Pennsylvania Sedge Is An Obligate Short-Day Plant
Pennsylvania sedge has potential as a shade-tolerant groundcover. As a first step in improving seed production for sowing large projects, researchers evaluated the effect of vernalization and photoperiod on floral initiation and development in this sedge. Pennsylvania sedge is an obligate short-day plant that flowers when exposed to photoperiods from 6 to 12 hours (McGinnnis et al., p. 301). Vernalization is not required. The four clones used in this study required a minimum of 4 weeks of 8-hour photoperiods to be florally determined. Inflorescence number varied by weeks of exposure to the 8-hour photoperiod and by clone.
Water Budgets Of Urban Residential Landscape Types
Al-Ajlouni et al. (p. 307) determined the relationship between landscape water budgets and urban residential landscapes in the desert environment of Las Cruces, NM. Although there were multiple types, landscapes clustered into four distinct water budget categories. Coverage of irrigated elements, such as plant canopy cover, correlated more strongly with water budget than water use level. For desert environments, plant canopy coverage may be more important to water conservation than plant type.
Plant Growth Retardants Do Not Effect Bee Balm Growth
Paclobutrazol, uniconazole, or flurprimidol were applied to bee balm at several concentrations as a substrate drench or through subirrigation. Pepin and Cole (p. 313) found that substrate drench applications were more effective at reducing plant growth than applying the growth regulators through subirrigation, but few trends in application concentrations within plant growth regulator occurred for the plant parameters measured.
Sustainability And Visual Preferance Of Residential Landscapes
Sustainability performance and visual preference of landscape elements in six professionally designed landscapes were evaluated and the results were correlated by Huang and Sherk (p. 318). They observed that highly visually preferred landscape elements can perform sustainably in the residential landscapes. They also found that prior knowledge about a landscape elements’ ability to improve the environment will make one more likely to rate highly sustainable landscape elements also highly visually preferred. The results suggest there is a potential to design beautiful landscapes that also provide environmental services.
High-Quality Potting Media From Biosolids And Wood Waste
Potting media made from local organic wastes could be a sustainable and economical option for containerized plant production. Hummel et al. (p. 325) produced composts from biosolids and woody wastes, including construction debris, storm debris, and horse waste. They screened and blended the composts with bark to make the media, and then grew pepper and marigold bedding plants in a greenhouse. Plants in the experimental media had similar or better performance than plants in peat-perlite under low and high nitrogen management. The experimental media had lower water holding capacity than peat-perlite, but performed well under drip irrigation in this study.
Performance Of Strawberry Plants Under High Tunnels
The effect of plastic high tunnels on the yields of two strawberry varieties (Festival and Rubygem) and two breeding lines was studied in southeastern Queensland, Australia over 2 years. Menzel et al. (p. 334) observed that marketable yields were 24% to 38% higher under the tunnels compared with yields outdoors, mainly due to less rain damage. There were only small differences in the incidences of grey mold and small/misshaped fruit in the two growing environments. Tunnels have potential for strawberry plants growing in subtropical areas that receive significant rainfall during the production season.
Fatty Alcohol Treatments Improve Grafted Watermelon Transplants
Seedless watermelon plants were grafted onto bottle gourd and hybrid squash rootstocks 1, 7, 14, and 21 days after rootstock fatty alcohol treatment. High graft survival (at least 90%) was maintained over 14 days when grafted using the industry standard one-cotyledon method. Graft survival using a new graft method below the cotyledons increased from 0% to at least 90% from day 1 to day 7, and was maintained on subsequent days. Daley et al. (p. 343) recommend grafting hybrid squash and bottle gourd rootstocks 7 and 14 days, respectively, after fatty alcohol treatment for optimal graft success.
Fatty Alcohol Treatments Improve Watermelon Rootstocks
Size and carbohydrate content of bottle gourd and hybrid squash rootstocks were analyzed at 1, 7, 14, and 21 days after treatment with fatty alcohol. Daley et al. (p. 350) found that treated rootstock hypocotyls were thicker, and cotyledons were longer and wider. Total soluble sugars and starch content increased significantly in hypocotyls and cotyledons of both rootstocks. Most notably, starch content increased by 194-fold and 109-fold in hybrid squash hypocotyls and bottle gourd cotyledons, respectively. Rootstock starch accumulation may allow for increased success when grafting watermelon.
Survey Of Water-Treatment Technologies For Irrigation
Raudales et al. (p. 355) surveyed experts on attributes of technologies to treat irrigation water for control of plant pathogens, algae, and biofilm. A list of 23 attributes related to cost, irrigation system size, control of microorganisms, chemistry, ease of use, and regulation were identified as important when selecting between alternative technologies. For example, capital cost was perceived to be lower for injectable sanitizing chemicals such as chlorination compared with more complex equipment, such as ozone, reverse osmosis or ultraviolet radiation. Perceived attributes are particularly useful where knowledge gaps exist in experimental research.
Effects Of Hanging Baskets On Greenhouse Light
Hanging baskets can impact the light environment delivered to the crop underneath. Faust et al. (p. 369) quantified the effect of hanging basket density, container content (plants vs. no plants), and container color (white vs. green) on photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) transmission and red (R) and far-red (FR) light measurements at the greenhouse floor. Interception of PPF increased from 5.3% to 25.5% as hanging basket density increased from 0.21 to 2.57 containers/yard2, respectively. Green containers intercepted more radiation than the white containers. Presence of plants in the containers resulted in increased PPF interception and reduced R:FR.
Water Use In Private Gardens Of Spain
The flora and characteristics of 258 private gardens in Spain were investigated to analyze their water requirements. More than 600 different species were identified. Garden maintenance, in addition to garden modifications, were assessed in relation to landscape water demands. Padullés et al. (p. 374) found that efficient watering systems were used in gardens with high water consumption. The use of turf was associated with professional landscape designs and swimming pools, as well as the age of the property. A progressive strategy for garden restructuring that can reduce water usage was reported.
Homemade Floral Preservatives For Cut Flowers
Ahmad and Dole (p. 384) tested several homemade floral preservatives for use by growers and consumers. They found that citric acid alone or with quaternary ammonium chloride, isothiazolinone, or lemon-lime soda increased vase life, delayed senescence and may be used by the industry and consumers when commercial preservatives are not available. However, lemon juice or citric acid with aluminum sulfate had detrimental effects on the cut stems tested, and should be avoided. Short-duration applications of preservatives (48 hours) had a reduced effect.