Texas Wintergarden Gets a Little Greener
Texas AgriLife Research scientists begin unparalleled artichoke production
By Caitlin Churchill
Researchers at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Uvalde have developed year-round management practices for artichoke production in the southwest Texas Wintergarden region, an unprecedented happening because almost 100 percent of commercial artichokes in the United States are grown in California.
Artichoke is typically a Mediterranean crop, grown mostly in Italy, Spain, and France. In the 1920s, Italian farmers in California were encouraged to produce the “new” vegetable in the United States. For decades, agricultural history, not to mention California’s conducive climate for artichoke production, has seemingly sealed California’s monopoly on the crop — that is, until Dr. Daniel Leskovar got involved.
“Our contributions proved the technical feasibility of economical production of artichokes as a new crop in Texas,” said Leskovar, Texas AgriLife Research vegetable physiology specialist and professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University. He is the lead individual in artichoke research conducted through the Rio Grande Basin Initiative, Precision Irrigator’s Network and Designing Food for Health project.
Dr. Daniel Leskovar standing in the artichoke plot under drip irrigation at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Uvalde.
According to Leskovar, artichoke production in Texas is not typical because artichoke crops seem to thrive in areas with longer seasons, milder winters and cooler climates moderated by humidity — conditions often provided by coastal areas. Monthly temperatures for artichoke growth average about 65 degrees. Since 2004, this temperature has been the average in the Wintergarden region, an agricultural area on the Rio Grande Plains north of Laredo that includes Dimmit, Zavala, Frio and LaSalle counties. The region is unique because of its mild winter climate and established year-round production of irrigated vegetables.
Leskovar’s artichoke research in the Wintergarden region began four years ago with the first planting in September 2004. Since then, Leskovar said involved graduate students and collaborating researchers have progressed previous knowledge of the entire agricultural production system — from variety selection to seeding, transplanting, irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting.
In a presentation by Togo Shinohara, a Texas A&M graduate student in the Department of Horticultural Sciences and a research assistant to Leskovar, Shinohara said that in Texas, artichoke seedlings are frequently exposed to high temperatures and rapid soil drying during transplanting. Heat stress inhibits shoot growth of artichokes, and drought stress inhibits root growth.
A project goal for AgriLife Research scientists therefore became the development of strategies to enhance stand establishment under heat and drought conditions. Shinohara reported that abscisic acid (ABA), a plant hormone, or ethylene regulation offset stress tolerance on artichoke transplants by maintaining plant water status and increasing root growth.
Shinohara also said that harvesting has more impact on the nutritional quality of artichokes heads, than irrigation and nitrogen application rates do. Irrigation rates did, however, significantly improve plant size in terms of length and width. Furthermore, plastic mulch application could save up to 40 percent of needed irrigation amounts without reducing yields.
In four years time, four commercial growers of artichoke have evolved through Leskovar’s team’s efforts, and H-E-B in San Antonio has sold the local growers’ artichokes. Additional testing is now being conducted on small plots in commercial farms located near San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Brownsville.
“The economic viability and profitability of this crop could benefit our regional economy, Texas agricultural producers and consumers. Producing a locally grown premium product – fresh, tasty, and healthy – that can be placed in the Texas market at an affordable price will greatly appeal to consumers. Cutting costs of transportation from California can also mean significant savings for consumers,” Leskovar said.
He said Texas artichokes not only benefit the local and state economy, but also the health of Texans. “Artichokes are an excellent alternative crop for Texas agriculture because they have a high profit margin and are also high in health properties,” Leskovar said. “They contain strong antioxidants, and are very good sources of vitamins C, K, folate, magnesium, manganese, copper and dietary fiber; plus, artichokes have phytochemicals, which are important in preventing or fighting diseases such as cancer and obesity.”
Texas artichokes may certainly appeal to consumers’ pocketbooks and health-mindedness, but what about their tastebuds?
Michael Adamek, co-owner of Constanzo Farm in Atascosa, Texas, can attest to that. Constanzo Farm has produced crops in Texas for almost 70 years, and primarily supplies produce to H-E-B and local markets. “The artichokes we saw in the Uvalde center were, in a word, beautiful,” said Adamek. “Their quality was as good as or better than what we’ve seen out of California, and so was the taste.”
The artichoke research was made possible by partial funds obtained through federal and state entities and programs such as the Rio Grande Basin Initiative of the Texas Water Resources Institute and also funds from the Texas Water Development Board and Designing Foods for Health. Donations of seeds, transplants and irrigation supplies were provided by Condor Seeds, Nunhems, the University of Cartagena in Spain, Speedling, SouthCross Vegetable Transplants and T-Tape.
