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- Author or Editor: George Fitzpatrick x
Trees in urban settings require more care because they are more likely to develop structural defects that can be costly, dangerous, or more maintenance-intensive than those in natural settings. People need to understand how trees grow in the urban environment and how to recognize potentially hazardous structural defects, yet this is not a topic regularly presented in school curriculum. The objectives of this study were to determine if structural defect recognition in trees is an appropriate topic for sixth grade curriculum, and to explore the efficacy of two methods of teaching this topic. We introduced structural defects in trees to sixth grade students, as part of the normal science instruction at three public middle schools located in Broward County, FL. We found sixth grade students to be capable of recognizing and comprehending the implications of structural defects in trees following a short period of instruction. We compared hands-on, experiential instruction with a passive, illustrated lecture style instruction for teaching students to recognize structural defects in trees and determined that students exposed to both methods of instruction increased their ability to recognize defects overall. Moreover, we observed that students exposed to defects in trees via illustrated lecture style classroom instruction received significantly higher scores in the post-test than students exposed to the same material via a hands-on approach.
Environmental Horticulture-undergraduate student enrollment at the University of Florida (UF) Gainesville campus decreased from 88 students in 1980/81 to 34 students in 1989/90. In 1983/84 a resident instruction program in Environmental Horticulture for placebound students was initiated by UF at the Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center. Enrollment rapidly increased from 6 students in 1984 to 67 students in 1989, with an average student credit load of 3.5 credits per semester. In 1990/91 increased student recruiting efforts were made with a common undergraduate handbook, recruiting brochure, and guides for academic program specializations developed to serve both locations. These efforts and others have increased enrollment at both sites. Currently there are 73 students in the Environmental Horticulture program at Gainesville and 87 students at Ft. Lauderdale. Students may begin their academic program at one location and transfer to the other site to complete their undergraduate requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree. A Bachelor of Science program in Environmental Horticulture will be initiated in the fall of 1994 in Milton, Florida, a small community in northwest Florida.
The average undergraduate horticulture major at the Univ. of Florida Academic Program at Fort Lauderdale is 38 years old. The older, non-traditional student population is quite diverse, but many individuals are motivated by a desire to change careers, and many of them have taken extensive academic course work at other institutions prior to applying for admission to the Univ. of Florida. Academic advisement of this type of student presents a substantial challenge because of the uncertainty of content and vigor of prior academic preparation. To help meet this challenge, we have developed several academic advisement checklists that indicate numbers and titles of critical preprofessional and general education courses from the academic institutions that have been most frequently attended by the highest numbers of the incoming non-traditional students. These checklists have been cross-referenced between the catalogs of the various academic institutions and the Univ. of Florida catalog. We use these documents to evaluate the academic preparation of incoming transfer students and to assist them in making correct course selections to remedy any academic deficiencies that could negatively influence their success in upper division horticulture course work.
Analytical determination and confirmation of minimum compost processing times and minimum curing times can aid commercial growers in selecting compost materials that should give them more reliable and consistent results in their operations. Five-cubic-yard volumes of yard-trimmings were assembled into three 1.25-cubic-yard compost piles at 60-day intervals. At the conclusion of the experiment, there were three piles each of compost of the following ages: 10 months, 8 months, 6 months, and 2 months. Compost was collected from each pile and screened through a 0.75-inch screen. Bulk density, water-holding capacity, air-filled porosity, carbon to nitrogen ratio, electrical conductivity, and ATPase activity were determined on samples from each reference compost pile. A bioassay using beans also was performed. These data will be presented.
Over the 10-year period of 1987-1997, the demographics of the student population enrolled in the University of Florida off-campus BS degree in horticulture program at Fort Lauderdale have changed. Average student age has increased from 35.5 years to 38.1 years. Age range has increased from 22 to 54 years to 21 to 75 years. Age distribution changes have been most notable. In 1987, the age of the student population was normally distributed, whereas by 1997 the distribution had become bimodal, with one mode in the age group 26 to 30 and the other mode in the 41 to 45 age group. Estimated median one-way distance traveled to attend classes has not changed significantly, from 13.2 miles (range 3.9-89.8 miles) in 1987 to 14.2 miles (range 1.0-59.8 miles) in 1997.
Abstract
Twenty species of ornamental trees were grown for 12-16 months in 50 cm diameter (“20 gallon”) containers. Six individuals of each species were irrigated with tap water from a public potable water supply and 6 with secondary treated sewage effluent from a wastewater treatment facility. Three individuals within each irrigation treatment received controlled-release fertilizer applications and 3 received no supplemental fertilization. The effluent irrigation significantly accelerated growth in 4 species: orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata L.), baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) L. Rich), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.), and black iron wood (Krugiodendron ferreum [Vahl] Urban). The addition of supplemental fertilization accelerated growth in 7 species: orchid tree, ficus (Ficus benjamina L.), black olive (Bucida buceras L.), satin leaf (Chrysophyllum oliviforme L.), royal poinciana (Delonix regia [Bojer] Raf.), silver buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus var. sericeus Fors. ex DC.), and blolly (Pisonia discolor Spreng.). A significant interaction occurred between irrigation and fertilization in 3 species: orchid tree, red cedar (Juniperus silicicola [Small] L. H. Bailey), and lignum vitae (Guaicum sanctum L.). The remaining 8 species grew at rates that were not significantly influenced, one way or another, by either source of irrigation or supplemental fertilization.
Horticultural growing medium components must be selected with regard to their influence on properties such as cost, availability, ease of mixing, appearance, pH, nutrient levels, soluble salt levels, exchange capacity, aeration, particle size distribution, bulk density, water-holding capacity, and consistency. Over the past several decades, various types of compost products made from urban waste materials have been evaluated as components in horticultural growing mixes. The highest-quality compost products tested have frequently compared favorably with peat as one of the organic components in growing mixes. The lowest-quality compost materials tested have retarded plant growth and, in extreme cases, contributed to plant mortality. Occasionally, compost products that performed well in research trials did not prove to be satisfactory when used in commercial nursery crop production because of the lack of repeatable consistency between batches produced in large-scale municipal composting operations. One of the major reasons for the lack of consistency in compost quality is the highly variable nature of organic feedstocks accepted by many large-scale composting operations. The highest-quality composts tend to be produced in composting operations in which facility management decisions are made with consideration on their impact on the economic, physical, and chemical parameters of the end product.
Although composting has been practiced for thousands of years, it was not until the 20th century that controlled scientific studies were published illustrating the benefits of compost use in crop production. These studies helped to spur increased interest in composting and compost use, and gave way to the development of commercial composting facilities that supply finished compost products to horticultural producers. Increasing composting activity and compost use encouraged the formation in the late 20th century of trade organizations, such as the U.S. Composting Council and similar organizations in other countries, that support research and applications work to determine ways to improve quality control of commercial compost products.