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A late spring frost, -2°C on 10 Mar 1989, destroyed all blossoms on `Delite' rabbiteye blueberries. To determine the effect of hedging as a rejuvenation method, six-year-old `Delite' plants were pruned on 26 April 1989. All branches were removed at 46 cm from ground level. Unpruned control plants were approximately 184 cm tall. On 21 Mar 1990 a frost of -2°C occurred. Two days later bud damage was assessed on three wood types: spring-old (SO), spring growth on old, weak wood; spring-new (SN), spring growth on vigorous 1-year-old shoots; and fall (F), postharvest late summer/fall growth. Buds were identified as to their stage of development. Buds formed on both types of spring wood were further developed than those on fall wood. As flower stage advanced frost damage increased. Blossoms on fall growth were most frost tolerant and SN was more hardy than SO. Subsequent yields will be determined and reported.
Rabbiteye blueberry flower buds are initiated and differentiated on three distinct wood types - spring growth on old weak growth, spring growth on vigorous 1-year-old shoots, or postharvest late summer/fall growth. Flower buds on spring growth are usually formed and visible by July, while buds formed on postharvest growth flushes appear in late summer and early fall. To evaluate the influence of wood type on cold damage, shoots of `Tifblue' and `Delite' were tagged by season of growth. Following a -10°C freeze in Feb. flower buds on shoots from each growth flush were examined for dead ovaries. Flower buds surviving the freeze were evaluated following a -2° late frost in Mar. Influence of wood type on floral bud and fruit development was determined. All fruit were removed from 5 shoots of each wood type on 2 harvest dates corresponding to early and midseason harvests. Floral buds formed on fall growth were more freeze and frost tolerant than those initiated on spring growth at similar stages of bud development. `Tifblue' was more cold tolerant than `Delite'. Floral buds formed on both spring wood types were earlier to develop than buds formed on fall wood. There were no differences in ripening patterns and quality of fruit removed from spring - new and fall wood. Fruit formed on spring - old wood were later maturing and smaller sized for both harvests than spring-new or fall wood. Postharvest pruning to encourage fall growth may be a cultural means of frost avoidance.
Abstract
‘Tifblue’ rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade) plants were grown for 3 years under a sodic irrigation regimen. Mulched and non-mulched plants were irrigated by one of three methods: one drip emitter at the base of the plant, two drip emitters on either side of the plant, or low-volume spray emitter (LVSE). There was a mulch × irrigation treatment interaction. Mulch increased the growth of drip-irrigated plants but not LVSE-irrigated plants. Salt-induced leaf chlorosis and necrosis was only evident on plants with no mulch and irrigated with two emitters. Under mulched soil, K, Na, Mg, Cl, electrical conductivity (ECe), and Na adsorption ratio (SAR) levels were several times lower and uniform throughout the soil profile compared to the non-mulched treatments. Maximum root-zone salinity was 3.7 dS·m−1 for two emitters without mulch and a minimum of 0.5 dS·m−1 for one emitter with mulch.
Abstract
‘Bounty’ peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] was released because of its large fruit size, excellent flavor (as judged by us), and productivity, particularly under dry soil conditions of eastern Texas. Its ability to produce fruit of uniform maturity throughout the canopy makes it especially suitable for once-over harvesting. ‘Bounty’ has outstanding potential as a mid-season fresh-market peach for the south-central United States, particularly Texas, and is suggested for trial in the mid-Atlantic and eastern United States.
Abstract
The response of rabbiteye blueberry plants (Vaccinium ashei Reade) to rates and modifications of deep well water (pH 8.7) containing 0.695 dS·m-1 electrical conductivity (EC), a sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of 29.7, and a bicarbonate concentration of 7.89 meq·liter-1 was compared to plants irrigated with rain and surface waters applied to 3 soils in a glasshouse-container study. Fresh weight increase and root fresh and dry weight were greater on plants irrigated with rainwater or pond water compared to plants irrigated with different rates of deep well water, or deep well water modified by the addition of gypsum or acidified with H2S04. Fresh weight increase, root fresh and dry weight, leaf fresh weight, and top:root ratios were higher on a loamy sand soil than on sandy loam or clay loam soils. Plant weight gain was positively correated with the percentage of sand, and negatively correlated with the percentage of clay and saturation-extract SAR. An increase in soil pH resulted from irrigation with deep well water which, along with its modifications, resulted in increased leaf Na and decreased leaf Ca and Mn, compared to rain or surface-water irrigations, which slightly lowered soil pH.