Extension/Outreach Projects

Hard cider has long been enjoyed here in New England. After a brief hiatus in popularity, it has made a significant comeback. This gives apple growers in the region a new marekting aopportunity. However, there is still a lack of knowledge around which apple cultivars for cider grow best in this region. This project is desined to gain insight onto six different apple cultivars grown specifically for cider production; from growth habits to best harvest timing all the way down the line to the finished fermented product and how it is recieved by consumers. 

The 4-H Sustainable Communities Project will engage young people in the city of Springfield in the out of school time hours to provide educational enrichment and promote life skills development. An area of national and local need that has been identified by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, National 4-H Council and UMass Extension 4-H is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education (STEM).

A modern, pedestrian apple orchard system(s) comparison using a disease-resistant rootstock (Geneva 11) and variety (Crimson Crisp) was planted in 2022 at the UMass Orchard. The multi-leader systems comparison includes super-spindle (single leader), bi-leader, and multi-leader cordon. Annual data collection to include fruit quality and yield as well as casual observation of training systems differences.

Advanced apple variety selections from the Midwest Apple Improvement Association breeding program are being planted as they become available and casually evaluated for tree growth and fruit characteristics. In the past, numbered selections have been named, giving apple growers a heads-up on new apple variety selections worthy of planting in their orchards.
 

U.S. seafood consumption has increased by more than 30% since the early 2000s, reflecting greater demand for healthy food sources. However, 65-85% of the seafood consumed in America is imported (Ferreira et al. 2022), highlighting vulnerabilities in food security and supply-chain resilience. Effective seafood harvest management is imperative to ensure the availability of seafood resources for U.S. food and economic security. For harvest of wild populations, this requires a clear understanding of species’ biology to define recreational and commercial harvest guidelines, provide resources for fishermen and processing supply chain partners to optimize efforts for economic resilience, and inform consumers of the sustainability of wild caught domestic seafood resources. Marine species that are shifting or expanding their ranges are producing new opportunities for emerging fisheries, the blue economy and food security. In particular, coastal waters off the Northeast United States have recently experienced an influx of new species that have high potential to expand and diversify its seafood resource portfolio. This is particularly important as New England has a long history of cultural and socio-economic reliance on seafood resources, but a number of core fisheries species have declined in recent years (e.g., Atlantic cod). However, successful growth and seafood harvest management of emerging fisheries is hampered by the lack of fundamental life history, demographic and physiological data on these species.

We will employ a suite of quantitative and qualitative methods to accomplish our goals of determining whether and how the Mass ECAN programs have increased peer to peer learning and knowledge exchange, increased adoption of best practices, and fostered new relationships and collaborations among climate change practitioners or researchers. For this project, we will use a combination of surveys, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. 

Baseline surveys will be conducted with Mass ECAN members (Program Participants), Work Group members and leaders to establish baselines in a variety of areas including use of existing resources, levels of knowledge, degree of collaboration and peer-learning. A series of follow-up surveys will be implemented over time to facilitate a repeated measures analysis of the data.  Participants will engage periodically in facilitated focus groups to generate additional data and feedback on the type and degree of peer learning that is occurring, whether specific products and activities facilitate networking, and emergence of collaborative programming and adoption of practices. Structured interviews will be conducted with work group leaders to obtain alternate perspectives on program approaches and resources and how they influence learning and collaboration. Focus groups and interviews will be transcribed and a content analysis will be conducted to consolidate key themes and synthesize results. Survey data will be combined with qualitative assessments to generate a feedback loop for program improvement and to build our understanding of effective processes and pedagogical approaches to be incorporated into the design of future programs.

Deficiencies of mineral elements in diets of humans are on the rise worldwide, even in the United States. These deficiencies limit the physical, intellectual, and mental health activities of the affected people. Poor or deterioration of soil fertility and the concomitant decline in agricultural productivity are major concerns in the World. Organic production of vegetables and fruits is growing, and it is important to assess if organic fertilization will sustain the quantity and nutritional values of foods grown from plants equally to the current practices of conventional farming. A current project in the Massachusetts Experiment Station studied organic and conventional fertilization of vegetable crops in relation to productivity and elemental nutrient composition for human nutrition. Biochar is charcoal produced from pyrolyzed biomass. Research suggests that biochar is a good amendment to enhance physical, chemical, and other agronomic qualities of soils. Amendments with biochar are reported to increase storage of carbon in soil, to increase fertility of soils, and to increase productivity and elemental nutrient composition of crops. The production of biochar from crop and other vegetative residues may be a strategy for management of organic waste. This project will investigate the benefits that might be obtained by use of biochar in enhancing yields and nutritional quality of vegetable crops. A review of literature has shown that additions of biochar to soils or growth media may improve plant nutrition through enhanced acquisition of nutrients by crops grown in biochar-amended media. Results have been variable and need some verification with further research.

Microplastics including nanoplastics will be extracted and collected from the samples of soil, water, plant and other organisms using the published procedures (with modifications when needed). Then, microplastics will be identified and examined for polymer types, shapes, sizes and quantity by LDIR, FTIR, Raman, TEM, SEM and other instruments. Plant uptake of contaminants from water and soil will be assessed using greenhouse experiments. We will also investigate the beneficial uses of engineered nanomaterials and biochars in agriculture using both hydroponic and soil-based experiments in greenhouse and in remediation using both soil and water.

The incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and other inflammation-related human disorders, have risen dramatically in recent decades in United States and other countries. These alarming trends suggest that it is of critical importance to develop novel strategies for preventing these chronic diseases. In this project, the effects and mechanisms of food-derived bioactive compounds on development of the chronic diseases will be investigated. Furthermore, the metabolic fate of food bioactives will be characterized following oral ingestion to inform innovative strategies to enhance their biological efficacy. In aggregate, these efforts will yield fundamental knowledge critical to develop safe and effective diet-based strategies for disease prevention and maintenance of health.

The managed landscape is a complex and unique system, with a wide variety of plant and insect species comprised on a relatively small area. The maintenance and management approaches vary depending on the owner, and each property is a unique ecosystem with the unique complex of insect pests.

Managing insect pests in this complex system inherently has many challenges, but recently is exacerbated by the limited availability of pest management tools. Because of the high aesthetic standard and almost zero tolerance to any plant damage, the main management strategy preferred by practitioners is a chemical control. Additionally, recent regulations limit or ban of some of the already scarce tools. Some active ingredients are losing efficacy due to pest resistance to insecticides while use of others becomes restricted and/or pulled from the market. For example, organophosphate chlorpyrifos is no longer available for turfgrass use, and neonicotinoid use became restricted leaving many landscape managers searching for alternatives. At the same time recent demands on environmentally friendly, less toxic approaches to insect pest management are in high demand. One of the promising alternatives is biocontrol, or inundative use of nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and their metabolites, as an alternative to conventional chemicals. However, using living organisms are challenging and efficacy is greatly dependent on the application techniques, weather condition, and other factors. In addition, the biorational and biological methods cannot compete with the chemical control because of cost and lack of robust efficacy data. Practitioners are reluctant to invest in products with unknown efficacy.

Another challenge in the system has been brought by the changing weather patterns. The complexity of the species, their phenology and adaptation changes bring us to seek new information on how to manage the pest in the changing environment.