Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2019 Explorations and Collaborations on Two Under-Recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus Persica) and Navajo Spinach (Cleome Serrulata) Reagan C. Wytsalucy Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Plant Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Wytsalucy, Reagan C., "Explorations and Collaborations on Two Under-Recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus Persica) and Navajo Spinach (Cleome Serrulata)" (2019). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7612. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7612 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EXPLORATIONS AND COLLABORATIONS ON TWO UNDER-RECOGNIZED NATIVE AMERICAN FOOD CROPS: SOUTHWEST PEACH (PRUNUS PERSICA) AND NAVAJO SPINACH (CLEOME SERRULATA) by Reagan C. Wytsalucy A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Plant Science Approved: _______________________ _______________________ Brent Black, Ph.D. Daniel Drost, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _______________________ _______________________ Grant Cardon, Ph.D. Randy Williams, M.S. Committee Member Committee Member _______________________________________ Richard S. Inouye, Ph.D. Vice Provost for Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2019 ii Copyright © Reagan C. Wytsalucy All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Explorations and Collaborations on Two Under-recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata) by Reagan C. Wytsalucy, Master of Science Utah State University, 2019 Major Professor: Dr. Brent Black Department: Plants, Soils, and Climate Agricultural production among the Native American populations of the Southwest declined significantly during the twentieth century. Although production of corn, beans, and squash, the three most recognized traditional food crops, remains widespread, knowledge regarding the traditional management of these crops was lost. The loss of traditional knowledge is more pronounced for some of the under-recognized traditional food crops including Southwest peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata Pursh). Decreased peach production during the late twentieth century left only a few sparse historic peach orchards. There is little to no documentation on importance, cultivation or use of Navajo spinach to the Southwest Native American Tribes. The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations seek to increase the availability of traditional crops for their original uses, such as for food and wool dye. In order for these Native American communities to revitalize traditional agriculture, information was gathered regarding each of these crops, including: varieties and their characteristics, management practices and the iv horticultural basis for these practices, along with uses and cultural significance. Southwest peach orchards were located, seeds and plant material obtained and characterized genetically to test the hypothesis that Southwest peaches are divergent from modern cultivars. Information on peach management was collected by interviewing traditional farmers, evaluating historic orchard location features, and through dendrochronology. Dendrochronology involved collecting tree stumps or cores from tree trunks to evaluate growth rings in order to determine seasonal irrigation practices, age and life span of the orchard trees. Navajo spinach seed was collected from multiple locations and compared. Optimum germination conditions were assessed including requirements for overcoming seed dormancy through scarification, plant hormone addition, and chilling and hydration period. Oral histories were gathered from elders of the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations on management and use of Navajo spinach; the interviews were translated and transcribed. Information on both Southwest peach and Navajo spinach will be useful to encourage traditional management of these culturally important crops. (195 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Explorations and Collaborations of Two Under-recognized Native American Food Crops: Southwest Peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata) Reagan C. Wytsalucy Agricultural production among the Native American populations of the Southwest declined significantly during the twentieth century. Corn, beans and squash, the three most recognized traditional food crops, remains widespread, but knowledge regarding the traditional management of these crops was lost. The loss of traditional knowledge for Southwest Indigenous Nations was more pronounced for the Southwest peach (Prunus persica) and Navajo spinach (Cleome serrulata Pursh). The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni Nations are all seeking to increase the availability of traditional crops for their original uses, such as for food and wool dye. In order to revitalize traditional agriculture for these tribes, information regarding these crops was gathered, including: variety characterization, the horticultural basis for traditional management practices, and cultural uses and significance. Southwest peach orchards were located for seed and plant material collections to characterize their genotype and relate them to modern peach cultivars. Traditional farmers were interviewed on management practices and irrigation strategies to correlate to dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) techniques. Dendrochronology samples included tree stumps or cores to evaluate ring growth variability, age, and life span of the orchard trees. Navajo spinach seed was collected from Chinle, Arizona for germination studies on overcoming seed dormancy. Information on both Southwest peach and Navajo spinach will be useful to encourage culturally important traditional crop management. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for this research was provided by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Specialty Crop Block Grant program, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Graduate Student Grant program (#GW17-060), and by Utah Humanities and Utah Division of State History (#OH18.04). Canyon de Chelly National Monument Park Service approved this research to take place with the residents living within the monument grounds (CACH- 2015-SCI-0002). Tribal research approvals were obtained through the Navajo Nation Research Review Board (#NNR-17.270T), the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (#16- 001), and the Zuni Tribal Government (Peach Project approved April 23, 2018). Utah State University Institutional Review Board approved this research for each collaborating tribe (Navajo: IRB-7734; Zuni: IRB-9458; Hopi: IRB-8500). Thank you to all tribal and specialist community members who contributed to this research. A special thanks go to my committee for their guidance and support. James Frisby and Karen South consistently gave assistance through a majority of research pursuits; thank you for all your assistance. My parents, Roy and Donna Talker, continually gave their time to be a part of this research, serving as guides, labor, and company. I am lucky to have them as my parents! More thanks are needed for my husband, Anthony Wytsalucy, who always supported me through this long road and learning venture. This project would not have been near the success that was accomplished without all of you! Reagan. C. Wytsalucy vii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION--LITERATURE REVIEW .....................................................1 Introduction .............................................................................................................1 Species Background ............................................................................................... 3 Revitalize the Peach and Spinach foods in the Southwest ....................................12 Research Objectives ...............................................................................................14 Literature Cited ......................................................................................................16 2. CHARACTERZING PEACHES GROWN BY NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE DESERT SOUTHWEST ............................................................................23 Abstract .................................................................................................................23 Introduction ...........................................................................................................24 Materials and Methods ..........................................................................................26 Results ...................................................................................................................32