Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Georgia Ballroom (Sheraton Hotel Atlanta)
Major vegetable crops benefit from protected cultivation structures like greenhouses, hoop houses, high tunnels and low tunnels. They extend the growth of these vegetables by extending the season. Controlled environmental conditions also help to control the insect pest infestations and harsh abiotic stresses. Leafy greens are small stature crops that can easily be grown inside hoop houses in an off season under the controlled environment. Varietal evaluation trial for twenty six varieties of six different organic leafy green vegetables including lettuce, kale, mustard, spinach, swiss chard, collards and amaranths was conducted in the fall of 2015 in the greenhouse at Tennessee State University, Nashville. Among the six lettuce cultivars, ‘Buttercrunch’ had the highest yield followed by ‘Black-seeded Simpson’ with average plant weights of 455.8g and 308.9g, respectively. ‘White Russian’ kale and ‘Tender green’ mustard performed well and had the highest yields with average plant weight of 317g and 634.6 g/plant, respectively. ‘Golden chard’ of Swiss chard, and the ‘Hopi red dye’ of amaranths had the highest yield with average plant weight of 211.0g and 89.0 g/plant, respectively. No significant difference in average plant weight or total yield per acre observed in collard greens. Aphid infestation below threshold level noticed on ‘Red Russian’ cultivar late in the season.