Search Results
A survey was conducted of current and former Missouri Master Gardeners to identify the demographics of volunteers and to determine if Master Gardeners fit the demographic pattern of volunteers in general. Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents were active in the program, while 32% were inactive. Females accounted for 65% of respondents and males 35%. Nearly 60% of Missouri Master Gardeners were 50 years old or older; however, those in their 40s comprised the largest demographic group. The majority of Missouri Master Gardeners were married with children. Over 50% had at least a college degree, while 22% had post-graduate work. One-third had household incomes of $60,000 or greater; in addition, just under one-quarter had household incomes between $40,000 and $60,000. The largest occupational group was retired persons, at 26.9%; the second largest category was homemakers at 14.6%. Missouri Master Gardeners are more likely to be from small towns or rural areas than from medium or large cities. They tend to be long-term residents of their communities; 57.2% had lived at their current residence for more than 10 years. Missouri Master Gardener volunteer demographics fit the pattern of volunteers in general, but demographic data proved to be a poor predictor of intent to continue volunteering in the Master Gardener program.
Current and former Missouri Master Gardeners were asked to respond how strongly they agreed or disagreed with a list of benefits provided by the Master Gardener program. The survey instrument was an adaptation of Rohs and Westerfield's (1996) Master Gardener Societal and Personal Benefits survey. Questions were assigned to one of the six principal components of volunteer motivation developed by Clary et al. (1998): Understanding, Values, Enhancement, Social, Protective, and Career. Master Gardeners who are currently active volunteers in the program were more likely to respond favorably to many of the benefits provided by the Master Gardener program. Respondents most strongly indicated their agreement that the Master Gardener program, more than any other similar organization, provides benefits related to new learning experiences, exercising knowledge, skills, and abilities, categorized as understanding (U). The overall mean for U was 4.35 on the 5-point Likert scale, a significantly higher score than any other category according to Duncan's multiple range test. Benefits related to personal growth and self-esteem, labeled enhancement (E); those related to altruism and humanitarian concern, labeled values (V); and guilt reduction over being more fortunate than others and addressing one's own personal problems, labeled protective (P), formed the second tier of benefit importance. Benefits related to preparation for a new career or maintaining career-relevant skills, categorized as career (C) were next. Benefits concerning relationships with others, classified as social (S), concluded the list.
Current and former Missouri Master Gardeners were asked to respond to each of 30 reasons (an adaptation of the Volunteer Functions Inventory [VFI]) for doing volunteer work. Principal factor analysis confirmed the presence of six principal components of volunteer motivation. Master Gardener functions related to new learning experiences (understanding) were equally as important as functions related to altruism (values). Satisfactions related to self-esteem (enhancement) ranked next in motivational importance. Motivations concerning relationships with others (social), protecting the ego (protective) and functions related to preparation for a new career (career), concluded the list. In addition, respondents were asked to indicate whether they were presently volunteering as a Master Gardener, how many years they had been active in the program, and level of volunteer time commitment to the program in the past year. In most cases, no correlations or statistical differences were found among respondents belonging to different demographic categories, making demographic information a poor predictor of motivation for volunteering. However, those who volunteered more time during the past year were more likely to highly rate certain motivational factors.
Thirty-eight leafy greens, eight kale (Brassica oleracea acephala group), nine mustard (Brassica juncea), six arugula (Eruca sativa), five swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla), five collards (B. oleracea acephala group), and five turnip (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa) varieties were evaluated during Spring and Fall 2007–08 to determine suitability for organic production with respect to yield and stability. Trials were conducted on certified organic land using organic production practices. For mustard, kale, collards, and arugula, there were significant variety by season by year interactions. Despite these interactions, some varieties consistently performed well throughout the trial. ‘Florida Broadleaf’ was the highest yielding mustard in three of the four seasons evaluated. ‘Siberian’, ‘White Russian’, and ‘Red Russian’ were in the highest yielding group of kale varieties for overall yield. For collards, ‘Georgia/Southern’ and ‘Flash’ were part of the highest yielding group as determined by Duncan’s multiple range test in three of the four seasons examined. Turnip and swiss chard had significant year by variety interactions. Overall yields of ‘Alamo’ and ‘Alltop’, both F1 hybrids, were better than other turnip varieties assessed. Despite the interaction, ‘Fordhook Giant’ had superior yields in both years of the study. Arugula performance was significantly and negatively affected in Spring 2008. Overall, ‘Astro’, ‘Apollo’, and ‘Arugula’ had the greatest yields. This trial was designed to provide recommendations specifically for organic growers marketing directly to consumers.
A 2-year field study in Lexington, Ky., evaluated weed control efficacy and influence on yields of several organic mulches in two organically managed bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) production systems. Five weed control treatments [straw, compost, wood chips, undersown white dutch clover (Trifolium repens) “living mulch,” and the organically approved herbicide corn gluten] were applied to two production systems consisting of peppers planted in double rows in either flat, bare ground or on black polyethylene-covered raised beds. In the first year, treatments were applied at transplanting and no treatment was found to provide acceptable season-long weed control. As a result, bell pepper yields in both production systems were very low due to extensive weed competition. First year failures in weed control required a modification of the experimental protocol in the second year such that treatment application was delayed for 6 weeks, during which time three shallow cultivations were used to reduce early weed pressure and extend the control provided by the mulches. This approach increased the average weed control rating provided by the mulches from 45% in 2003 to 86% in 2004, and resulted in greatly improved yields. In both years, polyethylene-covered raised beds produced higher yields than the flat, bare ground system (8310 lb/acre compared to 1012 lb/acre in 2003 and 42,900 lb/acre compared to 29,700 lb/acre in 2004). In the second year, the polyethylene-covered bed system coupled with mulching in-between beds with compost or wood chips provided excellent weed control and yields. When using the wood chip mulch, which was obtained at no cost, net returns were $5587/acre, which is similar to typical returns for conventionally grown peppers in Kentucky. Net returns were substantially decreased when using compost due to the purchase cost. Results from this study indicate that shallow cultivation following transplanting, combined with midseason mulch application, resulted in high yields in an organically managed bell pepper system that were comparable to yields of most varieties grown conventionally in a variety trial conducted on the same farm.
Many citrus growers are hesitant to plant cover crops, particularly perennial types, because of possible increased frost hazard. To quantify the increased risk, temperature relations over a 3-year period were compared between areas in a `Valencia' orange orchard with and without a partial perennial cover crop. The partial perennial cover crop consisted of a mowed perennial planting along the double drip line hoses, and an annually fall-replanted unirrigated strip of groundcover in the middle between the tree rows. This partial perennial cover crop increased the frost hazard compared to uncultivated bare ground even when wind machines were operating.