ESO-Cuc, the Eastern Sustainable Organic Cucurbit Project

Organic growers are facing many challenges limiting their production of cucumbers, melons, and squash. Each year, aphid-vectored viruses, striped cucumber beetles, and downy mildew challenge these growers in the Eastern United States. To help address these pests, the NIFA-OREI sponsored grant known as ESO-Cuc, the Eastern Sustainable Organic Cucurbit Project, is underway. ESO- Cuc is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration of plant pathologists, entomologists, extension specialists, and plant breeders at Auburn, Cornell and North Carolina State Universities, partnered with eOrganic and the Organic Seed Alliance, working to help growers producing organic zucchini/summer squash, melon and cucumbers in the Eastern United States. Popular cucurbit cultivars, with consumer-desired characteristics, often lack genetic resistance to pests. We are working to develop open-pollinated cultivars that are regionally adapted, tolerant to pests, flavorful and prolific. A key to making this process work is grower input. We determine what seeds need improvement by using a blend of surveys at grower meetings and conferences, needs assessments by the Organic Seed Alliance, and the direct feedback we get through on-farm evaluations of varieties during development. A critical lens on this process comes from research being conducted directly on these insects and pathogens and their nexus with cultural practices. Our job is to strengthen these classic favorites, characterize these pests, and present management strategies most suited for 21st century organic production.