RESEARCH PROJECTS

Current Research

Repurposing Food Waste for Sustainable Hydroponic Vegetable Production in Kansas

Municipal solid waste (MSW) poses a significant challenge in Kansas as it has adverse effects on the environment, public health and fairness. In addition, hydroponic crop production's high reliance on peat-based growing media restricts its environmental, social and economic sustainability. Thus, there is a need to 1) identify alternative growing media that enable sustainable food production and 2) explore avenues for repurposing food waste to address these challenges comprehensively. This proposed project will assess the viability of repurposing food waste as growing media in hydroponic crop production within Kansas.

 

Harvesting Innovation: Transforming Horticulture Education through Controlled Environment Agriculture Certification

The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Undergraduate Certificate Program aims to address the pressing need for a skilled workforce in the rapidly evolving field of CEA. With advancements in food production technologies, CEA offers an innovative solution to enhance productivity, reduce environmental footprints, and improve nutritional value for consumers. However, the industry faces a critical challenge in attracting qualified professionals.

The absence of a dedicated CEA academic program in the Midwest exacerbates this issue. To fill this educational gap, our project proposes the establishment of a multi-institutional, regional undergraduate certificate program across four campuses: University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), University of Missouri – Columbia (UM), Kansas State University – Manhattan Campus (KSUM) and Kansas State University Olathe Campus (KSUO).

The project objectives are two-fold: first, to design a shared multidisciplinary certificate program, and second, to prepare a qualified workforce capable of operating and owning CEA farms in Kansas and Missouri. Our long-term vision extends beyond the region, with the goal of scaling the certificate program nationally.

Through collaborative efforts, our program aims to enhance the quality of food and agricultural sciences education. By providing specialized knowledge, hands-on training, interdisciplinary learning opportunities and exposure to cutting-edge technologies, students will be equipped to develop sustainable agricultural practices that maximize productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Ultimately, our project aligns with the overarching goals of the HEC program by facilitating cooperative initiatives between institutions and strengthening institutional capacities while maximizing resources.

 

Developing Produce Safety Posters for Non-English Speaking Immigrant Growers in the U.S.

With immigrant agricultural workers being nearly 70% of the farm workforce in the U.S. and almost 40% of these workers needing help to speak and understand English, current educational resources on fresh produce safety have limited usability for these growers. This lack of adequate and easily comprehensible educational resources makes training of these growers difficult and results in produce-safety issues in their farming practices. Our project aims to empower immigrant growers across various states, such as Kansas, Iowa and Missouri, by providing culturally and linguistically tailored animated educational materials. These resources, grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior and based on the current regulations of the "FSMA Produce Safety Rule," will improve knowledge and practices in fresh produce safety on the farms. A pre-and post-survey will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of posters in a field like "Produce Safety," particularly in influencing attitudes, perceived behavioral control and intentions related to fresh produce safety practices.

 

Evaluating Electrostatic Spraying to Improve Food Contact Surface Disinfection and Produce Safety and Quality

The overall goal is to determine the effectiveness of commercially available electrostatic sprayers using the recommended dosage of commonly used food-grade sanitizers (chlorine and Peracetic acid). The difference in application and efficacy of two electrostatic sprayers (large, grounded unit and handheld sprayer) will be compared with a conventional sprayer. Small samples of materials used on commercial fresh produce farms in Kansas will be used as representative samples of food contact surfaces (stainless steel, plastic (polyethylene)). Kansas-grown tomatoes and romaine lettuce will be used for investigating the treatment effects on microbial and quality parameters. The on-farm field validation and demonstrations will be conducted at the Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center and at a local fresh produce farm to educate and train Kansas producers. The outcomes of this project include 1) research-based knowledge on the efficacy of two different sanitizer spraying methods regarding surface disinfection and produce safety and quality. 2) extension outputs including educational resources such as handouts and factsheets, on-farm demonstrations, and field days to improve cleaning and sanitation practices, benefitting Kansas.

 

Wastewater Re-Use for Hydroponic Production Systems

As the global population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2030 (World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations, n.d.), the demand for food will increase by 50 (In Brief to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2023), placing pressure on food production systems. Sustainable agriculture, like hydroponics, offers benefits such as water efficiency and year-round plant production, ideal for areas with limited arable land. However, challenges with water reuse and microbial contamination in hydroponic systems demand effective treatment methods. The current practices of discharging untreated wastewater present environmental hazards, therefore there is a critical need for sustainable water treatment methods to ensure safe water reuse within hydroponic systems. My research evaluates a modified and optimized water treatment approach that combines physical filtration with UV light technologies for wastewater reuse in hydroponic systems. By integrating Slow Sand Filtration (SSF) and biochar filtration with UV light treatment, we aim to optimize water reuse efficiency while ensuring crop health and productivity without comprising produce safety.

 

Enhancing Microbial Safety of Hydroponic Systems with the Use of Ultraviolet Irradiation

Hydroponics is a growing industry that has the potential to provide fresh produce year-round directly in urban areas, which can stabilize supply and prices while reducing the carbon footprint associated with transportation of such produce. There are many potential advantages to this kind of cultivation, but the potential for foodborne outbreaks caused by pathogens spreading within the nutrient water of hydroponics systems presents a challenge. This project examined the efficacy of an ultraviolet treatment on the nutrient water in recirculating hydroponics systems in terms of pathogen reduction and plant growth parameters. Findings concluded the treatment was effective for reducing pathogens without compromising plant growth.

 

Novel Sanitation Strategies to Control Listeria Biofilms in the Organic Produce Industry

The organic produce sector is limited regarding organic-compliant sanitation approaches for equipment and food contact surfaces capable of addressing food safety issues. In the last few decades, there have been several foodborne outbreaks and recalls associated with L. monocytogenes contamination. The overall goal of this project is to develop and validate novel sanitation strategies (integrating UV light technologies and chemical sanitation) to control Listeria biofilms in the organic produce industry on food-contact surfaces and equipment.