Research

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Our Research Program

Our company is called Farming Systems Research because we are constantly trying to develop the most sustainable vegetable crop production systems for our area. This means finding methods which are environmentally friendly, and socially acceptable while still being profitable.

These are the advantages we can offer your group or company:

	On-farm trials test your plants or products in real-world conditions.
	Cooperation with Research and Extension scientists enables us to give your projects credibility and helps to transfer the technology to growers.
	Our winter growing season means that you have an extra cropping season for observation and data collection.

These are the types of projects which we can do on our farm:

	Testing of effects of utilization of composts.
	Use of cultural and mechanical methods of controlling pests, such as solarization and fabrics for plant protection and growth improvement.
	Vegetable crop variety trials and observations/data collection for vegetable breeders.
	Testing of biological control agents for controlling pests of vegetable crops.
	Microbiological studies of soils and composts.
	Evaluation of organic plant nutrient sources.

In 2005, we completed a three year Southern Region SARE project with researchers at the Universities of Florida and Georgia: A System Approach for Improved Integration of Green Manure in Commercial Vegetable Production Systems (http://www.sare.org/reporting/report_viewer.asp?pn=LS02-140&ry=2005&rf=1)

Recently we have cooperated with several companies to demonstrate their foliar feed products. We are also in the second year of two project with UF-IFAS Researchers and Palm Beach County Extension Service: one is to compare production of squash flowers on varieties of squashes and the other is a trial of specialty potato varieties.

During the 2006-07 growing season, we will also be testing varieties of several different vegetables for a seed company.

Our research program is headed by company president Dr. Nancy Roe. Her academic background includes B.S. and M.S. degrees in horticulture from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. from the Horticultural Sciences Dept. at the University of Florida. She has worked in management of vegetable crop operations for 30 years, and spent 5 years in Extension and Research with Texas A&M University. To add input to our research program, Dr. Roe cooperates with other scientists: horticulturists, entomologists, plant pathologists, economists as well as Cooperative Extension professionals.

Some recent publications and presentations include:

Roe, N. and D. M. Parmenter. 2006. How small growers can help vegetable crops survive hurricanes: tips we didn’t want to learn. HortScience 41(4): 1063. Abstr.

D. Parmenter, R. Nagata, K. Cushman, and N. Roe. 2006. Evaluation andselection of squash types and cultivars for production of edible squash blossoms. HortScience 41(4): 1073. Abstr.

Avila, L., J. Scholberg, N. Roe, and C. Cherr. 2006. Can sunn hemp decrease nitrogen fertilizer requirements of vegetable crops in the southeastern United States? HortScience 41(4): 1005. Abstr.

Roe, N.E. and G.C. Cornforth. 2000. Effect of dairy lot scrapings and composted dairy manure on growth, yield, and profit potential of double cropped vegetables. Compost Sci. and Util. 8(4): 320-327.

Roe, N.E. 1998. Municipal waste compost production and utilization for horticultural crops: compost utilization for vegetable and fruit crops. 1998. HortScience 33(6): 934-937.

Riley, D.G., J.V. Edelson, R.E. Roberts, N. Roe, M.E. Miller, G. Cuperus, J. Anciso. 1998. Integrated pest management in cucurbit crops in South-Central USA: pest status, attitudes toward IPM and a plan for implementation. J. Extension 36(4): www.joe.org/joe/1998august/a3.html

Roe, N.E. and P.J. Stoffella, and D. Graetz. 1997. Composts from Various Municipal Solid Waste Feedstocks Affect Vegetable Crops I. Emergence and Seedling Growth II. Growth, Yields, and Fruit quality. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 123(3):427-437.