Source: UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA submitted to
INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF BLUEBERRY PRODUCTION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
NEW
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1007152
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
FLA-HOS-005469
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 4, 2015
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2020
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Darnell, RE.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
G022 MCCARTY HALL
GAINESVILLE,FL 32611
Performing Department
Horticultural Science
Non Technical Summary
Sustainability and profitability of the Florida blueberry industry are constrained by high production costs, including extensive soil amendments and the need to hand harvest fresh-market berries. Sparkleberry, a wild blueberry species, grows well on nonamended soils and has a tree-like growth habit, making it more amenable to mechanical harvesting. Incorporating these traits into highbush blueberry would alleviate soil constraints and facilitate mechanical harvesting. Our approach is two-fold: 1) understand differences in nutrient uptake between blueberry and sparkleberry under different rhizosphere conditions of pH, bicarbonate concentration, nitrogen and iron concentrations, and 2) use southern highbush blueberry (SHB) cultivars grafted onto sparkleberry rootstocks. We believe grafted plants will be better suited to mechanical harvest and less dependent on soil amendments than own-rooted plants. Plantings of grafted vs own-rooted SHB were established in 2011 at two locations. Preliminary data indicate that by the second year after planting, vegetative growth of grafted plants increased more than vegetative growth of own-rooted SHB, particularly on non-amended soil. Further, our early data show that fruit ground loss during mechanical harvesting may be reduced 40% in grafted vs own-rooted plants. We propose to evaluate vegetative/reproductive growth, yield, and mechanical harvesting efficiency over the next two years in grafted vs own-rooted SHB grown on amended vs non-amended soil. We anticipate that grafted SHB will exhibit greater growth, yield, and improved mechanical harvesting traits compared with own-rooted plants.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
60%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1021120102060%
1021120101040%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
1120 - Blueberry;

Field Of Science
1020 - Physiology; 1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;
Goals / Objectives
1. Understand rhizosphere effects on nutrient uptake and assimilation efficiency in highbush blueberry and V. arboreum2. Determine long-term effects of highbush blueberry grafted onto V. arboreum rootstocks on growth and productivity in amended vs non-amended soils3. Compare mechanical harvest efficiency of grafted vs own-rooted highbush blueberry
Project Methods
Obj. 1. : V. arboreum seedlings and rooted stem cuttings of V. corymbosum will be used. Seeds of the wild species, V. arboreum, collected from natural habitats of distinct plants (most likely representing a single genotype) will be germinated using previously published techniques (Darnell and Hiss, 2006). Shoot cuttings of V. corymbosum will be produced using recommended procedures. After sufficient growth, plants of each species and hybrids will be selected, blocked by size, and transferred into aerated, opaque plastic bottles filled with a complete nutrient solution (Darnell and Hiss, 2006). The iron and nitrogen concentrations will vary with the experiment. The iron source will be Fe-diethylenetriaminopentaacetic acid (Fe-DTPA) and nitrogen source will be KNO3 or NH4(SO4)2. Nutrient solutions will be changed weekly. At each solution change, plant roots will be blotted dry and whole plant FW determined before placing plants in fresh nutrient solution.1.1. N and Fe concentration effects on iron and N uptake and assimilation. Plants will be exposed to different concentrations of NO3, NH4, and Fe, depending on the experiment, to determine the interactions among Fe, NO3 ,and NH4 concentrations on both Fe and N uptake and assimilation. N and Fe uptake will be determined weekly by the depletion method (Poonnachit and Darnell, 2004; Darnell and Hiss, 2006). In situ root and leaf NR and FCR activities will be measured every other week throughout the experiments (Poonnachit and Darnell, 2004; Darnell and Hiss, 2006). After 14 weeks, plants will be harvested and whole plant FW and DW will be measured. Dried samples will be analyzed for total N, NO3-N, and total Fe as previously described (Darnell and Hiss, 2006). Since total leaf Fe does not often correlate with leaf chlorosis, "active Fe" will be measured as described by Darnell and Cruz-Huerta (2011). Treatments will be arranged factorially in a randomized complete block design (RCB) with 4 to 6 replications.1.2. Solution pH effects on iron and nitrate uptake and assimilation. The narrow soil adaptation of cultivated V. corymbosum is linked to soil pH, as production of V. corymbosum is limited to acidic (pH 4.0-5.5) soils. On the other hand, V. arboreum tolerates soils with native pH up to 6.5. The reason behind the poor vigor of V. corymbosum at higher soil pH is unclear, although it may be related to inability to access sufficient Fe. These experiments will examine the effect of root solution pH on Fe and N uptake and assimilation. Nutrient solutions will be buffered at pH 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5. Treatment set-up, data collected, and experimental design will be as described in Obj. 1.1. 1.3. Bicarbonate effects on iron and nitrate uptake and assimilation. Because irrigation water often contains high levels of bicarbonates, an additional problem occurs during blueberry cultivation since V. corymbosum is highly intolerant of bicarbonate. Grower observation indicates that Fe-induced leaf chlorosis can be induced in V. corymbosum even under optimum soil pH conditions if overhead irrigation water contains high levels of bicarbonates. This experiment will examine the effects of root solution bicarbonates on Fe and N uptake and assimilation. Nutrient solutions will be buffered at 2 pH values (chosen based on the results from Obj. 1.2) using either MES or CaCO3. This will enable separation of pH effects from CaCO3 effects. Data taken will be as described above.Obj. 2. Four V. arboreum rootstock/southern highbush scion combinations (own-rooted 'Farthing' or 'Meadowlark', and 'Farthing' or 'Meadowlark' grafted onto V. arboreum) are being grown at two sites - the UF/IFAS Plant Research and Education Unit in Citra, FL and at Straughn Farms, LLC in Archer, FL. Own-rooted plants were propagated by stem-cuttings in summer 2010 by a commercial nursery. Grafted plants were veneer-grafted in summer 2010 onto V. arboreum seedling rootstocks. Each rootstock-scion combination is being grown in one of two soil treatments: 1) pine bark amended beds and 2) non-amended beds. The amended beds consist of a homogeneous mixture of pine-bark, where 10 cm of pine bark was mixed in the top 20 cm of the native soil, while the non-amended beds consist of native soil. The experiments were field planted in May, 2011. Plants were spaced 0.9 m in the row by 3 m between rows in Citra, and 0.9 m by 3.3 m in Archer. Both locations have well-drained Arredondo sand soil, with low organic matter, and pH ~ 6.0. The experiments are arranged in a randomized complete split-block design, with soil treatments as main plots, and the rootstock-scion combinations as sub-plots. Main plots are replicated six times in Citra, and four, six, or eight times in Archer, depending on the year and parameter evaluated. Each sub-plot consists of eight plant plots (at least one guard plant on each side and two data plants). The following will be measured over the course of this project: plant canopy volume, flower bud number, fruit set, and fruit yield. Leaf and soil samples will be collected for nutrient analysis to monitor and maintain optimum fertilization.Obj. 3. Using the research planting at Straughn Farms, as described above, three rows (consisting of 8 sub-plots of each cultivar) will be designated for mechanical harvesting and three rows will be designated for hand-harvesting. Mechanically-harvested plants will be harvested three times throughout the season - early, mid, and late fruit ripening - using a hand-held mechanical shaker. Additional plants will be hand-harvested at the same time for comparison of yield and postharvest attributes. Before and after each harvest time, ground loss fruit will be collected. All fruit will be transported back to the laboratory, sorted into ripe, unripe, and damaged berries, and weighed by class. Samples of ripe, undamaged mechanically harvested and hand harvested berries will be measured for firmness, soluble solids, acidity and pH at harvest. Additional samples will be placed in clamshells and cold-stored for 7 or 14 days. Following storage, samples will be removed and fruit will be analyzed for weight loss, appearance, firmness, shriveling, and decay. Fruit extracts will be frozen for subsequent analysis of soluble solids, acidity, and pH.

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Primarily researchers and growers. However, decreasing production inputs will increase sustainability and therefore serve much broader audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional Training American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Meeting, Waikoloa, HI. Sept. 19-22, 2017. Grower Training Performance of southern highbush blueberry grafted onto Vaccinium arboreum (sparkleberry) rootstocks in amended and non-amended soils, Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conf., Savannah, GA, Jan. 2017 Blueberry in-service training, PSREU, Citra, FL, Apr. 2017 Sparkleberry Rootstock Trial Update, Fruit Grower Day, Tavares, FL, Sept. 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Professional meetings, grower meetings, field days, newsletter, website: (https://blueberrygrafting.wordpress.com/) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? World blueberry production has increased in the last 20 years from 145,000 metric tons (MT) in 1993 to 591,000 MT in 2016, and is predicted to increase to over 904,000 MT by 2021. North America is the primary producer of blueberries, with 42% of the fresh market share. Recently, individual consumption of both fresh and processed blueberry fruit in the U.S. increased ~270%, from 0.30 kg in 2004 to 0.80 kg in 2016. With a crop value of $859 million in 2015, blueberries are the third largest commercial berry crop in the U.S., eclipsed only by grapes and strawberries. However, sustainability and profitability of the fresh market blueberry industry are constrained due to high production costs, including extensive soil inputs and hand-harvesting. Highbush blueberry production on typical agricultural soils is feasible only with costly inputs, such as organic material amendments, sulfur, and mulches. Cost for these soil amendments in the southeastern U.S., and particularly Florida, range up to $6,000 per acre, and subsequent applications of organic material are required every two to three years to maintain plant vigor and productivity. Fertilizer and water inputs are also high in heavily mulched systems, particularly since highbush blueberry is a shallow-rooted species and much of the root system is confined to the mulch. In spite of the high cost of soil amendments and the associated environmental cost due to excess fertilizer and water use, little progress has been made in decreasing these problems. Additionally, the majority of fresh market blueberries are hand harvested at 4 to 7 times the cost of mechanical harvesting. Although mechanical harvesting systems for fresh market blueberries have been investigated, most current cultivars are not well suited to mechanical harvest due to excessively high fruit loss and damage to berries during harvest. In this current research, we expect to identify traits from V. arboreum and southern highbush blueberry (SHB) that will be used to develop, test, and implement a new blueberry production system. Nutrient uptake results to date indicate that Fe and NO3 uptake rates are higher for V. arboreum at pH 7.0 compared with pH 4.5, and higher than uptake rates in SHB at either pH. Additionally, root-associated microbial communities differ between the two species, even within similar substrates. Results with own-rooted vs grafted blueberries in the field indicate that grafted blueberries grow and yield better on both amended and non-amended soils than do own-rooted blueberries. Mechanical harvesting studies indicate that fruit ground loss of mechanically harvested grafted plants was reduced compared with ground loss of mechanically harvested own rooted plants; however, there were no differences in total yield. Nonetheless, the early data suggest that this new production system may reduce soil amendment costs, resulting in an increase in overall production efficiency and increased grower competitiveness and profitability. Objectives 1. Understand rhizosphere effects on nutrient uptake and assimilation efficiency in highbush blueberry and V. arboreum. Nitrogen uptake and allocation at different growth stages were examined in one- and two-year-old SHB. During spring (March and April), N uptake was low, likely due to small plant size and undeveloped roots (in year 1) or because new growth was supported by remobilization of storage N from roots and one-year-old stems (in year 2). The greatest N uptake generally occurred from late summer to mid-fall when biomass accumulation was the greatest. During two growing seasons, approximately half of the total N derived from applied fertilizer was allocated to leaves. This suggests that spring fertilization requirements of young SHB are minimal, and that N uptake is most efficient when fertilizer is applied from summer through early fall. In additional studies, root- and bulk-substrate associated microbial communities were compared between SHB and V. arboreum. The two species imposed selective pressures in their rhizosphere microbial communities leading to differences between root-associated and bulk substrate microbiomes. Additionally, root-associated microbial communities exhibited genotype-specific host signatures. Contrasts between SHB and V. arboreum, such as the presence of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi in the core microbiome of the wild species, shed light on the reported nutrient uptake differences between these genotypes. 2. Determine long-term effects of highbush blueberry grafted onto V. arboreum rootstocks on growth and productivity in amended vs non-amended soils A research planting was established at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit (PSREU) in Citra, FL during May, 2011 to compare vegetative and reproductive growth of own-rooted vs. grafted SHB blueberry grown in pine bark amended and non-amended soils. In 2017, canopy volume of own-rooted 'Farthing' in amended soils and grafted 'Farthing' in non-amended soils was similar. Canopy volume of 'Meadowlark' was consistently greater in grafted compared with own-rooted plants, regardless of soil treatment. In 2017, yields were greatest in grafted 'Farthing' on amended soil. Own rooted plants on amended soil and grafted plants on non-amended soil had similar yields, while own rooted plants on non-amended soil had a significantly lower yield compared to all the other treatments. Yields of grafted 'Meadowlark' were significantly greater than yields on own rooted plants, regardless of soil treatment. Cumulative yield from 2015-2017 followed the same trend. In general, berry size for grafted plants of both cultivars were greater than for own-rooted, regardless of soil treatment. These results suggest that blueberry grafted onto sparkleberry rootstock (V. arboreum) has the potential to out-yield own-rooted plants on both amended and non-amended soils. 3. Compare mechanical harvest efficiency of grafted vs own-rooted highbush blueberry In winter and spring 2011, a research/demonstration planting was established at Straughn Farms in Archer, FL to compare own-rooted vs. grafted SHB blueberry ('Farthing' and 'Meadowlark') grown in pine bark amended and non-amended soils. In spring 2017, two plants from each were harvested either by hand or mechanically. Plants were mechanically harvested twice in April and May 2017. Additional plants were hand-harvested at the same time for comparison of yield. Before and after each harvest time, ground loss fruit were collected. All fruit was transported back to the laboratory, sorted into ripe, unripe, and damaged berries, and weighed by class. Mechanical harvesting significantly reduced marketable yield compared with hand harvesting for all treatments, with reductions ranging from 52-65%. Yields of mechanically harvested plants were similar between grafted plants on both soil types and own-rooted plants on amended soil. However, the percent of ground loss fruit in grafted plants was significantly less compared with ground losses of own-rooted plants during mechanical harvesting. However, this did not translate into an increased yield in mechanically harvested grafted plants compared with mechanically harvested own-rooted plants.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fang, Y., J. Williamson, R. Darnell, Y. Li, and G. Liu. 2017. Nitrogen uptake and allocation at different growth stages of young southern highbush blueberry plants. HortScience 52:905-909.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Williamson, J., R. Darnell, and B. Casamali. 2017. Performance of grafted and own-rooted southern highbush blueberry in pine bark-amended and non-amended soils. HortScience


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Primarily researchers and growers. However, decreasing production inputs will increase sustainability and therefore serve much broader audiences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional Training XI International Vaccinium Symposium, Orlando, FL. April 10-14, 2016 Grower Training Update on the performance of two southern highbush blueberry cultivars grafted onto Vaccinium arboreum (sparkleberry) rootstocks. Florida Blueberry Grower's Meeting, Plant City, FL. Oct. 2016. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Grower meetings, newsletter, website (https://blueberrygrafting.wordpress.com/) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? World blueberry production has increased in the last 20 years from 145,000 tons in 1993 to 580,000 tons in 2014. Recently, individual consumption of both fresh and processed blueberry fruit in the U.S. increased ~270%, from 0.30 kg in 2004 to 0.80 kg in 2016. With a crop value of $859 million in 2015, blueberries are the third largest commercial berry crop in the U.S., eclipsed only by grapes and strawberries. However, sustainability and profitability of the fresh market blueberry industry are constrained due to high production costs, including extensive soil inputs and hand-harvesting. Highbush blueberry production on typical agricultural soils is feasible only with costly inputs, such as organic material amendments, sulfur, and mulches. Cost for these soil amendments in the southeastern U.S., and particularly Florida, range up to $6,000 per acre, and subsequent applications of organic material are required every two to three years to maintain plant vigor and productivity. Fertilizer and water inputs are also high in heavily mulched systems, particularly since highbush blueberry is a shallow-rooted species and much of the root system is confined to the mulch. In spite of the high cost of soil amendments and the associated environmental cost due to excess fertilizer and water use, little progress has been made in decreasing these problems. Additionally, the majority of fresh market blueberries are hand harvested at 4 to 7 times the cost of mechanical harvesting. Although mechanical harvesting systems for fresh market blueberries have been investigated, most current cultivars are not well suited to mechanical harvest due to excessively high fruit loss and damage to berries during harvest. In this current research, we expect to identify traits from V. arboreum and southern highbush blueberry (SHB) that will be used to develop, test, and implement a new blueberry production system. Nutrient uptake results to date indicate that Fe and NO3 uptake rates are higher for V. arboreum at pH 7.0 compared with pH 4.5, and higher than uptake rates in SHB at either pH. The high uptake rate of Fe is correlated with the high FCR activity exhibited by V. arboreum at pH 7.0; however, NO3 uptake rates do not correlate with NR activity. Generally, the presence of Ca in the nutrient solution increases Fe and NO3 uptake compared with the control, while Fe and NO3 uptake in the presence of bicarbonate is similar to the control. Results with own-rooted vs grafted blueberries in the field indicate that grafted blueberries grow and yield better on both amended and non-amended soils than do own-rooted blueberries. Mechanical harvesting studies indicate that fruit ground loss of mechanically harvested grafted plants was reduced compared with ground loss of mechanically harvested own rooted plants; however, there were no differences in total yield. Nonetheless, the early data suggest that this new production system may reduce soil amendment costs, resulting in an increase in overall production efficiency and increased grower competitiveness and profitability. Goal 1: 1.1. N and Fe concentration effects on iron and N uptake and assimilation:No data to report. 1.2. Solution pH effects on iron and nitrate uptake and assimilationand1.3. Bicarbonate effects on iron and nitrate uptake and assimilation:In April 2016, a hydroponics experiment was initiated in order to determine effects of Ca, HCO3, and solution pH on NR and FCR activities and subsequent NO3 and Fe uptake in 'Farthing' southern highbush blueberry and the V. arboreum clone 'UF-302'. One-year-old plants of 'Farthing' and 'UF-302' were grown hydroponically at pH 4.5 or 7.0 + calcium or + bicarbonate. There were significant interactions between solution pH and genotype for Fe and NO3 uptake, FCR, and NR activities. Fe uptake was highest for V. arboreum growing at pH 7 compared with the other treatments and lowest for both genotypes at pH 4.5. NO3 uptake was also highest for V. arboreum at pH 7, while there were no differences in NO3 uptake among the other genotype x pH combinations. FCR was consistently highest for V. arboreum at pH 7, with no differences among the other genotype/pH combinations. The differences in root NR activity among treatments were generally insignificant. There were no significant interactions between presence/absence of calcium or bicarbonate and solution pH or genotype. Fe uptake was highest for plants growing in solutions containing Ca, while in general, bicarbonate-treated plants had equivalent Fe uptake to control plants. NO3 uptake was higher for Ca-treated plants, except for one date. The bicarbonate-treated plants had similar NO3 uptake as the control. The use of V. arboreum as a rootstock may increase Fe and NO3 uptake in blueberry growing at high pH, thus decreasing the amount of soil amendment required for successful production. Goal 2:A research planting was established at the Plant Science Research and Education Unitin Citra, FL during May, 2011 to compare vegetative and reproductive growth of own-rooted vs. grafted SHB blueberry grown in pine bark amended and non-amended soils. In 2016, canopy volumes of own-rooted 'Farthing' on amended soil was greater than canopy volume of both own-rooted and grafted plants on non-amended soil, but similar to canopy volume of grafted plants on amended soil For 'Meadowlark', , own-rooted plants on non-amended soil had significantly smaller canopy volumes than the other treatments, which did not differ from each other. Yields were greatest in grafted 'Farthing' on amended soil. Own rooted plants on amended soil and grafted plants on non- amended soil had similar yields, while own rooted plants on non-amended soil had a significantly lower yield compared to all the other treatments. Yields of grafted 'Meadowlark' were significantly greater than yields on own rooted plants, regardless of soil treatment. There were no treatment effects on berry size for 'Farthing', which averaged 1.9 g/berry; however, grafted 'Meadowlark' plants had significantly larger berries than berries from own-rooted plants (2.2 vs 1.8 g/berry, respectively). These results suggest that blueberry grafted onto sparkleberry rootstock (V. arboreum) has the potential to out-yield own-rooted plants on both amended and non-amended soils. Goal 3:In winter and spring 2011, a research/demonstration planting was established at Straughn Farms in Archer, FL to compare own-rooted vs. grafted SHB blueberry ('Farthing' and 'Meadowlark') grown in pine bark amended and non-amended soils. In spring 2016, two plants from each were harvested either by hand or mechanically. Plants were mechanically harvested three times in April and May 2016. Additional plants were hand-harvested at the same time for comparison of yield. Before and after each harvest time, ground loss fruit were collected. All fruit was transported back to the laboratory, sorted into ripe, unripe, and damaged berries, and weighed by class. Mechanical harvesting significantly reduced marketable yield compared with hand harvesting for all treatments, with reductions ranging from 52-65%. Yields of mechanically harvested plants were similar between grafted plants on both soil types and own-rooted plants on amended soil. However, the percent of ground loss fruit in grafted plants was significantly less compared with ground losses of own-rooted plants during mechanical harvesting. However, this did not translate into an increased yield in mechanically harvested grafted plants compared with mechanically harvested own-rooted plants.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Darnell, R.L., C. Hamilton, J. Retamales. 2016. Calcium effects on nitrate and iron acquisition in Vaccinium species. XI International Vaccinium Symposium, Apr 10-14, 2016. Orlando, FL. p. 139
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Nunez, G., H. Rodriquez-Armenta, R. Darnell, J. Olmstead. 2016. Vaccinium arboreum is a potential source for breeding deeper root systems in southern highbush blueberry. HortScience 51:S217
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Nunez, G., C.L. Harmon, J.W. Olmstead, and R.L. Darnell. 2016. Root-level inoculation with iron-reducing microorganisms does not enhance iron uptake by southern highbush blueberry plants. Rhizosphere http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rhisph.2016.09.001
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Casamali, B., J. Williamson, A. Kovaleski, S. Sargent, and R. Darnell. 2016. Mechanical harvesting and postharvest storage of two southern highbush blueberry cultivars grafted onto Vaccinium arboreum rootstocks. HortScience 51:1503-1510
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Casamali, B., R.L. Darnell, A.P. Kovaleski, J.W. Olmstead, and J.W. Williamson. 2016. Vegetative and reproductive traits of two southern highbush blueberry cultivars grafted onto Vaccinium arboreum rootstocks. HortScience 51:880-886


Progress 09/04/15 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project approved 2 weeks ago, so nothing to report.

Publications