Eight specialty crop projects in Virginia awarded USDA grants

Eight specialty crop projects in Virginia have been awarded more than $614,000 in USDA grants.

The results of the award come after a competitive grant process established by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), according to a press release. The 2022 USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program’s funds support specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and nursery crops.

“As Virginia’s top private industry, agriculture continues to play a leading role in Virginia’s economy. To ensure this sector stays at the forefront of our economy, we must continue to support research and technological advancements that enhance the competitiveness of our specialty crops,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in the press release. “Specialty Crop Block Grants fund important projects that help improve food safety for growers, boost agricultural development and create new market opportunities, especially in our rural areas.”

VDACS, the press release said, gave priority this year to projects that assist farmers transitioning into specialty, high-value agricultural initiatives that address the eligible specialty crops; increase net farm income through high-value or value-added enterprises; find new ways to market or add value to specialty agricultural products; and develop pilot and demonstration programs in specialty agriculture that have the potential for transferability within rural Virginia. Funding is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and FY2022 funding is awarded for three years beginning Sept. 30, 2022.

“These grant awards further Governor Youngkin’s commitment to rural economic development, while also enhancing and diversifying our range of agriculture products,” Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr said in the press release. “I congratulate these educational institutions and organizations for advancing ideas that will help growers add value and expand market opportunities across Virginia.”

In “Evaluate Plant Activators and Enzymes in Control of Fire Blight Inoculum Using Droplet Digital PCR,” Virginia Tech and UVa will optimize viability droplet digital Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a diagnostic method that quantifies Erwinia amylovora (Ea) in cankers, and use it to evaluate effectiveness of Plant Growth Regulators (PGR), Plant Resistance Activators (PRA) and Anti-Biofilm Enzymes (ABE) in killing Ea populations from fire blight cankers. Their work could be the first step in commercialization of ABEs in the future.

Virginia Tech researchers, in cooperation with Virginia Cooperative Extension, will conduct research in “Evaluating Specialty Pumpkin Production and Postharvest Treatments for Shelf-Life Extension in Virginia,” and determine increasing the shelf-life of pumpkins by reducing postharvest diseases and exploring specialty pumpkins suitable for production in Virginia.

“Developing Aromatic Snacking Pepper Cultivars Suitable for Vertical Agriculture will allow Virginia Tech to evaluate the agronomic performance of 56 pepper cultivars grown in hydroponics under LED lights in a controlled environment, develop a protocol for measuring the aromatic flavor of pepper fruits, and establish a breeding population to select new snacking pepper cultivars with compact plant size, early flowering, and improved fruit flavor. The development of snacking pepper cultivars suitable for vertical farming will encourage the snacking pepper’s place as a new cash crop and create new job opportunities in Virginia.

Legumes currently used as cover crops in Virginia are also hosts to nematodes, which are detrimental to cash crops. The yellow field pea, however, does not permit host of nematode, which makes it an ideal rotation host for crops. In “Field Pea Production for Virginia: An Emerging Market?,” the Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center will work with farmers, extension agents and industry to validate the potential of the yellow field pea in Virginia, which could also be a soil protectant.

Virginia Tech Flavor Lab, within the Department of Food Science and Technology, in partnership with Small Fruit Research and Extension Program at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, proposes to coalesce traditional trellis practices for growing blackberries in “A New Way of Growing and Utilizing Blackberry: from Farms to Bottles.” The new trellis system will maintain yield and fruit quality.

In “Investigating Adjacent Land-use Risks to Improve Good Agricultural Practices,” Virginia Tech will investigate the recovery and transfer of aerosolized microorganisms to improve Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in specialty crop operations that reduce contamination risks associated with adjacent land-use.

“A Flavor and Shelf-life Focused Study of Virginia Cherry Tomatoes from Field and Indoor Facilities” will allow the Virginia Tech Flavor Science Lab, within the Department of Food Science and Technology, in partnership with Virginia State University and Virginia Tech Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), to enhance the competitiveness of Virginia cherry tomatoes by comparing the flavor, nutrition and shelf-life qualities of produce from conventional fields and an indoor hydroponic system. Findings will provide information on the effect of pre-harvest growing conditions on postharvest quality and create a platform for marketing the two types.

Local Food Hub will introduce and reintroduce approaches to working with specialty crop growers to increase market access and food safety in “Increasing Market Access for Virginia Growers: Grower/Buyer Opportunities and Food Safety Recordkeeping App.” A first-of-its-kind record keeping app will enhance growers’ ability to comply with food safety regulations.