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- Author or Editor: Neil O. Anderson x
Aquaponics, the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture into one growing system, is a controlled environment production system that potentially has increased environmental and consumer benefits over traditional production methods. There are many different ways to configure aquaponics systems that include different fish species, water circulation, lighting, plant species/density, and more. We tested three cultivars of lettuce, a common aquaponically produced crop, for yield in multiple aquaponic systems and conditions over a 13-month period in Minnesota. Four different aquaponic configurations and four types of fish were tested over the course of the experiment. There was no addition of supplemental nutrients to the systems to evaluate the differences between treatments and set a baseline. There was no difference in yield between lettuce produced aquaponically and those grown in soilless medium. However, there was a difference in yield between lettuce grown with different fish treatments. The tilapia treatment produced higher average yield than yellow perch. There was a difference between cultivars, with higher average yield from loose-leaf bunch cultivars (Salanova, Skyphos) than the bibb type (Rex). Average yield for all but one treatment was above that of reported commercial field production, making lettuce a competitive aquaponic crop in most systems.
During the 2021 American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference, the Teaching Methods Professional Interest Group hosted the workshop “Going beyond Zoom: Tips and tricks for teaching horticulture online.” This workshop provided a forum for the dissemination of tools, materials, and approaches used to facilitate active learning in horticulture courses. Here we summarize the topics presented in the workshop as a resource for current and future horticulture instructors.
The present study systematically investigated the effects of warehouse and greenhouse aquaponic growing conditions on consumer acceptability of different basil cultivars. A total of 105 consumers rated their liking of three basil cultivars (Nufar, Genovese, and Eleonora), each grown in three conditions (aquaponically in a greenhouse, aquaponically in a warehouse, both with Cyprinus carpio, Koi fish, and grown in soilless medium). We used linear random effect models to investigate consumer preferences for attributes of basil plants grown in different environments by controlling for individual-specific random effects. Participants generally liked the soilless medium–grown and greenhouse aquaponically grown basil plants more than the warehouse aquaponically grown plants. The soilless medium–grown basil had the highest appearance liking and flavor intensity, followed by the greenhouse aquaponic grown and then by the warehouse aquaponic grown. Aquaponically grown cultivars were rated less bitter than soilless medium–grown cultivars.
The issue of native invasive species management rarely occurs and is fraught with biological, social, and economic challenges as well as posing difficulties in decision-making for land managers. The terminology for categorization of invasive species is examined in the context of their bias(es), which complicates control. An example of a newly determined native species, which is also invasive, is used as an example to navigate control and regulatory issues. Native, invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) occurs throughout Minnesota and most likely the entire midwest region of central United States and Canadian provinces. The species was previously assumed to be an exotic, nonnative Eurasian import but recent molecular evidence supports its status as a native but invasive species. We address how this change to being a native but highly invasive species modifies approaches to mitigate its potential control for state, Tribal, and local authorities. The implications of these new findings will require differential shifts in land managers’ perspectives and approaches for control. Particular differences may exist for Tribal Land Managers vs. departments of natural resources and private agencies. Additionally, regulatory challenges have yet to be decided on how to legislate control for a native invasive species that had been previously assumed as exotic or foreign in origin. These opportunities to change attitudes and implement judicial control measures will serve as a template for other invasive species that are native in origin.
In cases where invasive species are presumed to be strictly exotic, the discovery that the species is also native can be disconcerting for researchers and land managers responsible for eradicating an exotic invasive. Such is the case with reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea), for which decades of misinformation led to the call for nationwide control of this species in the United States. However, native populations were first reported by LaVoie and then later confirmed by Casler with molecular analyses. This, coupled with the discovery by Anderson that this species has been used in weavings by Native Americans for centuries, also made the native forms of interest for protection. Identifying the native status of historic, herbarium specimens via molecular analyses is of great interest to determine localities of native populations for confirmation with extant specimens. Genetic-based methods describing DNA polymorphism of reed canary grass are not well developed. The goal of the presented research is to assess the utility of genomic DNA obtained from historic (herbaria) and extant (fresh) tissue of reed canarygrass and the application of using Diversity Arrays Technology sequencing low density for genetic population studies.
Mammoth™ ‘Twilight Pink Daisy’ (U.S. Plant Patent 14,455; Canadian Plant Breeders’ Rights Certificate No. 4192) is an interspecific garden chrysanthemum cultivar, Chrysanthemum ×hybridum Anderson (= Dendranthema ×hybrida Anderson) with common names of hardy mum, chrysanthemum, and garden mum. It is a new and distinct form of shrub-type garden mums in the Mammoth™ series with rosy-pink ray florets, a dark “eye” color in the center of the disc florets, frost-tolerant flower petals, and self-pinching growth. This cultivar is a butterfly attractant in the garden. Mammoth™ ‘Twilight Pink Daisy’ is a winter-hardy herbaceous perennial in USDA Z3b–Z9 (Southeast)/Zone 10 (West) with its cushion growth form displaying extreme hybrid vigor, increasing in plant height from 0.46 m in its first year to a shrub of 0.76 to 1.22 m in the second year and thereafter with greater than 3000 leaves/plant. Flowering is prolific, covering the entire plant at full flowering with as many as greater than 3500 flowers in the second year. Chemical abbreviations: ethanol (EtOH), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA).