20265118146270

THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE MISSION OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BY ADDRESSING THE HATCH ACT AREA(S) OF: HUMAN NUTRITION.NEARLY EVERYBODY IN THIS COUNTRY, OF ALL NATIONALITIES, EAT ONIONS AND GARLIC. WITH FARM GATE VALUES OF $1.6B AND $309M RESPECTIVELY, ONION AND GARLIC ARE MAJOR AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, CULINARY AND NUTRITIONAL STAPLES, AND VALUED MEDICINAL BOTANICALS. BOTH CROPS ARE GROWN FOR FRESH CONSUMPTION AND PRESERVED PRODUCTS, USED IN HUNDREDS OF PROCESSED FOODS. WASHINGTON AND CALIFORNIA LEAD IN ONION PRODUCTION, WITH IDAHO, OREGON, GEORGIA, MICHIGAN, NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, ARIZONA, NEW YORK, AND COLORADO AS OTHER IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTORS. CALIFORNIA ACCOUNTS FOR A MAJORITY OF THE U.S. GARLIC ACREAGE (SOFT NECK), ALTHOUGH OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND NEVADA ARE IMPORTANT SEED PRODUCTION REGIONS AND THE NORTHEAST IS A KEY PRIMARY HARD NECK GARLIC PRODUCTION REGION.FUSARIUM BASAL ROT (FBR) IS AN URGENT PROBLEM WHICH THREATENS THE SUSTAINABILITY OF ONION AND GARLIC INDUSTRIES AT A NATIONAL SCALE. HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED PRIMARILY A POST-HARVEST ONION DISEASE, RECENT STUDIES IN THE U.S. AND GLOBALLY SUGGEST THAT FBR IS TRANSFORMING INTO A MAJOR YIELD-LOSS DRIVING PRE- AND POST-HARVEST BULB ROT DISEASE IN ONION AND GARLIC, LIKELY DUE IN PART TO CLIMATE CHANGE-ASSOCIATED TEMPERATURE INCREASES WHICH ENHANCE DISEASE DEVELOPMENT. FBR DEVELOPMENT ON INCREASINGLY LARGER SCALES AND ACROSS A WIDENING RANGE OF CONDITIONS AND REGIONS IS DRIVING SIGNIFICANT YIELD REDUCTIONS AND POST-CONSUMER LOSSES --SEED AND BULB GROWERS IN CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON, NEW YORK AND MAINE ALL IDENTIFY FBR AS A MAJOR ISSUE, ALTHOUGH GROWERS IN MANY OTHER STATES REPORT MAJOR, SPORADIC LOSSES (SEE LETTERS). FBR ALSO REPRESENTS A FOOD SAFETY RISK AS SOME PATHOGENS PRODUCE MYCOTOXINS WHICH CAN CAUSE SEVERE ABDOMINAL ILLNESS AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ESOPHAGEAL CANCER.AS AVAILABLE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ARE CURRENTLY INADEQUATE FOR ONION AND COMPLETELY LACKING FOR GARLIC, GROWERS ARE UNABLE TO MITIGATE LOSSES. LARGE GARLIC PRODUCERS ESTIMATE LOSSES OF $5-$10 MILLION PER YEAR AND PRODUCERS OF VARIOUS SIZES REPORT TOTAL CROP LOSSES IN REPEAT YEARS (SEE LETTERS). LARGE ONION PROCESSORS ESTIMATE LOSSES OF UP TO 11.5 MILLION RAW POUNDS ANNUALLY. IN BOTH CROPS, FBR CAN CAUSE FIELD ABANDONMENT IN SEVERE YEARS; FOR INSTANCE, IN 023, ONE LARGE PACIFIC NORTHWEST PROCESSOR ABANDONED ~7.5 MILLION LBS OF ONION TO FBR. SMALLER PRODUCERS CAN BE HIT THE HARDEST, AND SOME REPORT LOSSES WHICH POSE A THREAT TO THEIR LIVELIHOOD AS FARMERS (SEE LETTERS). AS PRODUCTIVITY DECREASES, THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SCARCITY-DRIVEN INCREASES IN CONSUMER PRICES FOR THESE HOUSEHOLD STAPLES, AND THUS ENHANCED FOOD INSECURITY. WHILE MANY OTHER BULB ROT DISEASES AFFECT THESE CROPS, AN ESTIMATED 75%-100% OF DECAY LOSSES ARE CURRENTLY ATTRIBUTED TO FBR IN MANY KEY ONION AND GARLIC PRODUCTION REGIONS DUE TO ABSENCE OF EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT TOOLS, AND FBR IS IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THE TOP FOUR MOST IMPORTANT DISEASES OF A,LLIUM CROPS IN THE COUNTRY. GROWERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE CALLING OUT FOR HELP TO FIGHT FUSARIUM.FIGHT FUSARIUM! IS AN INTEGRATED PROJECT WHICH TAKES A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO SUPPORT THE INTERCONNECTED ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF ONION AND GARLIC PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION. WHILE EXTENSIVE NATIONAL EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO IMPROVE ONION PRODUCTION, LITTLE INVESTMENT HAS BEEN MADE TO IMPROVE GARLIC PRODUCTION AND INCLUSION OF BOTH CROPS CAN HELP FILL THIS GAP. MULTI-STATE RESEARCH EFFORTS COUPLED WITH A RIGOROUS REGIONAL AND NATIONAL OUTREACH PROGRAM ENABLES THIS TEAM TO REACH BOTH PRIMARY STAKEHOLDER TARGETS IN HIGHLY IMPACTED REGIONS AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL STAKEHOLDERS SUSTAINING UNCHARACTERISTIC LOSSES IN HISTORICALLY LESS AFFECTED AREAS (E.G. MIDWEST; SOUTHEAST). THIS PROJECT ALSO INTEGRATES THE INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS CONTAMINATION CHALLENGES WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SEED TRADE.DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS WHICH ENABLE PRODUCERS TO DETECT FBR IN THEIR SYSTEM, COUPLED WITH AN EFFECTIVE TOOLKIT TO REDUCE PRE- AND POST-HARVEST LOSSES WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE DOLLARS LOST TO FBR BY GROWERS AND PROCESSORS. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES WILL PROVIDE ECONOMICALLY PRACTICAL, SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT METHODS ADJUSTABLE TO A RANGE OF PRODUCTION SCALES AND TYPES. SOME PRODUCERS IN AFFECTED REGIONS ARE CURRENTLY UNNECESSARILY APPLYING FUMIGANTS AND FUNGICIDES ON FIELDS THAT ARE INCORRECTLY IDENTIFIED AS HAVING FBR. IMPROVED DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING TOOLS WILL REDUCE THESE ENVIRONMENTALLY HARMFUL AND COSTLY PRACTICES. STUDIES OF INTEGRATED CULTURAL-, PLANT RESISTANCE- AND SYNTHETIC/BIOLOGICAL-BASED CHEMICAL CONTROL METHODS WILL PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT WHICH IS NOT SOLELY DEPENDENT ON SYNTHETIC CHEMICAL USE FOR EFFICACY. REDUCED PATHOGEN INFECTIONS CAN ALSO HELP REDUCE THE LOSSES THAT WHOLESALERS/RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CURRENTLY EXPERIENCE WHEN PURCHASING INFECTED FRESH GARLIC AND ONION. THIS PROJECT CAN ALSO REDUCE MYCOTOXIN LEVELS IN GARLIC AND ONION FRESH AND PROCESSED PRODUCTS, THUS CURBING HEALTH RISKS OF CONSUMING POTENTIALLY TOXIC FOOD.DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND DIAGNOSTIC OUTCOMES WILL ALSO HELP TO FIGHT FUSARIUM IN OTHER AFFECTED ALLIUM CROPS SUCH AS LEEKS, SHALLOTS, CHIVES AND ORNAMENTAL ALLIUMS. IN ADDITION, AS MONOCOTS, ONIONS AND GARLIC ARE SOME OF THE FEW NON-HOST ROTATIONS EFFECTIVE IN MANAGING SOIL-BORNE PATHOGENS OF DICOT CROPS. WHEN FBR-AFFECTED GROWERS CEASE TO GROW ALLIUMS, THIS REDUCES CYCLES BETWEEN OTHER CROPS SUCH AS TOMATOES, THEREBY INCREASING DISEASE RISK IN THESE ROTATION CROPS; THEREFORE, REDUCING FBR LOSSES CAN ALSO REDUCE LOSSES FROM OTHER DISEASES IN ROTATED CROPS.

Davis University Of California

NOT APPLICABLE

10.309 - Specialty Crop Research Initiative

Institute of Food Production and Sustainability (IFPS) [USDA - NIFA]

Davis, California 95618-6153 United States

Single Zip Code

USDA-NIFA-SCRI-011194