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HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH NEEDED WORLDWIDE

Robert Coleman
Horticulture Public Relations Specialist
Coleman Communications.
Longwood, Florida

ons.
Longwood, Florida

1. Horticultural research needed worldwide--and especially as related to USA research work in the foreseeable future--should be aggressively pursued in these priority areas:

• Crop yields must be increased on a global basis and in the face of a shrinking land mass. This means horticultural research must be aimed at feeding many more millions each year worldwide with:

1. Field studies directed to increasing per unit (ac/hectare) production of the most basic vegetables and fruits. Various technologies below should be utilized in these efforts on a regional to state basis.
2. Greenhouse studies must be aimed at increasing in-house (under plastic/glass) production. Various technologies below should be utilized in these efforts to fit demographic populations.

• Adapt and sophisticate precision agriculture systems (now ten years underway; six years commercially in agriculture led by the University of Minnesota's directions early on) within the horticultural research arena. Such investigative and commercial trial efforts in Georgia and Florida vegetable and citrus production are now underway, but much remains to be done regarding the improvement of inputs--GPS and GIS systems plus integrated GPS/GIS systems (now going commercial in agriculture) and studies needed into Variable Rate Technology for ways to reduce fertilizer and criable Rate Technology for ways to reduce fertilizer and chemical applications--and still control insect, disease, and weed problems, yet reduce drift, cut costs, and sustain or improve the environment.
• Increase horticultural research activities to deal with consumer's top concerns on food safety, soil-borne organism control, food production, and processing techniques to monitor and control quality of fruits and vegetables sold to consumers. Research priorities should parallel consumer ones (American Agribusiness Ambassadors 1995 American Food Consumer Survey--St. Louis, MO '95):

First with consumers: Water contamination (57.2 percent rated great concern).
Second with consumers: Bacterial contamination (50.6 percent).
Third with consumers: Pesticides (44.7 percent).
Fourth with consumers: Additives (41.6 percent, e.g., irradiation of foods that includes animal origin, too).
Fifth with consumers: Soil erosion (36.1 percent).
Tenth with consumers: Biotechnology (22.4 percent).
(6th endangered wildlife; 7th animal welfare; 8th animal growth hormones; and 9th agricultural subsidies--28.2 percent each.)

• Further accelerate integrated pest management studies--especially field research in coordination with commercial enterprises--to improve a crop's (biogenetic and crosses) ability to be mto improve a crop's (biogenetic and crosses) ability to be more productive in competition with interrelated problems including: (a) Crop diseases (b) Crop insects (c) Crop yields (d) Timing in planting, chemical/fertilizer applications, cultural practices, irrigation, and harvesting and involved more automated harvesting technology (e) Crop storage improvements needed (f) Environmental issues related to horticultural crops--satisfying growing needs to be more productive, more efficient, and more profitable to ensure a grower's business longevity.
• More aggressively pursue research into organic vegetable and fruit production--especially in lieu of greater demands for organic foods. In the United States notes The Packer, a fresh produce trade newspaper, sales of organic produce have been increasing 20 to 30 percent per year for the past five years with similar growth forecast for the next several years. Researchers must consider the full spectrum of reasons for the trend in their planning to meet consumer demand for produce deemed relatively safer with higher quality--the driving force for these increases. Demand will increase for organic foods for the foreseeable future without use of synthetic chemicals both domestically and internationally.
• Finally, the North American trend to greater yearly production of greenhouse-grown tomatoes ("vine-ripes" and certain other in-demand vegetables) presents opportunities for researcgetables) presents opportunities for researchers to test for more profitable, more in-demand greenhouse products--both horticultural and environmental crops as well as crop protection products. Supportive idea: Build a "Greenhouse Support Facility,"--an integrated facility* to service plant science research--one with (b) automated soil-handling and dispensing, (3) hi-tech environmental control functions--with a number of environmental chambers, (3) year-round greenhouse evaluation of new crop protection products. (*Florida Weed Science Society--2/26/98 meeting, Tavares, FL--project presented by former greenhouse/field research with U.S. based corporation. Ed.--Idea offers merit also for second stage development as better equipped, more profit-making, state-of-the-art greenhouses of the future. An ongoing process).