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- Author or Editor: Gerardo H. Nunez x
Hands-on activities enhance learning and increase student satisfaction in horticulture courses. Nevertheless, hands-on activities can have widely different impacts on student learning. To achieve and maintain educational quality, instructors need to evaluate and improve activities. This research used text mining and sentiment analysis to gauge student sentiments about hands-on activities in a protected agriculture course. Students participated in five hands-on activities and submitted short reflective essays about them. Essay texts were separated into single-word (unigram) or three-word (trigram) objects. Unigrams were compared with general-use emotion lexica to extract student sentiments from the texts. Trigrams were used to assess essay content. All activities elicited positive sentiments among students. Trust, anticipation, and joy were the most prominent emotions identified. The activity focused on freeze protection was preferred over the other activities. Although other activities were also well received, they should be refined for future offerings. The presented method could be used to assess hands-on activities, leading to continuous improvement and successful implementation of experiential learning in horticulture courses.
Coconut coir is widely used as a substrate component for southern highbush blueberry [(SHB) Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrids] cultivation in containers. Coconut coir-based substrates can exhibit high potassium (K), sodium (Na), and chlorine (Cl) concentrations. Sodium in the substrate is particularly problematic because it can cause salinity stress and nutritional imbalances in young blueberry plants. Thus, Na removal is important to ensure transplant success. We hypothesized that preplant fertilization with large volumes of nutrient solution can reduce substrate salinity, replace Na with nutritional cations, and enhance blueberry establishment. We tested this hypothesis in a greenhouse experiment with ‘Snowchaser’ SHB grown in rhizoboxes filled with a 7:3 mix of coconut coir and perlite. Four different treatments were delivered every 24 hours starting 72 hours before transplant. Treatments included 1.75 g⋅L–1 calcium nitrate (CN), 2.38 g⋅L–1 monoammonium phosphate (MAP), deionized water, and well water. One rooted cutting was transplanted to each rhizobox. Rhizoboxes were fertigated during the 7-week cultivation period. We found that preplant fertilization increased nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) concentrations in the substrate without replacing Na. Thus, preplant fertilization increased substrate salinity. Preplant fertilization also promoted microbial respiration in the substrate at the start of the experiment. Treatments did not affect SHB root architecture, leaf area index, leaf greenness, or biomass accumulation, likely because nutrients delivered by the fertigation solution provided the plants with homogeneous optimal conditions. These findings suggest that preplant fertilization with large volumes of nutrient solution does not enhance blueberry establishment in coconut coir-based substrates.
Courses are the main source of data analysis training for students. The statistical software training taught in those courses can affect student career readiness. However, lack of information about statistical software use in horticulture leads students and mentors to select statistics courses based on course availability and/or anecdotal evaluations. This research aimed to describe statistical software use trends in horticulture research to inform student course selection. We surveyed ≈50% of all articles published in HortScience, HortTechnology, and the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science (JASHS) between 2005 and 2020. We found that SAS, SPSS, and R were the most frequently used software packages in this period. SAS use frequency decreased in HortScience and JASHS, but not in HortTechnology. SPSS use increased in JASHS and R use increased in all journals. Results from this retrospective survey suggest that training in SAS, SPSS, and R can help align students with horticulture research practices.
Hands-on activities are an essential part of horticulture education. However, facilitating hands-on activities in online horticulture courses is challenging partly due to a lack of literature that describes remote laboratories in the discipline. Here we describe our experience planning and executing a remote strawberry-growing activity in an online horticulture course at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Students received strawberry-growing kits that contained a strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) plant, substrate, and fertilizer. Instructions on growing the strawberry plant were delivered online and students had to provide weekly updates about the status of their plant for 5 weeks. At the end of the semester, students provided feedback about the hands-on activity in the form of an essay. Their answers were analyzed using text mining to gauge their perception of the activity. About 77% of students expressed positive sentiments about the remote activity including excitement, enjoyment, and knowledge gain. Students who expressed negative sentiments about the activity (≈23% of the total) focused on plant casualties and difficulties related to management practices. Overall, student essays and weekly updates reflected a relevant and engaging cognitive exercise in horticulture. Our results suggest that remote laboratories can improve the student experience in online courses and provide a footprint for successful implementation of similar activities in online horticulture courses.
Vaccinium arboreum (VA) is a wild blueberry species that exhibits wider soil pH tolerance and greater ability for iron and nitrate uptake than cultivated Vaccinium species, including southern highbush blueberry (SHB, V. corymbosum interspecific hybrids). The ability of VA and SHB to respond to iron deficiency by rhizosphere acidification was investigated. Rooted cuttings of the VA genotype FL09-502 and SHB ‘Emerald’ were transplanted to a hydroponic system filled with complete nutrient solution. After 14 days of acclimation at 45 µm iron, plants were transferred to unbuffered nutrient solutions containing 90 or 10 µm iron. ‘Emerald’ and FL09-502 plants grown in 10 µm iron exhibited less iron uptake and lower chlorophyll, total iron, and active iron contents than plants grown in 90 µm iron. Generally, there were no species-level differences in iron or nitrate uptake. Neither FL09-502 nor ‘Emerald’ acidified the rhizosphere in either the nutrient solution or in a gel-based assay, regardless of external iron concentration. A screen of 18 additional genotypes of VA and SHB confirmed that this response is absent in these taxa. Thus, rhizosphere acidification is not part of the iron deficiency response of SHB and VA. In addition, the ability to acidify the soil is not likely to be responsible for the wider soil pH tolerance of VA.
Unlike most horticultural crops, blueberry (Vaccinium spp. section cyanococcus) prefers low-pH (4.2–5.5) soils. Other plants can acidify their rhizosphere to create a hospitable microenvironment. Southern highbush blueberry (SHB; Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrids) plants do not acidify their rhizosphere in response to Fe deficiency, but other factors that affect rhizosphere pH have not been elucidated. We report results from two hydroponic experiments exploring N uptake effects on the rhizosphere pH of ‘Emerald’ SHB. Ammonium (NH4 +) uptake led to rhizosphere acidification, whereas nitrate (NO3 –) uptake led to rhizosphere alkalization. When grown in a split-root hydroponic system, roots that took up NH4 + acidified the rhizosphere to a greater extent that roots not exposed to NH4 +. Rhizosphere acidification was observed even in a nontreated control. These results suggest that NH4 + uptake is the main driver of rhizosphere pH in SHB. N form effects suggest that fertilization with NO3 – might lead to undesirable rhizosphere alkalization.
Consumer perception plays an important role in the decision to purchase organic vs. conventional produce. A web-based survey was used to evaluate perceptions and purchase behavior toward organic produce in a sample population of college-aged students. The effect of formal education on this perception was also investigated. Most subjects in this sample population were aware of and had positive perceptions of organic produce and organic agriculture. The likelihood of being an organic consumer was similar across genders, ages, and fields of study. Subjects who reported to be organic consumers associated less risk with organic produce than those who reported to never have purchased organic produce. A 50-minute lecture about organic agriculture altered the perception students had about organic produce. After the lecture, students expressed bleaker perceptions about the health benefits and ethical soundness of organic agriculture. On the other hand, after the lecture students expressed a more positive perception of the policies and regulations that govern the organic foods market. Overall, data suggest that students’ perception of organic produce and agriculture is based on anecdotal evidence and that formal education on the topic of organic agriculture can affect this perception.
Root growth and root system architecture (RSA) are affected by edaphic and genetic factors and they can impact plant growth and farm profitability. Southern highbush blueberries [SHBs (Vaccinium corymbosum hybrids)] develop shallow, fibrous root systems, and exhibit a preference for acidic soils where water and ammonium are readily available. The amendments used to create these soil conditions negatively affect the profitability of SHB plantations. Hence, breeding for RSA traits has been suggested as an alternative to soil amendments. Vaccinium arboreum is a wild species that is used in SHB breeding. V. arboreum exhibits greater drought tolerance and broader soil pH adaptation than SHB, and—according to anecdotal evidence—it develops deep, taproot-like root systems. The present study constitutes the first in-depth study of the RSA of Vaccinium species with the intention of facilitating breeding for RSA traits. Root systems were studied in rhizotron-grown seedling families. In separate experiments, we tested the effect that growth substrate and family pedigree can have on root growth and RSA. Subsequently, a genotyping by sequence approach was used to develop single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers that could be used along with the phenotyping method to investigate the heritability of RSA traits and look for marker-trait associations. We found that RSA is affected by growth substrate and family pedigree. In addition, we found that V. arboreum exhibited greater maximum root depth and a lower percentage of roots in the top 8 cm of soil than SHB, and interspecific hybrids generally exhibited intermediate phenotypes. Also, we found that RSA traits exhibit moderate to low heritability and genetic correlations among them. Finally, we found 59 marker-trait associations. Among these markers, 37 were found to be located in exons, and 16 of them were annotated based on protein homology with entries in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank. Altogether, the present study provides tools that can be used to breed for root architecture traits in SHB.
Southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrid) cultivation is a major industry in subtropical regions where low winter temperatures are infrequent and inconsistent. In Florida and other subtropical areas, growers use hydrogen cyanamide (HC) applications during endodormancy to mitigate the negative effects of low chill accumulation. Hydrogen cyanamide is a synthetic plant growth regulator that increases and expediates dormancy release and budbreak. However, southern highbush blueberry cultivars differ in their sensitivity to HC. Optimus and Colossus are two recently released cultivars from the University of Florida blueberry breeding program. The effects of HC in these cultivars are unknown. This research aimed to describe responses to HC applications at different rates for these new varieties. Experiments took place in a commercial farm in Waldo, FL, on 3- to 4-year-old deciduous blueberry bushes. HC was applied at rates of 3.8 g·L−1 (0.38%), 5.1 g·L−1 (0.50%), and 6.4 g g·L−1 (0.63%) in ‘Optimus’ and 3.8 g·L−1 (0.38%), 5.1 g·L−1 (0.50%), 6.4 g·L−1 (0.63%), and 7.7 g·L−1 (0.75%) in ‘Colossus’. In both cultivars, the control treatment was not sprayed. Vegetative bud count, and flower bud development, flower bud mortality, and yield were determined. HC application thinned reproductive buds and increased vegetative budbreak. Although seasonal yield was not increased, HC advanced fruit ripening early in the season.
During the 2021 American Society for Horticultural Science annual conference, the Teaching Methods Professional Interest Group hosted the workshop “Going beyond Zoom: Tips and tricks for teaching horticulture online.” This workshop provided a forum for the dissemination of tools, materials, and approaches used to facilitate active learning in horticulture courses. Here we summarize the topics presented in the workshop as a resource for current and future horticulture instructors.