Participatory Evaluation of Broccoli Varieties Grown under Organic Conditions in Western North Carolina

In 2012 we initiated a participatory broccoli (Brassica oleracea) variety screening to identify varieties best adapted to the climate and organic farming systems of western North Carolina. The study was established in the Organic Research Unit on the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, NC. Practices and products used were in accordance with the U.S.D.A. National Organic Program. Seven organic farmers selected 19 standard heading type varieties and nine unusual varieties (romenesco, rapini, and sprouting types) to be included in the trial. They also selected sixteen traits to be evaluated for the wholesale and retail markets. Transplants were set into raised beds with white-on-black plastic mulch with drip-irrigation. Research staff rated the broccoli throughout the season. At a summer workshop in the middle of the harvest season, 50 growers used a small group consensus process to rate the test plots for quality and market acceptability. A blind taste test was also conducted. It was a stressful growing season because of high heat conditions early in the season and extensive rains that resulted in flooding in the test area. In this first year, a number of the varieties tested produced higher yields, more marketable heads, and better tasting broccoli than did the standard variety Packman. The Oregon State University (OSU) West Coast and East Coast participatory populations and ‘Arcadia’ performed the best on head color. None of the varieties had a pronounced dome shaped head.  The varieties Bay Meadows, Gypsy, and Belstar all performed in the top five for both bead uniformity and head smoothness, indicating they were the most heat tolerant of the varieties studied. Growers rated the OSU East Coast Population as their favorite. Scientists rated ‘Bay Meadows’ as having the best quality. In general, growers rated the varieties as more marketable than the researchers did. In taste tests, the varieties Belstar, Batavia, Bay Meadows, and the OSU West Coast participatory population all were more likely to be purchased than Packman based on flavor. ‘Green Goliath’ yielded the greatest. Despite having close to the lowest yield, the OSU East Coast participatory population had the most side-shoots. Across all traits ‘Bay Meadows’, ‘Batavia’, ‘Belstar’, the OSU West Coast and East Coast participatory populations outranked ‘Packman’, in that order. Out of the unusual varieties, Tipoff romenesco, Atlantis, and Purple Peacock were the best performing varieties. This study is a complimentary study to the Developing an Eastern Broccoli Industry project.

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