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Grape growers are concerned about the potential impact of drift from commonly used auxinic herbicides. In California, this is frequently related to herbicides used in cereals and noncrop areas, whereas in other parts of the United States concerns are often related to dicamba- and 2,4-D-resistant cropping systems. Our objective was to compare the relative sensitivity of winegrapes to simulated auxinic herbicide drift, including grapevine symptomology, grape yield, and grape quality. In a small-plot herbicide evaluation, we applied 1/900×, 1/300×, 1/100×, and 1/33× rates of 2,4-D, aminopyralid, dicamba, and triclopyr based on 1× field rates of 1454, 122.5, 280, and 2240 g⋅ha^–1 ae, respectively. Aminopyralid resulted in similar symptomology to 2,4-D and dicamba—namely, leaf cupping, leaf crinkling, excessive tendril twisting, and tendril death, although these symptoms were generally subtle. Triclopyr resulted in much greater levels of necrosis compared with the other herbicides. In our study, triclopyr was the only herbicide associated with grape yield loss, and greater triclopyr rates were also associated with increased grape sugar levels. This study demonstrates that grapes are sensitive to low rates of simulated herbicide drift, but symptoms do not necessarily indicate yield loss or quality effects. This study indicates that auxin-type herbicide simulated drift symptoms are not reliable markers for winegrape yield or quality reduction.

Demand for locally produced, organically grown leafy greens is increasing throughout the United States. However, due to lack of efficient organic fertilizers (OFs) for soilless substrates, organic greenhouse production of leafy greens may be challenging. Therefore, a greenhouse study was conducted to analyze the effects of six liquid OFs on growth and development of lettuce in a soilless system. Two experiments were conducted using a randomized block design, and treatments included six fish- or plant-based OFs: OF₁ (5N–1P–1K), OF₂ (2N–5P–1K), OF₃ (3N–1P–1K), OF₄ (2N–2P–2K), OF₅ (4N–1P–1K), and OF₆ (3N–3P–2K); one inorganic fertilizer treatment (IF, 24N–8P–16K); and one unfertilized control treatment. Fertilizer solutions were prepared at 2 dS⋅m^–1 and applied at 100 mL/plant. In Expt. 1, fresh biomass for IF-treated plants was 12% to 38% greater than OF treatments, whereas this difference ranged from 25% to 57% in Expt. 2. Similarly, leaf area values of IF-treated plants were 5% to 40% greater than OF treatments in Expt. 1, and the difference ranged from 28% to 90% in Expt. 2. A possible explanation could be greater availability of nutrients in the IF treatment compared with OF treatments. There was no significant difference among fertilized treatments for number of leaves and stem diameter. Based on the index-based ranking, fish-based (OF₁) and fish- and plant-based (OF₂ and OF₆) performed well among different liquid OFs used in the study. Although the yield under OFs was less compared with that under IF, there is potential to reduce this yield gap by optimized fertility management of these fertilizers. Future research is needed to investigate the impact of optimized rate, timing, different placement, and additional nitrogen (N) sources of OFs on the soilless production of lettuce.

Soil amendment, mulching, and fertilization practices are key components of blueberry production, yet grower practices range widely and long-term impacts are not commonly studied. ‘Elliott’ northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) was evaluated from establishment to maturity (2003–18) to investigate the impacts of pre-plant sawdust incorporation (with or without 141 m³·ha⁻¹ sawdust incorporated into the bed area), sawdust mulch (with or without an 8-cm-deep layer on soil surface), and N fertilizer rate (low, medium, and high, increased incrementally from 22, 67, and 112 kg·ha⁻¹ in 2004, respectively, to 56, 168, and 269 kg·ha⁻¹ of N from 2010 to 2018). Soil with sawdust incorporated had 4.3% soil organic matter at the end of the study in 2018 compared with 3.4% for nonincorporated soil. Soil pH was higher with sawdust incorporation and mulch when plants were young, but by 2011 these treatments were similar. High rates of N fertilization decreased soil pH by 0.3 to 0.4 throughout the study compared with the low rate, but all treatments were within or above the recommended pH range (4.5–5.5) throughout the study. Low levels of N fertilization were associated with higher soil pH and lower leaf N in most years, but higher leaf Ca and often any impacts of the low N rate were mitigated when sawdust was incorporated. Soil and leaf Ca increased when sawdust was incorporated and used as a mulch and when fertilizing with the low rate of N, but fruit Ca concentration only increased with mulch and the low N rate, whereas levels decreased with incorporation. When sawdust was not incorporated before planting, N fertilization rate affected leaf N, Ca, S, and Mn concentration, whereas this was not found when soil was amended with sawdust. Unmulched plants generally had higher leaf N, K, Fe, and Al but lower leaf Ca compared with mulched. Sawdust incorporation increased yield 4% and produced fruit with higher total soluble solids (TSS), but similar firmness, on average (2008–13), than for unamended soil. There was no main effect of mulch on yield or berry traits; however, plants grown with sawdust incorporated and no mulch had 7% greater yield per plant (averaged over 2006–13) compared with incorporated with mulch or nonincorporated with or without mulch. Nitrogen fertilization rate had no effect on yield, but berry weight was greater with low or medium N rates, particularly when sawdust was not incorporated. Net returns from higher yield with sawdust incorporation more than compensated for the materials and labor costs. Berry firmness and TSS were similar among incorporation, mulch, and fertilizer treatments for most years. Incorporating sawdust before planting resulted in an estimated $7680/ha greater net profit from fruit sales during the study period, more than compensating for the initial materials and application cost ($3150/ha). Use of the low rate of N from 2004 to 2018 saved $2680/ha and $5152/ha compared with the medium and high rates, respectively.

The heterogeneity of horticultural substrates makes basic physical characteristics, such as total porosity and particle density, difficult to estimate. Due to the material source, inclusion of occluded pores, and hydrophobicity, particle density values reported from using liquid pyknometry, vary widely. Gas pycnometry was used to determine the particle density of coir, peat, perlite, pine bark, and wood substrates. Further precision was examined by gas species and separation by particle size. The calculated particle densities for each material determined by He, N₂, and air were relatively constant and varied little despite the species of gas used. Particle size affected the measured particle density of perlite and pine bark but was minimal with coir, peat, and wood. Reducing the particle size removed more occluded pores and the measured particle density increased. Given the small variability, the use of particle density values obtained by gas pycnometry provides repeatable, precise measurements of substrate material total porosity.