Welcome!!
Hello and welcome to my Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) BLOG! My name is Caleb Poppe and I am a junior at Evergreen State College. Through collaborations with the National Organic Vegetable Improvement Coalition (NOVIC), I have been tasked with growing 9 different varieties of radicchio, a striking and bitter, leafy-head vegetable in the Chicory plant family. These long-lived plants can take anywhere from 65 to 145 days to reach full maturity and are a popular cold-weather crop that can be planted in early spring or in early to mid fall.
In the midst of a cultural shift towards an appreciation and exploration of new, strong and bitter foods, many plants in the chicory family have been making the spotlight within the culinary realm.
When we get into matters of the tongue, we humans most commonly differentiate between 5 senses: salty, sour, sweet, umami…and bitter; and the chicory family is potentate to all bitter foods! The complex flavors that can accompany a meal prepared from bitter vegetables can turn out incredibly satisfying or end up unbearably…well, bitter.
As is often the case when there is a cult following for a vegetable, more breeding projects gain traction and attention, elevating its status and popularity; currently chicory is soaking up the lime light.
It is my job to raise numerous plants from each variety and observe how they handle the local conditions. Once they have reached maturity, we will have the pleasure of tasting, smelling, touching, and critiquing the differing varieties. I look forward to the road ahead.
| Project Number 14: Organic Chicory Field Trial: Yield, Sensory Evaluation, and Disease Resistance | |
| Faculty | |
| Sarah Williams and Steve Scheuerell | |
| Project Description | |
| The field research project facilitates learning of field plant trials, plant pathology, agronomy, and sensory evaluation protocols through a variety trial done on the campus Organic Farm, following specifications from the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) designed to address organic farmers’ seed and plant breeding needs. The student will gather data on 12 tomato and 10 chicory varieties concerning growth habits and disease and insect pest infestations. Data will also be gathered on the maturity and grading of harvested tomato fruit and chicory leaves, picking ease, flavor profiles, and overall yield and harvest potential. Fall quarter tomato and radicchio tasting labs will follow the sensory evaluation protocol developed by Lane Selman of Oregon State University for the Culinary Breeding Network. The fellow will gain a capstone project experience and the Food and Ag POS will utilize the project documentation on its Pathway website for recruitment and retention. Our participation in a national field trial will enhance the curriculum in multiple ways including creating connections with participating institutions, being able to offer sensory evaluation labs in fall 2020 programs, and having an on-campus field research project for demonstrating study design, plot maintenance, data collection, and data analysis within academic programs. The proposed project would allow Evergreen to build on successful field studies conducted at the Organic Farm of The Evergreen State College in 2018 and 2019. A video created from our 2019 campus field trial is featured on the national NOVIC website at: https://eorganic.info/group/5751/news |