PRINCESS ANNE, MD-(April 16, 2021)—University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Dr. Naveen Kumar Dixit aims to help farmers and gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic tap into consumer demand and an emerging market for Asian vegetables. As part of a spring series, he will offer two free webinars focusing on cultivation of the ethnic crops.
Dixit, an assistant professor and horticulturist in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences and UMES Extension specialist, will share his expertise on bitter gourds, April 24; and bottle gourds, May 22. Both webinars begin at 10 a.m. and are open to the public.
The pandemic, he said, has magnified the need for sustainability and self-dependence and has fueled an interest in new tastes and healthy foods. Combine that with a shift in demographics bringing more Asian Americans to the area and a market for such ethnic crops is born.
“Cultivation of Asian vegetables can help producers diversify crops to minimize the risks associated with dependence on one product, especially given changing environmental conditions and market volatility,” Dixit said.
His research and extension activities related to Asian vegetables is supported in part by a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education’s Professional Development Program and UMES Extension.
The virtual presentations are free, but pre-registration is required by visiting UMES.edu/SANS/events. For more information, call 410-621-3650.
Gail Stephens, Agricultural Communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, gcstephens@umes.edu., 410-621-3850.
