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Eight plant bed fertilizer treatments (N–P–K) were evaluated for the effect on plant production and sweetpotato yield. The treatments ranged from 0–0–0 to 450–450–450 lb/ac. `Beauregard' roots were bedded. After the first plant cutting, 50 lb/ac 34–0–0 was applied to half of the beds. For the second cutting, the 0N–0P–0K treatment without additional N produced plants with less green weight compared to the other treatments; there were no differences between the other 15 treatments. For the first plant cutting, 150–150–150 and 150–300–450 lb/ac produced plants with less green weight compared to 0–0–0, 75–150–300, 300–450–600, and 450–450–450 lb/ac. There were no differences in sweetpotato yield due to plant bed fertilization.
Abstract
Two cultivars of strawberries originally harvested for fresh market were held under 5 postharvest storage treatments and then dipped in one of 4 chemical treatments. The berries were sliced or left whole, dipped, and then processed by freezing or thermal processing. The processed product from ‘Cardinal’ was superior to that from ‘Sunrise’ in this study, regardless of the holding or dip treatment. ‘Cardinal’ berries could be utilized for processing initially and after storage for 4 days at 4°C and after 2 days at 21°; however, ‘Sunrise’ was acceptable only initially and up to 4 days at 4°. Dipping berries for 1 min in a 0.5% calcium lactate solution or a 0.5% Ca lactate plus 1% citric acid solution improved berry firmness and character. The Ca dips were more effective in firming sliced berries than in firming whole berries. The Howard mold count of the berries became a major limiting factor for many of the postharvest storage treatments.
`Beauregard' storage roots which were discarded from the Mississippi sweetpotato foundation seed program because of the presence of flesh mutations were bedded in Spring 1991. After the plants were pulled from the roots, the roots were further examined, and the flesh mutations were characterized by size and frequency. The progency from the original roots were examined for flesh mutations for three generations in 1991, 1992, and 1993. The degree of mutation in the original root did not influence the degree of mutation in succeeding generations of storage roots. In 1992 and 1993, the degree of mutation in the third and fourth generation roots did not differ from that of storage roots grown from plants from the foundation seed plant beds.
`Beauregard' and `Centennial' were planted in plots of four different topsoil thicknesses (0, 3, 6, and 9 inches) to evaluate the effect of topsoil thickness on sweetpotato production. In 1994, the 0-inch topsoil treatment produced a greater total marketable yield for `Beauregard' than did the 6- and 9-inch topsoil for `Centennial'. The 0- and 9-inch topsoil produced a greater total marketable yield than did the 3- and 6-inch treatment. When averaged over 2 years, 1993 and 1994, there were no differences in total marketable yield in either `Beauregard' or `Centennial' due to topsoil thickness. Averaged over both years, topsoil thickness had no effect on weight, diameter, or length of `Beauregard' roots.
‘Dura Blue’ and ‘Thermal Blue’ hybrid bluegrass have been selected for heat and drought tolerance. These grasses offer alternatives to traditional Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue in the transition zone. Experiments were conducted in two locations during 2003 and 2004 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. Nitrogen (N) was applied at 50, 150, or 300 kg·ha−1 N per year to ‘Apollo’ Kentucky bluegrass, ‘Dura Blue’, and ‘Thermal Blue’ hybrid bluegrass, and ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Kentucky 31’ tall fescue. The main effects of turfgrass and N were significant for color and quality observations. However, their interactions were not significant; therefore, only the main effects are shown. Acceptable turfgrass color (>6) and quality (>6) was observed for all varieties in May, August, and November. All N regimens showed acceptable turfgrass color and quality. However, 150 kg·ha−1 N per year was required to achieve optimum color and quality. ‘Kentucky 31’ produced higher clipping dry weights when N was applied at 50 kg·ha−1 per year than the other varieties. Nitrogen applied at 150 and 300 kg·ha−1 per year on ‘Kentucky 31’ and ‘Thermal Blue’ produced higher clipping dry weights than the other varieties. ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Kentucky 31’ had similar brown patch incidences at each nitrogen level. Increases in brown patch incidence occurred as N levels decreased from 300 (21%) to 50 kg·ha−1 per year (31%) for ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Kentucky 31’. Dollar spot incidence occurred on all bluegrass varieties from 7% to 24%. However, dollar spot decreased with increased N fertility. All turfgrass species tested were acceptable for use in the transition zone.