Final Report Grant No. 15SCBGPWI0054 Specialty Crops Block Grant Program Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Report Date: November 28, 2018 Sheila Harsdorf Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Secretary Trade and Consumer Protection 2811 Agriculture Drive Madison, WI 53718 Phone: (608) 224-5015 Contact for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Program Coordinator: Juli Speck Grant Specialist Division of Agricultural Development Phone: (608) 224-5134 Email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture received $1,305,944.30 from the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Grant No. 15SCBGPWI0054. The Department was able to fund 19 projects to promote and improve specialty crop industries in the state of Wisconsin or the Midwest. WI DATCP is using 8% of the funds to cover some administrative costs for the finance department to track and disperse the funding and the Grants Manager to implement the program. Enclosed are the reports submitted by 19 grantees. Grant Projects: FY15-01 Meeting Export Demands through Innovative Crop Management FY15-02 Managing alternative pollinators through understory management in Wisconsin apple orchards FY15-03 Development of new cold hardy seedless table, juice and raisin grape cultivars FY15-04 Understanding Spotted Wing Drosophila seasonal phenology and temporal and spatial distribution within the crop to refine management practices FY15-05 Examining landscape-level hypotheses to conserve water and enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in central Wisconsin FY15-06 Tagging of resistances to pink root and Fusarium basal rot of onion and development of a resistant open-pollinated red onion for Wisconsin growers FY15-07 Farm to glass: university outreach to improve the quality of Wisconsin’s fermented beverages 14-08 FY15-08 Expanding weather-based web tools for insect, disease, and agronomic management of Wisconsin vegetable crops FY15-09 Neonicotinoid concentrations in succulent snap bean, sweet corn and peas following at-plant concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides FY15-10 Food Safety Education Project FY15-11 Mitigating WI Hop Diseases Through Clean Rhizomes and Stock Certification (Project #15-011) FY15-12 Enhancing market acceptance and quality of Wisconsin hops to craft brewers FY15-13 Instructional resources to improve the safety, efficiency, and cost of growing and harvesting hops FY15-14 Scaling up the pheromone-based mating disruption program in Wisconsin cranberries FY15-15 Effects of fungicide and fertilizer applications on bee fidelity to cranberries FY15-16 Developing Beginning and Minority Growers for Larger Markets FY15-17 Biological control of flea beetle and cranberry fruitworm using native entomopathogenic nematodes (FY15) FY15-18 Optimizing nitrogen fertilizer applications for snap bean production to improve water quality FY15-19 Wisconsin Specialty Mushroom Growers Education and Outreach 2 1) Meeting Export Demands through Innovative Crop Management (FY15-01) Report Date: August 30, 2018 I. Project Summary Ginseng is a high value crop for Wisconsin, annually totaling over $100 million in value. Disease pressure from fungal pathogens can be a serious problem for growers with losses reaching >50% in some gardens. Due to the export market for ginseng, growers must also be careful in regards to pesticide residues that can sometimes accumulate in the roots. For example, exports to certain markets have dropped by more than 90% due to issues associated with changes to maximum residue limits (MRLs). The purpose of this project was to reduce pesticide costs and residues by implementing biocontrol and compost products, improving our knowledge of seed treatments and determining which products are most likely to result in detectable residues. B. Many of the experiments conducted for the FY2015 Wisconsin SCBG proposal were continuations of work completed for the FY2014 Wisconsin SCBG. After a closer analysis of the results from 2014 seed treatment and greenhouse trials, we were able to determine which treatments should be included for further testing. Some preliminary residue tests conducted for the FY2014 grant were also used to construct the protocols for the FY2015 residue experiments. The compost products that were not helpful (or sometimes harmful as indicated in the 2014 project results) for disease control on ginseng seedlings were not included in the FY2015 experiments. Over the past decade, we have continued to build and expand our winter research meeting and field day, held annually in March and August, respectively. II. Project Approach The Ginseng Board of Wisconsin partnered with Michigan State University (MSU) and the laboratory of Dr. Mary Hausbeck (Plant Pathologist and Professor at MSU) to complete this project. The GBW has successfully collaborated with MSU and Dr. Hausbeck on previous projects. This perennial crop requires time and considerable expense to establish, thus working directly with commercial growers with established plantings of various maturity is crucial. Several commercial ginseng growers including Joe Heil, Kirk and Kraig Baumann, Floyd and Lloyn Baumann, and Al Hopperdeitzel provided the needed space within their gardens for the various field studies described in this report. The cooperating growers provided crop maintenance including seeding, weeding, insect/slug control, fertilization, and other field activities (e.g. restrawing, seed removal). Other growers provided project input and samples for residue testing and included Nick Sandquist of Hsu’s Ginseng, Jeff Koppa, Bob Kaldunski, Randy Krautkramer, and Greg Veers. In addition to providing field space for project activities, several growers also opened their gardens up for the Growers’ Field Day and welcomed nearly 100 participants to their growing operation to see the results of this project firsthand. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of compost and biorational products against the two most common root rot pathogens, Cylindrocarpon and Phytophthora. Due to the uneven disease pressure experienced in grower cooperator fields, trials 3 in the greenhouse are the most effective method to gather efficacy data. These greenhouse trials, conducted on seedlings, also allows for the testing of many active ingredients and compost materials in the shortest timeframe possible. The data collected in these experiments have been used to leverage product registration through the EPA. Prior to the seed treatment work completed for this proposal, we had not conducted a replicated study suited for publication. Three, large scale replicated seed treatment studies were initiated annually from 2014-2016. To determine the effect on germination, stand counts from each treatment were collected multiple times from June-August. The 2014-initiated trial consisted of an untreated control and eleven single active ingredient treatments of labeled and experimental fungicides. The treatments that resulted in the highest stand counts per bed were retested in the 2015-initiated experiment which consisted of thirteen treatments and an untreated control. After the data from both of these experiments were closely analyzed, the 2016-initiated trial protocol was completed, which paired two products, one for Cylindrocarpon/Fusarium and a product for Phytophthora/Pythium control. This protocol would likely mimic the type of treatment regimen a grower would use commercially. The data collected in these studies have been extremely helpful in determining which products are detrimental to seedling germination or may possibly increase the number of emerged seedlings. Pesticide residues continue to be an important issue for ginseng growers attempting to export their crop. Although growers must account for residues when determining which products to use, efficacy of the product is the top priority when choosing a product. From 2015-2017, trials were conducted in grower cooperators’ fields to test the efficacy of products against Alternaria blight. At the end of these studies, roots from the treated beds were harvested, dried, and sent to an analytical lab for testing. The results of these studies have allowed us to make recommendations to growers that not only are proven to be helpful against diseases, but are also less likely to result in residues over the maximum residue limits. Outreach to growers was completed at the Winter Research Meeting, the Field Research Day, or via email to growers when new products were labeled or if environmental conditions were highly conducive for disease outbreaks. The research updates held in March and August continue to be well received with over 100 people in attendance at both events. III. Goals and Outcomes Achieved The Wisconsin Ginseng industry experienced negative publicity regarding pesticide residue (MRL) violations in Taiwan resulting in a significant market drop that is now becoming re- established because additional violations have been avoided as a result of this successful project. This negative exposure and associated loss in sales has been crippling to the Wisconsin Ginseng industry. Yet, the GBW developed a plan to overcome this obstacle and avoid these MRL violations in Taiwan by ensuring that their product is now in full compliance with standards in Taiwan and other important export destinations such as China. Through the completion of the activities associated with this project, we determined the pesticides most likely to result in a detectable residue, educated the growers regarding alternatives