South Atlantic Area

Fiscal Year 2008

Research Highlights

United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service
Foreword

In the following pages you will find articles about the work of the Agricultural Research 

Service (ARS) in its South Atlantic Area. You may not be familiar with us, so let us take 

this opportunity to introduce you to ARS, the principal in-house research agency of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Congress first authorized federally supported agricultural research in the Organic Act of 1862, 

establishing what is now USDA. That statute directed the Commissioner of Agriculture “to 

acquire and preserve in his Department all information he can obtain by means of books and 

correspondence, and by practical and scientific experiments.” 

The scope of USDA’s agricultural research programs extends far beyond Congress’s vision 

of 1862. Today, agricultural research has a direct impact on nearly all aspects of modem 

life. Our scientists not only study crops and livestock to improve quality and quantity but 

they also devise new ways of using those crops to add value to our lives, increase exports, 

improve human health, and protect the environment. 

We in ARS, like all Americans, are very concerned about safe and nutritious food. We 

study the bugs that cause foodborne illness and find ways to reduce or eliminate unwanted 

pests from the food supply. If agricultural problems arise, such as a new disease of crops or 

livestock, we have the capacity to respond rapidly to find safe and appropriate solutions. 

We care deeply about the environment. Extensive programs in the ARS South Atlantic Area 

focus on preserving and improving soil, air, and water quality. We are finding new and 

innovative ways to manage animal wastes, prevent soil erosion, and eliminate pesticides from 

surface water and groundwater. 

These examples represent only a few of the ARS research programs dedicated to maintaining 

and enhancing the economic strength of U.S. agriculture, while improving the quality of life 

for every American. In this volume you will find some facts about the South Atlantic Area, a 

list of the research units, where they are located, and the people you can contact for further 

information. We are delighted that you are reviewing this volume and hope that you will find 

the articles useful and interesting. Please let us know if we can be of service to you. 

Darrell F. Cole, Area Director 

S. Karl Narang, Area Associate Director

Joon S. Park, Deputy Area Director 
The articles in this volume are 

reprinted from Agricultural Research

magazine, which is published by 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Agricultural Research Service, 5601 

Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 

20705-5130; phone (301) 504-1651; 

fax (301) 504-1641. The magazine is 

available on the World Wide Web at 

ars.usda.gov/ar. 

To subscribe to Agricultural Research

by mail, please contact New Orders, 

Superintendent of Documents, P.O. 

Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-

7954.

This reprint volume may report 

research involving pesticides. It 

does not contain recommendations 

for their use, nor does it imply that 

uses discussed herein have been 

registered. All uses of pesticides must 

be registered by appropriate state and/

or federal agencies before they can be 

recommended.

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product or service is made with the 

understanding that no discrimination 

is intended and no endorsement by 

USDA is implied.

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(USDA) prohibits discrimination in 

all its programs and activities on the 

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Issued June 2009

Contents

GREAT Guava! 2 

On Guard Against Watermelon Vine Decline 4 

A Trap for the Small Hive Beetle 6

Defending Against Two Cotton Pests—Naturally 7

Fruitful Studies in Puerto Rico 8

Diamond Planting Design and Planter for Peanut Crops 12

Testing Biocontrols for Peach Pests 13

TifQuik for Faster Forage 15

Perennial Peanut for Quality Pasturage and Hay 16

Managing Beef Cattle to Protect Lakes and Rivers 18

A Collection of Carolina Collards 20

Tracing Florida Mangoes’ Family Tree 22

Chillin’ Chickens—Which Method Works Best? 24

Fiji Dwarf Sets New Durability Standards in Coconuts 26

Jamaican Delicacy Makes a Comeback 27

Watch Your B’s and Q’s! A New Whitefly’s on the Move 28

2008 South Atlantic Area Award Winners 29

South Atlantic Area Environmental Policy Statement 30

South Atlantic Area Contacts 31

South Atlantic Area Research Units and Their Locations 35

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 1
For years, there’s been a common 

notion that you get the best nutritional 

punch from a few well-publicized foods, 

such as blueberries, black beans, and 

broccoli. Well, they can move over now 

and make room for a surprising new 

addition: guava.

Until recently, only limited information 

has been available about the nutritional 

composition of tropical fruits—especially 

the more exotic ones. But in south Florida, 

growers are not only producing guava, 

carambola, mango, papaya, and citrus, but 

also pitaya, sapodilla, lychee, longan, and 

mamey sapote. So researchers at the U.S. 

Citrus and Subtropical Products Research 

Laboratory at Winter Haven, Florida, have 

been using standard methods to analyze 

these fruits for components that could be 

beneficial to human health.

Heading the effort is the lab’s research 

leader, horticulturist Liz Baldwin, with 

ARS scientists John Manthey, Gary Luzio, 

Anne Plotto, Jan Narciso, and Kevin 

Goodner and research associate Kanjana 

Mahattanatawee, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Florida’s Citrus 

Research and Education Center in Lake 

Alfred. They’re also cooperating with 

researchers at Siam University in Bangkok and Chiang Mai University, both in 

Thailand, where some non-Florida native 

variations of these same fruits are available for testing. At the lab, they are analyzing all these fruits for phytonutrients, 

flavor, and several other components.

Rich in Antioxidants

The function of natural antioxidants 

and dietary fiber in foods and biological 

systems has received a lot of attention 

lately. Fruits and vegetables are playing 

an increasingly significant role in the 

daily diet, because many of them provide 

an optimal mix of antioxidants—such 

as vitamins C and E, polyphenols, and 

carotenoids—along with complex carbohydrates and fiber.

Antioxidants are plant chemicals that 

have the power to neutralize free radicals, 

which are harmful compounds that are 

Tropical fruits offer 

nutrition—along with 

color, taste, and variety.

Technician Holly Sisson (left) and 

horticulturist Elizabeth Baldwin homogenize 

guava for antioxidant and pigment analyses.

PEGGY GREB (D893-1)

PEGGY GREB (D890-1)

Guava, the juicy, pink, sliced fruit 

in the center, is high in antioxidants. 

Guava! both generated inside human bodies and 

found in pollutants like cigarette smoke. 

Reducing free radicals can only improve 

human health because the oxidative damage 

they cause to human cells is believed to 

trigger various chronic diseases. Freeradical damage has been linked to cancer, 

Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, 

cardiovascular disease, cataracts, agerelated macular degeneration—and to the 

aging process itself.

It’s no wonder that nutritionists and 

scientists have—for years—recommended 

that we eat five to nine servings of fruits 

and vegetables each day.

Food writers and marketers have been 

emphasizing foods known to be high in 

antioxidants—adding chocolate, oats, 

onions, soy, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and walnuts to the list. The Winter 

Haven scientists have gone in search of 

even more high-antioxidant options.

“These specialty tropical fruits are delicious and pack a nutritional punch,” said 

Baldwin. “They’re a great addition to a 

healthy diet.”

Getting at the Good Stuff

Using a variety of methods to analyze 

for individual nutrients, the researchers 

have shown that carambola (star fruit), red 

pitaya (also known as “red dragon”), and 

mamey sapote are all high in antioxidant 

compounds called “phenolics,” and mamey sapote is also high in fiber. But the one 

fruit that beats them all is guava. It had the 

highest antioxidant potential (measured as 

ORAC values), total phenolics, vitamin C, 

and dietary fiber.

ORAC—or oxygen radical absorbance 

capacity—is a measure of the ability of 

foods and other compounds to subdue oxygen free radicals. The higher the ORAC 

value of a food, the more antioxidant 

power it contains. This is measured by 

using a 96-well fluorescence microplate 

reader—an advanced device with high 

sensitivity and the ability to carry out 

kinetic studies, such as this one, which 

require that many ORAC assays be run 

simultaneously.

GREAT

2 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
ARS horticulturist Liz Baldwin, plant physiologist Anne 

Plotto, microbiologist Jan Narciso, and Thai collaborators are 

developing coatings and surface treatments to maintain the red 

color of lychee fruit and protect fresh-cut mango.

Most of the work has been done through a collaboration that 

began with Nithiya Rattanapanone, who is with the Faculty of 

Agro-Industry at Chiang Mai University (CMU). Rattanapanone 

first visited the U.S. Citrus and Subtropical Products Research 

Laboratory (USCSPL) in Winter Haven, Florida, in 2003. That 

was the start of a mutually beneficial partnership between ARS 

and Thai scientists. In 2004, Baldwin visited CMU to give a 

workshop on edible coatings for fruits and vegetables and to 

work on developing coatings for cut mango.

For 3 months in 2005, Usawadee Chanasut, a professor with 

the Postharvest Technology Institute at CMU, and ARS chemist 

John Manthey worked together at Winter Haven to determine the 

antioxidant potential of Thai eggplant. Chanasut is now finishing 

that study in Thailand.

In 2005 and 2006, Rattanapanone returned to Winter Haven to 

compare results from experiments there and in Thailand on edible 

coatings and other surface treatments for reducing browning of 

lychee peel. Several of Rattanapanone’s students have visited 

USCSPL to work on their doctoral thesis research.

“We’ve been very happy with our partnership with these 

universities in Thailand,” says Baldwin. “It has been very 

productive and has yielded information that is relevant to the 

tropical fruit industry here in south Florida. We are expecting 

to write at least four or five publications on this cooperative 

international research effort.”

One of USCSPL’s former postdoctoral associates has joined 

the faculty at Siam University. Kanjana Mahattanatawee worked 

on tropical fruit flavor and phenolic compounds while at Winter 

Haven and is now continuing this research at Siam University. 

She plans to return to Winter Haven this year for further collaborative studies.—By Alfredo Flores, ARS.

Guava’s antioxidant content proved 

to be around that of orange, grapefruit, 

and broccoli, and just below that of 

spinach—all foods that are considered to 

be high in antioxidants. Other fruits that 

ranked surprisingly high in antioxidants 

included lychee and papaya. More detailed 

results were published in a 2006 issue 

of the Journal of Agricultural and Food 

Chemistry.

A grant from the Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida helped fund this 

research.—By Alfredo Flores, ARS.

This research is part of Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products (#306), 

an ARS national program described on 

the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.

usda.gov.

Elizabeth A. Baldwin is with the USDAARS Citrus and Subtropical Products 

Research Laboratory, 600 Ave. S, N.W., 

Winter Haven, FL 33881; phone (863) 

293-4133, fax (863) 299-8678, e-mail 

ebaldwin@citrus.usda.gov. X

U.S.-Thai Exchange Bolsters Coatings Research

Technician Christopher Ference 

(above left) sanitizes a whole mango 

before cutting it into pieces while 

technician Keith Williamson dips 

the mango pieces in an edible 

coating (at right) designed to 

prolong the cut fruit’s shelf life. PEGGY GREB (D892-1)

PEGGY GREB (D891-1)

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 3
Deep in winter, we dream of summertime and 

delicious outdoor picnics filled with hot dogs, lemonade, and 

refreshing watermelon. But the availability of that popular, 

nutritious fruit could be drastically affected by a looming new 

threat.

Watermelon vine decline—or WVD—is a crippling disease of 

watermelon that has made a serious economic impact since first 

being seen in Florida in May 2003. So far, it has been limited 

to the Sunshine State, but commercial watermelon growers fear 

that it could spread to other states.

Research efforts led by plant pathologist Scott Adkins at the 

ARS Subtropical Plant Pathology Research Unit in Fort Pierce, 

Florida, have focused on pinpointing the cause of the disease 

and finding ways to curb it.

Hidden Menace

Looks are deceiving when watermelons first come under attack by 

WVD because there are no external 

symptoms on the fruit itself. Then, 

suddenly, there’s wilting, browning, 

and loss of leaves, followed by rapid 

vine collapse and death just before 

harvest. While the outside of infected 

watermelons may appear normal, the 

interior often shows browning. The 

flesh appears greasy and has a bad 

taste, making the fruit unmarketable.

Spread of the disease has been very rapid. In some fields, vine 

decline has increased from 10 percent of the plants to more than 

80 percent in just 1 week.

In 2002, before the WVD assault, Florida was ranked first 

in watermelon production, with 15 percent of U.S. watermelon 

acreage and 19 percent of total production and value. Since 

spring 2003, WVD has afflicted sections of southwest Florida 

and has moved into west-central Florida. In spring 2004, some 

growers lost more than half their harvest, and others have since 

lost their entire fields.

In fact, damage and yield losses exceeded $60 million in 2005 

alone, further driving interest in WVD research. As a result of 

the declining output, Florida has relinquished its number-one 

spot to Texas.

“The disease has been so severe and caused such economic 

losses that Florida watermelon farmers have been seriously 

considering switching to other crops,” says Adkins.

First, Find the Culprit

Nonbiological factors, bacteria, and fungi had been eliminated 

as the cause of WVD by other researchers. Then Adkins—in 

collaboration with Susan Webb, a University of Florida (UFL) 

entomologist, and Carlye Baker, a plant pathologist with the 

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry—found that the cause is a new virus known 

as “squash vein yellowing virus” (SqVYV). The SqVYV seems 

to infect plants in only the Cucurbitaceae family, with the most 

dramatic symptoms occurring on squash and watermelon.

It had been known for some time that the principal insect pests 

on watermelons in Florida were aphids, rindworms, whiteflies, 

and thrips, but it took 2 years of research to realize that SqVYV 

transmitted by the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, was responsible for WVD.

This research involved both extensive molecular lab analyses 

of the virus under controlled conditions and field trials, 

in collaboration with plant pathologist Pam Roberts and 

entomologist Phil Stansly, both at UFL, to examine the role of 

whitefly populations and insecticides on disease incidence.

Cut fruit from watermelon plant 

inoculated with squash vein 

yellowing virus showing rind 

necrosis and discoloration typical of 

watermelon vine decline. 

A pair of silverleaf 

whiteflies, Bemisia 

tabaci, which measure 

about one-tenth of an 

inch long, feed on a 

watermelon leaf. 

On Guard 

Against Watermelon 

Vine 

Decline 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D288-4)

SCOTT ADKINS (D947-1)

4 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
In the spring of 2007, cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV), 

another whitefly-transmitted virus, was found infecting 

watermelons in southwest Florida. The same team of scientists 

studying WVD made the discovery. CuLCrV had previously 

been reported in the western United States, and its recent 

appearance in Florida further highlights the importance of 

whitefly management.

Next, Figure Out What To Do

Plant pathologist Benny Bruton has worked with Adkins 

since the initial stages of WVD research, and plant pathologist 

Shaker Kousik joined the effort in November 2005. Bruton is at 

ARS’s South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, 

Oklahoma, and Kousik is at the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in 

Charleston, South Carolina. Bruton isolated many bacteria and 

fungi and inoculated melons with the suspect microbes to see if 

they might be involved in the vine-decline syndrome.

“It was a long and painful process to identify which microbes 

may cause, or even contribute to, the disease—really a process of 

elimination,” says Bruton. “Once Scott’s team found the unusual 

virus and was able to demonstrate that it could cause essentially 

all the symptoms of vine decline—and that it was whitefly transmitted—it became essential to develop an integrated approach 

to manage or control the disease.”

Together, Kousik, Bruton, and Adkins have been taking a 

nontraditional approach: grafting watermelon onto gourd rootstock. Bruton and other researchers have had excellent results in 

controlling fungal vine declines of watermelon, such as Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae, and Fusarium wilt, 

caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The researchers wanted to see 

whether grafted transplants would also be resistant to, or tolerant 

of, the new viral vine decline. They have been testing grafted 

watermelons in several farmers’ fields in Florida, in field trials 

with UFL scientists, and in greenhouse trials in Fort Pierce.

Also, Kousik and Adkins have been screening watermelon 

germplasm for resistance to SqVYV in the greenhouse and 

field in Florida. They have identified several potential sources 

of resistance in wild-type watermelon. The germplasm was obtained from the ARS Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit 

at Griffin, Georgia. Kousik is also evaluating combinations of 

insecticides and silver plastic mulch to manage whitefly populations and thus WVD.

The Florida Watermelon Association and the National Watermelon Association have been very supportive of this collaborative research effort, greatly speeding up its success.—By 

Alfredo Flores, ARS.

This research is part of Plant Diseases, an ARS national 

program (#303) described on the World Wide Web at www.nps.

ars.usda.gov.

Scott T. Adkins is in the USDA-ARS Subtropical Plant Pathology Research Unit, 2001 South Rock Rd., Fort Pierce, FL 

34945; phone (772) 462-5885, fax (772) 462-5986, e-mail scott.

adkins@ars.usda.gov.

Benny Bruton is with the USDA-ARS South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 159, Lane, OK 74555; 

phone (580) 889-7395, fax (580) 889-5783, e-mail bbrutonusda@lane-ag.org.

Shaker Kousik is with the USDA-ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, 2700 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC 29414; phone (843) 

402-5316, fax (843) 573-4715, e-mail shaker.kousik@ars.usda.

gov. X

Plant pathologist 

Scott Adkins and 

technician Carrie 

Vanderspool 

dissect a diseased 

watermelon plant to 

assess distribution 

of squash vein 

yellowing virus. 

Plant pathologists Scott Adkins (left) and Shaker Kousik study wild 

watermelon germplasm for resistance to squash vein yellowing virus.

PEGGY GREB (D943-1)

PEGGY GREB (D945-1) 

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 5
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

B

A Trap for the Small Hive Beetle

Peter Teal is in the USDA-ARS Chemistry Research Unit, 

Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 

1600-1700 S.W. 23rd Dr., Gainesville, FL 32608; phone (352) 

374-5730, fax (352) 374-5707, e-mail peter.teal@ars.usda.

gov. X

Honey bee on an apple blossom. 

JACK DYKINGA (K4716-3)

ees make the agricultural world go ’round—at least 

the fruits and nuts part of agriculture. Crops such as 

apples, pumpkins, almonds, and sunflowers all depend 

on honey bees to pollinate their flowers. In addition to 

their pollination contribution, bees produce more than 

17 million pounds of honey each year in Florida alone. But 

in recent years, pests have been reducing honey bee numbers 

and threatening large sectors of agriculture.

One such pest, which has appeared in the United States in 

the last 10 years, is the small hive beetle (Aetina tumida). In 

bee colonies already stressed by other pests or diseases, the 

beetles are able to evade guard bees and access the hive’s 

pollen and other food resources.

Peter Teal, research leader of the Chemistry Research 

Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary 

Entomology in Gainesville, Florida, and his colleagues have 

developed a trap and an attractant to help beekeepers protect 

their bees from this pest, which has spread throughout the 

eastern portion of the United States.

When small hive beetles invade a beehive, they bring in 

a yeast that grows on the pollen. “As the yeast grows and 

ferments, it releases compounds that mimic honey bee alarm 

pheromones and are highly attractive to other beetles,” says 

Teal. “This sets off a cascading effect. When the beetle 

population gets too high, the bees have no choice but to 

abandon the hive, leaving beekeepers without honey and 

their bee colonies.”

In cooperation with several beekeepers, the team of scientists decided to use the small hive beetle’s biology against 

it. They developed a trap that is baited with the small hive 

beetle yeast. The trap is installed below a hive and separated 

from it by sliding doors drilled with cone-shaped holes. Hive 

beetles can get through the holes and into the traps, but they 

can’t get back out.

The trap could be a boon to the bee industry in Florida, 

which is a common overwintering destination for bees. A 

patent for the trap was filed in March 2005. “We think these 

traps will solve the problem for small-scale beekeepers, 

which make up 60 percent of the industry,” Teal says. “They 

tend their hives daily and can clean their traps often.” 

For large-scale beekeepers, who maintain up to several thousand hives, Teal and his team plan to develop a new trap requiring 

less management. 

Teal also hopes to devise a similar way to reduce populations 

of Varroa mites—another significant pest of honey bees. “If we 

can find out what makes these pests tick, we might be able to 

find out how to prevent them from causing further harm to this 

industry,” says Teal.—By Sharon Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Crop Protection and Quarantine, an 

ARS national program (#304) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

6
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

C viridula adults in a corn-cotton farmscape,” says Tillman. “And 

by dispensing traps baited with the aggregation pheromone for 

Euschistus species, we were also able to capture E. servus in the 

field and control their populations in cotton.

“We got a two-part action,” Tillman says. “The sorghum attracted E. servus and N. viridula, and the pheromone-baited traps 

captured the Euschistus as well as some N. viridula.”

As an added benefit, the sorghum served as a refuge for stink 

bugs’ natural insect enemies, such as the tachnid fly Trichopoda 

pennipes, further helping to protect the cotton plants. 

“These encouraging results demonstrate that biologically 

intensive practices can be effective in controlling stink bugs and 

can assist farmers in providing quality crops to consumers,” says 

Tillman.—By Sharon Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Crop Protection and Quarantine, an 

ARS national program (#304) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Patricia Glynn Tillman is in the USDA-ARS Crop Protection 

and Management Research Unit, 2747 Davis Rd., Tifton, GA; 

phone (229) 387-2375, fax (229) 387-2321, e-mail glynn.

tillman@ars.usda.gov. X

Defending Against 

Two Cotton Pests—

Naturally

Entomologist Patricia Glynn Tillman (center), technician Kristie Graham 

(right), and student technician Brittany Giles evaluate a sorghum trap crop being used to control stink bugs in adjacent fields of peanuts and cotton. 

The brown stink 

bug, Euschistus 

servus, is about 11 

mm long. 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1002-11)

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1005-2)

otton growers used to be bedeviled by boll weevils. Now, 

thanks to a successful large-area eradication program, 

the weevils are no longer a problem in most U.S. cotton 

fields.

But stink bugs have filled the void boll weevils left 

in parts of the Southeast. Stink bug infestations cost Georgia 

farmers about 3 percent of their cotton in 2003. 

Entomologist Patricia Glynn Tillman in ARS’s Crop Protection 

and Management Research Unit at Tifton, Georgia, and entomologist Ted Cottrell in ARS’s Fruit and Nut Research Laboratory at 

Byron, Georgia, are exploring use of trap crops in combination 

with pheromone traps to control two troublesome members of 

the family Pentatomidae: brown stink bugs (Euschistus servus) 

and southern green stink bugs (Nezara viridula). Trap crops are 

small plots specially planted to attract various pests away from 

cash crops or to concentrate the pests in a small area for more 

efficient disposal.

During 5 years of study, the researchers conducted on-farm 

tests to determine the usefulness of combining a sorghum trap 

crop with pheromone-baited capture traps to keep stink bugs 

out of cotton. 

Peanut-cotton and corn-cotton farming configurations, or 

“farmscapes,” are common in the Southeast. Stink bugs appear 

to prefer corn and peanuts but will move to adjacent cotton 

fields when their food supply runs low. However, the pests are 

ravenous for sorghum!

So, Tillman and colleagues planted sorghum in a strip along 

the entire length of a peanut-cotton interface. Pheromone-baited 

capture traps were placed about 45 to 50 feet apart in various 

rows. The researchers found that the E. servus population was 

significantly lower in cottonfields that had the two management 

strategies than in cottonfields without them.

In studies of N. viridula populations in a corn-cotton farmscape, the researchers planted a trap crop of sorghum at the 

interface of the two crops. The density of N. viridula was lower 

(0.12 bug per 6-foot row) in cottonfields with the sorghum trap 

crop than in cottonfields without it (1.16 bugs per 6-foot row).

“We proved that sorghum could also serve as a trap crop for N. 

7
he heat and humidity are no bother 

to Ricardo Goenaga as he walks 

from tree to 9-foot-tall tree in an 

experimental plot ARS maintains 

in Isabela, on Puerto Rico’s northwest coast.

The plant physiologist picks a red, 

spiky, Ping-Pong-ball-sized fruit from one 

tree and uses his thumbs to peel it open and 

reveal bright, off-white flesh. He takes a 

bite. “A bit bitter,” he says.

Goenaga samples another of the peculiar morsels on an adjacent tree. “Not 

quite right.”

There’s success at the next stop. On 

taking a taste, Goenaga’s eyebrows rise, 

and he nods affirmatively. “Yes, here,” he 

says. “This is some good rambutan.”

He’s right. The pulp inside this curious 

offering’s soft skin—the reddish fruit resembles one of those squeeze toys covered 

T

Fruitful Studies in Puerto Rico

by long, rubbery spikes—has the sweet 

taste of a pear.

Rambutan (ram-bu-TAHN), Nephelium 

lappaceum, is among the more fascinating 

examples of exotic tropical fruit studied 

at ARS’s Tropical Agriculture Research 

Station (TARS), a versatile and unique research laboratory based in Mayagüez. “It 

quickly becomes a favorite to those who 

don’t know it,” says Goenaga. “Adults 

back off at first. But the kids love it! Their 

eyes open wide, and they say, ‘What is this 

strange thing?’”

While rambutan and other fruits such 

as mamey sapote (mam-EY sa-PO-tey), 

lychee, longan, carambola, mangosteen, 

and sapodilla may not be typical stateside 

fare, they are often the center of attention 

at TARS. Much of the research there revolves around seeing these offerings on 

stateside shopping lists one day.

Lush climate and varied soils support research on tropical crops.

Horticulturist Brian Irish (left) and plant 

physiologist Ricardo Goenaga inspect cacao 

pods. The Mayagüez repository maintains 

a genetically diverse collection of cacao, 

comprising almost 200 accessions. 

Scientists at the ARS germplasm repository in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, carry out research to evaluate and develop integrated production 

systems for numerous tropical fruit crops and to conserve the germplasm of these crops.

PEGGY GREB (D974-1)

PEGGY GREB (D970-2)

8 Agricultural Research Reprint: Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
An Increasing Demand

“Increases in health consciousness and 

ethnic diversity have greatly expanded 

the market for tropical fruit in the United 

States,” says Goenaga, who is the station’s 

research leader. “But there are major obstacles—such as pests, diseases, drought, 

and acidic soils—that keep growers from 

capitalizing on this. For example, unless 

irradiated, rambutan can’t be imported into 

the United States because of concerns that 

it may introduce 

fruit flies.

“Our goal is 

to identify—

through selection of superior 

clones and development of 

best crop-management practices—high-yielding versions of 

these crops that 

can meet these 

c h a l l e n g e s ,” 

says Goenaga. 

“We want to help the tropical fruit industry 

expand its trade and to provide small farms 

and socially disadvantaged farmers with 

alternative high-value crops and effective 

management practices.”

TARS scientists study large-scale cash 

crops as well as little-known exotic ones. 

And the station is one of three ARS 

repositories—keepers and guardians of 

genetic material known as “germplasm”—

for tropical and subtropical plants.

“We safeguard cacao, banana, and plantain, as well as sapodilla, mamey sapote, 

Spanish lime, tropical and temperate bamboo, and species of Annona and Garcinia,” 

says Goenaga.

The Fruit Fly Factor

He says that while some exotic fruits 

won’t be exportable to the continental 

United States any time soon, there is 

a glimmer of hope for mamey sapote, 

Pouteria sapota, courtesy of work led by 

entomologist David Jenkins.

This cantaloupe-sized brown fruit—

it resembles a small coconut, while its 

sweet, refreshing flesh is reminiscent of 

almond-flavored ice cream—is a favorite 

niche product in the United States. “It’s 

especially prized by the Cuban community but is also enjoyed by other ethnic 

groups,” Jenkins says.

Import of mamey sapote from Puerto 

Rico has been restricted by concerns that 

it may host the West Indian fruit fly, which 

is not currently present in the continental 

United States.

Jenkins and colleagues recently 

found evidence that 

the probability of 

fruit fly infestation 

in mamey sapote is 

extremely low in 

Puerto Rico. “This 

is one step toward 

making this fruit 

eligible for export,” 

says Jenkins.

His team recovered no adult fruit flies from more than 

1,100 mature mamey sapote fruit collected 

throughout the year. “We also exposed 

the fruit to mature female fruit flies for 2 

days,” he says. “No eggs, larvae, or adults 

were recovered from any of the fruit.” 

Experiments in rambutan are yielding 

the same results. In contrast, mangoes, 

identically exposed, yielded large numbers 

of fruit flies. 

Jenkins cautions that experimental 

procedures following USDA Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service protocols 

must now be conducted to determine 

mamey sapote’s final host status for this 

and other fruit flies.

An Ideal Study Site

Though they seem right at home, many 

exotic fruits studied at TARS come from 

lands far from Puerto Rico. The island’s 

soils and climate help make it a valuable 

site for evaluating them. “Ten of the 12 

soil orders recognized worldwide are 

Mamey sapote is one of many tropical fruits 

found in the ARS germplasm repository in 

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

PEGGY GREB (D965-1)

Agricultural Research Reprint: Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 9
present here,” says Goenaga. “This gives 

us the advantage of screening germplasm 

in various agro-environments within a 

short driving distance.”

On a day-long journey, Goenaga drove 

the island’s mountain roads to TARS 

experimental sites in Isabela, with its 

fine, well-drained soil, and in Corozal—

southwest of San Juan—where the damp, 

clayey hills offer deep, strongly acidic, and 

poorly drained terrain. In Santa Isabel, on 

flood plains off the semiarid south-central 

coast, the soil is deep, well drained, and 

fertile.

The large-scale cash-crop research at 

TARS focuses on bananas and plantains 

(in the Musa genus), cacao, papaya, beans, 

and sorghum. “We introduce and evaluate 

new accessions of these crops and distribute disease-free plant genetic material 

from them,” says Goenaga.

Horticulturist Brian Irish and Goenaga 

work to preserve and evaluate Musa. 

“These are among many tropical and 

subtropical crops whose germplasm 

resources have been reduced by human 

activity, pests, diseases, and weatherrelated causes,” says Irish.

Musa and Cacao

While high genetic diversity exists in 

Musa’s centers of origin in Southeast Asia, 

Irish says that uniformity requirements for 

dessert bananas have diminished diversity 

in cultivated bananas and led to a reliance 

on Cavendish types.

Though extremely popular for their 

high yield and good taste, Cavendish varieties are very susceptible to important 

insects and pathogens. “We’re currently 

evaluating Musa germplasm accessions 

in our collection as potential alternatives 

to Cavendish types,” says Irish.

In all, TARS holds 29 accessions of 

plantain and 92 accessions of banana, 

representing popularly grown cultivars, 

insect- and disease-resistant cultivars, and 

other previously uncharacterized varieties 

and plant introductions.

Irish also serves as curator for cacao, 

managing a collection that was reestablished in 2000.

No cacao is produced commercially in 

Puerto Rico. “But it is at risk from diseases 

that thrive in the warm, humid conditions 

of its native lands and that exist here,” says 

Irish. “That plus our variety of soil types 

and ecological zones make the island ideal 

Horticulturist Brian 

Irish (foreground) and 

technician Roberto 

Bravo harvest and weigh 

banana bunches from the 

germplasm collection. In a study of the fruit’s potential as a host 

to fruit flies, entomologist David Jenkins 

inspects a fruit-fly trap on a carambola tree.

Rambutan fruit with 

edible pulp exposed. 

Technicians Elkin Vargas (foreground) and 

Nicolas Diaz harvest rambutan fruit from an 

experimental orchard.

PEGGY GREB (D971-1) PEGGY GREB (D963-1)

PEGGY GREB (D959-1)

PEGGY GREB (D958-1)

for evaluating cacao germplasm.”

“There’s no doubt that we are breaking a lot of ground, both on exotic fruit 

and larger-scale tropical and subtropical 

crops,” says Goenaga. “Some of these 

exotic fruits are now close to being ready 

for the export market.

“But the future here at TARS is in the 

germplasm,” he adds. “We need as much 

genetic diversity in our collections as possible so that we can evaluate and identify 

materials with superior horticultural traits 

and thus ensure success and sustained 

production for the emerging tropical fruit 

industry.”—By Luis Pons, formerly with 

ARS.

This research is part of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Genomics, and Genetic Improvement (#301) and Crop Production 

(#305), two ARS national programs described on the World Wide Web at www.

nps.ars.usda.gov.

Ricardo J. Goenaga is with the USDAARS Tropical Agriculture Research 

Station, 2200 P.A. Campos Ave., Suite 

201, Mayagüez, PR 00680-5470; phone 

(787) 831-3435 ext. 226, fax (787) 831-

3386, e-mail ricardo.goenaga@ars.usda.

gov.X

10 Agricultural Research Reprint: Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
An Exotic Fruits Sampler

Here are some details about other fruits being studied at ARS’s Tropical Agriculture Research 

Station, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

Mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana. This “Queen of Fruits,” as it’s known in its native East Indies, 

has a red/purple, edible rind and fragrant, sweet, and creamy flesh that tastes like citrus and 

peach. It’s not related to mango.

Scientific challenges: Mangosteen’s tropical evergreen trees take 8 to 15 years to start bearing 

fruit, a characteristic that worries potential growers in storm-prone areas. Scientists are trying to 

accelerate its growth or make its juvenile stage shorter.

Lychee, Litchi chinensis. This oval fruit is a little more than an inch in diameter and comes from 

China. It has a hard, scaly, reddish and inedible cover, but sweet, whitish, grapelike edible flesh 

that surrounds a single large seed.

Scientific challenges: Only a few of the approximately 70 known varieties of lychee have been 

studied or evaluated. Selection of superior varieties with high yield potential is essential for 

industry expansion.

Longan, Dimocarpus longan. This relative of lychee has small, pulpy fruit produced by a 

Southeast Asian evergreen tree nicknamed “dragon eye” because its fruit has black seed that 

shows through translucent flesh, resembling an eyeball. Its thin, brown shell is inedible.

Scientific challenges: Major problems associated with longan production are overcropping and 

alternate bearing—the tendency to bear a large crop of fruit one year followed by little or no fruit 

the next year. Best management practices for high-yielding cultivars are needed.

Carambola, Averrhoa carambola. Known as “starfruit,” this offering is also of Southeast Asian 

origin. It’s a five-angled, green-to-yellow tropical fruit with a star-shaped cross-section and edible 

skin. Its tart-sweet taste resembles that of apples or grapes. A good source of vitamin C and 

antioxidants, carambola is commercially grown in Florida and Hawaii.

Scientific challenges: Selection of rootstocks that adapt well to alkaline and acid soils in the 

Tropics and Subtropics is needed.

Sapodilla, Manilkara zapota. This round to egg-shaped fruit is 2 to 4 inches in diameter, with 

rough brown skin. The flesh—it varies from yellow to reddish-brown—can be smooth or grainy. 

It has an extremely sweet flavor.

Scientific challenges: Selection of rootstocks promoting tree dwarfing and development of 

resistance to various root weevils are of critical importance. Carambola. 

Longan.

Lychee.

Mangosteen. 

Sapodilla.

PEGGY GREB (D972-1)

PEGGY GREB (K10889-1)

SCOTT BAUER (K7891-1)

PEGGY GREB (D964-1)

PEGGY GREB (D966-1)

Agricultural Research Reprint: Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 11
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

grown in Georgia. “Valencias don’t achieve row closure like 

runners do, especially when planted in single rows,” says Nuti. 

“Another benefit of the diamond planting configuration is that 

the crop has a better chance to outcompete weeds, thus reducing 

early competition for water, nutrients, and light.”

In first-year data collected, it appears that several populations 

of diamond planting are equal in yield and profit to a twin-row 

configuration and that both diamond and twin-row outproduce 

the conventional single-row. 

“It is apparent that both twin-row and diamond patterns increased yield and profit,” says Nuti. “But we still need to know 

more about how planting patterns affect growth and fruiting.”—

By Sharon Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Crop Production (#305) and Water 

Resource Management (#201), two ARS national programs described on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Russell Nuti and Ron Sorensen are with the USDA-ARS National 

Peanut Research Laboratory, 1011 Forrester Dr., S.E., Dawson, 

GA 39842-0509; phone (229) 995-7449, fax (229) 995-7416, 

e-mail russell.nuti@ars.usda.gov, ron.sorensen@ars.usda.

gov. X

Diamond Planting Design and Planter for Peanut Crops

A

TWIN ROW DIAMOND

7”

7”

12”

8” 2”

SINGLE ROW

12”

4” 8”

TRACTOR DIRECTION

SEED

36” 36” 36”

variety of machinery and techniques is required to 

plant, cultivate, and harvest the wide range of U.S. 

agricultural commodities.

Over the years, ARS has researched many innovations 

in equipment and methods. For example, adapting 

equipment to plant runner-type peanuts in a diamond formation 

has been found to increase yield and improve disease management 

over the single-row planting method. ARS agronomists Russell 

Nuti and Ron Sorensen at the National Peanut Research 

Laboratory (NPRL) in Dawson, Georgia, are continuing this 

research, which was first developed by former NPRL agricultural 

engineer Don Sternitzke.

In a diamond formation, each 3-foot-wide planting bed has 

four equidistant rows, with six seeds planted per foot. Spacing 

plants in this uniform, staggered manner has been found to reduce 

plant-to-plant competition and achieve canopy closure sooner, 

helping to keep the soil cool and moist.

Now, a new 3-year research study is being conducted with 

Naveen Puppala and Sangu Angadi of New Mexico State 

University using Valencia, a more erect-growing peanut type.

Valencia’s upright growth habit may make it more amenable 

to the diamond planting arrangement than vinelike varieties 

12
Peaches are a significant part of the 

South’s fresh-produce industry. But since 

several insect pests pose serious threats 

to southern peach orchards, growers must 

often resort to costly pesticides to protect 

their fruit.

At ARS’s Southeastern Fruit and Tree 

Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Georgia, entomologists David Shapiro-Ilan and 

Ted Cottrell are seeking environmentally 

friendly alternatives. In cooperation with 

Russ Mizell at the University of Florida 

and Dan Horton at the University of 

Georgia, the ARS researchers are evaluating two tiny, soil-dwelling nematodes as 

possible biological controls.

Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar, is a tiny, snout-nosed beetle and 

major pest of stone fruits, including 

peaches. Adult insects damage peaches 

through feeding on and laying eggs in the 

fruit, resulting in characteristic crescentshaped wounds on the fruit. Infested fruits 

often fall prematurely and are unmarketable. Later, mature larvae emerge from the 

fruit and develop in the soil, completing 

the insect’s life cycle.

Shapiro-Ilan and Cottrell found that soil 

applications of the nematode Steinernema

riobrave can suppress plum curculio larvae by 78 to 100 percent. “Nonfeeding 

infective juvenile nematodes seek out 

larval hosts,” says Shapiro-Ilan. “When 

one finds a larva, it penetrates its body. 

Once inside, it releases a bacterium that 

multiplies rapidly and kills the host. The 

nematode then reproduces while feeding 

on the bacteria and insect tissues.”

Curbing Airborne Marauders

Stone fruits are also plagued by clearwinged moths such as the peachtree 

borer, Synanthedon exitiosa, and the 

lesser peachtree borer, S. pictipes. Another 

beneficial nematode, St. carpocapsae, is 

virulent to both closely related hosts.

With peachtree borers, field applications 

of the St. carpocapsae nematode achieved 

high levels of borer control. That’s in part 

because the nematodes were protected 

Testing 

Biocontrols for 

Peach Pests

Nimble nematodes

Lesser peachtree borer, Synanthedon pictipes. 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1068-1)

At the Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, 

Georgia, entomologists Ted Cottrell (left) and David Shapiro-Ilan examine 

damage caused by the lesser peachtree borer. 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1066-19)

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 13
from desiccation (drying) and ultraviolet 

damage by their subsoil environment.

“We found that a single application of 

St. carpocapsae provided 88-percent suppression when applied to mature peachtree 

borer infestations in springtime,” says 

Cottrell. “And in a recent field trial, three 

applications of St. carpocapsae during the 

peachtree borer’s fall egg-laying season 

completely suppressed all damage.”

Though they knew from laboratory 

studies that the lesser peachtree borer is 

also highly susceptible to St. carpocapsae,

Shapiro-Ilan and Cottrell realized that its 

control would be more difficult. That’s 

because lesser peachtree borers attack 

trees aboveground, feeding in galleries 

within trunks and limbs.

“Initially, we just applied nematodes 

to lesser peachtree borer wounds, and—

as expected—the nematodes failed to 

cause any significant suppression,” says 

Shapiro-Ilan. But the researchers then 

found that when nematodes were given 

adequate protection, they provided a high 

level of borer control.

To achieve that protection, they applied

St. carpocapsae nematodes to tree wounds 

and then covered the wounds with moisture-holding bandages. “In our first trial,” 

says Cottrell, “we saw 100-percent borer 

suppression just 5 days after treatment.”

This suggests that further research will 

help peach growers make significant headway against these troublesome pests.—By 

Sharon Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Crop Protection 

and Quarantine, an ARS national program 

(#304) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

David Shapiro-Ilan and Ted Cottrell 

are with the USDA-ARS Southeastern 

Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory, 

21 Dunbar Rd., Byron, GA 31008; phone 

(478) 956-6444 [Shapiro-Ilan], (478) 

956-6448 [Cottrell], fax (478) 956-2929, 

e-mail david.shapiro@ars.usda.gov, ted.

cottrell@ars.usda.gov. X

Technician Rebekah Long sprays beneficial nematodes onto a tree wound to control lesser peachtree borer. Technician Chris Paulsen 

prepares to apply a bandage to protect the nematodes and prolong their survival. 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1067-5)

When protected, 

the nematodes 

provided a high 

level of borer 

control.

14 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
orage growers would naturally 

like to get the jump on weeds and 

extend their forage production 

season. So Agricultural Research 

Service geneticist Bill Anderson of the Crop Genetics and Breeding 

Research Unit in Tifton, Georgia, and his 

colleagues have developed a new bahiagrass (Panicum notatum) cultivar that may 

help them do just that.

Released by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Georgia (UGA) TifQuik has great 

promise as a forage grass in the Southeast. 

Currently, Tifton 9 bahiagrass, another 

USDA/UGA variety, developed by the 

late Glenn Burton, an ARS Hall of Fame 

member, is widely grown for forage, with 

good results. But the TifQuik cultivar is 

even better.

“TifQuik was developed to have reduced hard seed and thus faster germination and field establishment than Tifton 9,” 

says Anderson. “These features mean that 

a TifQuik-seeded pasture will be covered 

earlier, and grazing or hay removal can 

be performed sooner—with higher initial 

yields.”

The bahiagrass cultivars now grown 

have a considerable amount of hard seed 

and thus require 2-3 weeks to establish a 

full stand. During this time, weeds may 

infest the pasture, and moisture for forage 

seed germination may be restricted.

In developing TifQuik, the sole criterion 

for selection of plants was fast germination. It took 4 years to achieve the desired 

qualities. Former ARS agronomist Roger 

Gates and retired geneticist Wayne Hanna 

performed the four selection cycles, 

beginning with Tifton 9. During each 

cycle, enough seed was planted from the 

previous one to obtain 1,000 seedlings 

that germinated within the first week. 

Seedlings were transplanted to clay pots 

in the greenhouse and then to a fumigated 

field to establish a nursery. Plants were 

allowed to cross-pollinate, seed was handharvested, and that seed was then used to 

start the final cycle, the following spring, 

in a greenhouse. The four cycles were 

completed in 2002, and the seed from 

2002 was used to establish greenhouse 

germination tests and a replicated field 

test and to begin seed increase.

In the greenhouse studies, germination 

of TifQuik averaged five times more than 

Tifton 9 after 6 days and three times more 

after 8 days. In the field studies, TifQuik 

emerged about 75 percent faster after 1 

week than Tifton 9 and Pensacola, another 

commonly used forage bahiagrass. After 

4 weeks, TifQuik plants were taller than 

both Tifton 9 and Pensacola. Dry-matter 

yields of TifQuik were two times higher 

than Tifton 9 and four times higher than 

Pensacola for the first clipping, which was 

done 2 months after planting.

“TifQuik will be particularly valuable 

to growers who wish to include bahiagrass 

in a sod-based rotation system with 

row crops such as peanut and cotton in 

the southeastern United States,” says 

Anderson. “Bahiagrass has been shown 

to reduce nematode and disease problems 

in subsequent crops, and it should provide 

many forage growers with another tool to 

make their operations more efficient and, 

hopefully, more profitable.”—By Sharon 

Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Rangeland, 

Pasture, and Forages, an ARS national 

program (#205) described on the World 

Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

William F. Anderson is in the USDAARS Crop Genetics and Breeding Research 

Unit, 115 Coastal Way, Tifton, GA 31793; 

phone (229) 386-3170, fax (229) 386-3701, 

e-mail bill.anderson@ars.usda.gov. X

TifQuik for Faster Forage

F

In a replicated plot outside Tifton, Georgia, technician Freddy Cheek (left) and geneticist 

Bill Anderson harvest grasses to measure yields, dry matter content, and quality.

A distinguishing trait 

of bahiagrass is its 

V-shaped seed head 

(or inflorescence). 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1074-6)

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1076-2)

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 15
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

Perennial Peanut for Quality 

Pasturage and Hay

N Research leader Sam 

Coleman harvests 

perennial peanut 

(Arachis glabrata) 

for yield and quality 

analysis. 

PEGGY GREB (D1029-1)

o other perennial warmweather legume adapted 

to the Gulf Coast comes 

close to the rhizoma 

perennial peanut (Arachis 

glabrata). It’s often 

called “the alfalfa of the South” because 

its protein and mineral content are very 

similar to alfalfa’s. But as a long-lived 

perennial in the region, A. glabrata is less 

costly to grow than alfalfa. Its recognized 

quality, persistence, and broad uses are 

making it a good forage crop in the lower 

South.

Rhizoma perennial peanut has become 

the premium forage for the Gulf Coast 

due to more than 50 years of collaborative work among several state and federal 

cooperators, says Mimi Williams, former 

forage agronomist at the USDA-ARS 

Subtropical Agricultural Research Station (STARS) in Brooksville, Florida, 

and now with USDA’s Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS) in Gainesville, Florida. In addition to STARS, the 

NRCS Brooksville Plant Materials Center

and the University of Florida’s Institute 

of Food and Agriculture Sciences (IFAS) 

worked on this long-term effort. 

Williams says that interest in A. glabrata began when a collection of accessions 

from South America was introduced to 

Florida in the 1930s. This initial work 

resulted in the informal release of selections Arb and Arblick in the 1960s, but 

both had very limited use because of slow 

establishment and low productivity. That 

changed in the 1980s, with formal release 

of the cultivars Florigraze and Arbrook, 

which produce much higher amounts of 

forage than the earlier releases. 

Extensive research conducted by 

Williams and coworkers at Brooksville 

in the 1980s and 1990s demonstrated 

the nutritional value of A. glabrata to 

livestock and is widely responsible for its 

current popularity as a hay crop.

Horse, goat, and dairy producers in 

the region imported more than $100 

million worth of hay per year before 

the perennial peanut became available. 

16
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

Adapted to upland soils of the lower 

Coastal Plain, it’s being used throughout 

much of the eastern Gulf Coast region, 

with an estimated 25,000 acres planted 

in Florida and southern Georgia. Much 

of it is being grown on row-crop ground 

that previously had very marginal returns. 

Now, A. glabrata’s net profit exceeds 

$1,000 annually per hectare, with current 

demand for hay exceeding production. 

Current sales—mainly as hay, but also 

as planting material and ornamentals—

exceed $7 million.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” 

says Sam Coleman, research leader at 

STARS. “Financially, it makes sense for 

hay producers to grow perennial peanut, 

and as long as there are cattle and horses 

in Florida, there’ll always be a demand,” 

adds Coleman.

Researchers are now seeking ways 

to make the perennial peanut more 

economical to grow for hay or forage in 

wetter soils or in more northern areas of 

the region. Traditional breeding methods 

aren’t practical because the plant produces 

very little seed, so new plant material has 

been sought from its native range in South 

America.

While at STARS in the early 2000s, 

Williams—working with others at ARS’s 

Plant Introduction Station in Griffin, 

Georgia—led two expeditions to Paraguay 

to find germplasm for expanding the range 

of perennial peanut. They brought back 

85 accessions of wild and domesticated 

plants for testing. Those plants serve as the 

basis for the current A. glabrata research 

by Coleman at STARS; Andrea Maas, a 

plant geneticist at ARS’s Crop Genetics 

and Breeding Research Unit in Tifton, 

Georgia; and researchers from NRCS and 

IFAS.—By Alfredo Flores, ARS. 

This research is part of Pasture, Forage, Turf, and Rangeland Systems, an 

ARS national program (#215) described 

on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.

usda.gov.

Samuel W. Coleman is at the USDA-ARS 

Subtropical Agricultural Research Station, 

22271 Chinsegut Hill Rd., Brooksville, FL 

34601; phone (352) 796-3385, fax (352) 

796-2930, e-mail sam.coleman@ars.usda.

gov. X

Perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata)

blossom. The plant produces blossoms even 

though it produces very little viable seed. 

Romosinuano heifers grazing a pasture mixture of perennial peanut (Arachis 

glabrata) and bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum). 

PEGGY GREB (D1031-2)

PEGGY GREB (D1030-1)

17
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

Everything Goes Together

How pasture management and hydrology interact to affect nutrient dynamics 

and water quality has become an issue of 

increasing importance to environmentalists, ranchers, and public officials. So, 

since phosphorus has been found to be the 

culprit in nutrient pollution, or eutrophication, in many Florida aquatic systems, 

the STARS scientists and collaborators 

have launched several studies on reducing 

phosphorus runoff.

Long-term monitoring of changes in soil 

nutrients, especially phosphorus, helps the 

STARS soil scientists to predict soil 

chemical buildup or physical deterioration 

that could occur under continuous foragelivestock cultivation and to adopt measures 

to prevent them from happening.

B

Managing Beef Cattle To Protect Lakes and Rivers

TSI—for Total Water Quality

Using what’s called the “trophic state 

index” (TSI), Sigua and colleagues followed trends in the quality of water in 

three lakes near Brooksville from 1993 

to 2002. TSI is an indicator of the overall 

condition of a body of water, including its 

biological, chemical, and physical characteristics. According to Florida Water 

Quality Standards, a TSI score between 0 

and 59 is considered “good”; 60 to 69 is 

“fair”; and 70 to 100 is “poor.”

The lakes tested are either next to beef 

cattle pastures or within a 5- to 10-mile 

radius of STARS. Measures of water 

chemistry made during the 1990s in Lake 

Lindsey proved similar to what had been 

found 30 years before. Spring Lake 

samples showed clear, medium-hard water 

Soil scientist Gilbert Sigua uses a probe to measure levels of salinity, dissolved oxygen, 

conductivity, and temperature in Spring Lake, in Brooksville, Florida. The lake is located 

near forage-based cow-calf operations.

PEGGY GREB (D1025-1)

eef cattle browse more than 11 

million acres of grazinglands 

in the State of Florida. In fact, 

Florida is 11th among U.S. beefproducing states, and 4th among those 

with herds of more than 500 brood cows. 

Florida producers run 4 of the nation’s 

15 largest ranches, the largest of which 

grazes over 35,000 brood cows on more 

than 300,000 acres.

Such large herds naturally generate 

large quantities of manure and other waste. 

Because of this, forage-based livestock 

systems have been blamed as a major 

cause of deteriorating water quality in 

Florida and other cattle-producing states. 

Particularly problematic, over time, has 

been phosphorus runoff from both manure 

and the fertilizers applied to enhance forage production.

Despite widespread concern, however, 

very limited data has been available to 

measure nutrient losses to adjacent bodies 

of water from pastures managed for grazing and hay production.

That’s where the Beef Cattle Research 

Unit—part of ARS’s Subtropical Agricultural Research Station (STARS)—in 

Brooksville, Florida, comes in. There, in 

west-central Florida, soil scientist Gilbert 

C. Sigua and colleagues examined changes in soil fertility of bahiagrass-based 

beef cattle pastures from 1988 to 2002. 

The pastures were managed for grazing 

in spring and haying in late summer. Soil 

analysis has shown declining nutrient 

levels, especially of phosphorus.

The three major pasture units had a 

combined total area of about 3,800 acres, 

with 3,200 acres in permanent pasture. 

Cattle used for nutritional, reproductive, 

and genetic research on the station include 

about 500 head of breeding females with 

a total inventory of about 1,000 head of 

cows, bulls, and calves.

“Overall,” says Sigua, “we’ve found 

no spatial or temporal buildup of soil 

phosphorus or other crop nutrients—

despite the annual application of fertilizers and daily in-field loading of animal 

waste.”

18
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

with a low concentration of total nitrogen 

and total phosphorus. Water in Bystre 

Lake was characterized as moderately 

colored and medium-hard. 

The TSI scores for all 3 lakes were in the 

“good” range: 35 for Lake Lindsey, 30 for 

Spring Lake, and 46 for Bystre Lake. 

Those findings indicate that current 

fertilization recommendations for bahiagrass-based pastures in central Florida 

offer little potential for harming the environment. They suggest that livestock 

operations might not be major contributors 

to excess loads of nutrients—especially 

phosphorus—in nearby surface waters, as 

long as the operations are properly managed. If the phosphorus is not showing 

up in the local system, it may be moving 

farther off site via groundwater flow.

High-Quality Forage for Hay and 

Grazing

Long-term study results show that the 

current recommendation for phosphorus 

may, in fact, be too low to adequately 

maintain growth of rhizoma peanut, 

Arachis glabrata. This perennial forage 

legume is well adapted to the warm, 

humid climate of central Florida, where 

it’s grown alongside bahiagrass. 

The high nutritional value of rhizoma 

peanut makes it an excellent feed for both 

ruminant and nonruminant animals. Periodic application of additional phosphorus 

and other micronutrients may be necessary 

to meet the forage peanut’s agronomic 

needs and to offset the nutrients lost because of animal production.

For the next 5 years, Sigua and other 

collaborators will be integrating the 

environment, plants, and animal genetic 

resources into a sustainable beef cattle 

agroecosystem for the subtropical United 

States. They will continue their research 

endeavors with the goal of optimizing 

forage-based cow-calf operations both 

to improve pasture sustainability and 

to protect water quality.—By Alfredo 

Flores, ARS.

This research is part of Water Availability and Watershed Management, an 

ARS national program (#211) described 

on the World Wide Web at www.nps.ars.

usda.gov. 

Gilbert C. Sigua is in the USDA-ARS 

Subtropical Agricultural Research Station, 

22271 Chinsegut Hill Rd., Brooksville, FL 

34601; phone (352) 796-3385, fax (352) 

796-2930, e-mail gilbert.sigua@ars.usda.

gov. X

Technician Kirstin Foulks prepares 

groundwater samples for analysis. Water 

samples were taken from a forage-based 

pasture in a cow-calf operation.

Gilbert Sigua and Kirstin Foulks take groundwater samples from a forage-based pasture 

in a cow-calf operation at the Subtropical Agricultural Research Station at Brooksville, 

Florida.

PEGGY GREB (D1028-1)

PEGGY GREB (D1026-1)

19
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

round New Year’s Day, there’s not much green on the 

coastal plains of North or South Carolina, except for 

neat rows of collards (Brassica oleracea). Different varieties of this leafy vegetable are nurtured by gardeners 

who sow their collard crops from heirloom seeds passed down 

through generations.

These fields provide garden greens through the late winter—

and they are a treasure trove of diverse collard genetic material, 

or germplasm. To ensure that this valuable resource doesn’t 

vanish, Mark W. Farnham has begun collecting heirloom collard 

seeds for preservation in the USDA National Plant Germplasm 

Collection (NPGC).

Farnham conducts plant genetic research for the Agricultural 

Research Service (ARS) in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1996, 

while studying just a few of these old collard varieties—also 

called “landraces”—he found distinct collard genotypes worthy 

of collection and preservation.

“Though a lot of these collard varieties are being perpetuated 

to this day, the different landraces still grown in the region are 

now in the hands of an aging population,” Farnham says. He 

realized that the caretakers who cultivated these plants could 

provide no guarantees for the long-term preservation of the 

heirloom landraces.

In 2003, the NPGC Plant Exchange Office provided funding 

for Farnham and his colleagues—entomologist Powell Smith 

of Clemson University and geographers John T. Morgan and 

Edward Davis of Emory and Henry College—to search for collard seeds in North and South Carolina.

A Homegrown Favorite Goes Commercial

Collard—a cole crop related to broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower—has always been a local staple in the South. But its 

commercial cultivation expanded dramatically in the 20th century, 

and is now dominated by a few hybrid varieties.

Collard production in the United States was valued at some 

$36 million in 2002, when Georgia led national production with 

almost 6,000 harvested acres. That same year, North and South 

Carolina harvested more than 2,000 acres each.

Commercial collard crops are not widely grown during hot and 

humid summer months because they are especially vulnerable 

to diseases like Fusarium fungus and a variety of insect pests. 

There have been other downsides as well.

“The genetic erosion of the collard germplasm pool has been 

severe in recent years because commercial collard hybrids have 

been adopted by both large-scale producers and home gardeners,” 

A

A Collection of Carolina Collards

Field plots at Charleston, 

which contain growouts of collard samples 

collected from Carolina 

seed-savers, illustrate the 

variation among samples 

for traits like leaf color, 

shape, and size. 

MARK FARNHAM (D1083-1)

20
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

Farnham notes. But plots of heirloom collards can still be found 

throughout this region.

These collards—often sold at farmers’ markets and roadside 

stands—are planted in August, and foot-long leaves are harvested 

from November to the end of February. The plants then flower 

and produce seeds that are gathered up and stored until the next 

round of planting.

These crops may provide more than just local color. They 

could contain genes useful for improving commercial varieties of 

collard—and varieties of other cole crops as well. In his previous 

studies, Farnham found indications that these collard landraces 

carry some genetic resistance to Fusarium.

Searching for Seeds

For several years, Farnham and his associates traveled throughout the Carolina winters on scavenger hunts for seeds. If it was 

early in the season, they looked for patches of green. In March, 

they began scouting for bright-yellow collard blossoms, for if 

the plant was in flower, it signaled that seeds were being kept 

by the gardener.

When they found a likely field, they stopped and talked to the 

gardener to find out if the collards were a commercial variety or 

a landrace with a more limited distribution. If the plant turned 

out to be an heirloom variety, they asked the owner if they could 

collect some of its seeds.

“In general, nearly all the seed savers were happy to discuss 

the collards they were growing,” Farnham says. “Usually, after 

talking for about an hour or so, they’d be more than willing to 

let us have some of their seeds.” In this way, the team collected 

87 collard seed samples, and sometimes obtained more than one 

landrace from a single saver.

These visits reinforced Farnham’s fears that unique collard 

landraces might soon disappear. While the youngest gardener 

they met was 48, the oldest was almost 90, and most of them 

were at least 70 years old. There was little evidence that the older 

gardeners had younger family members or friends who would 

continue to plant the heirloom varieties in the years to come.

Farnham says, “Many of the places we visited probably won’t 

have collard gardens in 10 years. I think we successfully saved 

some unique collard germplasm that was in danger of being lost 

very soon.” The samples collected by the team are now part of 

the ARS collection of vegetable Brassicas at Geneva, New York, 

where scientists maintain facilities for the preservation of plant 

germplasm.

In his lab, Farnham has grown out plants from some of the 

collected seeds, which have yielded varieties with distinct leaf 

shapes, colors, and sizes. He believes these differences indicate 

that the collected seeds contain a rich and diverse germplasm in 

need of further definition and study.

More varied and sturdier collard cultivars will be good news 

for producers and consumers. In the meantime, Farnham is 

pleased with the results of his fieldwork. “Plant scientists are 

always excited by new plant varieties and unexpected genetic 

traits,” he says. “It’s been great to find diversity like this right 

in our own back yard.”—By Ann Perry, ARS.

This research is part of Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics, 

and Genetic Improvement (#301) and Plant Diseases (#303), 

two ARS national programs described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Mark W. Farnham is with the USDA-ARS U.S. Vegetable 

Laboratory, 2700 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC 29414; phone 

(843) 402-5327, fax (843) 573-4715, e-mail mark.farnham@

ars.usda.gov. X

A sampling of leaves from different Carolina collard landraces 

clearly shows leaf variation among them. 

A Boost for Your Bones

Like other greens that are going gourmet, collards have 

a culinary following that extends far beyond their regional 

roots. That appreciation comes with benefits: In addition 

to vitamin A, USDA nutritionists have determined that 

collard leaves are loaded with an astonishing amount of 

bone-bolstering vitamin K.

Various Shades, Shapes, and Sizes

MARK FARNHAM (D1080-1)

21
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

highly esteemed traditional 

crop in India and Southeast 

Asia for centuries, mangoes 

have also become well established in tropical regions of 

Central and South America 

over the past 500 years. In the United 

States, mangoes are grown in Florida and 

Hawaii, as well as in Puerto Rico.

Introduction of mangoes into Florida 

and later development of a unique Florida 

group of mangoes have been thoroughly 

reviewed by ARS Subtropical Horticulture Research Station (SHRS) geneticist 

Ray Schnell in Miami over the past 

dozen years. In 1980, SHRS was formally 

named a clonal repository within the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) 

with primary responsibility for collecting 

and preserving mango and other subtropical crop species.

Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera,

which comprises about 30 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant 

family Anacardiaceae. The mango tree 

is referred to as Mangifera indica. While 

earliest plantings of mango germplasm 

at SHRS occurred in the 1920s, the first 

mango introductions to Florida date back 

to around 1880.

Historically, mango has been highly 

revered in southern Asia, and it’s been 

referred to as “the king of fruits.” Among 

Hindus, its leaves are ritually used for floral decorations in religious ceremonies and 

marriages. Today it is cultivated in tropical 

and warmer subtropical climates in Asia, 

Africa, Australia, and the Americas. With 

more than 1,000 known cultivars, it’s 

been said to be the most commonly eaten 

fresh fruit worldwide. Ripe mango is 

best known for its very sweet and unique 

taste, and its high water content makes it 

refreshing to eat.

One Shoot or Two?

Mango cultivars are classified based 

on the type of embryo that develops 

from the seed. Monoembryonic cultivars 

produce a single shoot, while polyembryonic types germinate multiple shoots. The 

early mango introductions to Florida were 

mostly from the West Indies and India. 

Cultivars from the West Indies flowered 

and set fruit well under Florida conditions 

but had a poor flavor. For instance, one of 

the most widely grown early West Indies 

introductions was nicknamed “Turpentine” because of its flavor; there are trace 

amounts of turpentine found in some rare 

varieties.

On the other hand, the early Indian 

mango cultivars were fine-flavored, but 

they flowered and set fruit poorly under 

south Florida conditions. So, through 

hybridization, cultivars were developed 

that embody desirable traits of Indian 

cultivars (mainly monoembryonic) and of 

Southeast Asian cultivars (mainly polyembryonic) and are suitable for production 

under Florida’s subtropical conditions.

Charting Mangoes’ Diversity

To efficiently develop improved mango 

cultivars, it is first important to understand 

genetic relationships among current Florida cultivars as well as their relationships 

to both Indian and Southeast Asian races. 

Schnell has been working with SHRS 

A

Tracing Florida Mangoes’ Family Tree

At the ARS Subtropical Horticulture Research Station in Miami, Florida, geneticist 

Raymond Schnell evaluates early flowering in a mango seedling selection. 

Fruit of the Florida cultivar Tommy 

Atkins is just one of several hybrids that 

produce dependably over a range of 

environmental conditions. 

MIKE WINTERSTEIN (D1098-1)

WILHELMINA WASIK (D1099-1)

22
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

colleagues—geneticists Steve Brown, 

Cecile Olano, David Kuhn, and Alan 

Meerow—to use microsatellite markers 

to evaluate the genetic diversity in the 

large collections of mangoes maintained 

at SHRS and at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, also in Miami. This will help 

identify the genes involved in mangoes’ 

wide adaptation.

Leaf material used in this study, 

maintained at the SHRS germplasm 

repository, was broadly categorized into 

groups by geographic origin: Florida, 

India, Hawaii, Central America, South 

America, Africa, Israel, and the Pacific. 

Plants originating from Cuba, Puerto 

Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and the 

West Indies were considered West Indian. 

The Southeast Asian group included 

plant material from Borneo, Burma, 

Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, 

Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.

Closer to India

DNA extraction and analysis performed 

on the leaf tissue led to findings suggesting that Florida mango cultivar types are 

more closely related to Indian types than 

to Southeast Asian types. Interestingly, 

the Florida types were not found to be 

genetically more diverse than either of the 

originating parental groups.

But the Florida mangoes are unique, 

and a subset of them has proven to have 

an unusually high level of production 

stability and environmental adaptability. 

Among these productive, adaptable mangoes are Keitt, Tommy Atkins, Haden, 

Parvin, and Irwin, all of which produce 

dependably over a range of environmental 

conditions.

There was a marked difference that 

clearly separated M. indica populations—

so much so that it separated Southeast 

Asian cultivars from all others. There was 

a close relationship between the Florida, 

Hawaii, and Israeli clusters—which 

was anticipated by the SHRS scientists, 

because much germplasm has been exchanged between plant breeders in the 

three areas.

“Understanding this valuable genetic 

architecture—how it arose, its mode of 

inheritance, and which mangoes have the 

highest rate of production and adaptability—will be of the utmost importance,” 

said Schnell. “It’ll be important both for 

future mango breeding efforts and for 

commercial production of mango, not only 

in Florida, but anywhere in the world with 

a similar climate.”—By Alfredo Flores,

ARS.

This research is part of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Genomics, and Genetic Improvement, an ARS national program 

(#301) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Raymond J. Schnell is with the USDAARS Subtropical Horticulture Research 

Station, 13601 Old Cutler Rd., Miami, 

FL 33158; phone (786) 573-7074, fax 

(305) 969-6410, e-mail ray.schnell@ars.

usda.gov. X

The Florida 

cultivar Keitt 

produces large 

fruit that tends 

to be pale green 

to pink and more 

of an elongated 

shape.

Fruit of the 

Florida cultivar 

Haden, a 

monoembryonic 

mango whose 

characteristics 

include fine 

flavor, bright 

colors—such as 

red and orange—

and a round 

shape. Haden is 

in the pedigree 

of most of the 

Florida mango 

cultivars. 

WILHELMINA WASIK (D1100-1) 

WILHELMINA WASIK (D1101-1)

23
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

hicken processing is big business with almost 9 billion 

broiler chickens being produced in the United States 

last year. Processing birds efficiently and economically is the name of the game. And researching ways 

to convert poultry into food that is safe for human 

consumption is what Agricultural Research Service 

food scientists strive to achieve.

Quality and safety of poultry products for the U.S. consumer 

must be ensured. At ARS’s Richard B. Russell Research Center, 

in Athens, Georgia, two ARS food technologists have examined 

the chilling stage of poultry processing to determine the best 

method for meat quality, food safety, and water management. 

Julie Northcutt is in the Poultry Processing and Swine Physiology Research Unit, and Doug Smith is in the Quality and Safety 

Assessment Research Unit.

More Than One Way To Chill Out

“While immersion chilling is still the predominant method 

used in the United States, seven poultry-processing plants have 

recently switched to air chilling, and several others have made 

arrangements to install air-chilling equipment in the near future,” 

says Northcutt. This method may make significant inroads in 

processing in the United States and open new product markets, 

particularly in Europe.

It’s important that carcass temperatures are quickly lowered 

after slaughter to prevent bacterial growth. The industry standard 

is to bring carcasses to 40 ̊F or less within 4 to 8 hours (depending 

on carcass weight) after slaughter to inhibit growth of pathogens 

and spoilage microorganisms. Pathogens are those bacteria that 

cause foodborne illness when consumed.

“Cooling of poultry is typically accomplished by one of three 

methods—immersion chilling, dry-air chilling, or evaporative 

Chillin’ Chickens

Which Method Works Best?

C air chilling,” says Northcutt. “In immersion chilling, carcasses 

are submerged in tanks of cold water or an ice and water mix. 

Dry-air chilling is achieved by blasting carcasses with cold air. 

Evaporative air chilling cools poultry down by a combination 

of cold-air blasts and water misting.”

Since, air- and immersion-chilling systems are now being used 

commercially, Northcutt and Smith worked with University of 

Georgia graduate student Roger Huezo to compare the effects 

of air chilling and immersion chilling on the microbiological 

profiles of broiler carcasses and meat quality.

Northcutt, Smith, and Huezo found no significant difference 

in bacterial pathogen levels between the two chilling methods. 

“Each of the chilling methods reduced bacteria populations 

to similar levels,” says Northcutt, “so once we discovered the 

similarities in carcass microbiology, we focused on water management and meat quality.”

Chewy or Tender?

During commercial processing, whole carcasses are aged 

under refrigerated conditions to allow the muscle fibers to relax 

and become tender. After aging for a few hours, the carcasses 

may be cut into parts or deboned.

Northcutt and colleagues tested the most popular part of the 

chicken: breast fillets. They compared tenderness of fillets removed from carcasses immediately after chilling (0 hours aging) 

to fillets aged on carcasses for 150 minutes or 24 hours after chilling. For air- and immersion-chilling methods, all breast fillets 

were considered tender or very tender after 24 hours of aging, 

but shorter aging times caused variations in tenderness.

According to Smith, shorter aging times are of interest to the 

industry because plants have limited space to store carcasses after 

chilling, and the additional holding time is costly.

After chicken carcasses have been 

immersion chilled or air chilled, 

food technologist Doug Smith 

removes broiler breast fillets while 

food technologist Julie Northcutt 

measures and weighs the fillets 

before they are processed with 

traditional marination and cooking 

techniques. 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D1023-1)

24
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

on water use is about more than just economics for the poultry 

industry; it’s also about the environment and water availability 

for future generations.”

Moving from immersion to air chilling would also involve 

a change for the processing plant and a learning curve for its 

employees. “One of the biggest concerns for the poultry industry 

is cleaning and sanitizing the areas associated with air chilling. 

It is much easier to clean and sanitize an immersion-chilling 

system,” says Northcutt.

Still, according to Northcutt, air chilling would save a minimum of one-half gallon of water for each bird processed. “Since 

9 billion chickens were processed last year, that would equate to 

a savings of 4.5 billion gallons of water if all 9 billion birds were 

air chilled,” she says. “But here’s the catch: air chilling takes 

longer—90 to 150 minutes—than immersion chilling, which 

typically takes 50 minutes. If you consider time, energy cost, and 

yield, the two processes are economically equivalent.”

Regulations May Tip the Balance

Water is at a premium in the Southeast, where residential 

and commercial users must compete for supplies. Stricter water 

regulations may help push conversion from immersion to air 

chilling. The rest of the Southeast is watching water restrictions in Georgia because it is 

the top broiler-producing state, 

at 1.3 billion chickens each year. 

Northcutt says that changes in 

Georgia typically affect the rest 

of the poultry industry.

“Currently there are seven 

plants in the United States that 

commercially air chill poultry 

and charge a premium price for 

the product. When air-chilled 

poultry products become 

commonplace, the price will 

drop, and there will no longer 

be an economic advantage to 

producing air-chilled poultry,” 

says Northcutt.—By Sharon 

Durham, ARS.

This research is part of Food Safety (Animal and Plant Products), an ARS national program (#108) described on the World 

Wide Web at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Julie Northcutt and Doug Smith are with the Richard B. Russell 

Research Center, 950 College Station Rd., Athens, GA 30604; 

phone (706) 546-3592 [Northcutt], (706) 546-3132 [Smith], fax 

(706) 546-3633, e-mail julie.northcutt@ars.usda.gov, douglas.

smith@ars.usda.gov. X

JULIE NORTHCUTT (D1036-1)

In the tests, immersion-chilled and air-chilled fillets were 

deboned immediately after chilling or after 150 minutes. The 

researchers found that 70 percent of the immersion-chilled fillets 

were slightly tough to tough, and 30 percent were tender to very 

tender. Of the air-chilled fillets, 44 percent were slightly tough 

to tough, and 56 percent were tender to very tender.

“In addition to improving meat quality, air chilling provided 

higher cooked-meat yields than immersion chilling. Color and 

texture of skinless breast fillets were similar for both chilling 

methods,” says Northcutt. The team believes that the lower 

cooked yield of the immersion-chilled fillets was the result of 

high moisture absorption during chilling, which was later cooked 

out of the product.

The issue of aging only relates to poultry that is further processed. “Processors selling whole carcasses may not have a reason to make a switch to air chilling based on meat quality,” says 

Northcutt. “Air chilling may, however, be a suitable alternative 

for deboning and other processing operations.”

Water, Water Everywhere—NOT!

The two principal poultry chilling methods vary markedly 

in their water use. According 

to recent surveys, it takes an 

average of 7 gallons of water 

to process each bird. Immersion 

chilling requires almost 3/4 of 

a gallon of water per bird to 

fill the chill tank at each shift 

startup and another half gallon 

of overflow—about 60,000 gallons depending on the length of 

the chiller.

The southeastern part of the 

United States is struggling to 

meet the water needs of its 

residents, and water costs are 

at a premium. “In 2005, some 

poultry processing plants in 

the South had to cut back on 

the number of birds they processed because water was not 

available. The drought has encouraged the privatization of water, with new companies being 

developed just to sell one of our most precious natural resources,” 

says Northcutt.

William Merka, former University of Georgia professor and 

poultry extension scientist, says water savings may be advantageous to processors. “Processors pay at least $4 for every 1,000 

gallons for water and sewer cost,” he says. “If they can save even 

half a cent per bird with water conservation, that would save 

about $1,250 per day or $325,000 annually. But cutting back 

Simulated immersion chilling using a technique of individually 

bagging broiler carcasses. The bagging prevents bacterial crosscontamination from one carcass to another.

25
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

rown throughout the Tropics 

as a plantation crop, coconuts 

yield several important agronomic products, including 

the fruit and its processing 

byproducts. In the United States, coconut 

trees are a tropical ornamental plant that’s 

highly in demand as a signature landscape 

element—particularly in Florida.

But in the 1970s, the lethal yellowing 

(LY) phytoplasma devastated the coconut 

canopy of South Florida and, by 1983, had 

destroyed about 100,000 coconut palms. 

Subsequently, the State of Florida Division of Forestry began a coconut-breeding 

program at ARS’s Subtropical Horticulture 

Research Station (SHRS) in Miami to try 

to solve the problem. Its objective was to 

develop new LY-resistant varieties and 

establish seed orchards of known resistant 

cultivars. Coconut germplasm was received from the Jamaican Coconut Board 

for breeding and disease-management 

studies at both SHRS and the University 

of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and 

Education Center.

Strategies for managing LY focused on 

replacing disease-susceptible, tall coconut 

varieties with resistant dwarf types. When 

state funding ended, the germplasm collections of coconut persisted and eventually were incorporated into the National 

Plant Germplasm System.

When geneticist Alan Meerow joined 

ARS in 1999, he began to review the coconut germplasm at SHRS. Fiji Dwarf (also 

known as “Niu Leka”) emerged as the 

prized jewel among the varieties because 

of its heavy, dense crown of short, dark 

leaves—features sought by ornamental 

growers, landscapers, and gardeners. 

Since then, Meerow and SHRS horticulturalist Tomas Ayala-Silva have continued 

to work with this variety with the tropical 

landscape horticulture industry in mind.

Fiji Dwarf’s exact origins are unknown, 

but the oldest known introductions came 

from the South Pacific. It looks like a tall 

G

Fiji Dwarf Sets New Durability 

Standards in Coconuts

coconut variety with a swollen trunk base. It 

has outcrossing reproductive behavior—a 

process that introduces unrelated genetic 

material into a breeding line, which 

reduces the probability of individual 

palms being subject to disease or genetic 

abnormalities. Fiji Dwarf also bears large 

fruit but lacks bright-red-fruited and 

yellow-fruited phenotypes. It has shown 

variable resistance to LY in Florida, but it 

is free of the nutritional deficiencies that 

plague most other coconut varieties grown 

on Florida’s relatively infertile soils.

Since 2001, the SHRS researchers have 

been using molecular tools to investigate 

the genetics of Fiji Dwarf and other 

varieties. Meerow and Silva want to know 

whether it’s possible to identify an LYresistant Fiji Dwarf genotype. So far, data 

indicates that Fiji Dwarf has the secondhighest gene diversity among the varieties 

after the talls—such as Panama Tall—and 

the largest number of unique genes of any 

cultivar group within the study.

Moreover, in the past 8 years, not a 

single Fiji Dwarf has died of LY at SHRS. 

It is possible that the material now being 

cultivated at SHRS represents fully resistant stock, but further research needs to 

be done to confirm that. At present, there 

is no LY screening program at SHRS, so 

these observations remain anecdotal.

ARS scientists are now working with 

the Dade Chapter of the Florida Nursery, 

Growers & Landscape Association to develop seed-production orchards in South 

Florida with genotyped stock of Fiji Dwarf 

and perhaps other varieties.—By Alfredo 

Flores, ARS.

Alan W. Meerow and Tomas AyalaSilva are with the USDA-ARS Subtropical 

Horticulture Research Station, 12501 Old 

Cutler Rd., Miami, FL 33158; phone (786) 

573-7075, fax (786) 573-7110, e-mail 

alan.meerow@ars.usda.gov, tomas.ayala.

silva@ars.usda.gov.

This research is part of Plant Genetic 

Resources, Genomics, and Genetic Improvement, an ARS national program 

(#301) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov. X

Two Fiji Dwarf (also called “Niu Leka”) coconut trees (foreground) at the Subtropical 

Horticulture Research Station in Miami, Florida. The taller palm in the background is a 

Royal Palm. 

ALAN MEEROW (D1111-1)

26
weet ackees—the national 

fruit of Jamaica—are back 

in cans on U.S. retail shelves 

after an import alert had once 

again taken them off. That’s 

partly because ARS agricultural engineer 

Thomas Whitaker provided a viable sampling plan to test the safety of the imported 

product. Whitaker is in the ARS Market 

Quality and Handling Research Unit in 

Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ackee fruit is smart because it knows 

how to defend its seeds until they mature 

to ensure a continued existence. When the 

fruit is still unripe, it contains a toxin, hypoglycin A, or HGA, that sickens anyone 

who dares to eat it. Because of the risk that 

unripe ackee containing HGA could enter 

the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) banned the canned 

fruit from import in 1973.

But the health hazard diminishes when 

the fruit is allowed to ripen completely before consumption or canning. So in 1998, 

the Jamaican government and several 

local processing firms developed safety 

plans to show they could control HGA. 

Only properly ripened ackees, without 

seeds, membrane, or outer rind, would be 

used in canning. The FDA inspected the 

processing firms and exempted them from 

the import alert.

“The first shipments came in 2000,” 

says Joyce J. Saltsman with FDA’s Office 

of Food Safety. But by December 2005, a 

variety of factors led to a series of safetytest failures. “The processing firms that 

had been exempted from the import alert 

were now back on automatic detention,” 

says Saltsman. “Their food-safety systems 

needed to be reevaluated.”

The only way that FDA could reestablish exemption status for any of the firms 

was to develop a monitoring program that 

balanced the cost of reducing the risk of 

accepting bad lots with the cost of an efficient sampling program. For that, they 

needed a statistical expert, and they found 

him in ARS’s Whitaker.

 “Among national and international 

commodity markets, he is considered an 

expert for his work in producing objective data on food toxins,” says Saltsman. 

Whitaker’s statistical analysis pointed to 

randomly selecting 10 cans out of each 

1,000-can lot, combining the fruit pieces, 

and then testing the batch to see whether or 

not it exceeded the toxic tolerance level.

To arrive at this strategy, Whitaker 

measured the variability in 

HGA concentration among 

individual cans in a lot and 

found that as concentration within a lot goes up, 

so does variability. 

“From the variability 

estimates, we predicted 

how much an increase in 

the number of cans to be 

inspected could reduce 

the risk of accepting lots 

that exceed the FDA limit,” says Whitaker. A cost 

analysis revealed whether 

the expense of conducting 

the sampling was prohibitive. In this case, 

it was not.”

“FDA not only uses Whitaker’s sampling plan, but so do Jamaican authorities and 

laboratories,” says Saltsman. “We have once again 

exempted all the firms 

from the import alert, so 

they now ship product to 

the United States.”—By 

Rosalie Marion Bliss, 

ARS.

This research is part of 

Quality and Utilization 

of Agricultural Products, 

an ARS national program 

(#306) described on the 

World Wide Web at www.

nps.ars.usda.gov.

Thomas B. Whitaker is in the USDA-ARS 

Market Quality and Handling Research 

Unit, 124 Weaver Laboratory, North 

Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 

27695-7625; phone (919) 515-6731, fax 

(919) 515-7760, e-mail tom.whitaker@

ars.usda.gov. X

Jamaican Delicacy Makes a Comeback

Statistical research helped put ackee fruit back on U.S. grocery shelves.

S

Unripe ackee fruit is closed. 

WIKIPEDIA, JEROME WALKER (D1124-1)

WIKIPEDIA, DOC TAXON (D1124-2)

Ripe ackee fruit. 

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 27
Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights

In comparison to the B biotype, the Q biotype is less susceptible to many pesticide types, leaving fewer chemical options 

for control. There is also increased concern that insecticide 

resistance may develop more rapidly with Q. Making things 

more difficult, the Q biotype is indistinguishable in appearance 

from the B biotype.

“This was not welcome news when we first heard about it,” 

says McKenzie. “But we’ve taken several steps to ensure that 

we’ll be able to accurately distinguish between the two whitefly 

biotypes.” As part of a nationwide task force studying movement 

of the Q biotype and related whitefly control issues, the ARS 

scientists have analyzed more than 3,000 individual whiteflies. 

The task force is composed of scientists from government agencies, universities, and private industry brought together to provide 

leadership in dealing with this new invasion.

Through the task force, samples of B. tabaci were sent to the 

ARS scientists by ornamental growers from sites throughout the 

United States. The researchers use DNA segments that provide 

unique signatures to distinguish between biotypes B and Q. When 

the Q biotype appeared in the United States, there was great 

concern that it may cross with the already well-established B 

biotype, producing an even more problematic pest. The geneticmarker work by the ARS scientists showed that there wasn’t a 

single hybridization event observed between the two biotypes. 

Therefore, a “superbug” hybrid is unlikely to develop.

The task force, with the help of the ARS scientists, has developed new treatment recommendations—such as watching your 

neighbor’s fields and getting your whiteflies biotyped—to deal 

with the Q biotype. Rapid implementation of these strategies 

has greatly reduced control problems and has helped to slow 

or prevent the Q biotype’s movement into fields of vegetables. 

Knowledge of its whereabouts will aid more effective action to 

curb its spread and prevent serious economic losses, especially 

to the ornamentals industry.

Details of this research have recently been published in the 

journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. More information on biotyping whiteflies and sound management guidelines 

can be found at www.mrec.ifas.ufl.edu/LSO/bemisia/bemisia.

htm.—By Alfredo Flores, ARS.

This research is part of Crop Protection and Quarantine, an 

ARS national program (#304) described on the World Wide Web 

at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.

Robert G. Shatters, Cindy L. McKenzie, and Laura M. Boykin 

are in the USDA-ARS Subtropical Insects Research Unit, 2001 

South Rock Rd., Fort Pierce, FL 34945; phone (772) 462-5800, 

fax (772) 462-5986, e-mail robert.shatters@ars.usda.gov, cindy.

mckenzie@ars.usda.gov, laura.boykin@ars.usda.gov. X

A New Whitefly’s on the Move

Watch Your B’s and Q’s!

A Whiteflies 

(Bemisia tabaci). 

STEPHEN AUSMUS (D288-23)

Molecular biologist Bob Shatters (left), entomologist Cindy 

McKenzie, and postdoctoral scientist Laura Boykin (foreground) 

study genetic polymorphisms in the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) that 

are used to study the relationships among the B and Q biotypes. 

Associating these genetic markers with population traits provides a 

rapid means of tracking the movement of whitefly types. 

DAVID MELIUS (D1097-2)

devastating tropical and subtropical pest—already 

considered a top invasive species—just got a bit more 

troublesome.

Bemisia tabaci is the scientific name for a collection of closely related whiteflies that are worldwide 

agricultural pests. There are more than 20 known biotypes of 

this species, with two of the most devastating to plants being 

the B and Q biotypes. Both can reduce yields of a broad range 

of agricultural crops.

The B biotype was first discovered in the United States in 1985, 

as a result of movement out of its native range of the Middle East/

Asia Minor area. This aggressive biotype threatened agricultural 

production throughout the southern United States until new integrated pest management strategies brought it into check. 

For years, researchers in ARS’s Subtropical Insects Research 

Unit at Fort Pierce, Florida—including entomologist Cindy 

McKenzie and molecular biologists Bob Shatters and Laura 

Boykin—have studied the B biotype of B. tabaci. Now, however, 

a disturbing new whitefly discovery has their attention.

First detected in the United States on poinsettias from an 

Arizona retail outlet in December 2004, biotype Q has been 

identified in 25 states. Its native range is the Mediterranean 

Basin, and as with the B biotype, human transport of infected 

host plants is suspected in the introduction of these pests well 

beyond their home ranges.

28
2008 South Atlantic Area Award Winners

Ronald T. Riley

Athens, Georgia

For significant improvements in the science-based 

risk assessment of foodborne fumonisin mycotoxins 

and improved food safety through discovery of biochemical mechanisms and exposure biomarkers.

Erica Spackman

Athens, Georgia

For timely development of rapid diagnostic tests 

for the control of important poultry diseases including avian influenza, Newcastle disease virus, 

and enteric viruses of turkeys.

Area Senior Research 

Scientist of the Year

Herbert L. Rothbard 

Outstanding Early Career 

Research Scientist of the Year

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 29
South Atlantic Area Environmental Policy Statement

The South Atlantic Area (SAA) conducts research to develop solutions to agricultural problems of high national 

priority. In conjunction with this mission, the SAA is committed to protecting human health and the environment; meeting Federal, State, and local laws, regulations, codes, and guidelines; and employing sustainable 

pollution prevention practices. Whenever feasible, SAA employees will utilize pollution prevention initiatives as 

the means for achieving compliance. We will strive to minimize impacts and continually improve our environmental performance by:

•	 Maintaining a policy of commitment to environmental excellence.

•	 Developing annual goals, objectives, and targets to advance our program performance in terms of both 

regulated and unregulated impacts.

•	 Considering environmental impacts when making policy, planning, purchasing, and operating decisions.

•	 Identifying and complying with pertinent requirements in Federal, State, and local laws and regulations, 

permits, Department of Agriculture and ARS policies and procedures, and industry codes that we must 

adhere to.

•	 Making personnel aware of their environmental roles and responsibilities, providing appropriate training, 

and holding employees accountable for their performance and actions, including recognizing them for 

outstanding performance.

•	 Effectively communicating with employees, partners, stakeholders, customers, and the general public 

our commitment to the environment and soliciting their input in developing and achieving our goals and 

objectives.

•	 Routinely monitoring our environmental operations and conducting periodic inspections, audits, and 

reviews to ascertain that we meet applicable standards and to evaluate our program effectiveness.

•	 Correcting identified deficiencies in a timely manner and taking appropriate steps to prevent their recurrence.

•	 Clearly documenting and reporting the progress and achievements related to this policy.

30 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
South Atlantic Area 

Location 

Athens, GA 

Charles Bacon, Location Coordinator

Richard B. Russell Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605

Phone: (706) 546-3288

charles.bacon@ars.usda.gov

Charles Bacon, Research Leader

Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit

Richard B. Russell Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3504, Fax: (706) 546-3116

charles.bacon@ars.usda.gov

South Atlantic Area Contacts 

USDA, ARS, SAA 

Area Director’s Office

Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3311 Fax: (706) 546-3398 

Darrell Cole, Area Director	 	 	 (706) 546-3311		 	 darrell.cole@ars.usda.gov

Karl Narang, Associate Area Director	 	 (706) 546-3311		 	 karl.narang@ars.usda.gov

Joon Park, Deputy Area Director	 	 (706) 546-3322		 	 joon.park@ars.usda.gov

Tony Edmund, EEO/CR Manager	 	 (706) 546-3614		 	 tony.edmund@ars.usda.gov

Don Nordlund, Technology Transfer

Coordinator	 	 	 	 	 (706) 546-3496		 	 don.nordlund@ars.usda.gov

Sharon Jett, Program Analyst	 	 	 (706) 546-3410		 	 sharon.jett@ars.usda.gov

USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Website

http.www.ars.usda.gov

South Atlantic Area (SAA) Website

http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/docs.docid=6490 (on the website, click on the SAA location desired)

Rick Barb, Research Leader

Poultry Processing and Swine Physiology	

	 Research Unit Richard B. Russell

Research Center 950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3105, Fax: (706) 546-3633

richard.barb@ars.usda.gov

Paula Cray, Research Leader

Bacterial Epidemiology and Antimicrobial

	 Resistance Research Unit Richard B.

Russell Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3305, Fax: (706) 546-3066

paula.cray@ars.usda.gov

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 31
Richard Gast, Research Leader

Egg Safety and Quality Research Unit

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3445, Fax: (706) 546-3055

richard.gast@ars.usda.gov

Kurt Lawrence, Research Leader

Quality Assessment and Safety Research Unit

Richard B. Russell Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3497, Fax: (706) 546-3607

kurt.lawrence@ars.usda.gov

Bruce Seal, Research Leader

Poultry Microbiological Safety Research Unit

Richard B. Russell Research Center

950 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3549, Fax: (706) 546-3771

bruce.seal@ars.usda.gov

David Swayne, Laboratory Director

Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory

750 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3434, Fax: (706) 546-3161

david.swayne@ars.usda.gov

Laszlo Zsak, Research Leader

Enderruc Poultry Viral Diseases Research Unit

Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory

750 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3654, Fax: (706) 546-3161

laszlo.zsak@ars.usda.gov

David Suarez, Research Leader

Exotic and Emerging Avian Viral Diseases

	 Research Unit

Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory

750 College Station Road

Athens, GA 30605-2720

Phone: (706) 546-3479, Fax: (706) 546-3161

david.suarez@ars.usda.gov

Dwight Fisher, Research Leader

J. Phil Campbell, Sr., Natural Resources 	 	

	 Conservation Center

1420 Experiment Station Road

Watkinsville, GA 30677

Phone: (706) 769-5631, Fax: (706) 769-8962

dwight.fisher@ars.usda.gov

Byron, GA 

Bruce Wood, Research Leader

Southeastern Fruit & Tree Nut Research Laboratory

21 Dunbar Road

Byron, GA 31008

Phone: (478) 956-6421, Fax: (478) 956-2929

bruce.wood@ars.usda.gov

Dawson, GA 

Marshall Lamb, Research Leader

National Peanut Research Laboratory

1011 Forrester Dr., S.E.

Dawson, GA 39842-0509

Phone: (229) 995-7417, Fax: (229) 995-7416

marshall.lamb@ars.usda.gov

Griffin, GA 

Gary Pederson, Research Leader

Plant Genetic Resources Conservation

Research Unit

1109 Experiment Street, Redding Bldg. 160

Griffin, GA 30223-1797

Phone: (770) 228-7254, Fax: (770) 229-3323

gary.pederson@ars.usda.gov

Tifton, GA 

Timothy Strickland, Research Leader

and Location Coordinator

GA Coastal Plain Experiment Station

P.O. Box 748

Tifton, GA 31793

Phone: (229) 386-3664, Fax: (229) 386-7215

tim.strickland@ars.usda.gov

Corley Holbrook, Research Leader

Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit

GA Coastal Plain Experiment Station

115 Coastal Way

Tifton, GA 31793

Phone: (229) 386-3176, Fax: (229) 391-3701

corley.holbrook@ars.usda.gov

32 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
Brian Scully, Research Leader

Crop Protection and Management Research Unit

2747 David Road

Tifton, GA 31793

Phone: (229) 387-2330, Fax: (229) 387-2321

brian.scully@ars.usda.gov

Charleston, SC 

Richard Fery, Research Leader

U.S. Vegetable Laboratory

2700 Savanna Highway

Charleston, SC 29414

Phone: (843) 402-5300, Fax: (843) 573-4715

richard.fery@ars.usda.gov

Clemson, SC 

Devron Thibodeaux, Research Leader

Cotton Quality Research Station

P.O. Box 792

Clemson, SC 29633

Phone: (864) 656-2488, Fax: (864) 656-1311

devron.thibodeaux@ars.usda.gov

Florence, SC 

Patrick Hunt, Research Leader

Coastal Plains Soil, Water & Plant Research Center

2611 West Lucas Street

Florence, SC 29501-1241

Phone: (843) 669-5203, ext. 101, Fax: (843) 669-6970

patrick.hunt@ars.usda.gov

Raleigh, NC 

David Marshall, Research Leader/Location

	 Coordinator

Plant Science Research Unit

1419 Gardner Hall, NCSU

Department of Plant Pathology

Raleigh, NC 27695-7616

Phone: (919) 515-6819, Fax: (919) 856-4816

david.marshall@ars.usda.gov

Timothy Sanders, Research Leader

Market Quality and Handling Research Unit

P.O. Box 7610, NCSU

Raleigh, NC 27695-7610

Phone: (919) 515-6312, Fax: (919) 513-8023

tim.sanders@ars.usda.gov

Roger McFeeters, Research Leader

Food Science Research Unit

322 Schaub Hall

Box 7624, NCSU

Raleigh, NC 27695-7624

Phone: (919) 515-2979, Fax: (919) 513-0180

roger.mcfeeters@ars.usda.gov

Joseph Burton, Research Leader

Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research Unit

3127 Ligon St., NCSU

Raleigh, NC 27607

Phone: (919) 515-2734, Fax: (919) 856-4598

joseph.burton@ars.usda.gov

Brooksville, FL 

Samuel Coleman, Research Leader

Beef Cattle Research Unit

Subtropical Agricultural Research Station

22271 Chinsegut Hill Road

Brooksville, FL 34601-4672

Phone: (352) 796-3385, Fax: (352) 796-2930

sam.coleman@ars.usda.gov

Canal Point, FL 

Jack Comstock, Research Leader

Sugarcane Production Research Unit

U.S. Sugarcane Field Station

12990 U.S. Hwy. 441

Canal Pt., FL 33438

Phone: (561) 924-5227, Fax: (561) 924-6109

jack.comstock@ars.usda.gov

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 

Ted Center, Research Leader

Invasive Plant Research Unit

Invasive Plant Research Laboratory

3225 College Avenue

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314

Phone: (954) 475-6543, Fax: (954) 476-9169

ted.center@ars.usda.gov

Ft. Pierce, FL 

Calvin Arnold, Laboratory Director

U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

2001 South Rock Rd.

Ft. Pierce, FL 34945

Phone: (772) 462-5810, Fax: (772) 462-5900

calvin.arnold@ars.usda.gov

Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights 33
Ed Stover, Research Leader

Horticulture and Breeding Research Unit

U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

2001 South Rock Road

Ft. Pierce, FL 34945

Phone: (772)462-5809

ed.stover@ars.usda.gov

David Hall, Research Leader

Subtropical Insects Research Unit

U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

2001 South Rock Road

Ft. Pierce, FL 34945

Phone: (772) 462-5814

david.hall@ars.usda.gov

Tim Gottwald, Research Leader

Subtropical Plant Pathology Research Unit

U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory

2001 South Rock Road

Ft. Pierce, FL 34945

Phone: (772) 462-5883

tim.gottwald@ars.usda.gov

Gainesville, FL 

Kenneth Linthicum, Center Director

Center for Medical, Agricultural &

Veterinary Entomology

1600/1700 SW 23rd Drive

Gainesville, FL 32608

Phone: (352) 374-5700, Fax: (352) 374-5852

ken.linthicum@ars.usda.gov

Peter Teal, Research Leader

Chemistry Research Unit, CMAVE

1600/1700 SW 23rd Drive

Gainesville, FL 32608

Phone: (352) 374-5730, Fax: (352) 374-5707

peter.teal@ars.usda.gov

John Sivinski, Research Leader

Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research Unit, CMAVE

1600/1700 SW 23rd Drive

Gainesville, FL 32608

Phone: (352) 374-5791, Fax: (352) 374-5804

john.sivinski@ars.usda.gov

Robert Vander Meer, Research Leader

Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research Unit,

CMAVE

1600/1700 SW 23rd Drive

Gainesville, FL 32608

Phone: (352) 374-5791, Fax: (352) 374-5818

robert.vandermeer@ars.usda.gov

Gary Clark, Research Leader

Mosquito and Fly Research Unit, CMAVE

1600/1700 SW 23rd Drive

Gainesville, FL 32608

Phone: (352) 374-5910, Fax: (352) 374-5922

gary.clark@ars.usda.gov

Miami, FL 

Robert Heath, Research Leader

Subtropical Horticultural Research Unit

Subtropical Horticulture Research Station

13601 Old Cutler Road

Miami, FL 33158

Phone: (305) 254-3643, Fax: (305) 238-9330

bob.heath@ars.usda.gov

Winter Haven, FL 

Elizabeth Baldwin, Research Leader

Quality Improvement in Citrus and

Subtropical Products Research Unit

U.S. Citrus & Subtropical Products

	 Research Laboratory

600 Avenue S, NW

Winter Haven, FL 33883

Phone: (863) 293-4133, Fax: (863) 299-8678

liz.baldwin@ars.usda.gov

Mayaguez, PR 

Ricardo Goenaga, Research Leader

Tropical Crops and Germplasm Research Unit

Tropical Agriculture Research Station

2200 Pedro Albizu Capos Avenue, Suite 20

Mayaguez, PR 00680

Phone: (787) 831-3435, Fax: (787) 831-3386

ricardo.goenaga@ars.usda.gov

34 Agricultural Research Reprint: South Atlantic Area Fiscal Year 2008 Research Highlights
Cover 3
Virginia

Georgia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Florida

Puerto Rico

Virgin Islands

South Atlantic Area

Office of the Director

Darrell Cole

Phone: (706) 546-3311

E-mail: darrell.cole@ars.usda.gov

Web: www.saa.ars.usda.gov