit production plots of our cooperating advisory group stakeholders. The following hypotheses will be tested by appropriate experiments too lengthy to describe here: 1) The combination of high tunnels and organic propagation media, such as custom blends of milled bark enriched with specific composts, can produce organic apple nursery trees comparable to or better than commercially-available nursery trees. 2) Externally-applied organic sources of nitrogen (N), such as compost and pelleted alfalfa or soybean meal, have different effects on perennial fruit crop growth, disease pressure, and soil health. 3) The use of seasonally-applied weed barriers and cover cropping strips have differential effects on weed competition, perennial fruit crop growth and yields, and long-term soil-building. 4) Insect control strategies for organic high tunnel culture of perennial fruits will be dictated by insect ecology, microclimatic modifications, physical barriers, seasonal cover cropping strategies, mono- vs. poly-culture, and/or changes in plant and soil health. 5) The use of modified environment technologies (high tunnels) and associated production strategies adds significant value for organic fruit producers in the Great Lakes/Midwest region. Project outreach will include small-plot and on-farm research trials that are complemented by on-farm workshops as well as on-line course content, with objectives that focus on knowledge dissemination to beginner and advanced growers, extension educators, and agriculture professionals who need educational resources to integrate the multitude of environmental, economic and human factors that influence the viability of sustainable organic farm management.