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The flowering time and flower quality of three hybrid Dendrobium nobile cultivars in relation to light intensity during cooling and duration of vernalization were studied in the first experiment. Mature Dendrobium Red Emperor ‘Prince’, Den. Sea Mary ‘Snow King’, and Den. Love Memory ‘Fizz’ plants were vernalized at 10 °C under 300 to 350 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) (12-h photoperiod) or darkness, each with four cooling durations (2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks). Plants were forced in a greenhouse after vernalization. At least 4 weeks of 10 °C cooling in light was needed for complete flower initiation of Den. Red Emperor ‘Prince’, whereas Den. Sea Mary ‘Snow King’ and Den. Love Memory ‘Fizz’ only needed 2 weeks of 10 °C cooling regardless of light. For all three cultivars, darkness during vernalization slightly delayed flowering and resulted in fewer but larger flowers. Longer cooling duration delayed flowering, decreased flower longevity, and produced more and larger flowers. In a second experiment, Den. Love Memory ‘Fizz’ plants were vernalized at 15 °C for 4 weeks under a 12-h photoperiod and PPF of 0, 50, 100, or 200 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. Compared with 200 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹, low PPF at 50 or 100 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ did not affect flowering time or flower qualities; however, darkness delayed flowering and reduced flower qualities except flower diameter.

Relative salt tolerance of eight Berberis thunbergii (japanese barberry) cultivars (B. thunbergii ‘Celeste’, ‘Kasia’, ‘Maria’, ‘Mini’, and ‘Talago’; B. thunbergii var. atropurpurea ‘Concorde’, ‘Helmond Pillar’, and ‘Rose Glow’) was evaluated in a greenhouse experiment. Plants were irrigated with nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 dS·m⁻¹ (control) or saline solutions at an EC of 5.0 or 10.0 dS·m⁻¹ (EC 5 or EC 10) once a week for 8 weeks. At 4 weeks after treatment, all barberry cultivars in EC 5 had minimal foliar damage with visual scores of 4 or greater (visual score 0: dead, 5: excellent). At 8 weeks after treatment, in EC 5, ‘Helmond Pillar’, ‘Maria’, ‘Mini’, and ‘Rose Glow’ plants exhibited slight foliar salt damage with an average visual score of 3.5, whereas ‘Celeste’, ‘Concorde’, ‘Kasia’, and ‘Talago’ had minimal foliar salt damage with an averaged visual score of 4.4. However, most barberry plants in EC 10 exhibited severe foliar salt damage 4 weeks after treatment with the exception of ‘Concorde’ and were dead 8 weeks after treatment. Compared with control, at the end of the experiment (8 weeks of treatments), shoot dry weight (DW) of ‘Celeste’, ‘Helmond Pillar’, ‘Maria’, and ‘Rose Glow’ in EC 5 was reduced by 47%, 47%, 50%, and 42%, respectively, whereas shoot DW of ‘Concorde’, ‘Kasia’, ‘Mini’, and ‘Talago’ in EC 5 did not change. In EC 10, shoot DW of ‘Celeste’, ‘Concorde’, ‘Kasia’, and ‘Talago’ was reduced by 75%, 35%, 55%, and 46%, respectively. The averaged sodium (Na) concentration of all barberry cultivars in EC 5 and EC 10 was 34 and 87 times, respectively, higher than the control, whereas leaf chloride (Cl) concentration of all barberry cultivars in EC 5 and EC 10 was 14–60 and 29–106 times, respectively, higher than the control. Growth, visual quality, and performance index (PI) were all negatively correlated with leaf Na and Cl content in all cultivars, suggesting that excessive Na and Cl accumulation in the leaf tissue led to growth reduction, salt damage, and death. In summary, ‘Concorde’, ‘Kasia’, and ‘Talago’ were relatively salt tolerant; ‘Helmond Pillar’, ‘Maria’, ‘Mini’, and ‘Rose Glow’ were relatively salt sensitive; and ‘Celeste’ was in between the two groups. Generally, barberry plants had moderate salt tolerance and can be irrigated with marginal water at an EC of 5 dS·m⁻¹ or lower with slight foliar damage.

The decline of garden rose sales over the past 20 years can be partially attributed to the lack of material adapted to a wide range of landscapes, which includes adaptation to high temperature stress. Current methods for evaluating high temperature susceptibility in garden roses are based on field observations, which are time consuming and subjected to ever-changing environmental conditions. A series of experiments were conducted to optimize protocols and compare the use of chlorophyll fluorescence (CFL) and cell membrane thermostability (MTS) by way of electrolyte leakage as methods to screen for high temperature susceptibility. Immature leaves proved better than mature leaves for both CFL and MTS measurements, using either detached leaf or whole plant stress assays. MTS measured on immature leaves stressed in a water bath at 50 °C for 45 minutes proved most consistent in separating rose clones based on high temperature susceptibility. Stressing actively growing plants with flower buds of 2 mm in diameter in a heat chamber at 44 °C for 3 hours resulted in increased flower abscission and leaf necrotic lesions on more susceptible clones when compared with those that were heat tolerant. Combining MTS measurements from immature leaves stressed in a water bath with the flower abscission and leaf necrosis responses 10 days after stress in a heat chamber could be the first step to screen and select against the more susceptible clones in a garden rose breeding program. Power analyses suggest that the proposed MTS protocol would be efficient in detecting differences between clones when the difference in electrolyte leakage is greater than 10%.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity and phosphorus (P) deficiency are two crucial factors limiting the production of Camellia oleifera, which is grown commercially in red acidic soils in Southern China. The current study characterized the different forms of P and Al in the red acidic soils of C. oleifera plantations. Soil and plant tissue samples taken from 32 Camellia plantations across Hunan province were analyzed. Furthermore, a pot experiment with nutrient solutions of different Al and P contents was carried out to investigate P and Al uptake and their effect on C. oleifera growth. The results showed that the P content extracted by NaOH (Fe-P) was the highest in all types of soil samples (rhizosphere, 0–20 cm, and 20–40 cm zones), followed by P extracted by NH₄F (Al-P), H₂SO₄ (Ca-P), and Na₃C₆H₅O₇ (O-P). HCl (In-Al), NH₄Ac (Ha-Al), and Na₄P₂O₇·10H₂O (Or-Al) extracted Al were the main forms and accounted for 22.8%, 23.1%, and 23.8% of total Al, respectively. KCl extracted Al (Ex-Al) contents in the rhizosphere, 0–20 cm, and 20–40 cm soil zones were 4.78, 4.86, and 4.59 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively. P contents in roots, young leaves, and old leaves were 0.80, 0.82, and 0.64 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively. The highest Al content of 11.35 g·kg⁻¹ was found in the old leaves, followed by roots and young leaves. Correlation analyses revealed that P in roots was positively associated with available P (AP) and Al-P in rhizosphere. P in roots and young leaves also had a positive correlation with Ex-Al, whereas Al in old leaves was positively correlated with In-Al and total Al. Significant correlations between Al-P, Ex-Al, and AP were detected. The pot experiment indicated that adding Al or P alone increased plant growth and Al or P uptake, respectively. When adding both Al and P, significant synergistic effect was found. These results suggest that Al is beneficial to C. oleifera, which may be the adaptive mechanism of C. oleifera to use insoluble Al-P in red acidic soil.

Pomegranate is a drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant crop. Its fruits contain high levels of phytochemicals that have many health benefits. Pomegranate has the potential to be an alternative crop in areas where water availability is limited, such as west Texas. However, more than 500 pomegranate varieties are estimated to exist worldwide, and little is known about which varieties are suitable for growing in the west Texas region. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the field performance of 22 pomegranate varieties, specifically based on phenology, resistance to sunburn, fruit split, fruit rot (resistance was calculated by subtracting the percent incidence by 100), yield, fruit phytochemicals, and Brix over the course of 3 years from 2016 to 2018. Cold damage, caused by below-freezing temperatures encountered from Nov. 2018 to Feb. 2019, was also evaluated in Apr. 2019. Our results showed significant varietal differences in nearly all response variables measured, indicating that varietal selection is important for pomegranate production for specific regions, such as west Texas. Leaf budding ranged from 47 to 62 days in 2016, 41 to 54 days in 2017, and 49 to 60 days in 2018. Anthesis ranged from 87 to 119 days in 2016, 80 to 94 days in 2017, and 92 to 114 days in 2018. Fruit resistance to split was broad and ranged from 7.3% to 79.1% in 2017 and from 14.2% to 99.7% in 2018. Fruit sunburn resistance ranged from 14.0% to 64.6% in 2017 and from 28.3% to 90.0% in 2018. Fruit heart rot incidence was nominal for all varieties. Total phenolic compound contents of the pomegranate fruit juice ranged from 0.81 to 1.52 mg GAE/mL, and the total antioxidant capacity ranged from 3.44 to 6.81 mg TE/mL. The yield per tree ranged from 1.00 to 7.96 kg in 2017 and from 0.81 to 10.26 kg in 2018. Brix ranged from 12.5% to 17.4% in 2017 and from 13.9% to 18.4% in 2018. Early winter below-freezing temperatures caused different degrees of cold damage; however, 5 of 22 varieties that originated from Russia did not show any cold damage. Results of a hierarchical cluster analysis based on the means of the key response variables of yield and Brix indicated that four varieties (Al-Sirin-Nar, Russian 8, Ben Ivey, and Salavatski) were notable for having both high yield and high Brix.

Marigolds (Tagetes sp.) are ornamental plants with fine-textured, dark green foliage, and yellow, orange, or bicolored flowers. The relative salt tolerance of eight marigolds [‘Discovery Orange’, ‘Discovery Yellow’, ‘Taishan Gold’, ‘Taishan Orange’, and ‘Taishan Yellow’ african marigold (Tagetes erecta); ‘Hot Pak Gold’, ‘Hot Pak Orange’, and ‘Hot Pak Yellow’ french marigold (Tagetes patula)] was evaluated in a greenhouse experiment. Plants were irrigated weekly with nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 dS·m⁻¹ (control) or saline solutions at an EC of 3.0 or 6.0 dS·m⁻¹ (EC 3 or EC 6). Marigold plants began to show foliar salt damage (leaf burn and necrosis) at 6 weeks after the initiation of treatment. At harvest (9 weeks after the initiation of treatment), ‘Discovery Orange’, ‘Discovery Yellow’, ‘Taishan Gold’, and ‘Taishan Yellow’ plants exhibited severe foliar salt damage with visual scores less than 2 (on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 = dead and 5 = excellent with no foliar salt damage) in EC 6. In the same treatment, ‘Hot Pak Gold’ and ‘Taishan Orange’ plants all died and only one of nine ‘Hot Pak Orange’ and ‘Hot Pak Yellow’ plants survived. In EC 3, all cultivars had slight or minimal foliar salt damage with visual scores ≈4 with the exception of Taishan Gold and Taishan Orange plants that showed moderate foliar damage with a visual score of 2.3 and 2.1, respectively. Treatment EC 3 reduced the flower number of ‘Discovery Orange’, ‘Discovery Yellow’, ‘Hot Pak Gold’, and ‘Hot Pak Yellow’ by 52%, 28%, 50%, and 30%, respectively, whereas EC 6 decreased the flower number of ‘Discovery Orange’ and ‘Discovery Yellow’ by 48% and 52%, respectively. In addition, both EC 3 and EC 6 did not reduce total dry weight (DW) of any cultivars, except Hot Pak Yellow and Taishan Yellow. In conclusion, all marigold cultivars are moderately sensitive to salt. ‘Discovery Orange’, ‘Taishan Yellow’, ‘Discovery Yellow’, and ‘Taishan Gold’ were more tolerant than ‘Hot Pak Gold’, ‘Hot Pak Orange’, ‘Hot Pak Yellow’, and ‘Taishan Orange’.

Scarcity and competition for good quality and potable water resources are limiting their use for urban landscape irrigation, with several nontraditional sources being potentially available for these activities. Some of these alternative sources include rainwater, stormwater, brackish aquifer water, municipal reclaimed water (MRW), air-conditioning (A/C) condensates, and residential graywater. Knowledge on their inherent chemical profile and properties, and associated regional and temporal variability, is needed to assess their irrigation quality and potential short- and long-term effects on landscape plants and soils and to implement best management practices that successfully deal with their quality issues. The primary challenges with the use of these sources are largely associated with high concentrations of total salts and undesirable specific ions [sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), boron (B), and bicarbonate (HCO₃ ⁻) alkalinity]. Although the impact of these alternative water sources has been largely devoted to human health, plant growth and aesthetic quality, and soil physicochemical properties, there is emergent interest in evaluating their effects on soil biological properties and in natural ecosystems neighboring the urban areas where they are applied.

Hydrangeas are popular landscape plants that are widely grown in many parts of the world. The objective of this study was to evaluate the salinity tolerance of three novel Dichroa ×hydrangea hybrids [Dichroa febrifuga ‘Yamaguchi Hardy’ × Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Hamburg’ (YH × Hamburg), Dichroa febrifuga ‘Yellow Wings’ ×Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nigra’ (YW × Nigra), and Dichroa febrifuga ‘Yellow Wings’ ×Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Oakhill’ (YW × Oakhill)]. A 52-day greenhouse study was conducted by irrigating container-grown plants with nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.1 dS·m⁻¹ (control) or saline solution at an EC of 5.0 dS·m⁻¹ (EC 5) or 10.0 dS·m⁻¹ (EC 10). At harvest, YH × Hamburg and YW × Nigra in EC 5 and EC 10 still exhibited good quality with average visual scores greater than 4.1 (0 = dead; 5 = excellent). For YW × Oakhill, moderate foliar salt damage was observed with an average visual score of 2.9 in EC 5 and 2.2 in EC 10. Compared with control, the shoot dry weight of YH × Hamburg, YW × Nigra, and YW × Oakhill in EC 5 reduced by 35%, 35%, and 55%, respectively, whereas that in EC 10 decreased by 58%, 58%, and 67%, respectively. Elevated salinity also decreased plant height, leaf area, and leaf greenness [Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) readings]; chlorophyll fluorescence (F_v/F_m); performance index (PI); and net photosynthetic rate (P_n). All these responses might result from excess accumulation of sodium (Na⁺) and chloride (Cl⁻) ions in hydrangea leaves. In this study, compared with control, leaf Na⁺ concentration of YH × Hamburg, YW × Nigra, and YW × Oakhill increased 11, 36, and 14 times, respectively, in EC 5, and 31, 53, and 18 times, respectively, in EC 10. Compared with control, leaf Cl⁻ concentration increased 4, 9, and 7 times in EC 5, and 10, 11, and 8 times in EC 10 for YH × Hamburg, YW × Nigra, and YW × Oakhill, respectively. Leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K⁺), and iron (Fe³⁺) concentrations decreased at elevated salinity levels but did not cause any nutrient deficiency. In summary, the three Dichroa ×hydrangea hybrids exhibited different salinity tolerance: YH × Hamburg and YW × Nigra were more tolerant than YW × Oakhill. Salt-tolerant hydrangea hybrids should be chosen for landscape use if soil and/or irrigation water are salty.

Southern U.S. states such as Texas experience high temperatures and intense solar radiation during the summer production season. Use of shadecloth is common in Spain and other Mediterranean countries and is becoming popular with homeowners or small-acreage farmers in Texas. Little information is available on the applicability of using shadecloth on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) in the warm climate of Texas. The effects of two shade nets differing in shading intensity on growth, chlorophyll fluorescence, and photosynthesis of ‘Celebrity’ tomato and ‘Sweet Banana’ chili pepper was investigated from May to Aug. 2014. Plants were grown in 50% shade, 70% shade, or full sun. Compared with the unshaded control, tomato grown in 50% shade had similar yield and shoot fresh and dry weight and less photochemical stress. The 50% shade reduced number and weight of unmarketable tomato fruit. Similar results were obtained with chili pepper except for lower numbers of marketable fruit. The 70% shade significantly reduced yield parameters of both tomato and chili pepper. Both 50% and 70% shadecloth reduced leaf temperatures of tomato and chili pepper with variable results in June and July. Growth index [(height + width 1 + width 2) ÷ 3] of tomato and chili pepper was the highest with 50% shade, the lowest with full sun, and intermediate with 70% shade. The maximum net photosynthetic rates (P_n) of tomato determined from a P_n to light response curve supported the results on growth and yield. However, the maximum P_n of chili pepper was higher in full sun treatment compared with 50% or 70% shade. The latter two were almost identical. This one growing season study indicated that shading at 50% benefits tomato and chili pepper production in west Texas by reducing heat stress; however, a shading percentage below 50% may be better.

Flower size generally decreases as temperature increases. The objective of this research was to investigate during development when flowers of Campanula carpatica Jacq. `Blue Clips' and `Birch Hybrid' are sensitive to temperature by conducting two temperature-transfer experiments. In the first experiment, plants were grown initially at 20 °C and then transferred at visible bud to 14, 17, 20, 23, or 26 °C until flower. In the second experiment, plants were transferred from 14 to 26 °C or from 26 to 14 °C at 1, 3, or 5 weeks (`Blue Clips') or at 1, 2, or 3 weeks (`Birch Hybrid') after flower induction. Temperature before visible bud had little effect on final flower size for both species. For example, flower diameter of `Blue Clips' was similar among plants grown at constant 14 °C or grown at 20 °C initially and then transferred at visible bud to 14 or 17 °C. Similarly, flower diameter of plants grown at constant 26 °C was similar to those grown at 20 °C initially and then transferred at visible bud to 26 °C. Flower diameter in these species is correlated with the temperature after VB in the 14 to 26 °C and decreases linearly as the temperature after VB increases.