The primary goal of this project is to introduce various citizenry groups within Wisconsin to new and potentially profitable alternative crops and production systems, and to acquaint them with crops and ornamental which may be common in Europe and Asia but which have not been extensively grown in our region. Approximately 50 new cultivars of gourmet vegetables, edible flowers, everlasting flowers, fresh cut flowers, and ornamental grasses were field tested 3 years for their adaptability for home and market gardens in Wisconsin. Cultivars were chosen for their unique flavor, color, shape, or texture. Greenhouse grown plants were transplanted onto black plastic mulch, with an annual rye–grass living mulch planted between crop rows. Aside from carbaryl and Bacillus thuringiensis used for cole crop insect control, no chemical pesticides or herbicides were used. Data taken includes notes on production, climate adaptability, disease and insect stress, maturation date, color, taste, and texture. Regional interest has been widespread from various groups including growers for gourmet restaurants, farmers market producers, garden clubs, youth organizations, and urban gardeners..
Foods from plants can provide enough energy and essential nutrients for maintaining human health as well as for prevention of many serious diseases. Many exotic vegetables are known for their special nutritional and medicinal properties. Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.), an annual vegetable of Cucurbitaceae family, is found to be one of the important vegetables of special nutritional and medicinal qualities. Germplasm lines and land races of Bitter Melon were evaluated in 2000 and 2001 for their adaptability in Southeast Arkansas. Seven adaptable lines/varieties were tested in replicated field trials for productivity at the Univ. of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Agricultural Research Center in 2002 and 2003. Melons were harvested at their marketable stages beginning in June and ending in September for yield estimation. Nutritional qualities of Bitter Melons were examined by chemical analyses conducted at the Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF) Food Science Laboratory. Analyses for antioxidants and other compounds as well as cooking qualities are currently underway. Several recipes have been tasted for consumer acceptance. The popular belief of bitter melon to improve glucose tolerance in Type II diabetes and lower blood cholesterol are being investigated. It is still to be determined if the chemical constituents such as certain alkaloids and polypeptides found in bitter melons are effective individually or in combination.
The evaluation of peach and nectarine cultivars and advanced selections for suitability of production in the southeastern U.S. has been conducted at Clemson Univ. since 2000. Currently, there are 240+ cultivars and advanced selections being tested at the university's Musser Fruit Farm in Seneca, S.C. The harvest season begins in early May and ends in the middle of September. Additionally, two on-farm grower trials were planted in the primary peach growing regions of the Piedmont (Cowpens, S.C.) and the Ridge (Monetta, S.C.). At the grower locations, advanced selections are compared with industry standard cultivars. Evaluation data collected includes bloom and ripe date, fruit set, shape, color, size, firmness, taste and disease susceptibility. Digital photos are taken to scale at commercial maturity. Evaluation information, photos, plus chill hours, variety descriptions and other valuable information are on the website. In 2004, substantial improvements were made to the site utilizing a database, search and compare tools. The website has been well received by the southeastern commercial peach growers and is utilized to assist them in cultivar selection and to learn more about peach culture in general.
Research shows that food irradiation is a safe food technology effective in reducing pathogenic microorganisms, prolonging shelf life, and controlling pests, such as mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), to avoid quarantine. The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of a professional development program designed with a variety of experiential education strategies targeting food industry regulators, extension agents, and others in the food industry. A short course employed experiential education components, such as presentations by experts in food irradiation technology, tours of food irradiation facilities, group activities, and a taste-test of irradiated produce and meat. Data were collected that assessed participants' knowledge, perceptions, and concerns about food safety and food irradiation, using Likert-type scales. The short course produced significant knowledge gains. Respondents' perceptions of food safety and food irradiation issues were improved significantly as a result of participation in the short course. Also, respondents' perceived knowledge and understanding of food safety, food irradiation, and the technology behind food irradiation improved significantly upon completion of the short course.
they are in hypothetical choice experiments. Blind taste tests can be used to help determine whether consumers prefer natives based on taste alone, absent of information about its type. There is evidence that pecans with different genetics have
rind pattern ( A ) and typical rind thickness and red flesh color ( B ). Taste tests were performed according to Collins et al. (2006) . MSW-28 was sweetened with sucrose to match the brix content of a commercially available open
Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) is one of the three major classes of squash consumed in North America. Breeding improvements over the past 30 years have focused on more compact cultivars, earlier maturity, darker rind color, and powdery mildew tolerance (PMT). Our observations from sampling acorn squash from local supermarkets at different times during the year show that eating quality is highly variable, and most often, not acceptable. Our taste tests indicate that for acceptable eating, quality acorn squash should have °Brix of 10 or higher, flesh %DW above 16, and a smooth, nonfibrous texture. Most commercial cultivars fail to meet the above minimum criteria for quality. Proper harvest time is a major determinant of squash eating quality. To obtain adequate °Brix levels, squash should not be harvested until at least 50 days after pollination (DAP). If squash are harvested between 25 to 40 DAP and then stored for two or more weeks, °Brix levels may increase to acceptable levels, but some mesocarp reserves will be remobilized to developing seeds, reducing mesocarp %DW and lowering eating quality. A major goal of the squash breeding efforts at the University of New Hampshire has been to increase mesocarp %DW for obtaining more consistent eating quality. We have evaluated several experimental PMT hybrids during the past 5 years, and in some of these, flesh DW has averaged 17% or higher, and eating quality has been rated consistently very good. The adoption of better quality acorn cultivars together with implementing proper harvest times and storage conditions could appreciably increase per capita consumption.
Older adults are not sufficiently physically active and do not consume sufficient fruits and vegetables to achieve health benefits, such as an improved health-related quality of life (HRQL). As a result, an innovative gardening intervention, comprised of stretching exercises, the teaching of home garden knowledge and skills, and the preparation and taste testing of fruits and vegetables, was developed to target increased: (a) confidence to garden and to consume fruits and vegetables, (b) physical activity, (c) fruit and vegetable consumption, and (d) HRQL. Seven older adults, aged 60 years or older, participated in the gardening intervention and 10 older adults participated in the control group during the fall. Measures of confidence, physical activity (i.e., gardening), fruit and vegetable consumption, and HRQL were obtained at baseline and at the end of the 10-week program. Findings revealed that, at baseline, intervention participants had significantly higher confidence to garden compared to control participants but at end-program intervention and control participants did not significantly differ in any of the outcome variables. Bivariate findings also revealed that intervention participants who had higher confidence to garden or to consume fruits and vegetables at baseline also gardened more at end-program. Thus, interventions targeting confidence to garden and to consume fruits and vegetables may be effective in improving gardening (i.e., physical activity) behavior. Findings also suggest that seasonal change may be one influential moderator of the gardening program on confidence and gardening and fruit and vegetable consumption behavior change. Future research should examine the impact of the program in different seasons to clarify the effects.
consumer preference and WTP for various apple varieties based merely on appearance and taste instead of brand name, the variety names were not given to participants. This was important because we were testing new varieties that may have been unfamiliar to
habits. Chi-square tests were also performed to compare JAR ratings. Results Many descriptive attributes differed significantly among the tested fruit, including appearance, peel, aroma, taste, and texture attributes ( Table 3 ). The flavor differences