Search Results
Abstract
A horticulture curriculum requires regular evaluation because of changing student needs. Traditionally, faculty have reviewed the curriculum and have made changes depending on their own observations. In recent years, an attempt has been made to improve this process by consulting others. For example, task forces in horticulture have been formed at the national level to assess groups representing education, government, business, and industry to determine student needs and establish curricular priorities (2).
Low temperatures adversely affect legume- Rhizobium symbiosis in the temperate regions. Plant growth and N-fixation of two pigeonpea and two cowpea genotypes were examined at three temperature regimes (20/10 C, 30120 C and 38/25 C day/night). Sterilized seeds were inoculated with broth culture containing approximately 1 × 109 cells ml-1 of Bradyrhizobium USDA 3278, 3458 and 3472. Nitrogen fixation by pigeonpea was inhibited at 20/10 C. Cowpea IT82E-16 inoculated with USDA 3458 at 20/10 C produced the greatest amount of nodules. Inoculation had no effect on Nitrogenase activity in pigeonpea. Pinkeye Purple Hull inoculated with USDA 3472 at 20110 C had the highest Nitrogenase activity. These results indicate a wide degree of variability among genotypes and Bradyrhizobium in their response to temperature.
Abstract
‘Tuckcross 756P’ is an early, large, pink-fruited three-way hybrid tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) that is adapted for greenhouse culture in the northern U.S. and Canada. Since 1971 it has performed well in experiment station and commercial greenhouse trials (2, 3, 4). With early production of good quality fruit, ‘Tuckcross 756P’ is also resistant to fusarium wilt and tolerant to leaf mold.
An experiment was conducted in 2017 and 2018 to determine the sensitivity of common garden annuals to sublethal rates of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and dicamba with or without glyphosate. Sublethal rates corresponding to 1/10×, 1/100×, and 1/300× of the full labeled rate (1×) of 2,4-D (1.0 lb/acre), 2,4-D plus glyphosate (1.0 lb/acre plus 1.0 lb/acre), dicamba (0.5 lb/acre), and dicamba plus glyphosate (0.5 lb/acre plus 1.0 lb/acre) were applied to ‘Prelude’ wax begonia (Begonia ×semperflorens-cultorum), ‘Wizard’ coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides), ‘Pinto’ zonal geranium (Pelargonium ×hortorum), ‘Dazzler’ impatiens (Impatiens walleriana), ‘Bonanza’ french marigold (Tagetes patula), ‘Hurrah’ petunia (Petunia hybrida), ‘Titan’ madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), and ‘Double Zahara’ zinnia (Zinnia marylandica). Visible injury, plant height, number of flowers, and dry weight were recorded at specific time intervals after treatment. When averaged across all annual plant species, the 1/10× rate of 2,4-D plus glyphosate resulted in 51% injury 28 days after treatment, whereas the 1/10× rate of dicamba plus glyphosate resulted in 43% injury. Treatments causing the greatest injury also resulted in the greatest reduction of dry weight, height, and flower production. Coleus was the most sensitive species in the study; dry weight was reduced by 16% and 18% compared with the nontreated controls from 1/300× rates of 2,4-D plus glyphosate and dicamba plus glyphosate, respectively. French marigold and zonal geranium had greater sensitivity to treatments containing 2,4-D, but coleus and zinnia had greater sensitivity to treatments containing dicamba. Petunia exhibited a high tolerance to 2,4-D or dicamba applied alone (>6% injury) but was highly sensitive when glyphosate was added to 2,4-D and dicamba (<65% injury). The 1/100× and 1/300× rates that are likely to equate to sublethal rates in field settings, resulted in less than 15% injury across all flower species except coleus and petunia.
Recent trends in greenhouse container production suggest using ebb and flow irrigation for water conservation and pollution control. A major problem in this system is management of soil borne pathogens. Some species of Trichoderma, a beneficial fungi, are known to control Pythium and Phytopthora in container production. This study investigates the potential of applying a Trichoderma conidial spore suspension in an ebb and flow irrigation system. Trichoderma conidia were collected from culture and placed in 101 l stock solution tanks at 10-2 and 10-4 colony forming units (CFU) per ml. Six inch container grown Dendranthema grandiflora `Delano', were irrigated as needed. To determine Trichoderma density in the root environment, soil samples were acquired from the container at 7 day intervals. Results showed that initial population densities of 10-4 CFU/ml were required to achieve adequate container populations to control disease after one irrigation. This study successfully demonstrated that Trichoderma could be dispersed through irrigation water into container plants in an ebb and flow system.
The use of dicamba and 2,4-D products on herbicide-tolerant crops has resulted in numerous cases of off-target movement and injury to sensitive plants, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.). Two greenhouse studies were conducted to determine whether ‘Big Beef’ (‘BB’) or ‘Florida 91’ (‘FL’) tomato plants pretreated with an antitranspirant, including Moisture-Loc (ML) at 100 mL·L−1, TransFilm (TF) at 50 g·L−1, or Wilt-Pruf (WP) at 100 mL·L−1, mitigated injury from synthetic auxin herbicides. Dicamba or 2,4-D was applied at a rate corresponding to 1/200 of the manufacturer’s labeled rate of 0.56 kg ae/ha or 1.06 kg ae/ha, respectively. At 2 weeks after treatment (WAT), plants treated with ML or WP before either herbicide exhibited injury symptoms, but they were always less severe than those treated with the herbicide alone for both cultivars. However, shoot length measurements indicated that none of the antitranspirants consistently provided protection against herbicide injury at 2 WAT. By 12 WAT, ML or WP used before either herbicide increased the number of live reproductive organs compared with dicamba or 2,4-D alone for both cultivars. Floral abortion on tomato plants was also reduced when ML or WP was applied before an herbicide treatment by 12 WAT. Although WP and ML did not provide complete protection against synthetic auxin herbicide injury, the concept of using film-forming barriers may be useful in mitigating some of the short-term effects of drift on plants.