The SROC horticultural science research and outreach program is dedicated to generating information and tools for the commercial fresh market and processing vegetable industries in Minnesota.
Research results are shared through peer-reviewed publications, at local and regional grower and extension meetings, at international conferences, and on the Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports and the UMN Digital Conservancy.
Processing Vegetable Crops
Minnesota harvests more acres of sweet corn and green peas for processing (canning and freezing) than any other state. The processing industry is centered in south-central and south-eastern Minnesota, and the SROC is in the center of that region. We perform collaborative research to improve sustainability and profitability of sweet corn and peas.
We collaborate with faculty and staff from the Departments of Soil, Water, and Climate and Plant Pathology. Industry and state financial support and collaboration comes from the MN Department of Agriculture, AFREC, NCIS, and MWFPA.
Current Projects:
- We are collaborating to understand sulfur fertilization in sweet corn.
- We are working to update the relationship between pea tenderness and yield as peas mature.
Fresh-Market Vegetables
We develop science-based resources for efficiently and sustainably producing high-quality vegetables to improve the quality of life for growers and consumers alike. We also aim to enhance soil quality and responsible use of natural resources. We collaborate with faculty, staff, and students from the Departments of Horticultural Science and UMN Extension. Financial support is provided by by such agencies as the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the North Central IPM Center.
Current Projects:
- We are working to understand the need for high-phosphorus starter fertilizer in brassicas (cauliflower) under high- and low- pre-plant phosphorus conditions.
- We are working to understand the impact of a fall faba bean cover crop on soil phosphorus conditions the following spring.
- We are working to measure the response to pruning determinate tomatoes.
- We are working to develop a new open-pollinated white popcorn variety with earlier maturity and favorable popping expansion and yield.
- We are working to understand the impact of flame weeding, compost, and reduced herbicide use in transplanted onion production.
- We are doing preliminary studies to understand basic impacts of plasma-activated water on vegetable crops and diseases.
- We are collaborating with researchers at the SWROC in Lamberton to understand impacts of compost tea on produce yield, quality, and measures of soil health.