December 2021 - 18

research professor at the MU Center for
Agroforestry. Since elderberry production
is relatively new and the plant is native, very
little breeding has previously been done.
" Elderberry is not advanced at all in
EXCELLENCE FOR
ELDERBERRIES
A big plan for a small berry taking place in Missouri
Andrew Thomas, research assistant professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology at the University of Missouri, received a Specialty
Crop Research Initiative grant to study elderberry production and processing. Photo: Kate Preston
By Kate Preston
University of Missouri
Andrew Thomas has big plans for a
small berry. Thomas, research assistant
professor in the Division of Plant Science
and Technology in the College of
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
(CAFNR) at the University of Missouri
(MU), has received a Specialty Crop
Research Initiative (SCRI) grant from the
USDA for the project " Moving American
Elderberry into Mainstream Production
and Processing. " The award is for
$5,345,255 over a four-year period.
Elderberry is a native plant found all
over the Midwest and eastern United
States. Thomas, who has conducted
elderberry research for 24 years at
CAFNR's Southwest Research, Extension
and Education Center (SW-REEC) at
Mount Vernon, Missouri, has found that
the demand for elderberry products has
increased over the last several years.
" The industry has really continued
to grow, especially during COVID-19, "
said Thomas. " Elderberry-based dietary
supplement product sales have skyrocketed
because of their well-known health
benefits. Elderberry is full of antioxidants
that can help boost your immune system.
" Elderberry production in Missouri has
also started to boom, " he added. " It has
become the number one berry crop in
Missouri, now surpassing blackberries and
strawberries combined. "
" Andy has dedicated a significant part
of his career to elderberry research, and
this grant is a well-deserved recognition
for his accomplishments, " said Shibu Jose,
associate dean for research in CAFNR.
" This is a big steppingstone for further
advancing elderberry as a specialty
crop for Missouri and beyond, and an
important collaboration across multiple
disciplines, universities and centers. This
project will showcase and build on the
outstanding research that Andy and his
colleagues have completed. "
Thomas said there are several moving
parts to this project, including horticulture,
plant breeding, food science, human
health, mechanical harvest, economics
and a strong outreach component. The
foundation of the project is running a
south-to-north trial, planting different
varieties in different regions.
" I always get questions of: Will, for
example, an Oklahoma variety grow well
in Missouri or even in Canada? " said
Thomas. " My answer has always been
'I don't know,' but now we will have the
resources to find out. "
Thomas and his team will plant different
varieties in five different locations: at the
Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
in Poteau, Oklahoma; the Savanna
Institute in southwest Wisconsin and in
Champaign, Illinois; the MU SW-REEC
in Mount Vernon, Missouri; and the MU
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research
Center in New Franklin, Missouri. These
sites will host field days and events to
educate the public about elderberries and
the industry.
Other aspects of this research include
basic breeding of elderberry plants, which
is being led by Ron Revord, assistant
18 | FruitGrowersNews.com
terms of cultivar development, " said
Thomas. " We are jump-starting the
project with a very basic, foundational
breeding program, while concurrently
using modern technologies to set the
stage for much more sophisticated genetic
advancements down the line.
" We expect to plant thousands of
seedlings from our program at various
locations, " he said. " Our goal is to identify
and eventually release superior cultivars
for elderberry growers in Missouri and
elsewhere. "
Other parts of the project include
working with Jianfeng Zhou, assistant
professor in the Division of Plant Science
and Technology, on mechanical harvest
equipment. Economists at the University
of Minnesota and MU will be studying
production costs, as well as the current
elderberry market and the market potential.
Another important part of the project
is health and food science. Food scientists
at MU including Kiruba Krishnaswamy,
assistant professor in food science, and
North Carolina State University are
working together on understanding the
processing of elderberries into juice and
pomace. In their labs, they will develop
methods to spray-dry juice to make a
powdered " superfood " that can be easily
added to products such as protein shakes
and bars.
Elderberry is a native plant found all over
the Midwest and eastern United States.
Elderberry production in Missouri has started
to boom, becoming the No. 1 berry crop in
Missouri. Photo: Andrew Thomas
Researchers in the MU School of
Medicine will be studying elderberry's
potential benefit to the aging brain using
mouse models. The food science group will
be pre-preparing elderberry products that
will go into the diets of mice. Researchers
will be looking at dementia, memory loss
and other aspects of the aging brain to
determine if elderberry supplements can
maintain and even improve brain health as
people grow older.
The project involves collaborations
with many researchers across numerous
disciplines at MU, but also with
institutions across the country. Additional
collaborators include the University of
Minnesota, Savanna Institute, Kerr Center,
North Carolina State University and
Lincoln University.
" I am so fortunate not only to have
connections with a team of incredible
researchers and Extension faculty at MU,
but also to have terrific connections
with experts at other institutions, " said
Thomas. " Without them none of this
would be possible. " FGN

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December 2021

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