I attended two impressive participatory research seminars hosted by 2019 Plant Sciences Winter Colloquium and the Plant Breeding Center at UCD. The first one was by Dr. Julie Dawson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, about developing organic culinary varieties from seed to kitchen. The second one was by Dr. Tareke Berhe who breeds “super grain”, Teff with aim to produce a local supply for restaurants in Sacramento, CA. Participatory Research increases the involvement of farmers in research. Different from conducting research in labs or under controlled environments, farmers contribute information about the local environment, selecting and providing germplasm, and hosting trials in their own fields etc. Agricultural researchers can contribute scientific knowledge such as improved varieties, segregating populations, and information about biotic and abiotic stresses. This research method connects local farmers, agricultural researchers, chefs, and consumers to form a complete supply chain. This is a win-win situation for all parties from the following point of view. For example, farmers adapt new technologies and test new cultivars based on their needs. At the same time, they provide valuable feedback and data to researchers who will perform analysis later. The scientific sector organizes taste trials, which bring in customers; the results are provided to chefs who will develop new dishes based on different characteristics of a crop. 

Dr. Dawson’s “Seed to Kitchen Collaborative” introduced five target audiences (farmers, gardeners, breeders, chefs, and consumers). She discussed impressive results from eight different crops: tomatoes, peppers, squash, onion, carrots, kale, lettuce, and melons. For squash, there were varieties that have higher disease resistance or longer shelf life. There were also varieties that are sweeter than others. Combining all traits from mature reliability, flavor, storage, to disease resistance, individuals factor maps (PCA) and variables factor maps (PCA) were constructed to display results. All these reports from 2014 to 2018 are accessible here. In addition to the crops they provide trial reports for, they also work with breeding programs for beets, sweet corn, cucumber, and potato.

Following its introduction into the Upper Midwest of the U.S., Teff, a small grain crop that originated in Ethiopia, is now coming to California. The UCD Plant Breeding Center invited Dr. Tareke Berhe to talk about this highly nutritious staple food. Teff has tiny seeds that can be ground to make flour, which contains high calcium and protein. The vegetative part of Teff can be used as forage. Though Teff can grow all over the US, there are challenges to grow this crop in the Sacramento area. For example, there is a huge elevation decrease from Ethiopian plateau (3000m) to Sacramento (10m). Day length changes from short day to long day, so flowering times are different. A local restaurant in Sacramento uses Teff flour to make traditional Ethiopian dishes, and this was the motivation of bringing this crop here. There is a link between supply and demand chains, so agricultural research interactively follows the needs of customers.