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- Author or Editor: Robert J. Dufault x
Abstract
Sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Midway) were grown in field plots with diffuse solar reflectors and/or white polyethylene mulches. Solar reflectors significantly increased photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR) levels over the season. The reflective flux in PAR of mulched ground surfaces was 3 times as large as the bare soil plots. Plants grown with a white mulch were shorter, fruited earlier, and produced higher overall yields than unmulched plants. Solar reflectors did not affect earliness to fruit and increased the overall yield of fruit to a lesser extent than mulched plants. Stem diameter and fresh and dry weights were unaffected by any treatment. Solar reflectors minimally affected plant growth and yield. The beneficial effect of reflective mulches could not be ascribed to solar enhancement, to soil moisture conservation, or to other microclimatic factors.
Our objectives were to determine 1) if shrimp sludge has any value as a soil amendment in broccoli production and 2) an appropriate rate of sludge for head production. Four levels of N–P–K per 15-L pot (in grams; 2.0 N–0.07 P–1.4 K; 4.0 N–0.14 P–2.8 K; or 6.0 N–0.21 P–4.2 K; and 0.0 N–P–K) were factorially combined and replicated 10 times with four volumes of shrimp sludge (0%, 10%, 20%, and 40% v/w in 15-L pots blended with 100%, 90%, 80%, and 60% Metro Mix 300, respectively). Four-week-old `Emerald City' broccoli transplants were planted into sludge + media–fertilizer mixtures on 12–14–95 and were grown to harvest maturity in a greenhouse. As sludge volume increased, the days to harvest, plant height, and root fresh weight: head fresh weight ratio decreased, but leaf number, fresh weight and area, head fresh weight, stem diameter, and shoot: root fresh weight ratio increased. As N–P–K rate increased, leaf number, area, and fresh weight, stem diameter, head fresh weight, and shoot: root fresh weight ratio increased, but root: head fresh weight ratio and plant height decreased. Using head fresh weight as the determinant, heaviest heads were optimized with 20% sludge and 4.0g N–0.14g P–2.8g K per 15-L pot. Sludge alone or N–P–K alone did not produce the heaviest broccoli heads as using combinations of sludge and N–P–K in a fertility program.
Abstract
Growth studies of field-seeded hybrid and open-pollinated asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) were conducted to determine the differences in shoot, bud, and crown growth during the first season after seeding and to determine growth relationships between shoot and crown variables that indicate critical periods of bud and crown production. F1 hybrid (UC 157) and UC800 open-pollinated (OP) asparagus seedlings emerged 4 to 6 weeks after seeding. A lag phase of shoot and root growth lasted 4 to 5 weeks after emergence in both cultivars. UC157 initiated more roots and accumulated more fern and crown fresh weight than UC800 early in the season, but by harvest crowns were not different in root and bud number, fresh weight, or fructose content (crown quality). Root/shoot ratios increased from a 2:1 ratio 6 weeks after emergence to 8:1 (UC157) and 6:1 (UC800) 23 weeks after emergence. Shoot/bud ratios stabilized from an approximate 2:1 ratio initially to an approximate 1:2 ratio 18 weeks after emergence. Bud production in the F1 and OP cultivars increased 6 and 10 weeks after emergence, respectively, and continued unabated up to crown harvest 23 weeks after emergence. Shoot number and fresh weight were not correlated highly with bud number. The number of roots vs. buds and the crown vs. fern fresh weights were correlated highly and were the best indicators of quality crown production. Vigorous fern development throughout the growing season increased the potential to produce higher-quality large crowns.
Abstract
Seed of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) germinated normally after 2 months of constant freezing (-10°C) or chilling (4°) under water-saturated conditions in laboratory germination studies. However, temperatures cycling weekly from chilling to freezing for 2 months reduced germination to less than 50%, and temperatures cycling weekly from warm (21°/16°, day/night) to chilling to freezing for 2 months reduced germination to 0. The stands of asparagus, field-seeded in November and December, were reduced 85% by winterkill in comparison to spring seeding in March and April. Seeding densities from 10 to 40 seed/m did not compensate for stand loss. The greatest contributor to winterkill apparently was seed rot. March seeding increased plant height, but not crown quality or the number of shoots initiated in comparison to conventional April seeding. High seeding densities did not reduce plant growth or crown yields in the spring plantings. Stand establishment was not different between the spring planting dates. Early March seeding at high densities is recommended.
Gerbera seedlings (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus Ex. Hook F.) `Florist Strain Yellow' were planted on drip-irrigated, plastic-mulched beds at 24,000, 36,000 or 72,000 plants/ha. Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers at 55, 110, or 220 kg·ha-1 were factorially combined with populations. In the 1st year of a 2-year study, the number of marketable flowers increased as N and K increased to 110 kg·ha-1, but as N and K were increased to 220 kg·ha-1, cull production increased. In the 2nd year, marketable and cull yields increased with N rate to 220 kg·ha-1; K did not affect yield. As populations increased from 24,000 to 72,000 plants/ha, marketable and cull flower production increased in both years. Flower size and quality were unaffected by plant populations. Nitrogen and potassium fertility did not affect flower size, quality, or vase life in either year.
The objective of this study was to determine the best combination of planting dates (PDs) and cultivars on yield and quality for long-term production of romaine lettuce. `Green Forest' (GF), `Apache' (AP), `Darkland' (DK), `Green Tower' (GT), `Ideal Cos' (IC), and `Tall Guzmaine' (TG) were successfully grown to harvest maturity on 19 PDs from September 1998 to April 2001. Lettuce planted in September and April PDs (pooled over cultivars and year), required as little as 47 and 49 days, respectively, to reach harvest (all cultivars harvested on the same day). Lettuce planted in October, November, February, and March PDs (pooled over cultivars and year), required on average 64, 66, 75, and 67 days to reach harvest, respectively, but in the coldest PDs of December and January, 90 and 98 days, respectively, were needed to reach maturity. Of the eight PDs evaluated, marketable numbers/plot (pooled over cultivars and years) were greatest in the September PD, followed by April (–8% decrease from September PD) > March (–13%) > October (–17%) > November (–21%) > December = January = February (about –30%) and heads weighed the most in September > January = February (–7% decrease from September PD) > March = April (–14%) > October (–21%) > December (–25%) > November (–31%). Cull heads/plot (pooled over cultivars and years) were greatest in April > December (–5% decrease from April PD) > January = February (–16%) > November (–27%) > October (–34%) > March (–44%) > September (–49%). Two out of three November PDs were lost to freezing damage and this PD should be avoided. Significant bolting occurred primarily in the September and October PDs (in 1 of 3 years) with negligible bolting in the November, December, and January PDs, but bolting recurred again in the February, March and April PDs. Marketable numbers/plot (pooled over all PDs and years) were greatest for GF > GT (–7% decrease from GF) > AP (–8%) > IC (–9%) > DK (–11%) > TG (–21%). The interaction effect of cultivar × PD indicated that GF yielded the most marketable heads in 6 out of 8 PDs. The best performing cultivars by PD (pooled over years) were September and February = GF and IC; October = TG; November = AP; December, January, March, and April = GF.
Abstract
Increasing the P rates from 0 to 20 ppm increased shoot and crown fresh and dry weight, plant height, and fleshy root and bud production in 10-week-old asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) seedlings. Increasing K rates from 0 to 200 ppm decreased the production of fleshy roots relative to buds. Shoot production progressively increased as N rates increased from 100 to 200 ppm in conjunction with P rates increasing from 10 to 20 ppm. The partitioning of dry weight into crowns predominated over that partitioned into shoots in any combination of N rate from 0 to 200 ppm, and P rate from 0 to 20 ppm. With P rates held constant at 0 to 20 ppm, however, increasing the N rates from 0 to 200 ppm tended to reduce the partitioning rate into crowns and enhanced partitioning into the shoots. Nutrient solutions containing at least 20 ppm P and 100 ppm N and K are recommended in vermiculite-perlite-peat media natively low in NPK.
Abstract
‘TAMBel-2’ bell pepper transplants (Capsicum annuum L.) were grown in a greenhouse for 39 days in north–south (N–S) oriented trays. About 69% of the plants had monodirectional (one plane pointing either N–S, E–W, NW–SE, or SW–NE) lateral root patterns, 23% had bidirectional (two planes), and 7% had omnidirectional (all around) root patterns relative to a N–S greenhouse tray orientation. Transplants were planted with cotyledons N–S (parallel to the N–S bed), with cotyledons E–W (perpendicular to the N–S bed), and at random, without regard to orientation. These plants subsequently were cultivated either deeply (9 cm) or shallowly (3 cm) 3, 5, and 7 weeks after transplanting. Transplants planted E–W by cotyledon orientation yielded significantly more early and overall marketable pods in contrast to those planted N–S by cotyledon orientation or at random. Deep cultivation decreased productivity in contrast to shallow cultivation and negated any benefit to E–W cotyledon orientation. Root and cotyledon orientations in field-seeded peppers were determined for ‘Hidalgo’, ‘TAM-Mild Chile-2’, ‘TAMBel-2’, and ‘Grand Rio 66’ peppers ≈2 months after field-seeding. At least 95% of the populations in all cultivars had monodirectional root orientations. Generally, orientations were divided equally among N–S, E–W, NW–SE, and NE–SW directions. Cotyledon orientation highly correlated with root orientation in all cultivars.
Abstract
Single applications of ancymidol at 0.03, 0.12, 0.50, or 1.0 mg/plant were soil applied to asparagus seedlings (Asparagus officinalis L.) 3.5, 5.5, or 7.5 weeks after seeding. Increasing ancymidol rates from 0.03 to 1.0 mg/plant decreased bud number, fern dry weight, but not shoot number at all application times. When ancymidol was applied at 1.0 mg/plant at 3.5 weeks it reduced fleshy root production, but in plants treated at 5.5 to 7.5 weeks, it did not reduce fleshy root production. Increasing ancymidol rates from 0.03 to 1.0 mg/plant reduced the crown dry weight of plants 5.5 weeks and younger. Ancymidol from 0.03 to 1.0 mg/plant applied to 3.5-week-old plants increased the partitioning of dry matter into fern rather than crowns, but delaying application to 7.5 weeks after seeding reversed this relationship suggesting increased carbohydrate storage. Application of ancymidol from 0.03 to 1.0 mg/plant to plants 5.5-weeks-old or younger was considered detrimental to plant growth. Ancymidol at 0.50 mg/plant or less applied to 7.5-week-old plants enhanced the production of a stocky, compact transplant. Chemicals used. Ancymidol: α-cycloprophyl-α-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-pyrimidinemethanol.
Ten triploid and 25 diploid watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) selections were evaluated to determine the temperature range and length of test for which germination index (rate of germination over time) and germination percentages were maximum for expediting vigor and seed testing practices. Temperature interacted with watermelon selection indicating that certain selections germinated faster within specific, but differing temperature ranges. Within 2 days after starting the germination process, 90% of triploid selections and 96% of diploid selections germinated to their greatest level and prolonging germination data collection for one week did not change this relationship. Although optimal temperature ranges may differ among the selections, the one temperature within the range common for all selections evaluated that maximized germination was 85 to 90 °F (29.4 to 32.2 °C) for diploids and 85 °F for triploids.