2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Stakeholder-driven organic high tunnel systems research in the Southeast is lagging behind what has been investigated for cooler climates. Organic vegetable growers in humid sub-tropical climates would benefit from research evaluating how to optimize these protected culture systems in a way that integrates improved crop performance and resilience, environmental stewardship, and economic viability. The objective of the project was to identify critical research needs for developing integrated high tunnel systems to promote the growth and expansion of organic vegetable production in the Southeast. We began by completing in-depth interviews with a panel of organic producers with extensive experience using high tunnels. Collaborators on the project provided a roster of ten farmers and personnel at the University of Florida completed in-depth interviews with eight. We presented the findings at the first meeting involving the stakeholder representatives in October 2016. After an extensive discussion, we identified six related sets of decisions that organic high tunnel users must make and for which there are few, if any, science-based recommendations. These are (1) decisions about the cropping system (crop selection, cover crops, and crop rotations); (2) management of the high tunnel environment through ventilation and heating; (3) soil and nutrient management; (4) pest and disease management; (5) economics; and (6) attracting pollinators and beneficial insects. We summarized our understanding of the major needs expressed by the expert panel and sent a short questionnaire to the panel members. We asked them to rank the six broad topical areas in terms of importance as an area for research and identify the three most important crops to include in the research. This verified our interpretation of what growers indicated in the interviews and made sure we reached valid results about their needs and priorities. They provided two points of clarification. First, pollinators and beneficial insects are a subset of the general topic of pest and disease management. Second, economic issues are specific to each of the key decisions that growers make and are a major factor in assessing the biological research. We then developed and distributed a questionnaire to organic vegetable growers using high tunnels in Florida and Georgia. We asked respondents to rank specific research topics on a scale of 1 (not at all important) to 5 (extremely important). The findings will direct our research objectives in future high-tunnel projects focused on improving organic vegetable production and management.