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- Author or Editor: Donald J. Cotter x
Abstract
Yields of greenhouse tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) increased in bark or sawdust when the media had been prior cropped. Bark produced more marketable fruit than sawdust No unusual plant diseases were noted and root-knot nematode symptoms (a chronic problem in soil) were not observed on roots in either sawdust or bark.
Abstract
A study of seasonal and landscape effects on residential water application rates used to maintain meso-phytic plants in Las Cruces, New Mexico showed a positive significant correlation between water applied and landscape area maintained. However, only one-half of the variation in water applied was accounted for in the analysis. In 2 years, about 40% more water was applied than the estimated requirement. The principal reason for excessive water use appeared to be consumers’ lack of knowledge about plant water requirements.
Abstract
Pregerminated (PG) chile pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seed was fluid-drilled in gels on three dates (early to late spring). Plants grown from PG seed emerged earlier than those from dry seed, and plant growth was enhanced (including earlier flowering), but the fruit yields were not affected. In the first planting date in cold soils, PG slowed emergence and the hypocotyls tended to coil within the gel. In a companion test, pre-soaking seed improved emergence, growth, and yield compared to plants from dry seed. Adding P to the soaking solution enhanced emergence, early plant growth, and plant P, but decreased fruit yields. Phosphorus added to the gel water of hydration increased seedling growth, but did not significantly affect fruit yields.
Abstract
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of fresh and aged conifer barks on galling by the root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) (Chitwood)] on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) roots. Fresh bark (stored at sawmill) exhibited significant nematicidal activity (reduced galling) when used as a medium component [50% or 75% with sand (v/v)]. Galling on tomatoes grown in aged bark (used as a culturing medium for tomatoes for 5 years) was extensive. When 10% or 20% fresh conifer bark was mixed into beds, galling was less extensive on tomato roots than on roots from tomatoes grown in an unamended medium. The nematicidal property of conifer bark diminished during long-term use. Increases in medium pH, which occurred during continuous cropping, could have contributed to the reduced nematicidal activity with time.
Color loss of Chile pods (Capsicum annuum L.) weathered on and off the plant was compared to that of refrigerated powder of comparable pods. Pods were harvested at 4-week intervals, dried at 65C, and ground and analyzed for color. Powder from these fruit was stored at 2C and analyzed at 4-week intervals. Pods that were weathered on or off the plant lost redness at a rate about one-half of that for refrigerated powder during 84 days of storage or weathering.
Abstract
Mature red chile fruit [Capsicum annuum (L.)] were harvested over 3 years at 2 locations in southern New Mexico to determine the effects of harvest date on yield and color. Yields peaked in late October or early November and then declined linearly through December or January. Declines were correlated highly with fewer marketable pods harvested due to detachment or discoloration. The detachment of mature red pods over the test period was affected differentially by cultivar. Color (in ASTA units) varied from good commercial levels to substandard ones between years, but the color of late-harvested pods was normally equal to or better than that from earlier-harvested fruit.