Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

In 2019, Yield trials were conducted by Lincoln Zotarelli in Hastings, FL; interim trial leader Gene McAvoy in Immokalee, FL; André da Silva in Tifton, GA; Jeanine Davis and Margaret Bloomquist in Old Fort, NC and Mills River, NC; Ashley Edwards in Laurel Fork, VA; Christy Hoepting in Albion, NY; and Mark Hutton in Monmouth, ME.  Weather-related issues resulted in trial failure in Maine, but trials at the remaining 8 locations concluded successfully.  Marketable yields, field holding, and major defects were evaluated for 3 to 6 hybrid broccoli entries, with the number varying by location.  Entries were a mix of public and seed company hybrids.  Results were analyzed and assembled into a report that was shared with participating in broccoli breeding programs. 

Quality trials, which identify new hybrids that produce quality broccoli crowns under a range of Eastern environments, were conducted by Brian Ward in Charleston, SC, Jeanine Davis and Margaret Bloomquist in Waynesville, NC, Phillip Griffiths in Geneva, NY, Mark Hutton in Monmouth, ME, and Lincoln Zotarelli in Hastings, FL (Hastings trial is still in progress).  At each location, six commercial standards plus 24 new hybrids from public and seed company breeding programs were evaluated in three plantings to identify top-performing hybrids that are candidates for Yield trials and commercialization. A preliminary report was generated by Phil Griffiths and distributed to participating breeding programs; the final report will be issued in June 2020, after evaluations in Hastings conclude.  Results to date have been used to identify several candidates for the 2020 Yield trials.Steve Sargent, in collaboration with MS Student Carina Theodore, Lincoln Zotarelli, and Carl Sams, conducted experiments to study the impact of cooling method and time in storage on broccoli crown quality. André da Silva conducted a fungicide trial to identify the best options for managing Alternaria in Georgia.

A new Instagram account given the name eastern broccoli provides a forum for collaborators to post photos of broccoli deformities and provide or seek guidance on how to avoid them. Other items of general interest to broccoli growers, researchers, government officials, and industry representatives are also posted.

Group members delivered information about broccoli production to growers, Extension leaders, scientists, and others with the following broccoli-related presentations in 2019:

• Hoepting, C.A.   Brassica disease overview featuring 2018 fungicide trial results for control of Alternaria leaf spot and head rot in broccoli.  Finger Lakes Produce Auction Educational Meeting, Penn Yan, NY: January 3, 2019 (133 participants, 30 min). 
• Hoepting, C.A. Control of Alternaria head rot in broccoli featuring exciting results from 2018 on-farm fungicide trial.  Empire Producers Expo – Cole Crops Heat Stress Session, Syracuse, NY: January 15, 2019 (49 participants, 20 min).  
• Hoepting, C.A.   Managing worms in Cole crops and Alternaria in broccoli.  2019 Chautauqua Produce Growers Meeting, Jamestown, NY: January 28, 2019 (44 participants, 30 min). 
• Hoepting, C.A. 2019. Insect control in Cole crops featuring worms and swede midge. Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention – Cole crops session, Hershey, PA: January 30, 2019 (85 participants, 30 min). 
• Hoepting, C.A. and B. E. Gugino. 2019. Management of head rot diseases in broccoli and cauliflower featuring new recommendations for Alternaria leaf spot.  Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention – Cole crops session, Hershey, PA: January 30, 2019 (125 participants, 45 min). 
• Mark Hutton talked about the project with a small group of Vegetable Specialist (15 people in attendance) at the Northeast Plant, Pest, and Soils Conference in Hunt Valley MD Jan 8, 2019.  
• Mark Hutton gave a 15-minut overview of the project at the Maine Small Fruit and Vegetable Growers Annual meeting in Augusta on 15 Jan 2019 (85 growers).
• Ashley Edwards gave a presentation in February on the Eastern Broccoli Project, highlighting the trial in Laurel Fork. Growers discussed challenges and successes, including variety selection, managing diseases and insects, cooling, and marketing.
• Theodore, Carina., Steven A. Sargent, Jeffrey K. Brecht and Lincoln Zotarelli. 2019. Cooling Method Affects Postharvest Quality of New Breeding Lines and Commercial Broccoli Cultivars in Florida.  Presentation at the Florida State Horticultural Society Annual Meeting in Maitland, FL on 10 June 2019. 
• Florida postharvest cooling test results were discussed with a local grower and presented at two meetings of the Hastings Agricultural Extension Center Advisory Committee.
• Theodore, Carina., Steven A. Sargent, Jeffrey K. Brecht and Lincoln Zotarelli. 2019. Effect of Cooling Methods on Postharvest Quality of Commercial Broccoli Cultivars Grown in Florida.  Presentation at the American Society of Horticultural Sciences Annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV on 23 July.
• Ward, B.   East Coast Broccoli Project Update (Variety Releases, Grower Trials, and Industry Outlook). Presentation at the North Carolina AgExpo in Wilmington, 6 December.

 One undergraduate, two graduate students, a postdoc, and four technicians working with project participants learned about various aspects of broccoli productions.

 Publications

Published Expo proceedings:

• Hoepting, C.A.  Control of Alternaria head rot in broccoli featuring exciting results from 2018 on-farm fungicide trial.  In: Proceedings of the 2019 Empire State Producers Expo, Syracuse, NY: January 14-17, 2019.  Online:  http://www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/pdf/20190115-all-day-hoepting.pdf.

 Grower newsletter articles:

• Björkman, Thomas. 5 June 2019.  Fine Tuning Broccoli Production: Timing Nitrogen Application for a High-Quality Summer Harvest. Cornell Vegetable Program VegEdge 15(9): 1, 3.  
• Björkman, Thomas. 13 June 2019.  Managing Nitrogen Timing in Summer Harvested Broccoli. University of Massachusetts Extension Vegetable Notes 31(9): 5-6.
• Hoepting, Christy. 15 May 2019.  New Fungicide Recommendations for Alternaria Leaf Spot and Head Rot in Broccoli. Cornell Vegetable Program VegEdge 15(7):1, 3-4.  

 Thesis:

• Theodore, Carina. 2019. Increasing fresh-market broccoli production in Florida: effect of cooling methods and packaging on a promising breeding line and commercial cultivars. M.S. Thesis, Horticultural Sciences, University of Florida.