The center of flavor
Other projects in Las Vegas are split between the Center for Urban Water Conservation and the Outdoor Education Center at the Extension office in Clark County – Las Vegas. Between them, Robinson, fellow Associate Professor and Extension Horticulture Specialist Angela O’Callaghan, and Extension’s Master Gardener volunteers are studying more desert-adapted fruits and vegetables.
The Center for Urban Water Conservation is home to a demonstration orchard, where a variety of fruit trees are being tested to see which ones provide the best yields. Trees include peaches, apples, apricots, Asian pears, European pears, persimmons, figs, nectarines, pomegranates and true date palms.
One of the newer additions to the orchard are jujube trees, also known as Chinese date trees, which are not normally found in the Mojave Desert region. These trees produce small- to medium-sized red fruit that can be dried, eaten fresh and used to make tea.
At the Outdoor Education Center, Robinson and O’Callaghan’s team is conducting several projects related to growing vegetables in southern Nevada. One of the main projects is the investigation of perennial vegetables, such as artichokes and asparagus. Due to the region’s high temperatures and extremely dry and salty soil, standard commercial varieties don’t always work; however, they’ve found that lesser-grown varieties can be produced with some help.
“Yes, you can grow in southern Nevada, and it works. But it’s different than most other places.” – Angela O’Callaghan
The team is also comparing the results of growing vegetables in raised beds versus growing them in amended soil, or soil with added nutrients. Results for the highest yield appear to be heavily dependent on the individual vegetables. In some cases, even different varieties of the same vegetable respond differently to growing location – one variety may grow better in a raised bed, while another grows better in amended soil. The team is investigating what causes those differences, and they’re compiling their results in an easy-to-understand publication for both backyard and commercial growers.
“We have several years of data and are trying to figure out how to best convey those results to the public,” O’Callaghan said.
Additional southern Nevada projects include garlic variety trials, temperature trials, compost trials, attempts to increase growing seasons and ways to protect plants from pests.
Wine state
Much of the College’s research is shared between northern and southern Nevada, as their goal is to find crops that work in both the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert regions. Last year, Robinson and Biochemistry Professor Grant Cramer concluded a study in southern Nevada on hybrid grape varieties. The hybrids were grown as part of the Table and Wine Grape Project, which began as a partnership with Andy Walker, a grapevine breeder with University of California, Davis. Together, the team tested several varieties, including some discovered by Walker, as grape rootstock that grows well in dry, salty soil. The study concluded with positive results, showing that many wine grape varieties work well in southern Nevada. Many of the varieties grew exceptionally well without needing fertilizer, and some have been provided to local winemakers.
“We discovered that the grapes receiving less water produce the better crop, as ‘suffering’ grapes produce more sugar,” Robinson said. “Southern Nevada is a good location for growing grapes, as due to the lack of rainfall, we can control more easily the amount of water they get, which means we can fine-tune it to produce a better-quality wine.”
Also last year, the team, along with Assistant Professor of Sustainable Horticulture Felipe Barrios-Masias, received a new grant to expand their grape research. The team partnered with Oregon State University to investigate a stress hormone called abscisic acid and its role in drought- and salt-tolerant grapes. With funding from the Experiment Station and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cramer, Robinson, Masias and their team are testing and comparing two rootstocks recommended by Walker: Riparia, from the northeastern U.S. where the climate is wet, and Ramsey, from Texas.
The team grafted cabernet sauvignon vines onto each of the rootstocks and will be comparing the two combinations to each other and to a cabernet sauvignon growing on its own roots. The Ramsey rootstock has been observed to have a higher salt- and drought-tolerance than the other two. In the Barrios Lab, graduate student Maria Sole Bonarota is researching why the Ramsey rootstock seems to do better under drought conditions and how the root anatomy of the different rootstocks affect water uptake and help regulate water loss through the leaves.
In the Cramer Lab, graduate student Haley Toups is studying the production of the stress hormone, particularly in the Ramsey rootstock, as it appears to produce more of the hormone than the other two rootstocks. She’s specifically investigating how the stress hormone impacts the plants’ drought tolerance and ability to regulate water.
In addition, graduate student John Baggett is investigating the salt tolerance of the rootstocks. Specifically, he’s looking at concentrations of chloride in the leaves of the grapes, and how the chloride impacts salt tolerance. The team had noticed that the chloride concentrations were lower in the Ramsey rootstock, and Baggett is investigating to see if it has something to do with root absorption.
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June 17, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Options growing for Nevada's fruit and vegetable crops - Nevada Today
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