Duration: 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2031

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Small fruits such as grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and cranberries are vital to U.S. agriculture, contributing more than $6.5 billion annually to state and national economies. These crops are produced across diverse regions and farm sizes—from small local growers to large operations serving national and international markets. Because many states have limited research and extension capacity for small fruits despite their economic impact, coordinated regional efforts are essential to address shared challenges and accelerate progress.

The NCCC-212 project provides a critical forum for collaboration among small-fruit scientists, breeders, and extension specialists from universities and the USDA. Through annual meetings and cooperative research, members exchange plant material, share findings, and coordinate studies to develop superior cultivars, improve production systems, and extend research results efficiently to growers.

Key objectives include: (i) develop and evaluate improved germplasm adapted to regional needs; (ii) create sustainable and efficient production practices; (iii) assess fruit quality traits such as flavor, firmness, and shelf life; and (iv) coordinate extension activities to deliver information through field days, grower meetings, publications, and online platforms.

The Committee’s coordinated approach accelerates cultivar release, reduces research duplication, and ensures that new technologies and management practices are tested across multiple environments. These collaborations ultimately strengthen the U.S. small-fruit industry by improving profitability, sustainability, and fruit quality for growers and consumers, while fostering training and cooperation among researchers nationwide.

Statement of Issues and Justification

Nature and significance of issues for which multistate coordination is proposed: Production of small fruits contributes significantly to statewide, regional, and national economies. Strawberry, blueberry (cultivated and wild), raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, and grape growers alone contributed an average of $6.5 billion/year in terms of value of utilized production from 2020 to 2022 (USDA NASS, 2023). The growers that produce these horticulturally important crops are diverse and distributed across the nation. They range from small-scale growers that contribute to local markets to large operations that provide fruit for national and international fresh and processed markets. Researchers and scientists with extension capacity can be limited in these states, with some states having one-to-no researchers to address small fruit research and outreach needs. Coordinated research projects that address emerging threats and advance new technologies are important to facilitate rapid learning and information sharing to states with varying capacity to conduct research. As such, there is a need for the small fruit community to have a venue that would allow for coordination and collaboration among small fruit researchers. NCCC-212 provided that important venue and this renewal seeks to allow for NCCC-212 to continue coordinating research and outreach efforts. Furthermore, NCCC-212 has provided a valuable network that allowed small fruit researchers to build successful teams for federal granting agencies requiring multi -state, -institutional, and -disciplinary approaches.

How proposed activity addresses national and/or regional priorities: Key priorities for small fruit growers and the associated research community include: 1) breeding and releasing superior, adapted cultivars; 2) the development of sustainable production techniques for efficient and economic production practices; 3) production of fruits for emerging and niche markets; 4) horticultural techniques that improve small fruit quality and/or shelf life; and 5) identification and management of commodity-specific pests and diseases. Collaboration and coordination provided by NCCC-212 allows small fruit researchers to: (i) share and exchange breeding material in a systematic way that allows for consistent evaluation and meaningful comparison across different production environments; (ii) share findings and techniques regarding new and more efficient productions systems and tools for important cultivars and/or horticultural challenges; and (iii) discuss research plans to avoid duplication and inefficient use of resources. Furthermore, coordination and communication fosters collaboration that allows for multi -state, -institutional, and -disciplinary collaboration to address important and/or emerging threats to sustainable production.

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

• Objective 1. Develop and evaluate small fruit germplasm for specific needs (such as tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, season extension, organic production, increased storage life, increased flavor, and improved horticultural traits) through cooperative breeding and evaluation programs. Efforts will be fostered by the exchange of germplasm and cooperative studies to evaluate productivity, adaptability, and fruit characteristics of strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, grape and other small fruit species.
• Objective 2. Develop new or modified practices for small fruit production. These include off-season production, protected cultivation, plasticulture, improved pruning and training systems, integrated pest management and other innovative systems (such as organic).
• Objective 3. Evaluation of pre- and post-harvest fruit quality components will be accomplished in coordination with completion of Objectives 1 and 2, as these factors can be impacted by genetics and production practices across environments, and are important considerations for farmers’ profitability. Additionally, explore how bioactive compounds in small fruit can be tailored for specific applications, enhanced flavor, etc.
• Objective 4. Time will be dedicated at annual meetings to identify opportunities to collaborate on, and help coordinate, research and extension activities. This includes (i) identifying topics and speakers for statewide, regional and national grower meetings; and (ii) developing print- and web-based publications and decision support tools on topics ranging from cultivar selection to improved management practices.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

Organization/Governance

Standard governance with annual nominations and election of the chair-elect (and annual meeting venue host) through a simple majority.  

Literature Cited

USDA NASS. 2023. Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2022 Summary. May 2023. Available at:   

https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/zs25x846c/zk51wx21m/k356bk214/ncit0523.pdf

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

GA, MT, ND, OR, TX, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions