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PFI: Variety trials work for

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May 24, 2016

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Practical Farmers of Iowa

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AMES - For backyard and hobby gardeners, the colorful photos and
eloquent descriptions found in today's seed catalogs can be an
enticing means of choosing what to plant.
But for many commercial fruit and vegetable producers, those details
are insufficient for making major decisions about which varieties to
grow for their businesses.
Often, these descriptions are not specific to Iowa - and they rarely
account for a farm's unique growing conditions or management
practices.
Article Photos

TIM LANDGRAFF, of One Step At A Time Gardens, in Ka

To address this information gap, five Iowa fruit and vegetable

growers conducted on-farm research in 2015 comparing the
performance of two bell pepper varieties on their farms.
This summer, these farmers are expanding their research to assess
summer broccoli, determinate tomatoes grown in high tunnels and
annual flowering herbs for pollinator health.
This research, conducted in partnership with Practical Farmers of
Iowa, is yielding valuable data on how different varieties perform in
Iowa growing conditions, soil types and management systems, and

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arming Iowa fruit and vegetable growers with data they need to
make informed business decisions.
Participating farmers include Rick Hartmann, of Small Potatoes Farm,
in Minburn; Susan Jutz, of ZJ Farms, in Solon; Tim Landgraf, of One
Step at a Time Gardens, in Kanawha; Alice McGary, of Mustard Seed
Community Farm, in Ames; and Mark Quee, of Scattergood Farm, at
the Scattergood Friends School, in West Branch.
"Field trials have been hugely advantageous to my farm operation,"
Jutz said, who conducts on-farm research on her own and with PFI.
"I can make data-based decisions rather than anecdotal decisions.
"I can read all the information I want from Johnny's or other seed
catalogs, but how does it work in my system? The only way to
answer that question is to run a trial on our farm."
Bell pepper study
The two bell pepper varieties studied in 2015 - Olympus and
Revolution - were chosen by the farmers because of positive farmer
experience, the similarities between the two, and the availability of
organic and untreated seed.
Participants planted four replications of each pepper variety in
randomized pairs of research plots. Specific management details plant spacing, mulching, irrigation, harvest frequency and disease
and pest management practices - were decided by the individual
farmers.
While this set-up meant average end-of-season yields differed by
farm, which was an expected finding, certain distinct trends
emerged. Three farms found that Revolution produced heavier and
more peppers, while two farms found no difference in yield.
When all farms were analyzed together, Revolution yielded
significantly more than Olympus (an average of 4.3 pounds per plant
for Revolution to 4.03 pounds per plant for Olympus).
The full research report - "Bell Pepper Variety Trial-Olympus and
Revolution" is available online at practicalfarmers.org/memberpriorities/horticulture.
ZJ Farms was one of the farms that found no yield difference
between Revolution and Olympus. Jutz said both underperformed
compared to Ace, her preferred pepper variety. However, she
explains this is due to her specific management practices.
"If we used Revolution or Olympus, we would have to adjust our
system" Jutz said. "They didn't perform in our system the way Ace
does. If we wanted to go to a big green bell pepper, such as
Revolution or Olympus, we now know how to do that."
Future field day
Encouraged by the utility of the bell pepper variety trial's farmspecific data, the same farmers are expanding their focus to examine
other crop varieties.
This summer, they, and additional farms, are conducting on-farm
research to learn which broccoli variety performs best as a summer
product in Iowa (harvested primarily in July and August); which
determinate tomato variety performs best in high tunnels; and which
of three annual flowering herbs is most attractive to pollinators.
Tim Landgraf and Jan Libbey, of One Step at a Time Gardens, are
participating in this new research, and will host a free PFI field day
on Aug. 14 to share preliminary results and highlight the process and
importance of their on-farm research.
"We participate with PFI because we gain even more insights working
through the experience together with other farmers," Langraff said.
"Also, by having data from other producers across Iowa, we get a
glimpse of how robust the conclusions are."
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