Trequan McGee, assistant professor and horticulture Extension specialist, holds a ginger plant while speaking at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.


A tropical plant with culinary, medicinal and niche market potential for small-scale farmers was the star attraction in the second annual Ginger Field Day, hosted by the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T.

Held Sept. 4 at the University Farm Pavilion, the event drew 50 Extension agents, prospective growers and attendees from across North Carolina and Virginia.

“We started this ginger research about 10 years ago, and it’s been expanding and expanding and expanding,” said Guochen Yang, Ph.D., horticulture professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design. “We’ve done this for three reasons: research, education, and stakeholder advantage. We started this with stakeholders in mind to find solutions within an alternative niche cash crop.”

The field day, led by Yang; his research assistants Will Lashley and Julia Robinson; assistant professor and horticulture specialist Trequan McGee, Ph.D.; and assistant professor and extension plant pathology specialist Hannah Talton, D.P.M., provided guests with a detailed glance at the team’s ongoing ginger research in farm’s greenhouses, high tunnels and wooded shade areas.

“Ginger is a high-value specialty crop,” said McGee. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen prices range from $15/lb. to $30/lb. on the higher end at various farmer’s markets across North Carolina. It can be sold fresh, dried, or turned into various value-added products like syrups, candies, teas, and has many medicinal benefits. It has a lot of different uses that can bring revenue to your farming operations.”

Participants had the opportunity to not only listen to the ginger field experts, but take part in hands-on demonstrations as well, from cutting seed ginger nodes and sowing in coconut coir to harvesting full ginger plants by hand and with broadforks.

Two women wearing gloves are gardening together, tending to green plants in a large black container filled with soil, placed on wooden pallets outdoors on a grassy area.

Extension assistant – UPRS Heather Berger, left, and Dharani Murugeson practice harvest technique at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Guests like James Gardner, a Greensboro farmer who operates the Positive Direction for Youth & Families Community Garden, said he had experimented with ginger growing in the past and wanted to learn more for his own unique purpose.

“What I really wanted to learn was how ginger likes to grow so that I can take those principles and apply it to aquaponics, which is what I’m really looking to ramp up on my farm,” said Gardner.  “Understanding ginger’s ideal lighting climates tells me what I need to do to get the area ready before I begin to grow.”

Between instructional sections, Talton offered pest management practices to assist the guests with their ginger-growing interests, including scouting crops for insects, weeds, and problematic areas.

“When you’re in the field, and you’ve got the walls down in the high tunnel, things can float in and out: good guys (pests), bad guys, everything in between,” said Talton. “Ginger is so new that we are working on trying to survey what is actually going to attack ginger in the state of North Carolina.”

Gallery

A person wearing blue gloves uses a Fiskars knife to cut and clean a bulb or tuber with roots and shoots on a wooden surface, with soil and a black container in the background.

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Ginger roots are divided during a demonstration on propagation at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A woman speaks into a microphone while demonstrating plant growth in trays of soil to a group of people standing around a table outside a greenhouse on a sunny day.

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Hannah Talton, Ph.D., assistant professor and plant pathology specialist, speaks during a presentation at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A diverse group of people work together outside a greenhouse, tending to plants in large containers on wooden pallets. Some are kneeling and others standing, focused on gardening tasks under a sunny sky.

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Trequan McGee, Ph.D., assistant professor and horticulture Extension specialist, center, discusses ginger plants during a harvest demonstration at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A group of people stand among rows of green plants inside a large greenhouse, listening to a man in a blue shirt and cap who is speaking and gesturing with his hand.

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Research assistant Will Lashley, right, flanked by Guochen Yang, Ph.D., left, and Trequan McGee, Ph.D., speaks about a ginger crop growing in a high tunnel at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A woman wearing gloves, a gray cap, and a name tag smiles while holding a green planting bag with a seedling. Other people work nearby under blue canopies at an outdoor community gardening event.

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Dawn MacGibbon holds a potted ginger plant after a propagation demonstration at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Two people wearing blue gloves are harvesting and cleaning large, soil-covered ginger roots on a white table outdoors. The workers’ tattooed arms and the ginger roots are prominently visible.

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Research technician Julia Robinson, left, and research assistant Will Lashley demonstrate ginger harvesting at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A yellow plastic crate filled with freshly harvested ginger rhizomes, some with pinkish tips and soil still attached.

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Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Two men use large clippers to work on plants inside a greenhouse, while a group of people stand around them watching and taking notes on a sunny day.

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Horticulture coordinator Randall Quillian, left, and research assistant and Ph.D. candidate Will Lashley, right, demonstrate harvesting equipment and technique at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A smiling man in a blue shirt and cap holds a large yellow bin filled with freshly harvested plants in an outdoor farming area under curved metal frames. Trees and a pond are visible in the background under a blue sky.

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Research assistant and Ph.D. candidate Will Lashley with freshly-harvested ginger plants at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A woman with curly hair and glasses holds a plant and speaks into a microphone while demonstrating to a group of attentive adults outdoors. A tray of seedlings and a spray bottle are on the table in front of her.

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Hannah Talton, Ph.D., assistant professor and plant pathology specialist, speaks during a presentation at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Six people stand in a wooded outdoor area, some wearing name tags and work uniforms. One person in a yellow shirt speaks into a microphone while others listen attentively. Sunlight filters through the trees above.

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Guochen Yang, Ph.D., professor and HortLegend, holds a ginger plant as he speaks during a presentation at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Two people stand outdoors. The woman in a floral dress holds a large, brown, textured cube, while the man in glasses and a black shirt gestures and speaks, appearing to explain something about the object.

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Dharani Murugeson, left, and Nitish Balasubramanian examine a block of growing media at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A person with blue gloves stands by a tray of soil with ginger rhizomes spaced on top. A green cutting board, knife, and more ginger pieces are on the table under bright sunlight.

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Ginger roots are arranged during a propagation demonstration at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A group of people stand and listen to a woman speaking inside a greenhouse. Rows of green plants grow on either side, and one man holds up a small green object. The setting appears educational and collaborative.

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Hannah Talton, Ph.D., assistant professor and plant pathology specialist, speaks about pest control as Trequan McGee, Ph.D., displays an insect trap during a presentation at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A person wearing blue gloves is planting a leafy green plant in soil, with dirt falling from the roots. Other people are standing nearby in the background, slightly out of focus.

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Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

Three people stand outdoors in sunlight. One man in a yellow shirt and sunglasses smiles at the camera, while two others in blue shirts stand beside him. A modern building and blue sky are visible in the background.

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Guochen Yang, Ph.D., center, smiles as he responds to a visitor’s question during Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.

A woman wearing gloves and glasses repots a large plant on an outdoor table. A yellow bin sits nearby, and two people stand in the background next to greenhouse structures under a clear sky.

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Research technician Julia Robinson demonstrates ginger harvesting at Ginger Production Field Day at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Farm.