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- Author or Editor: Robert J. Dufault x
Seeds of pale coneflower (Echinacea pallida), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), and valerian (Valeriana officinalis), classified as “old” (1-year-old seed) or “fresh” (seed crop produced in the current year), were germinated at 62, 65, 69, 72, 75, 78, 82, 85, 89, and 92 °F, (16.7, 18.3, 20.6, 22.2, 23.9, 25.6, 27.8, 29.4, 31.6, and 33.3 °C). The optimum germination temperature, defined in this study as the temperature range within which the percent germination is greatest in the shortest period of time, was determined. Old and fresh pale coneflower seed germinated optimally after 5 days at 69 °F. Old purple coneflower seed required 5 d at 78 to 82 °F, but fresh seed germinated optimally after 3 days at 75 °F. Old feverfew germinated optimally after 5 days at 65 °F, but fresh seed germinated to its optimum after 5 days at 69 °F. Old and fresh valerian seed germinated to its optimum after 3 days at 75 °F.
Extending the production season of melons (Cucumis melo L.) by using very early and late planting dates outside the range that is commercially recommended will increase the likelihood of developing a stronger melon industry in South Carolina. The objective of this study was to determine if early (February) transplanted melons or later (June through July) planting dates are effective in extending the production season of acceptable yields with good internal quality of the melon cultivars: Athena, Eclipse, and Sugar Bowl and Tesoro Dulce (a honeydew melon). Melons were transplanted in Charleston, S.C., in 1998, 1999, and 2000 on 12 and 26 Feb., 12 and 26 Mar., 9 and 23 Apr., 7 and 21 May, 4 and 18 June, and 2 July and required 130, 113, 105, 88, 79, 70, 64, 60, 60, 59, and 56 days from field transplanting to reach mean melon harvest date, respectively. Stands were reduced 67%, 41%, and 22% in the 12 and 26 Feb. and 12 Mar. planting dates, respectively, in contrast to the 26 Mar. planting date but ≤15% in all other planting dates. Planting in February had no earliness advantage because the 12 and 26 Feb. and 12 and 26 Mar. planting dates, all reached mean melon harvest from 19 to 23 June. Comparing the marketable number of melons produced per plot (averaged over cultivar) of the standard planting dates of 12 and 26 Mar. indicated decreases of 21%, 32%, 36%, 36%, 57%, 57%, and 54%, respectively with the planting dates of 9 and 23 Apr., 7 and 21 May, 4 and 18 June, and 2 July. The most productive cultivar of all was `Eclipse', which yielded significantly more melons per plot in all 11 planting dates followed by `Athena' (in 8 of 11 planting dates), `Tesoro Dulce' (7 of 11 planting dates), and `Sugar Bowl' (2 of 11 planting dates). In our study, any planting date with melon quality less than the USDA standard of “good internal quality” or better (Brix ≥9.0) was considered unacceptable because of potential market rejection. Therefore, the earliest recommended planting date with acceptable yield and “good internal quality” was 12 Mar. for all cultivars; the latest planting dates for `Athena', `Eclipse', `Tesoro Dulce', and `Sugar Bowl' were 4 June, 18 June, 7 May, and 9 Apr., respectively. With these recommendations, the harvest season of melons lasted 40 days from 24 June to 3 Aug. for these four cultivars, which extended the production season an additional 2 weeks longer than the harvest date of last recommended 21 May planting date.
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.
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
‘Champion’, ‘Georgia’, ‘Heavicrop’, and ‘Vates’ collards (Brassica oleracea L. var acephala) were planted in Fletcher and Lewiston, N.C.; Charleston, Clemson, and Florence, S.C.; and Attapulgus and Plains, Ga. to determine the most reliable method to predict harvest maturity based on temperature. Although cultivar differences existed within some of the planting dates, when pooled over all planting dates, cultivars yielded similarly within locations. Eight methods of calculating heat units from planting to harvest were applied to daily maximum and minimum air temperatures supplied from local weather bureaus for the spring and fall growing seasons from 1985 through 1987 in the three-state area. Coefficients of variation were used to determine which method was most reliable in predicting day of first harvest. The method with the lowest cv was to sum, over days for planting to harvest, the difference between the daily maximum and a base temperature of 13.4C; however, if the maximum was >23.9C, the base temperature was subtracted from an adjusted maximum equal to 23.9C minus the difference between the maximum and 23.9C. This method produced a cv of 9.1% compared to 11.4% for the standard method of summing the mean temperature minus the base of 4.4C over the entire growing season, or compared to 13.4% for counting days to harvest from planting.
The experiment screened two spring and two fall planting dates in six regions within North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The objective was to extend the production over the southeastern United States rather than at a single location. Spring harvests lasted from mid-April to early July. Summer-to-winter harvests lasted from mid-August to late January. Collards were not harvested in any of the locations from late January to mid-April or from early July to mid-August. More extensive planting dates may further increase the longevity of production.
Four bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars were evaluated for yield (total weight of marketable fruit) performance over 41 environments as combinations of 3 years, three planting dates, and seven locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Cultural practices, including trickle irrigation and double rows planted on black-plastic-covered beds, were uniform across all environments, except for fertilization, which was adjusted at each location based on soil tests. Comparing production over 3 years between the mountain location and the Coastal Plain location in North Carolina, yields were lower on the Coastal Plain. Spring plantings provided higher yields than summer plantings at both locations. Yield increases were obtained from hybrid cultivars over that of the open-pollinated (OP) standard [`Keystone Resistant Giant #3' (KRG#3)] in the summer planting in the mountains compared to the Tidewater Coastal Plain. Across the three-state region, hybrid cultivar yields were higher than those of the OP cultivar for the second spring planting date in 1986 and 1987. Although the hybrid yields were higher than that of the OP standard, the hybrid `Skipper' yielded less than the other hybrids (`Gator Belle' and `Hybelle'). `Gator Belle' generally out-yielded `Hybelle' at all locations, except in Fletcher, N.C. This difference may be related to the relative sensitivity of these two cultivars to temperature extremes, rather than soil or geographic factors, because there was a tendency for `Hybelle' yields to exceed `Gator Belle' in the earliest planting date. Based on the reliability index, the chance of outperforming KRG#3 (the standard) was 85% for `Hybelle', 80% for `Gator Belle', but only 67% for `Skipper'.