Wagon tour groups assembled to hear Thom Harker , research associate at South Centers, describe the use of plant tips to start strawberry plant plugs for later transplants. Photos by William McNutt

A very hot, very dry summer cut the yield of specialty crops in southwest Ohio, but irrigation systems at the Pike county branch of Ohio’s Research and Development Center succeeded in keeping growth patterns fairly normal through most of the summer, once germination was established. A series of 100-degree days in the Cincinnati metro area emphasized the need for good management practices, as outbreaks of downy mildew and other bacterial diseases were aided by the drought. Brad Bergefurd, extension educator at Piketon, reported generally good prospects as harvests continued before about 100 specialty growers, during a twilight grower meeting in early August.

This southwest OARDC location concentrates primarily on research of value to growers who have had to give up tobacco growing to concentrate on higher value specialty crops. These crops are sold mostly at produce auctions or individual roadside markets, and urban area weekend locations in county seat towns, and larger city sponsored markets in Columbus and Cincinnati. Ongoing research trials focus on products that will enhance grower profit, such as fresh market tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, bell peppers, greenhouse bedding plants, and watermelon, plus many more. High tunnel research to lengthen growing season, and development of longer growing strawberry and sweet corn varieties are high on the agenda; any effort to effectively compete with year round production in California, Texas, Florida and of course, Mexico is given high priority.

Two big projects in the future of Piketon involve a new type of strawberry production which will both extend the growing season and lower costs of production and the initiation of grape wine research in production and marketing. Demand for Ohio produced wines is growing; wine grape production is ideal for small acreage producers, and potential profit is high. Solving problems like potential losses from disease, wrong soil type, costly equipment, and lack of markets will fall under the leadership of Dr. Maurus Brown, newly appointed program coordinator for OSU South Centers. All research has been centered there, with a nearby school location where part of the field trials were run, now fully utilized as a Joint Vocational School.

Field tiling to set drainage patterns has already begun on land set aside for grapes, with ongoing land leveling and soil and plant analysis. Plantings next spring should become the first harvest of wine grapes in about three years. Partial financing has come from the Ohio Grape Industries Program, and Ohio Wine Producers Association. A consortium of land grant colleges of agriculture will sponsor joint and parallel ongoing research both at South Centers and their own institutions; in addition to OSU, these include Purdue, Kentucky, Michigan State, Cornell and Penn State. No longer do state agricultural research centers speak only for their own backyard, but work together, freely sharing expertise and promoting various research applications applicable in varying degrees to all of them.

According to Brown, variety trials will be an important part of the newly established program, hopefully to select disease resistant varieties for the primarily clay type soils of southwest Ohio. Cost analysis of various planting systems is extremely important. While grapes for wine will be more profitable than table grapes, those thinking about production of either need to know where they will be sold - unless there are thoughts of establishing a winery, which will at least double an already considerable initial investment. Most table grapes will go to juice or jam processors, wine grapes to existing wineries. 

 Expanding tourism is also part of the equation that will be helped by South Centers research. 

Wineries and restaurants operate all year long, but in Ohio and most of the Midwest, the high value crops examined by South Centers do not grow when the temperature drops. Sweet corn and strawberries, tomatoes and melons bring in profit, but for a limited time. Under Bergefurd’s direction, South Centers are attempting to partially remedy this. Covering early growth corn and berries with plastic allows earlier planting and harvesting. 

Starting plants in the greenhouse, then transplanting outdoors when the temperature rises is another technique long used to extend seasonal growth. While this technique is often used with strawberries, it’s very expensive to buy the plug plants for planting in early September, when bare root plants will not grow. Bergefurd has “borrowed” from North Carolina’s Dr. Bradley Poling the idea of using “daughter” tips from already developed strawberry plants, donated by plant companies, to grow their own plugs in round cell trays at about half the cost, then transplanting to raised beds for the rest of the production period, with plastic applied. The tip crown is not buried but left above ground. A truckload of these tips has already been ordered for area growers, with cost shared cooperatively .

This was a terrible year for most strawberry producers, due to excessive heat, with most of the regular crop gone in 7-10 days; even everbearing varieties, normally harvested until freezing weather sets in, failed to recover from lack of moisture. 

At the time of the field tour, temperatures were near 100 degrees, requiring most of the resource personnel to give presentations inside South Centers headquarters building, and forgoing wagon pickups until after eight o’clock. Fortunately, attendees were provided a sumptuous meal, prepared by various exhibitors attending the meeting, and featuring home grown sweet corn and berries from the fields of South Centers. The berry mixture dessert was not served until field tours were done, perhaps intentionally.