{"id":100,"date":"2012-11-12T22:57:46","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T22:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/?p=100"},"modified":"2013-05-09T16:03:07","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T16:03:07","slug":"partnership-tests-tomatoes-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/partnership-tests-tomatoes-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"

Partnership Tests<\/h2>

Tomatoes\u2019 Potential<\/h1>"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNL researchers are testing the feasibility of growing processing tomatoes in Nebraska\u00a0greenhouses thanks to a partnership with ConAgra Foods, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Omaha, Neb.<\/p>\n

The goal is to expand ConAgra\u2019s tomato research capabilities close to home. ConAgra\u2019s tomatoes are field grown in California, where harvests from July through October supply ConAgra with tomatoes for Hunt\u2019s canned tomatoes.<\/p>\n

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From left: Kim Todd, Ryan Anderson, Mike Parker, ConAgra Foods, and Rhnissa Decker, Nebraska Department of Economic Development; Hunt’s\u00ae tomatoes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If Nebraska greenhouses prove promising for growing tomato varieties used in canning, ConAgra could conduct year-round research in Nebraska at every stage, from the growing season to developing products that become pantry staples.<\/p>\n

UNL horticulturist Kim Todd leads a team of agronomists, horticulturists and food scientists that is experimenting with ways to mimic field conditions in the controlled environment of a greenhouse and breed tomatoes that meet ConAgra\u2019s standards for flavor, firmness and quality. Findings could provide insights about how to grow greenhouse tomatoes in mass quantities, harvest the crop at peak maturity and still hit production deadlines.<\/p>\n

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When raising field crops in a greenhouse, the smallest differences are often the biggest. Cool night temperatures and moderate humidity \u2013 the triggers for pollination and setting fruit \u2013 are tricky to consistently replicate indoors.<\/p>\n

In addition to support from ConAgra, the project is partially funded by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development\u2019s Business and Innovation Act research development program that helps businesses develop new technologies that stimulate job growth. Todd\u2019s team is the first from UNL to receive funding through this program, said UNL Industry Relations Director Ryan Anderson, who helped facilitate the partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been eye-opening for us to understand what it takes to grow tomatoes on a schedule that\u2019s driven by when a partner needs them,\u201d Todd said. \u201cYou have to build potential crop failure and other adjustments into the work process.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gordon Smith, ConAgra\u2019s vice president of research, quality and innovation, said, \u201cThrough collaboration with UNL, we are working to deliver products that meet consumers\u2019 needs in more effective ways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNL researchers are testing the feasibility of growing processing tomatoes in Nebraska\u00a0greenhouses thanks to a partnership with ConAgra Foods, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Omaha, Neb. The goal is to expand ConAgra\u2019s tomato research capabilities close to home. ConAgra\u2019s … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[491,1],"tags":[55,60,54,57,415,53,455,58,419,456,59,56],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-homepage","category-uncategorized","tag-conagra","tag-gordon-smith","tag-horticulture","tag-hunts","tag-industry-relations","tag-kim-todd","tag-mike-parker","tag-nebraska-department-of-economic-development","tag-partnerships","tag-rhnissa-decker","tag-ryan-anderson","tag-tomatoes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":720,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2012\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}