224
-Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10,2001
PIKETON, Ohio The
next time you find eggplant,
cluster tomatoes, or seedless
cucumbers at your local gro
cery store, check the label.
The crops may be Ohio
grown.
Promising research results,
coupled with a growing
market demand and poten
tial profit, are giving state
growers an opportunity to
supplement or expand their
business from traditional
field crops to specialty fruits
and vegetables.
The Ohio State University
Piketon Agricultural Re
search and Extension Center
has taken the reins in the
field of speciality crop re
search, studying the eco
nomic and environmental
feasibility of successfully
growing cash crops in Ohio,
both in the field and in the
greenhouse.
“The idea of growing
income-producing crops in
Ohio has really taken off.”
said Brad Bergefurd, OSU
extension agent for the Cen
ters at Piketon. “We’ve col
lected enough data from
1995,1996, and 2000 to know
that raising speciality crops is
a pretty good recommenda
tion for growers. The market
is definitely there for it.”
Researchers at the Centers
at Piketon are studying a
smorgasbord of speciality
crops, including berries, to
matoes, cucumbers, lettuce,
the Asian eggplant, bitter
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melon and the sweet potato,
and the techniques that
would provide the best yields
both in the greenhouse and
under Ohio’s climate.
Greenhouse crop produc
tion is of special interest for
farmers, specifically tobacco
growers. Said Bergefurd,
“Tobacco growers tradition
ally have their own green
houses and they are looking
for alternative crops to raise
in between tobacco growing.
Plus, they have all this space
in the greenhouse that is not
being utilized in the off
season.”
Innovative and revamped
greenhouse growing tech
niques have allowed re
searchers to focus on
speciality tomatoes, such as
cherry tomatoes and cluster
tomatoes like those grown in
Holland, seedless cucumbers,
raspberries, strawberries and
leafy and bibb types of let
tuces.
“We can grow the rasp
berry plants throughout the
summer, chill them down in
the fall, defrost them in the
greenhouse and force fruit
production and harvest the
next March or April,” said
Bergefurd. “And the berries
are of better quality because
they are not exposed to typi
cal outdoors environmental
conditions. The technology,
originated in New York was
just revamped for southern
Ohio conditions.”
Researchers have also
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adopted the float bed tech
nique popular with tobacco
farmers to vegetable produc
tion. The system, involving
plant-filled Styrofoam trays
floating on a bed of water,
supports a variety of green
vegetables and herbs, includ
ing leaf lettuce, mizuna spin
ach, mint, and basil.
Greenhouse production at
the center involves hydro
ponic strawberries, a project
sparked by growers who were
interested in raising berries
all season. “We are looking
at berries grown in pots and
in bags and comparing the
two systems to see which one
produces the best growing sit
uation without sacrificing
yield,” said Christie Welch,
horticulture program re
search assistant.
Field studies at the Centers
at Piketon have seen success
in growing Asian eggplant
and bitter melon, two exotic
fruits that have found a niche
in Ohio’s growing Asian and
Mediterranean markets. The
crops, which have adapted
well to Ohio’s climate and
appear to resist major insects
and diseases, are a hit with
statewide produce markets
looking for a local supplier of
exotic and unusual commodi
ties.
k Guarani
Produce buyers are very
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pleased that the crops are
grown locally and that they
may be able to secure a local
supply,” said Matt
Kleinhenz, Ohio Agricultural
Research and Development
Center researcher. “On sev
eral occasions, produce
buyers have indicated that
they will work with their
growers to secure these new
commodities.”
That’s good news for farm
ers looking to raise a new
product. And if consumer
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demand is not convincing
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crops, such as raspberries
and strawberries for example,
generate a higher rate of
return than traditional crops.
Though the process is labor
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For example, strawberries
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per acre than no-till soy
beans.
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