Transportation and Marketing

Specialty Crop Multi‐State Program

Fiscal Year 2019

Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 11

Amount of Funds Awarded: $9,496,052.00

For more information, please visit the grant program's website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/scmp

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grant recipients.

Arizona

Recipient: Arizona Department ofAgriculture, Phoenix, AZ

Award Amount: $487,685.00

Project Type: Research

Expanding Novel Sources and Post‐Production Uses for Commercial Mushroom Substrates in the Western United States

The Arizona Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with University of Arizona and University of California Cooperative 

Extension, plans to advance commercial mushroom production, and includes collaborators and partners in academia and 

industry in Arizona and California. Project outcomes are to improve production and profitability of commercial mushrooms 

through increased utilization of local agricultural/industrial wastes as production substrates and increased nutritional value of 

resulting mushrooms grown on modified substrates and environmental conditions. Moreover, this effort will further increase 

economic efficiency by repurposing spent substrate as novel resources in other agricultural systems. The project will deliver

industry‐relevant findings and training on substrate utilization/repurposing through state‐based extension programs. The 

project will also collaborate with communities to deliver research findings to consumer groups on the nutritional content of 

mushrooms and the dietary and health benefits of increased mushroom consumption. This multi‐state collaboration 

represents a planned expansion of the very successful research and extension programs supported for several years by the 

Arizona Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. California is well prepared to implement these programs due to the expanding 

efforts of state collaborators to support local mushroom production.
California

Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA

Award Amount: $999,992.00

Project Type: Research

Climate Ready Landscape Plants

The western United States nursery stock, bedding, annual, and perennial plant sales generated more than $2.9 billion in 2017,

with nursery stock sales from this region alone accounting for 37.6 percent of total United States sales (Agricultural Statistics, 

2017). However, climate change and increased urban water demand threaten future green industry sales. The western United 

States is expected to endure extreme droughts escalating in severity due to climate change, less predictable precipitation 

patterns, and decreased soil moisture (Cayan et al., 2010). Urban water supplies will be further stressed by population growth. 

The populations of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah increased by 1.7 percent or more from 2017 to 2018 (United States Census 

Bureau, 2018). Low water‐use plants must be supplied by growers and utilized by the landscape industry to facilitate water 

conservation by reducing landscape irrigation requirements. To assist the green industry in responding to this need, the 

California Department of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the University of California, Oregon State University, 

University of Washington, University of Arizona, and Utah State University, will create a non‐biased plant trials network that

assesses plant performance under different irrigation regimes. Trial methods developed in California will now be expanded to 

four additional western states: Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Plants irrigated at three different levels will be 

measured for growth, and rated for aesthetic quality. Plant material that performs well under low‐ water conditions will be 

recommended for production and utilization. Information developed will be provided to the green industry to aid in sustainable 

decision making, marketing, and businesssupport.

Recipient: California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA

Award Amount: $885,801.00

Project Type: Research

Developing Strategies for Increasing Marketable Yield in California and Florida Pomegranate Orchards

Commercial production of pomegranate has been an important specialty crop industry in California and has emerged as an 

alternative specialty crop in Florida in recent years. California farmers have been switching to drought tolerant crops like 

pomegranate because of water restrictions and costs. Florida growers’ interest in pomegranates increased as citrus growers face 

unprecedented challenges from citrus greening and berry growers face fierce competition from other countries. Florida growers

have urged testing of pomegranate varieties to evaluate their plant growth and fruiting characteristics in Florida. The California 

Department of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the University of California, University of Florida’s Gulf Coast 

Research and Education Center, Texas A&M University, California State University, and the USDA – Agricultural Research 

Service’s National Clonal Germplasm Repository ‐ Tree Fruit & Nut Crops & Grapes, plans to develop strategies to increase 

marketable yield of pomegranate in California and Florida. The first objective is to evaluate germplasm and breeding lines for 

plant growth, flowering, crop yield and fruit quality. This objective will be met by field trials of pomegranate varieties and 

breeding lines in California and Florida, by sensory evaluation and quality assessment, and by sequencing the genome of 

‘Wonderful’ pomegranate and developing DNA markers and genetic linkage maps for expedited development of competitive 

pomegranate varieties. The second objective is to develop effective management strategies to address fungal diseases of 

pomegranate, the commodity’s most urgent production issue. This objective will be met by trialing promising fungicides and 

screening existing germplasm and new breeding populations under natural disease pressures in pomegranate orchards in 

California and Florida and under artificial inoculation. These objectives will identify and develop cultivars that have the potential 

for commercialization and will distribute promising varieties to growers for profitable and sustainable pomegranate production.
Recipient: California Department of Food andAgriculture, Sacramento, CA

Award Amount: $999,985.00

Project Type: Research

Evaluating the Food Safety Impacts of Cover‐Crop Grazing in Fresh Produce Systems to Improve Cover Crop Adoption, Crop‐ 

Livestock Integration, and Soil Health

Winter cover crops have demonstrated benefits for growers and the environment: enhanced soil fertility, structure, water 

infiltration and storage, and reduced nitrate leaching. Nonetheless, challenges in expanding cover crop use remain due to 

concerns over cover crop water use and nutrient immobilization, which could increase deficiencies and increase input costs of

the following crop. Many growers consider livestock grazing of cover‐cropped fields in fresh produce operations as a way to 

enhance soil health and environmental benefits by increasing carbon inputs and nutrient cycling. However, recent concerns 

about microbial food safety are limiting expansion of this practice because livestock grazing may introduce fecal‐ borne 

foodborne pathogens into soil with a potential for transfer to harvested produce that will be consumed raw or minimally 

processed by consumers. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the University of California 

University of Maryland Eastern Shore, USDA – Agricultural Research Service, University of Minnesota, and The Organic Center, 

plans to evaluate the food safety impacts of sheep grazing cover crops, compared to tilled termination of cover crops (no 

livestock integration) and winter fallow, before spinach and cucumber. Specifically, project staff will 1) determine food pathogen 

persistence/survival in soil and transfer to vegetable crops, and 2) determine the relationship between soil health properties, 

environmental factors and pathogen survival in grazed cover crop‐vegetable production in three states. Changes in soil health

indicators will be measured over two years of grazed cover crop‐vegetable production, and assess benefits and potential 

tradeoffs of vegetable cash crop productivity. Benefits of grazing and food safety impacts will be communicated via in‐field 

demonstration and online tools, outreach events, conference presentations, and publications; targeted to growers, 

policymakers, and consumers.

Recipient: California Department of Food andAgriculture, Sacramento, CA

Award Amount: $962,804.00

Project Type: Research

Adapting Avocados for Commercial Success in Extreme Environments to Enhance U.S. Based Avocado Production

United States avocado consumption has more than quadrupled in the last 10 years with growth largely sustained by imported 

‘Hass,’ currently accounting for over 95 percent of sales. Expansion of domestic production has been slow because ‘Hass’ is 

extremely sensitive to environmental stresses. However, recent advances, namely, development of new varieties more resilient 

to non‐optimal conditions and advances in production technologies, have made it possible expansion of domestic production 

into diverse locations such as the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) in Central California and the Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in Texas, 

historically considered marginally suitable due to lack of adapted varieties and high summer/low winter temperatures. New 

varieties are now available for evaluation against the industry standard, ‘Hass.’ Moreover, new technology to modify the growth 

environment provides for stress mitigation exists. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, in collaboration with the 

University of California and Texas A&M University, will conduct large‐scale trials of improved (high‐yielding, high‐quality, more 

resilient) varieties under conventional versus modified environmental conditions in the SJV and the RGV. This research will 

streamline evaluations that were planned separately for California and Texas. The overarching goal is demonstration of the 

feasibility of expanding United States avocado production into areas currently considered marginal. Both areas grow substantial 

citrus crops, currently threatened by Huanglongbing, a fatal disease. Increasing domestic avocado production will give domestic 

growers access to newly expanded market demand, increase industry resiliency, and broaden the availability of specialty crops 

with nutritional and health benefits for consumers.
Florida

Recipient: Florida Department of Agriculture and ConsumerServices, Tallahassee, FL

Award Amount: $850,816.00

Project Type: Research

Improving Lettuce Cultivars against Bacterial Leaf Spot (BLS) through Breeding, Genetics, and Study of the BLS‐Lettuce 

Interaction

Cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) represents a $2 billion business largely situated in California, Arizona, and Florida. Lettuce is 

also an important component of sales for small diversified farms in the Mid‐Atlantic and everywhere else in the United States. 

Bacterial Leaf Spot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians (Xcv) is an unpredictable disease causing severe economic 

losses. Currently there is no meaningful control method available. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer 

Services, in collaboration with University of Florida, the Pennsylvania State University, and the USDA – Agricultural Research 

Service in Salinas, California, to use plant breeding and genetic approaches to study disease resistance and diversity of 

interactions between lettuce and the Xcv. Marker development and other methods will be used to introduce novel resistance 

genes into romaine, iceberg, leaf, and butterhead types of lettuce. Additionally, analysis of whole genome sequences and other 

methods will identify pathogen genes involved in disease resistance reactions. These genes and other specific sequences will be 

developed into race specific detection, identification, and quantification protocols that will be useful for developing seed assays. 

The identification of weeds as potential reservoirs for Xcv will be determined. This is a 90 percent research and 10 percent 

extension project that will develop scientific and extension material for the growers’ communities of the states of California, 

Arizona, Florida, and the Mid‐Atlantic region centered in Pennsylvania.

Missouri

Recipient: The University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Award Amount: $923,155.00

Project Type: Research

Participatory Chestnut Breeding ‐ Establishing a Participant Network to Characterize Genetic Diversity and Ancestry of 

Superior On‐farm Germplasm

United States chestnut cultivation for nut production has increased through grower‐led advancement. Grassroots chestnut 

production over the past decade has led to the successful establishment of multiple farmer cooperatives and many new regional 

markets in the Midwest. Regional industry leaders indicate that demand perennially exceeds supply and that chestnut 

cultivation must expand accordingly. In fact, the number of chestnut farms in the United States grew by 57 percent from 2012 to 

2017, including over 400 new chestnut farmers in midwestern and neighboring states. Chestnut orchards in the region are 

primarily comprised of half‐sibling seedling families from open‐ pollinated traditional Chinese chestnut varieties. While suitable 

for first‐generation production, these plant materials serve the dual purpose of pre‐breeding ‐ to identify superior individuals 

that have recombined desirable traits and improved adaptability. There are in excess of 7,000 chestnut seedlings of bearing‐age 

(representing 20 half‐sibling families) on farms in the Midwest. The University of Missouri, in collaboration with the University of 

Notre Dame, will formalize a participatory network of chestnut growers to characterize on‐farm germplasm and assemble core 

sets of superior selections. Accordingly, the proposal has three objectives: (i) develop a database of on‐farm germplasm in the 

Midwest; (ii) expand the genetic base of Phytophthora root rot resistance in Castanea germplasm; (iii) characterize the 

phenotypic diversity of top database selections; and (iv) characterize the diversity, parentage, and ancestry of the database

selections with expressed sequence tag‐Simple Sequence Repeat (EST‐SSR) markers. Building genetic improvement efforts from 

this pre‐existing material capitalizes on decades of farmer investments and evaluations, offering an extraordinary opportunity to 

assemble the improved genetic base necessary to establish a dedicated breeding program.
Rhode Island

Recipient: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Award Amount: $444,790.00

Project Type: Crop‐Specific Project

Supporting Farmer Adoption of Laser Scarecrow Technology for Bird Control in Sweetcorn

The University of Rhode Island will partner with Cornell University and USDA‐APHIS’s National Wildlife Research Center to study 

the ability of laser scarecrows to reduce bird damage to sweet corn and develop the best management practices for using laser 

scarecrows in sweet corn. The project staff will educate sweet corn growers and agricultural service providers about the benefit 

of adopting laser scarecrows while providing technical support through the process. The purpose of the project is to support 

sweet corn growers in adopting laser scarecrows, alone or in combination with bird distress calls, as a tool to protect fresh

market sweet corn from pest birds. In addition, the research team will disseminate the project results through Cooperative 

Extension and USDA‐APHIS‐Wildlife Services channels and peer‐reviewed journals, grower meeting, and conference.

Texas

Recipient: Texas Department of Agriculture, Austin, TX

Award Amount: $949,423.00

Project Type: Research

Enhancing Pepper Production, Profitability, and Seed in the Southwest U.S.

Hot pepper production is a key component of the agriculture industries in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Despite increased 

demand for hot peppers and hot pepper products, the United States is still a net importer of these commodities. Overall 

domestic production has stagnated in recent decades in part due to increased labor/input costs as well as lack of adapted 

cultivars and improved production practices to minimize environmental stress impacts. These limitations are negatively 

impacting the livelihoods of farming communities in the southwestern United States. Improving overall production efficiency by 

implementing new agronomic technologies and practices can reduce production costs and help reverse the downward trends in 

United States production. The Texas Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and New 

Mexico State University, plans to optimize production, product quality, marketing efficiency, and profitability of hot pepper 

production in the U.S. This goal will be accomplished by: 1) identifying high‐yielding, stress‐tolerant cultivars among recently‐

developed varieties that are adapted to specific locations; 2) developing and implementing efficient cultivar and site‐ specific 

production strategies to minimize environmental stress/disease impacts, enhance product quality, and minimize production 

costs; 3) implementing practices to detect, monitor and control plant pathogens on peppers; and 4) developing a matrix of cost‐

of‐production budgets to reveal the most profitable cultivar‐location‐production practice combinations and to assess the socio‐

economic impacts of improved pepper production. By implementing these strategies, it is anticipated that significant 

improvements in production efficiency, production cost reductions, and a sustainable supply of safe and high‐ quality products 

that will allow growers to remain competitive.
Virginia

Recipient: Health Care Without Harm, Reston, VA

Award Amount: $997,765.00

Project Type: Marketing and Promotion

Building and Promoting Institutional Markets for High‐Protein Specialty Crops

Health Care Without Harm will collaborate with Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Colorado State University Extension, 

Ecotrust, and another group to be determined to create new markets with institutional food buyers in the health care sector for 

high‐protein specialty crop producers, particularly of legumes such as dry pulses and fresh peas and beans, as well as processors, 

and value‐added product manufacturers that use these crops. The project will implement a national promotional campaign with 

the health care sector around high‐protein specialty crops and conduct in‐depth purchasing pilots in four distinct regions: Pacific 

Northwest (Oregon and Washington), California, Colorado, and the Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont). High‐protein specialty crops provide an opportunity to meet dietary protein 

needs while also providing human and environmental health benefits. Additionally, engaging institutional buyers to purchase 

from their regional producers strengthens regional food systems and stimulates the economies of impacted farm communities

Washington

Recipient: Washington State Department ofAgriculture, Olympia, WA

Award Amount: $993,836.00

Project Type: Food Safety

Advancing Robotic Approaches to Pollination for Improved Yield and Quality in Fruit Crops

There is an estimated 180,000 acres (~2,500 farms) of apples planted in Washington (USDA National Agricultural Statistic 

Services, 2017) alone, contributing to ~$2 billion direct and ~$10 billion downstream economic activities/impact to the state. 

Another 23,000 acres of apples is planted in Pennsylvania by ~2300 farmers. Other tree fruit crops such as cherries, and pears 

also make huge economic impact nationally. Profitability of these crops depends heavily on product quantity and quality – two 

components that are dependent on efficient pollination during flowering stage. For pollination, growers currently rely heavily on 

renting hives of honeybees, which is declining rapidly. Environmental conditions also interfere with the natural pollination 

process thus causing huge uncertainty in achieving optimal pollination. The Washington State Department of Agriculture, in 

collaboration with Washington State University and Pennsylvania State University, plans to develop a robotic pollination system 

that can lead to efficient and reproducible pollination of tree fruit crops (e.g. apples). Specifically, the project will focus on; i) 

developing a machine vision system for identifying and locating blossoms in orchards; ii) determining pollination targets and 

timing through incorporating horticulture knowledge; and iii) developing and evaluating a pollination end‐effector and overall 

robotic system. By the end of the project, it is expected that a prototype and field validation study will provide sufficient 

information for companies (e.g., collaborator FFRobotics) to develop and commercialize a robotic pollination system. 

Commercial adoption of this technology will substantially improve farmer’s ability to pollinate optimal amount of crop at lower 

cost to achieve high yield and quality of fruit crops resulting in a substantial benefit to the tree fruit industry.