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  • Author or Editor: J. Benton Storey x
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Three-dimensional leaf and fruit distribution was studied in a 26-year-old `Success' pecan tree [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch]. The tree was typical of the trees in this orchard and typical of thousands of hectares of mature pecan trees growing in a crowded condition. There are fewer leaves and fruit in the lower and central canopy than in the rest of the tree. To obtain an adequate sample, measurements should be taken from branches arising at a height ≥4.75 m and from 1.9 m from the center of the tree trunk to the edge of the canopy around the trees. Fruit could be sampled from branches arising at ≥3.76 m from the ground and from 3.37 m from the center of the tree trunk to the edge of the canopy around the tree.

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`Stuart' pecans were harvested as soon as shucks would split in the fall of 1989 and 45 kg inshell samples were placed in 30 × 30 × 105 cm drying bins. The nuts were dried at air volumes of either 0, 1.27, 1.56, 1.84, or 2.12 m3/min down to 4% moisture. Air temperature in the drying bins was maintained at uniform 35°C with the exception of the 0 air volume treatment which was allowed to dry at room temperature. Four random samples of each treatment were held in frozen storage awaiting fatty acid analysis. Palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolinic fatty acids were separated in a 183 cm × 3 mm packed column using a 10% Silar 10C phase on a Gas Chrom QII, 100/120. The samples dried with a air volume of 1.27 m3/min retained a significantly higher oleic acid content than the 0 and 2.12 m3/min drying volumes. The 1.27 m3/min volume retained 64.55 % oleic acid compared with 61.37'% for the 0 velocity sample and 59.61% for 2.12 m3/min treatment. The more desirable oleic/linoleic ratio of 2.24 was found in the 1.27 m3/min sample compared to a 1.78 ratio in the 2.12 m3/min sample. Increased volume of air in the drying bins was thus deleterious to these samples because of the loss of monounsaturated fatty acid.

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Evidence of professional competence is needed for those whose activities affect the well-being of the general public. Graduates of BS and MS programs in horticulture are not distinguishable from self styled individuals who assume the title of “Horticulturist” without earning it. Certification of horticultural graduates is the first step in gaining a recognition for the Horticultural Profession. ASHS has established a Certified Professional Horticultural Sub-Board of the American Registry of Certified Professionals in Agronomy, Crops and Soils (ARCPACS). Professional core requirements include courses horticultural crop management, pest management, soil science, plant physiology, botany, chemistry, and genetics. Supporting core courses include math, communication skills, and horticultural specialization courses. Applications from individual horticultural graduates will soon be accepted. Details of the curriculum, continuing education, ethics, and other eligibility requirements will be detailed.

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Annual variation in fruiting by pecan [Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] obtained from anecdotal records and state, district, county, and orchard data from Texas indicate exceptionally high synchronous fluctuations typically occurred every 34 years with a range of 2-7 years over the 66-year data base examined. Synchrony in fruit production was inversely related to the spatial distribution of pecans reflected in coefficients of variation ranging from about 60 at the state level to about 120 for two 10-ha orchards. These characteristics show that pecan exhibits roasting and that the species warrants further examination vis a vis interactions with nut feeders.

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The Packhard treatment included Packhard® Caenise at 3 qt/A rate applied at four equally spaced intervals beginning on 1 May 1996 and continuing until harvest on 29 July 1996. After harvest, treated and nontreated peaches were stored at 1°C, 95% RH. For up to 42 days, after which they were allowed to ripen for 6 days at 18°C. Fruit from 5-day storage intervals and 2-day ripening intervals were then evaluated for firmness, color, brown rot lesions, soluble solids, titratable acidity, starch, pectin, total Ca, and fruit epidermis thickness. Packhard protected the fruit in cold storage for 42 days from brown rot compared to the controls, which began to breakdown in 26 days. The ripening studies have given mixed results suggesting that there is no difference in the degree of brown rot contamination between Packhard-treated fruit and control fruit after removal from storage. Fruit firmness was increased by Packhard in the majority of the storage periods. Sucrose content seemed to have been reduced in the Packhard-treated fruit compared to the controls, possibly due to increased respiration. The Packhard-treated fruit retained more moisture than the control fruit,, which indicates that Ca2+ from Packhard may have increased the integrity of the plasma membranes of treated fruit. In general, the Packhard-treated fruit held up much better in cold storage than the control fruit but was not different in brown rot infection during ripening. Packhard increased fruit firmness and allowed the fruit to retain more moisture than the control fruit. Sucrose content decreased in Packhard-treated fruit compared to the controls.

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`Cheyenne', `Mohawk', `Pawnee', and `Osage' grown in different locations in the United States were analyzed for fatty acid composition. The effect of heat units accumulated 12 weeks prior to shuck split were studied. Growing area affected the fatty acid profile for all cultivars. `Cheyenne' and `Mohawk' showed a positive correlation between heat units and oleic/linoleic acid ratios (r = 0.905 and r = 0.720 respectively), a positive correlation between heat units and oleic acid content (r = 0.863 and r = 0.773 respectively), and a negative correlation between heat units and linoleic acid content (r = -0.871 and r = -0.792 respectively). However, no correlation was obtained between heat units and the fatty acid profiles for `Osage' and `Pawnee'.

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Abstract

Adjuvants at various concentrations were evaluated for phytotoxicity and capacity to enhance foliar absorption of N and P. Some adjuvants among the following classes were phytotoxic to soybean (Glycine max Merr.) leaves at concentrations of 0.25% and 0.5% active ingredient on a volume or weight/volume basis: sulfonates, alcohols, ethyoxylated hydrocarbons, esters, sulfates, and amines. Many adjuvants in the following classes: alcohols, sulfonates, ethoxylated hydrocarbons, polyethylene glycols, carbohydrates, proteins, and phosphates were not phytotoxic at concentrations as high as 1.0%. Sometimes increasing phytotoxicity occurred at increasing concentrations, but the humectants, such as glycerol and propylene glycol, were not phytotoxic at concentrations of 10.0%. Selected adjuvants were mixed with a foliar fertilizer (12.0N–1.7P–3.3K–0.5S) and evaluated for enhancement of foliar absorption of N and P. The average increases in percentage of N and P for the glycerol, lecithin, and Pluronic L-121 (an ethyoxylated hydrocarbon), and foliar fertilizer combinations, respectively, were 8.9%, 2.2%, and 2.5% for N and 34.2%, 27.6%, and 20.8% for P over the foliar fertilizer control, respectively, for the 3 adjuvants.

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Rootstock resistance to soil-borne phytopathogenic fungi, such as Phymatotrichum omnivorum (Shear) Duggar, is an important factor in disease control. Measurement of natural rootstock resistance is often based on plant survival/mortality percentage, and /or growth data. Fungal colonization of host roots in disease screening experiments may not be uniform for many reasons, causing variability in host response. Quantification of fungal colonization is needed in order to better understand rootstock performance. Ergosterol, a structural sterol in cell membranes of fungi, is not found in higher plants, and can thus be a measure of fungal colonization. Ergosterol was extracted from roots of pecan seedlings artificially inoculated with P. omnivorum and grown in an environmental growth chamber. Analysis of extracts with HPLC revealed that seedlings which were killed in screening, or had low root performance ratings, had increased levels of ergosterol. Non-inoculated controls also contained Ergosterol. indicating contamination and possible competition by other fungi.

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Nut count (NC), trunk circumference (TC), competition factor (CF), days from budbreak (DAY), and high or low crop year (YR) data were collected on 40 trees at three sites across Texas in 1985 and 1986, to create a model that would predict pecan [Carya illinoensis (Wangenh.) C. Koch] yield. The model developed predicted the natural logarithm of the total nuts on the tree [In(NUTS)]: In(NUTS) = 2.112 + [0.634 × In(NC)] + (0.00119 × TC) – (0.0701 × In(CF)) + (0.00639 × DAY) + (0.728 × YR). The equation accounts for 87% of the variation in yield. The model is not sufficiently accurate to predict individual tree yields well, but additional data show an ability to accurately predict average tree yields.

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Previous work in this lab has shown that drying temperatures above 35°C will cause excessive loss of the kernel's natural light color and less oleic (18:1) oxidation to linoleic (18:2) fatty acid. The former is undesirable because of poor consumer appeal and the latter is desirable because of superiority of oleic acid in reducing low density lipoprotein in the blood plasma of consumers and a longer shelf life. The drying temperature of 35°C and an air volume of 45 CFM was superior in 1989 to 75 CFM at the same temperature and an air dried control. Lower air volumes in 1990 proved to be no better than 45 CFM at 35°C The best compromise drying regime was determined to be 45 CFM at 35°C.

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