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Abstract

The exclusion of pollinating insects by covering strawberry plots with screen cages during bloom resulted in significant yield reductions and delayed fruit maturity in each of 4 years of tests. Fruit size of the cultivars ‘Tennessee Beauty’ and ‘Earlibelle’ was reduced as a result of caging but no significant size reduction occurred in caged plots of the cultivar ‘Blakemore’. A much higher per cent of fruit from caged plots was malformed and misshapen than fruit from uncaged plots or plots caged with honeybees.

Comparisons of data from plots in which insects were excluded with plots caged with honeybees and plots covered with open cages indicate that the results obtained from caging are primarily due to incomplete pollination as a result of insect exclusion. The data obtained support the conclusion that insect pollination is beneficial in strawberry production and that native bee conservation should be practiced in the vicinity of strawberry plantations.

Abstract

The destruction of strawberry foliage following harvest has long been a standard renovation practice in many of the strawberry producing areas of the United States. The practice of postharvest mowing of leaves is widely recommended (2,3,8,10) although there is some disagreement as to the value of this practice (1).

Abstract

Fruit crops may be classified into 3 categories according to their temperature requirements for successful culture. Some fruits, such as banana, mango, and papaya, are classed as tropical fruits and cannot be grown in areas where temperatures approach freezing. They may, in fact, be damaged by temperatures well above freezing. Subtropical fruits, including oranges, lemons, avocados, figs and dates, can withstand more cold than the tropical fruits. They may, under certain conditions, endure temperatures slightly below freezing. The temperate fruits, such as apple, peach, grape, blueberry, and blackberry enter a rest period at the onset of cold weather and can withstand very cold temperatures while dormant. However, certain minimum amouts of winter cold are required for breaking the rest period and allowing normal growth and development the following spring. This requirement of a cold-induced rest period break makes temperate fruits unadapted to tropical climates.

Abstract

A grape breeding program was begun in 1964 by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station with the primary objective of developing high quality table grapes adapted to the soils and climate of the Ozarks region. Two cultivars previously have been released from this program: ‘Venus’ in 1977, a blue seedless grape (2); and ‘Reliance’ in 1982, a red seedless (1). These cultivars show promise of being the foundation of a commercial table grape industry in the region. ‘Mars’, a blue seedless table grape with high levels of disease resistance, is being released to fulfill the needs for home garden and limited commercial use.

Abstract

Blackberries are classified taxonomically in the genus Rubus, subgenus Eubatus, and consist of a highly variable and complex group of plants. Bailey (1) recognized over 350 species of blackberries, but the taxonomy of the subgenus is still in much confusion. Blackberries range from evergreen, subtropical types to deciduous clones that survive beyond the Arctic Circle. Most are indigenous to the northern hemisphere but some occur in the tropical mountain regions of the southern hemisphere. A naturally occurring ploidy range from diploid (2x = 2n = 14) to dodecaploid (12x = 2n = 84) exists (5). Homoploid blackberry species are mostly interfertile and biological systems encouraging outcrossing are common, thus native populations of blackberries in much of the world are highly hybrid (7). Consequently, it is difficult to assign cultivars to specific species, since progenitors of modern cultivars were selected from the wild.

Abstract

The conversion of genetically staminate plants of Vitis to functional hermaphrodites by the application of a cytokinin was successfully accomplished in 8 of 15 clones, including 4 Vitis species and an interspecific hybrid. The time of cytokinin application in relation to the stage of development of the inflorescence was a critical factor in successful conversion. Treated flowers were transformed morphologically as well as functionally, producing typical pistils with stigmas.

The general response of species of Vitis to cytokinin-induced sex conversion and the occasional occurrence of sex conversion in nature lend support to common physiological and genetic bases of sex expression within the genus. A physiological model is proposed in which sex expression is dependent upon the levels of female and male sex inhibitors.

Abstract

The development of high quality, seedless (stenospermocarpic) table grape cultivars adapted to eastern United States is a major objective of the grape breeding program of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. ‘Venus’, a blue, seedless cultivar, was released from this program in 1977 (1). A red, seedless cultivar, ‘Reliance’, with wider adaptation, is the most recent development.

Abstract

On September 9-10, 1903, a small group of horticulturists and botanists attended a meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting, chaired by L. H. Bailey, was a result of a letter from S. A. Beach to all experiment station horticulturists and botanists in which he proposed the organization of a society for horticultural science. The purpose of the society would be to present scientific work being done in horticulture more prominently and to promote more complete scientific investigations. Among the charter members of the newly formed American Society for Horticultural Science were six men destined to achieve fame for investigations in small fruits: L. H. Bailey, S. A. Beach, C. P. Close, S. W. Fletcher, N. E. Hansen, and U. P. Hedrick.

Abstract

The ‘ArKing’ strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) has been released by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to provide a late-ripening, red stele root-rot-re-sistant cultivar adapted to Arkansas conditions. ‘ArKing’ is similar in size and productivity to the popular ‘Cardinal’, but has greater disease resistance and later maturity.

Abstract

Evolution teaches that all things change; nothing remains static. This is certainly the case with biological sciences. Change, however, may be bidirectional. It may be progressive or regressive as viewed for the good of the science. Whither goest horticultural science?