ASHS 2024 Conference

In this interactive workshop, participants will be provided training on how to use Rosaceae (GDR, www.rosaceae.org), Vaccinium (GDV, www.vaccinoum.org) and Citrus (www.citrusgenomedb.org) specialty crop databases resources, as well as the Breeding Data Management tools, BIMS (www.breedwithbims.org), and the Field Book App for phenotype data collection. Using a case-study approach we will focus on how to use these integrated resources most efficiently for research and crop improvement efforts, how to apply FAIR data principles to sharing and submitting research data to these databases at the time of publication and facilitate a robust dialogue between researcher, breeders and the development team on needed improvements and long-term sustainability options for these resources.

This interactive workshop will bring together researchers and breeders to accelerate research and crop improvement in specialty crops. It will provide training and feedback on how to most effectively use the NIFA SCRI and National Research Support project 10 (NRSP10) funded Rosaceae, Citrus, and Vaccinium specialty crop databases and breeding data management resources (BIMS and Field Book), learn how to follow FAIR data principles, foster better two-way communication for increased feedback from researchers on further development of these resources, and continue to build a robust community around these research and crop improvement tools. The trainers include users and developers of these resources, ranging from early career to well-known and respected research enabling resource generators.

The Genome Database for Rosaceae (GDR), Genome Database for Vaccinium, and Citrus Genome Database (CGD) offer critical resources and tools to enable genomic, genetic, and breeding research for fruit, nut, and ornamental crops of great economic importance to the U.S. In addition, BIMS (BreedwithBIMS.org) and the Field Book APP provide widely used tools for managing plant breeding program data. While these resources are heavily used worldwide, many researchers are unaware of the full potential of using them and how they can contribute their own data for wider recognition and reuse. This interactive workshop aims to bridge this knowledge gap by providing hands-on training for specialty crop researchers on how to best use these resources and contribute their data. The workshop will also solicit ideas from participants on how to improve these databases and discuss the various options to make them sustainable in the long term. The workshop will bolster the utilization of integrated big data, promote future data sharing, and ensure that data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).

The workshop aims to bring together researchers to accelerate research by more effective use of specialty crop databases and breeding data management resources, encouraging data submission at the time of publication, and gaining feedback from researchers. Through hands-on training, participants will become more familiar with the database resources and breeding data management tools, learn how to submit their data, and provide essential input for improving these databases and their long-term sustainability.

Coordinator(s)

• Dorrie Main, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States

Moderator(s)

• Cameron Peace, Washington State University, Horticulture, Pullman, WA, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Dorrie Main, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States

Introduction to the Workshop and Specialty Crop Research Databases (15 mins)

• Jodi Humann, Washington State University, Horticulture, Pullman, WA, United States

How to efficiently use integrated genomics data and tools for research (20 mins)

• Sook Jung, Washington State University, Horticulture, Pullman, WA, United States
  How to efficiently use integrated genetics data and tools for research (20 mins)
  
  
• Nahla Bassil, USDA ARS, National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, OR, United States
  How to efficiently use integrated germplasm and genotype data for research (15 mins)
  Summary:
  
  
• Trevor Rife, Clemson University, Plant and Environmental Sciences Department, Florence, SC, United States
  How to use the Field Book App for phenotypic data collection (15 mins)
• Sushan Ru, Auburn University, Auburn, United States
  How to use the Breeding Information Management System, BIMS, for Crop Improvement (20 mins)
• Cameron Peace, Washington State University, Horticulture, Pullman, WA, United States

Tropical crops have a tremendous impact on global food systems and are well represented in Hawaii. There are many different diseases (bacterial/viral/fungal) that can impact yields. In this session, we invite an audience from a broad pool of research interests and backgrounds to attend and learn about a range of food and forestry crops that are important in Hawaii, including papaya, sweetpotato, the native koa tree and banana and the production systems unique to these crops. The wide range of crops from tuber, to fruit, to forestry has led to a variety of challenges that have attracted less attention compared to pathology problems associated with temperate crops. Topic presentations in these areas will be presented by and from the perspective of university, non-profit, and USDA ARS researchers and a local commercial grower and will be followed by a panel discussion aimed at highlighting the many different techniques that have been used to overcome these challenges and how they are relevant to the broader agricultural research and commercial production sectors. Through these facilitated topic discussions, we hope to convey the scope of tropical diseases that occur as well as how to overcome them given different crop-specific constraints and their relevance to climate change.

The goal of the workshop is attract and engage a wide audience both outside as well as those working in tropical horticulture and to educate and bring together different perspectives of university and federal scientists, extension educators, graduate students, post-docs and industry on the current status of pathology problems that occur in various tropical crops in Hawaii. The workshop will discuss the approach and options used in different specialty crops to address the multitude of pathogens that threaten tropical crop production, the importance of germplasm collections, and successful strategies for the future in the face of global climate change. Information and exchange through panel discussion from presenters supporting agriculture and the public representing different entities including various research organizations and a producer, will highlight contributions from the different sectors and their unique and common perspectives and cross synergies. Through these talks and discussions, we hope to convey the scope of tropical diseases that occur as well as how to overcome them given different crop-specific constraints. We aim to highlight these successful strategies and their relevance to a broader sector of agriculture and to future research on emerging problems impacting temperate and other regions due to climate change.

Coordinator(s)

Jon Suzuki, USDA ARS DKI U.S. PBARC, Hilo, HI, United States

​​​​Participants:

Dr. Nathan Fumia (HARC - Hawaii Agricultural Research Center) – Understanding the role of selection on fungal disease tolerance in Acacia koa, an endemic Hawaiian hardwood (8 minutes). 
A common occurrence during neo-domestication is the interplay of traits such as seedling vigor and disease resistance. The focus of this study is the effect of crossing on a wild species being selected for a domesticated form, including decisions such as number of parents, number of crosses, and number of progeny.  Our aim is to begin breeding scheme development for wild species (neo-domestication) using Acacia koa as a novel study system. Breeding population size was changed in the koa orchard through thinning of individuals, a form of pollen control in the population, with the major criterion being a low durability of resistance where trees succumb to disease over time, caused by Fusarium oxysporum. This is an opportunity for insight during the development of expectations in population improvement through augmented crossing parameters, informing situational changes through breeding cycles in neo-domestication programs.
Dr. Anna McCormick (University of Hawaii at Manoa) – Examining viral presence in collections of Hawaiian heirloom sweetpotato varieties (8 minutes). 
Sweetpotato has been a staple crop in the Hawaiian Islands since Polynesians settled the islands ~1,200 years ago. Previous work has established that Hawaiian Heirloom sweet potato varieties represent unique germplasm that are more closely related to each other than varieties from other parts of the world. While much work has been done characterizing Hawaiian heirloom plant genetics, much less work has been done characterizing viral genetic presence and diversity. In this study we explored viral presence across an extant collection of 70 Hawaiian heirloom varieties sourced from five different botanical collections over three Islands (O’ahu, Maui and Big Island Hawai’i). Samples were examined for the presence of four viruses from the family Potyviridae namely; Sweet potato virus G (SPVG), Sweet potato virus C (SPVC), Sweet potato virus 2 (SPV2), Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), and one from the family Geminiviridae; Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV). We found high levels of virus across all collections, including many instances of double and triple infections. These findings have large implications for conservation and local fresh markets.
Dr. Mark Shankle (Mississippi State University) – Research and discovery of best practices for U.S. sweetpotato clean foundation seed (CFS) programs. (8 minutes)
Sweetpotato is an important crop for the U.S. and worldwide.  Infection by viruses which accumulate over time in this and numerous other major perennial crops cause major yield losses annually.  The problems in sweet potato are being addressed through Sweetpotato CleanSEED, a multi-state, transdisciplinary funded research project funded by a USDA-NIFA-SCRI grant to develop strategies that improve sweetpotato crop health and yield through developing quality control standards for producing clean foundation seed, improved detection methods, identification of undiscovered viral diseases, and development of cultural practices for efficient clean foundation seed production in both the laboratory and greenhouse to reduce disease transmission in this clonally propagated crop.
Ryan Domingo (USDA ARS U.S Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center) - Identifying Carica papaya cultivars demonstrating increased partial resistance towards Phytophthora palmivora utilizing a novel rapid phenotyping assay. (8 minutes)
Extensive production loss and mortality of Carica papaya is associated with Phytophthora palmivora in Hawaii and other papaya growing regions of the world. Currently there is no commercial papaya cultivar fully resistant against P. palmivora, however it is important to identify those that contain partial resistance reducing pathogen proliferation. This talk will explore a novel rapid phenotyping assay quantifying P. palmivora growth along papaya seedling stems comparing several genotypes within the USDA germplasm collection. Implications resulting from this study provides farmers, breeders and other stakeholders insight towards cultivars displaying increased partial tolerance towards P. palmivora.
Gabriel Sachter-Smith  (Hawaii Banana Source) - Maintaining commercial vitality of the banana industry through germplasm resources and strategies to mitigate disease (8 minutes).  
Bananas have been grown in Hawaii since the first waves of Pacific Islander migrations starting over 1000 years ago. Today, bananas represent one of the most widely consumed fresh produce items in Hawaii, despite a steady downward trend in local production since the introduction of Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) in 1989. To date, no commercially viable cultivar with strong resistance to BBTV has been identified or created, and various ways to combat the virus used in other parts of the world have proved challenging to apply in Hawaii. However, the pressure of the virus and overall impact on a farm can be mitigated using a combination of cultur

Improved postharvest storage is a major target for vegetable-crop production. Nutritional contents and flavor are traits highly affected from harvesting to final consumption. Several reports have demonstrated that these traits are strong driving factors impacting consumers’ decisions and preferences when purchasing food. Therefore, these are economically important traits related to strong commercialization potential and improved market value. Assessing the potential variation in post-harvest shelf life among vegetable crops will be critical to identify parental lines that can be used in breeding programs to improve these traits and their effect on the quality of produce. Additionally, investigating the genetic mechanisms underlying post-harvest shelf life in horticultural crops is critical. This will result in the development of molecular breeding tools associated with improving shelf life, which will accelerate breeding. This interest group seeks to provide case studies from experts worldwide who have worked on breeding for nutritional contents, flavor, and post-harvest shelf life in vegetables.

Coordinator(s)

• Carlos Avila, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, TX, United States

Moderator(s)

• Dennis Nicuh Lozada, New Mexico State University, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Las Cruces, NM, United States
• Devi Kandel, Langston University, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Carmit Ziv, Institute of Postharvest and Food Science, ARO, Volcani Institute, Israel
  Breeding for improved postharvest quality of peppers during cold storage (15 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Ziv's research program studies postharvest disease control of fruity vegetables by developing environment-friendly treatments to control postharvest fungal rot, understanding resistance mechanisms of phytopathogenic fungi to cold storage, uncovering the role of lipids in determining the interactions between fruits and pathogenic fungi during storage.
• Carlos Avila, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Weslaco, TX, United States
  Lack of locule gel increases post-harvest shelf-life and quality in tomato (15 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Avila's research program is focused on the development of tomato and spinach cultivars adapted to Texas conditions. Research work includes the characterization of plant a/biotic stress and vegetable quality trait regulation using molecular, physiological, and biochemical approaches to develop applied strategies to improve breeding efficiency and ultimately crop resistance and quality. Current efforts include the development of firm long shelf-life tomato cultivars with improved flavor and nutritional content.
• Bhimu Patil, Texas A&M University, Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, College Station, Texas, United States
  Post-harvest shelf life and nutritional quality in horticultural crops (15 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Patil has been actively involved in both research and educational activities related to global level ‘Foods for Health’. His research, in collaboration with trans-disciplinary scientists, related to bioactive-derived assays led to isolation and characterization of certain bioactive compounds in citrus and turmeric and other vegetables. His research is also focused on pre and postharvest effects on bioactive compounds in citrus, onion and recently his work is focused on other vegetables and fruits.
• Alexander Goldshmidt, Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, Volcani Institute, Israel
  Exploring the Role of CLASS-II KNOX mediated Ripening Pathways for the Discovery of Novel Genetic Approaches to Extend Fruit Shelf Life (15 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Goldshmidt research is focused on investigation of the genetic factors and networks controlling development of the pericarp tissues in fruits of Solanaceae crops tomato and pepper. His lab seek to use their research to develop novel genetic solutions and tools to extend fruit's shelf life and improve its consumer attractiveness and nutritional values.
• Barbara Blanco Ulate, UC Davis, United States
  Control of fruit ripening, improvement of fruit quality, and fruit-pathogen interactions. (15 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Blanco-Ulate's research program integrate systems biology approaches with biochemical and physiological analyses to study fruit development and quality traits, and to establish a novel framework for the early detection and efficient management of fruit diseases.

This workshop is to introduce the coordinated network of non-biased plant trials that has been successfully established to assess plant growth and aesthetic quality under deficit irrigation in six locations with different climate and soil types. The standard evaluation method will be highlighted to allow the audience to gain a behind-the-scenes look at the success and challenges of managing a multi-year and multi-state field project titled ‘Climate Ready Landscape Plants’. The evaluation methods employed in this project could potentially be utilized for selecting climate-resilient plants in other regions of the United States and beyond.

During their presentations, participants will be invited to: 1) Learn about the process of building cooperator and stakeholder engagement for a regional multistate project. 2) Practice using an Excel-based Irrigation Log to apply deficit irrigation using reference evapotranspiration published by local weather stations. 3) Practice evaluating selected landscape plants (pictures and/or live plants purchased from Home Depot in Honolulu) using the Rubric for Plant Aesthetic Ratings developed by the UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials™ team. 4) Learn the standard methods for collecting plant physiology data of selected landscape plants across multiple locations and understand the project results regarding stomatal conductance, which was collected using LI-600 Porometer/Fluorometer, LI-6800 Photosynthesis System, and/or CIRAS-3/4 Portable Photosynthesis System, METER Groups, etc. Ventors such as LI-COR Biosciences, PP Systems and/or METER Group will be invited to demonstrate their equipment for plant physiological measurements (e.g. stomatal conductance) during the session. 5) Learn the standard methods for collecting plant growth and visual quality data across six locations and understand the challenges and results of common taxa tested in six diverse geographic locations. 6) Learn step-by-step how to conduct open houses and invite professionals to help evaluate plants in the field trials, as well as how to collect and use the data.

Following their presentations, the six speakers along with other team members including Dr. Alessandro Ossola, Dr. Lloyd Nackley, Dr. Ryan Contreras, Dr. Shital Poudyal, and Dr. Youping Sun, will be invited to join a 30-min panel discussion session to further share the success and challenges of managing a multi-year and multi-state field project. They will delve into the opportunities and challenges currently facing the Green Industry. This discussion aims to foster future collaboration for expanding current research and Extension efforts. The goal is to promote the production and utilization of low-water-use plants within the green industry and among the gardening public, especially in the context of a changing climate.

Western U.S. nursery stock, bedding, annual, and perennial plant sales exceeded $2.9 billion in 2017, with nursery stock sales from this region alone accounting for 37.6% of total U.S. sales (Agricultural Statistics, 2017). However, climate change and increased urban water demand threaten the future of the Green Industry. The Western U.S. is expected to endure extreme droughts escalating in severity due to climate change, less predictable precipitation patterns, and decreased soil moisture (Cayan et al., 2010). Urban water supplies will be further stressed by population growth. The populations of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah increased by 1.7% or more from 2017 to 2018 (United States Census Bureau, 2018). To address these challenges, growers must supply low-water-use plants and the landscape industry must utilize them to facilitate water conservation by reducing landscape irrigation requirements. In response to this need, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Multi-State Program funded a project titled ‘Climate Ready Landscape Plants’ in 2020 to the University of California, Davis. With the funding, trial methods developed in California have been expanded to four additional western states: Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. A coordinated network of non-biased plant trials has been established to assess plant growth and aesthetic quality under three irrigation frequencies. Low-water-use plants were identified in 2022 and 2023 and will be recommended for production and utilization. The information developed will be provided to the green industry to aid in sustainable decision-making, marketing, and business support. The evaluation methods employed in this project could potentially be utilized for selecting climate-resilient plants in other regions of the United States and beyond. Agricultural Statistics 2017. 2017. United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Ag_Statistics/2017/Complete%20Ag%20Stats%202017.pdf Cayan, D.R., Das, T., Pierce, D.W., Barnett, T.P., Tyree, M., and Gershunov, A. 2010. Future dryness in the southwest US and the hydrology of the early 21st century drought. Proceedings of the Natl. Acad. of Sci. 107 (50), 21271-21276. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0912391107 United States Census Bureau. 2018. Nevada and Idaho are the nation’s fastest growing states. United States Department of Commerce. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/estimates-national-state.html

Coordinator(s)

• Youping Sun, Utah State University, Department of Plants, Soils & Climate, Logan, Utah, United States

Moderator(s)

• Lloyd Nackley, Oregon State University, Horticulture, Aurora, OR, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Lorence Oki, Building Cooperator and Stakeholder Engagement for a Regional Multistate Project 
• Jared Sisneroz, Coordinating a Standard Irrigation Protocol across Six Diverse Plant Trial Locations 
• Karrie Reid, Introducing the Criteria for Plant Aesthetic Ratings
• Natalie Levy, A Step-by-Step Guide for Organizing a Successful Open House Event
• Soo-Hyung Kim, Coordinated Assessment of Physiological and Morphological Traits of Landscape Plants across Multiple Locations in the Western United States
• Ursula Schuch, Performance of Landscape Shrubs under Three Irrigation Regimes in Arizona

Whether marketing to a horticulture consumer or educating them, understanding motivations is crucial. In 2023, a nationwide survey of gardening consumers conducted by a regional team of horticulture researchers provided key insights into how backgrounds and experiences impacted motivations of horticulture consumers. Cluster analysis performed on the data provides the ability to group consumers in terms of their interest and spending to enable more tailored education or marketing efforts. This workshop will investigate the key characteristics of those ten groups according to demographics, experience, motivation, and spending and integrate the experience and insight of attendees to best utilize the survey information. The goal of this highly interactive workshop will be to develop representative avatars and actionable outreach and marketing ideas that can be integrated into Extension programming as well as used to equip garden centers and horticultural businesses to be intentional and effective in reaching, educating, and retaining these new consumers. Horticulture professionals with research, Extension, teaching, and/or business focuses are all invited to attend and aid in honing audience descriptions based on current data. This session will set the stage for developing more tools to support Consumer Horticulture outreach and marketing to current and future audiences.

This workshop is grounded in current research findings and will focus on turning findings into tools that can be used by a wide range of ASHS professionals to reach current and future audiences.

Engage a diverse set of Horticulture professionals and define up to 10 core target audiences in today's horticultural market whether that is a retail business, classroom, or other outreach program.

This session will have minimal large-group presentation time. Six team leaders will break the audience into small groups based on interests and lead them through a series of prompts to assign descriptors to different audiences as defined by recent survey data. Participants will aid in coding different types of audience members, report out to the larger group, and group work will be cross-checked to determine key target audiences and best methods of communication with each.

Coordinator(s)

• Kristine Lang, South Dakota State University, Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science, Brookings, South Dakota, United States

Moderator(s)

• Gerald Burgner, Texas A&M University, United States
• Natalie Bumgarner, University of Tennessee, Plant Sciences, Knoxville, TN, United States
• Sheri Dorn, University of Georgia, United States
• Heather Kirk Ballard, Louisiana State University, United States
• Julie Campbell, University of Georgia, Horticulture, Athens, Georgia, United States

This workshop will explore topics related to climate change impacts on temperate tree nut crops, including drought, salinity, freeze issues, and other environmental stressors. Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to discuss relevance of topics to their specific commodity and share insights and suggestions with fellow researchers.

In this workshop we will be bringing in experts in pistachio and pecan cultivation to share their cutting-edge research and insights into mitigating the challenges posed by climate change. These esteemed speakers, who have dedicated their careers to understanding and addressing these issues, will provide valuable insight to workshop attendees and jumpstart discussion on this topic within groups. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss relevant issues of climate change on their crop within small groups before bringing ideas to the entire group.

The impact of climate change on tree nut crops is likely to be significant, given expected decreases in chilling, increased droughts, and fluctuations in winter temperatures leading to decreases in production if mitigation measures are not implemented.

In this workshop, we seek to foster fruitful discussion among researchers working with tree nuts and other orchard crops likely to be impacted by climate change in order to brainstorm solutions and targets for future research in this topic area.

Coordinator(s)

• Lu Zhang, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States
• David Hlubik, Rutgers University, United States
• Phoebe Gordon, University of California Cooperative Extension, Madera, CA 93638, Madera County, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Louise Ferguson, University of California Davis, Extension Specialist, Davis, California, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Pistachio Salinity (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Louise Ferguson is an Extension Specialist at University of California Davis with several decades of experience in pistachio and other orchard crops and will be speaking on pistachio salinity.
• Richard Heerema, New Mexico State University, Extension Specialist, Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Drought in Pecan (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Richard Heerema is an Extension Specialist at New Mexico State University with a focus on pecans and will be speaking on drought in pecan.
• Xinwang Wang, USDA ARS, College Station, TX, United States
  Climate Impact on Tree Nut Crops - Pecan Breeding Associated with Climate Change (30 mins)
  Summary: Dr. Xinwang Wang is a Research Geneticist for USDA ARS in College Station, TX and will be discussing challenges in pecan breeding associated with climate change.

Explore cutting-edge techniques, tools, and strategies to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into postharvest research. Learn how AI can enhance data analysis, optimize storage conditions, and improve quality assessment for fruits and vegetables. During this workshop, we’ll delve into organizing datasets, determining the number of variables, and understanding their types. Join us to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of postharvest science. Join us for this dynamic workshop, where experts share insights, foster collaboration, and propel postharvest science into the future! 🌱

The goal of this workshop is to empower researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to revolutionize postharvest practices. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and non-destructive technologies, we aim to achieve the following objectives: 1. Enhanced Quality Control 2. Efficient Resource Management 3. Scientific Advancements 4. Sustainable Practices 5. Industry Transformation

Coordinator(s)

• Randolph Beaudry, Michigan State University, Horticulture, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
• Angelos Deltsidis, University of Georgia, Horticulture, Tifton, GA, United States

Moderator(s)

• Angelos Deltsidis, University of Georgia, Horticulture, Tifton, GA, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Carolina Torres, Washington State University, Wenatchee, Washington, United States
  Introduction (10 minutes) Welcome and Objectives (10 mins)
  Summary: Overview of AI applications, emphasizing data analysis, optimization, and quality assessment and discuss principles for designing experiments that maximize AI potential.
• Luan Oliveira, University of Georgia, Tifton, Georgia, United States
  Remote Sensing and AI (20 mins)
  Summary: Explore how remote sensing, combined with AI algorithms, accelerates data processing for fruits and vegetables.
• Pavlos Tsouvaltzis, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, United States
  Non-Destructive Technologies (20 mins)
  Summary: Delve into advanced non-destructive methods for assessing vegetable crop physiology, quality, and safety.
• Loren Honaas, USDA ARS TFRL, United States
  AI in Molecular Biology (20 mins)
  Summary: Discuss molecular indicators related to postharvest tree fruit disorders using AI techniques.

The goal of this workshop is to bring together consumer horticulture stakeholders working to create sustainable, enjoyable, healthy communities and to identify methods for achieving greater impact through effective process of program identification, development, and measurement. Those active in any role of developing and delivering consumer horticulture programs, including Master Gardener activities, are encouraged to attend. Creating impactful programming in this field is influenced by stakeholders with varied goals and resources, content specificity due to planting zones and habitat, and the audience’s diverse economic and social demographics. To achieve greater success, more effort must be invested in the process of goal setting, stakeholder participation, resource allocation, collaborative implementation, and measurement. However, drilling down from a state-wide vision through regional, county-based resources and content to be delivered to locally diverse residents requires effective processes and creative thinking. Through discussion, we will identify internal roadblocks to success and learn the creative ways our peers may have overcome similar situations.

Workshop attendees are assigned a number 1, 2 or 3 upon entry. For the first 5 minutes, the participants of the workshop complete one of three pre-workshop surveys
1 - Your Role in the Field of Consumer Horticulture
2 – Success Indicators of Impactful Consumer Horticulture Programs
3 – Identifying Appropriate Consumer Horticulture Programs). For the next 10 minutes, the participants will discuss the definition of the term ‘consumer horticulture’ to ensure clarity of purpose.
This will include an activity generating a list of potential stakeholders and types of programs to illustrate the complexity of the field and to further clarify national, state and local needs. The presenters will then spend 40 minutes sharing a specific example of a layered, complex program development system including their success indicators and impediments. The moderator will represent the flow of information through the system, illustrating the places, sometimes obvious and others unexpected, where the process stops or gains momentum. Presenters represent state, regional and local roles. Workshop participants spend the next 40 minutes in round-robin breakout groups, rotating through 4 topics. The topics are in the form of questions regarding different aspects of goal setting, stakeholder development, program identification and success measurement. Each break out group will be moderated by one of the presenters. The group will reassemble for 20 minutes to discuss the outcome of their work. Notes will be taken for distribution to the group. For the last 5 minutes the group will take different versions of the pre-workshop test as a post-workshop assessment.

Consumer horticulture is a critical topic for national to local level stakeholders invested in developing healthy, sustainable communities. There are few focus areas that affect the quality of life of communities to the degree that this field can. Successful consumer horticulture efforts result in economic development opportunities, increased food access, strengthened social structures, mental health support and more. Yet, while the importance of integrating gardening on individual and community levels is widely recognized, efforts to develop and conduct programs to achieve consumer horticulture goals are difficult to establish and have little data supporting impact. To achieve greater success, more effort must be invested in the process of goal setting, stakeholder participation, resource allocation, collaborative implementation, and measurement. There is a plethora of information available about specific consumer horticulture activities such as community gardens, schoolyard habitats and classes for homeowners. However, before beginning activity development, the field would be strengthened by discussion of the purpose of these programs and the process of delivering information effectively to the intended audience.

The goal of this workshop is to bring together professionals in the field of consumer horticulture from different geographic and organizational systems and, through guided discussion, identify methods for achieving greater impact through effective program identification, development, and measurement.


Coordinator(s)

• Ruth Carll, Rutgers, Agriculture and Natural Resources, New Brunswick, NEW JERSEY, United States

Speaker/Participant(s)

• Peter Nitzsche, Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, United States
  Member of Panel (10 mins)
  Summary: Peter Nitzche, Director of the Clifford E. & Melda C. Snyder Research and Extension Farm at Rutgers Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Department Head for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County represents the perspective of county-level program leadership. He leads events, programming and task force teams while overseeing extension staff that implement programs. He also actively conducts research and contributes to departmental goals.
• Belinda Chester, Rutgers, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
  Panel Member (10 mins)
  Summary: Belinda Chester is a Horticulture Program Associate II and Master Gardener Coordinator with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County. On this panel, she represents the challenges of creating and managing programs with regional and local specificity. She must meet goals of both Rutgers and her county. Her constituents are urban, suburban and rural, including a large farming demographic. This large county also presents a geographic challenge.
• Ruth Carll, Rutgers, Agriculture and Natural Resources, New Brunswick, NEW JERSEY, United States
  Panel Member (10 mins)
  Summary: Ruth Carll, State Coordinator of Consumer Horticulture and Master Gardener Program, leads Rutgers statewide consumer horticulture activities, ensuring that the University’s goals are achieved. Her research involves impact studies designed to guide program development and determine success. Ruth will represent state-level goal setting and program oversight.
• Lisa Chiariello, Rutgers, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
  Panel Member (10 mins)
  Summary: Lisa Chiariello is an Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Associate II with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Sussex County. On this panel, she represents the work of developing training for volunteers who deliver programs that meet statewide goals with specific local content and activities.