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Squash (Cucurbita pepo L. var. pepo) plants were grown on black polyethylene mulch or on bare ground, with trickle or furrow irrigation, and received only natural rainfall, or natural rainfall plus half or all of the estimated supplemental irrigation water required as determined by an irrigation scheduling program. The squash roots predominate in the upper 6 inches of soil throughout the season, with no less than 60% of the root mass located in this layer. The proliferation of roots increased as they extended horizontally from the vertical center line of the plant from 0 to 24 inches. Neither the irrigation treatments nor black polyethylene mulch had any influence on the pattern of root development. Water stress, however, reduced the size of the root system and the crop yield. Yields were not influenced by either furrow or trickle irrigation on the short rows that were used in this study. However, black polyethylene mulch and full irrigation offered the best chance of maximizing squash yields under the conditions of this study.
Phlorizin is known for its role in reducing glucotoxicity and has a long history of use in diabetes research. In addition, its contribution to the pool of total phenolics adds to the overall health benefits attributed to fruit. Phlorizin is limited to Rosaceae family plants, of which apple comprises its current commercial source; however, limited information exists regarding its biodiversity among apple taxa. A subset of 22 taxa from a core collection of apple accessions representative of the global genetic diversity of apple was used to investigate the biodiversity of phlorizin present in apple shoots and in fruit relative to total phenolic content and free radical scavenging capacity. Fruit and shoots were harvested from the USDA Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, N.Y. Validation and quantification of phlorizin was conducted using a rigorous high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure. Total phenolics in fruit, assayed using a Folin-Ciocalteu method and expressed as gallic acid equivalents, ranged from 227 to 7181 mg·L-1
and were strongly related to 2,2' azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) antioxidant capacity for the core collection (r= 0.778). On a molar basis, phlorizin had lower antioxidant capacity than other major phenolic compounds present in apple fruit, but was more effective than ascorbic acid. Phlorizin yield in dormant apple shoots, expressed as percent weight, ranged from 0.9% to 5.5%. A rapid, 96 well micro-plate spectrophotometric assay was also developed to aid in the screening of multiple samples for selection of high phlorizin yielding apple taxa. Spectrophotometry overestimated phlorizin content as expected, but the calibration curve between HPLC and spectrophotometry was acceptable, r 2 = 0.88.