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- Author or Editor: Ursula K. Schuch* x
- HortTechnology x
A two-part exercise was developed as part of the horticulture curriculum at Iowa State University to familiarize students with the American Standard for Nursery Stock (ASNS), and to allow them to practice and apply the ASNS with a variety of categories and types of ornamental plants. The first part of the exercise requires students to determine, according to ASNS standards, appropriate root ball/container size for plants to be moved from an existing immature landscape. During the second part, students evaluate whether root ball or container size of plants in a nursery is appropriate for the plant shoot dimensions. The exercise was designed for students to work in informal groups in a cooperative learning environment.
Several large cities in the southwestern United States have set a target to increase their tree canopy cover up to 25%, which often requires more than doubling the current canopy cover. A major goal is to alleviate high temperatures and support public health in addition to gaining all the other benefits conferred by urban forests. Rising temperatures, the arid climate, continued drought, increasing population numbers, and the growing urban forest in the southwestern United States fuel the demand for more water. Using water wisely to garner the benefits of trees requires the application of sufficient irrigation based on the water needs of different species. Current irrigation recommendations for trees are often based on expert consensus. Research-based results of tree irrigation studies from the southwestern United States are presented to give specific examples of how trees respond when they are exposed to different irrigation regimes.
Capillary mats and overhead sprinkler irrigation were used in a simulated retail environment to maintain annual and perennial plants in containers for various time periods during summer and winter. Combining the results from both seasons, four species with dense canopies had larger canopy sizes when maintained on the capillary mats, three species requiring more drainage had larger canopies with overhead irrigation, and five species were unaffected by irrigation systems. Substrate electrical conductivity was higher for some species in winter for plants on capillary mats, conserving fertilizer compared with overhead irrigation. Most species tolerated either irrigation system well. Water application was 71% less in summer and 62% less in winter to maintain plants on capillary mats compared with overhead irrigation. An economic analysis compared the investment required for setup and maintenance of plants in a retail situation using hand watering, overhead sprinkler, or capillary mat irrigation. The partial budget indicates that capillary mats are a labor-saving alternative to hand watering in a retail nursery and will compensate for the higher initial investment within less than 1 year. The overhead sprinklers are the most cost-effective system of the three because of less costly initial set-up and maintenance than the capillary mats; however, they are not a true alternative to hand watering in a retail situation because they interfere with customer traffic and worker activities.
Increased urban and suburban populations in the arid western United States have resulted in more water demand; however, water availability in the region has become limited because of inadequate precipitation. Recent droughts have led to restrictions on irrigating landscape plants. Garden rose (Rosa ×hybrida) is commonly used as flowering plants in residential landscapes, but its drought tolerance has not been widely studied. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of reduced irrigation frequency on visual quality, plant growth, and physiology of five garden rose cultivars, including ChewPatout (Oso Easy® Urban Legend®), Meibenbino (Petite Knock Out®), MEIRIFTDAY (Oso Easy® Double Pink), Overedclimb (Cherry Frost™), and Radbeauty (Sitting Pretty™). Twenty-four plants of each rose cultivar were established in a trial plot at Utah Agricultural Experiment Station Greenville Research Farm (North Logan, UT, USA) in Summer 2021. Plants were randomly assigned to one of three deficit irrigation treatments for which irrigation frequencies were calculated using 80% reference evapotranspiration (ETO) (high), 50% ETO (medium), and 20% ETO (low). The total volumes of irrigation water applied to each plant were 345.6, 172.8, and 43.2 L for the high, medium, and low irrigation frequencies, respectively, during the deficit irrigation trial from 12 May to 30 Sep 2022. Root zones were wetted more frequently as irrigation frequency increased from low to high irrigation frequencies. Decreased irrigation frequency increased the number of visibly wilted and damaged leaves on all rose cultivars. However, only ‘Meibenbino’ and ‘MEIRIFTDAY’ exhibited a reduction in overall appearance under decreased irrigation frequency. The relative growth indices of both ‘Meibenbino’ and ‘MEIRIFTDAY’ decreased by 6%, whereas the dry weights of their leaves decreased by 37% and 36%, respectively, as irrigation decreased from high to low frequencies. Roses in this study appeared to decrease stomatal conductance up to 51% when irrigation decreased from high to low frequencies, or when air temperature increased. ‘Meibenbino’ and ‘MEIRIFTDAY’ exhibited unacceptable overall appearance, growth reduction, and higher leaf–air temperature differences, and they were less tolerant to reduced irrigation. Although the ‘Radbeauty’ maintained plant growth under the reduced irrigation frequency, the large leaf size led to a more visibly wilted appearance and the potential for heat stress, thus impairing visual quality. ‘ChewPatout’ and ‘Overedclimb’ were most tolerant to deficit irrigation at 20% ETO and maintained plant growth with acceptable visual quality and lower leaf temperatures when they received one irrigation during the growing season.