2014 SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANT Final Report Agreement # 14-SCBGP-TX-0048 Submitted by: Karen Reichek, Director, Contracts & Grants Texas Department of Agriculture Trade & Business Development [email protected] or [email protected] Phone: (512) 936-2450 Fax: (888) 223-9048 Date Submitted: December 28, 2017 Final Revision Submitted: April 16, 2018 Table of Contents PROJECT 1: IDENTIFYING SUPERIOR PIERCE’S DISEASE RESISTANT GRAPE VARIETALS AND ROOTSTOCKS FOR TEXAS ..................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT 2: CONSERVING WATER IN RURAL AND URBAN VEGETABLE FARMING – YEAR 2 ...... 5 PROJECT 3: STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE NEW VARIETALS AND GRAPE GROWING ACREAGE OF TEXAS WIND GRAPES – SPECIALTY CROP PRODUCERS CONTINUING EDUCATION .................. 14 PROJECT 4: PECAN SCREENING NURSERY FOR COTTON ROOT ROT RESISTANCE .................... 21 PROJECT 5: EXPANDED PRODUCTION OF FRUIT AND SEED FOR NEW ENHANCED QUALITY, TAMU TOMATO CULTIVARS ............................................................................................. 35 PROJECT 6: INCREASING PROFITABILITY AND REDUCING INSECTICIDE USE IN TEXAS SOD PRODUCTION THROUGH MONITORING OF DESTRUCTIVE INSECT PESTS ................................. 42 PROJECT 7: SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF MELON AND ARTICHOKE USING ECO-POLYMERS: DOES IT MATTER TO CONSUMERS? ..................................................................................... 53 PROJECT 8: NORTH TEXAS WINE GRAPE CULTIVAR & ROOTSTOCK EVALUATION ................. 64 PROJECT 9: INCREASING CONSUMER AWARENESS OF THE HEALTH AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF BUYING TEXAS VEGETABLES ........................................................................................ 71 PROJECT 10: INCREASING SALES AND BRAND AWARENESS THROUGH MARKETING THE QUALITY AND NUTRITION OF TEXAS GROWN WATERMELON ............................................... 85 PROJECT 11: FEASIBILITY STUDIES FOR THE USE OF FLUTRIALFOL AND DIFFERENT ROOTSTOCKS TO CONTROL COTTON ROOT IN TEXAS WINEGRAPE ........................................ 95 PROJECT 12: EXPANDING ADVISEMENT AND SERVICE ROLES INSIDE THE TEXAS CITRUS INDUSTRY: GROWER OUTREACH IN PSYLLID CONTROL AND HLB EARLY DETECTION .......... 106 PROJECT 13: FROM ARTISANAL TO MASS MARKET: GROWING AWARENESS, TRIAL, AND PURCHASE OF TEXAS GROWN OLIVE OIL ........................................................................... 111 PROJECT 14: INVESTIGATING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND VARIETAL SELECTION FOR IMPROVING OLIVE ORCHARD PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF FRUIT ................................. 120 PROJECT 15: DEVELOPING EFFICIENT SCIENCE BASED IRRIGATION PROGRAMS FOR THE TEXAS CITRUS INDUSTRY ................................................................................................. 145 PROJECT 16: TEXAS SPECIALTY CROPS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS ................................. 149 PROJECT 17: RETAIL PLANT AND PRODUCT PROMOTIONS AND CONSUMER EDUCATION ........ 152 PROJECT 1: IDENTIFYING SUPERIOR PIERCE’S DISEASE RESISTANT GRAPE VARIETALS AND ROOTSTOCKS FOR TEXAS Partner Organization: Primary – Texas Hill Country Wineries Association; Partner – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services Project Manager: January Weise (THCW) James Kamas (AgriLife) Contact Information: [email protected], 512.216.9897 Type of Report: Final Date Submitted: May 5, 2016 Summary Pierce’s Disease (PD) of grape is a devastating and major limiting factor to further development of grape production in Texas. The use of susceptible traditional (Vitis vinifera) varieties in areas which have moderate PD pressure represents a financial risk for producers. Current methods of disease management rely heavily on chemical control of the vector insect population, a costly strategy and one that could have negative environmental impacts. In regions with high PD pressure, grape production is limited to a small number of hybrid grape varieties with limited market appeal. The work completed through this project complemented and enhanced previous efforts funded through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program by continuing the evaluation of existing and newly-bred PD resistant grape varieties and by facilitating the impact of properly selected rootstocks on the health and productivity of scion varieties. The project initially selected 32 potentially high quality, PD resistant varieties among known heirloom varieties, in addition to, selection from multiple, conventional breeding programs across the U.S. Of the initial 32 varieties, 9 varieties were identified and evaluated through this project. Additionally, 4 new varieties from the University of California, Davis breeding program were evaluated for disease tolerance and fruit quality. Project Approach Superior plot management was practiced during the 2015 growing season in three rootstock trial blocks and three PD resistant/tolerant variety trial blocks in Austin, Gillespie and Real Counties. These duties included pruning and training of grapevines, insect and fungal disease management, vineyard floor management, fertilization and proper timing and placement of supplemental irrigation water. These duties were performed to exacting standards on a timely basis in order to minimize variability within test sites in order for treatment differences to be accurately assessed. Rootstock Trial After pruning, 2014 grown pruning weights were taken, recorded and analyzed. These measurements are taken to compare vigor imparted by the twelve different root systems present in each of the three rootstock plots. Petiole samples were taken and submitted for analysis at bloom and véraison to compare the ability of each root system to forage for and assimilate nutrients among these three vastly different growing locations. Fruit maturity was monitored Texas Department of Agriculture 2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant –Final Report Page 1 through the summer and at mean peak maturity, fruit samples were taken to assess the impact of these rootstocks to impact fruit chemistry. Initial acidity, pH and soluble solids were assessed at harvest, but fruit samples were frozen to run complex analysis of color and flavor components. The growing conditions at the Real County location represent an extreme location in the Texas Hill Country with a high concentration of fractured limestone. These Spartan conditions quickly sorted out the twelve root systems with five of the twelve performing at a satisfactory level. 5BB, 5C, 1103P, Salt Creek and Dogridge (rootstock varieties) all provided sufficient vigor to at least grow and produce fruit. The other seven root systems did not perform well enough to support vine growth and productivity and there was an increasing percentage of death due to a variety of causes including cotton root rot infection and winter injury. To some degree both of those causes simply represent a lack of sufficient vigor to support vine growth and productivity at this site. The Real County rootstock block will be dropped for the 2016 growing season because project staff has the information needed for this location. The other two blocks in Gillespie and Austin counties are now at full maturity and will provide valuable knowledge on these rootstocks ability to impact date of bud-break, winter hardiness and influence on fruit quality. PD Resistant/Tolerant Variety Trial The Pierce's disease resistant/tolerant variety trial blocks have confirmed the existence of five selections, four from California and one from Florida with the confirmed ability to produce high quality wine grapes under high Pierce's disease pressure. California selections that have performed well include U0502-20 (white), U0502-38, U0505-35 and U0502-10 (reds). The Florida selection that continues to perform well is A-24-6-6 (white). While these selections perform well over a wide variety of climatic conditions, the California selections are more susceptible to downy mildew than other varieties traditionally grown in the Gulf Coast region, so growers will need to adapt more rigorous spray programs to manage this pathogen in wet seasons. This variable resistance to downy mildew makes some selections more adaptable to the Gulf Coast and others to the southwestern part of the Texas Hill Country, but wine quality among all of these selections make them suitable candidates for commercial production. Once again, in 2015, grapes from our research plots and other larger scale plots established in grower vineyards were used for small lots of wine for evaluation by a panel of Hill Country winemakers in early 2016. Research staff also saw first fruit of the U.C. Davis 94% V. vinifera selections this year from the Fredericksburg planting and collected initial data on fruit chemistry. Staff anticipate that larger blocks of the 94% selections in Industry and Leakey, Texas will be on-line for production in 2016 and there will be enough fruit to produce wine lots for evaluation. In anticipation of public release of the 88% selections, larger blocks of these selections have been propagated and established at the Fredericksburg Vineyard and Fruit Lab to be able to supply Texas growers with a source of propagation wood once these selections have been released. Problems and Delays An excessively wet spring presented high fungal disease pressure at all plot locations. To deal with this, increased fungicide sprays were applied and fruit quality was maintained. However, fruit from the Austin County rootstock trial was compromised by excessively high soil moisture and little valuable information