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- Author or Editor: Matthew D. Kleinhenz x
Declines in cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) crop quality may result from delaying harvest to allow for greater total yield. An accurate, reliable, rapid and inexpensive method to estimate yield before harvest not requiring direct weight measurements would assist cabbage growers and handlers in harvest scheduling. Results from 3 years of study during which a tool to predict cabbage yield was developed and tested are reported here. The tool was developed using plots containing a total of 13 cabbage varieties (fresh market and processing types) planted in May to July 1999 and 2000 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) Vegetable Crops Research Branch in Fremont, Ohio. Exhaustive measurement of marketable yield and traits of hundreds of individual heads taken from these plots revealed simple mathematical relationships among head number, size, density, and yield. The tool was tested by comparing marketable yield predicted using a formula based on these head trait relationships to direct measures of crop yield in three different studies: 1) a factorial of nine varieties and 2 planting dates completed in Fremont in 1999, 2000, and 2001, 2) a survey of 12 commercial cabbage fields in northwestern Ohio encompassing six varieties and various planting dates and fertility regimens, in 2001, and 3) a factorial of 32 varieties and 2 planting dates (10 May, 20 June) completed in Fremont in 2001. The R2 for predicted and actual marketable yield in commercial fields and experimental plots ranged from 0.72 to 0.97. Of 510 individual estimatesof marketable yield, 48% were within 10% of actual yield values. The average quotient of predicted divided by actual marketable yield for 510 estimates made for commercial and experimental samples in 1999-2001 was 0.975. Results from this study were applied to the development of a table of potential use to crop managers in obtaining preharvest estimates of cabbage crop marketable yield. The table and its underlying assumptions are easily adjusted for local conditions.
A total of 21 and 28 standard and experimental varieties of yellow and white se- and sh2-type sweet corn (Zea mays) were planted in 1999 and 2000 in Fremont and Wooster, Ohio, which are separated by 193.1 km (120 miles) and contain different soil types. Data are reported here for a subset of these varieties (eight yellow, two white) showing a consistently high level of use in Ohio and planted in both years. Endosperm types were planted in distinct, parallel experiments separated by a minimum of 79.9 m (262 ft) at each site. A randomized complete block design with four replications per variety (V) per location (L) was used, with measures of 13 production- and market-based variables taken from emergence to 48 hours after harvest. Soluble solids 48 hours after harvest were greater at Wooster than Fremont in the sh2 study. Variety had a significant, independent effect on mean plant and ear height in the se and sh2 study, respectively, although further analysis of year × variety (Y × V) and location × variety (L × V) interactions suggested that V affected additional traits. On average, `Tuxedo' (se) and `HMX6383S' (sh2) had superior com-binations of grower- and consumer-oriented traits. However, varieties with the highest levels of percent emergence and marketable yield tended to have lower levels of soluble solids, regardless of endosperm type. Y × V interactions were primarily due to changes in the magnitude of values for individual varieties in each year, not from changes in their relative ranking. The Y × L × V interaction was significant (P ≤ 0.05) for marketable yield, plant and ear height, and the ratio of ear length to diameter in the se study, but zero variables in the sh2 study. Coefficients of determination (R 2) for selected plant and ear traits were unaffected by location. Overall, R2 values ranged from 0.04 (number of rows of kernels × ear diameter, sh2 study) to 0.83 (shank length × total ear length, sh2 study). These data reinforce that genetics strongly affect key traits in sweet corn and identify two potential top performers. The data also suggest that independent L or L × V effects may be minor relative to V effects, even when locations are separated by moderate distances and contain different soil types. Therefore, including more varieties but fewer sites may be warranted in future variety trials. The data also suggest that 1) ratings of variety performance should be based on objective measures of grower- and market-oriented traits and 2) shank length × total ear length and ear height × plant height relationships may be used to improve the efficiency of future evaluations.
Yield and relationships among head traits were recorded in order to better understand the effects of planting date and cultivar selection on crop quality characteristics and to help increase the efficiency of cultivar development, evaluation, and selection. A total of seven cultivars of fresh market-type cabbage (Brassica oleracea L., Capitata Group) were planted in May and June of 1999 and 2000 at the OARDC Vegetable Crops Research Branch in Fremont, Ohio. Total and marketable yield, head traits (e.g., size, weight, density), and core dimensions were recorded at harvest. Main effects of year (Y), planting date (PD), and cultivar (C) and the Y × C interaction significantly affected seven to 10 of 10 head and core traits. However, the PD × C interaction was significant for head density, the ratio of head polar and equatorial diameter, and core base width. The Y × PD interaction was significant for six of 10 head and core traits. May planting tended to result in greater yield and larger, heavier heads with greater polar/equatorial diameter values relative to June planting. However, head density was unaffected by planting date. The number of head and core traits affected by planting date differed among cultivars. For example, six of 10 head and core traits were significantly affected by planting date in `Cheers' and `DPSX315' while one trait was affected by planting date in `SuperElite Hybrid'. The weight of numerous, individual, market-ready, trimmed heads showed a strong (avg. R 2 value = 0.92) quadratic relationship to average head diameter. These data suggest that large-scale germplasm evaluations may benefit by including multiple plantings, as head weight, volume, diameter, and shape were affected by planting date, possibly due to variation in temperature and rainfall patterns. The data also suggest that routine measurement of numerous head traits in the same evaluations may be unnecessary, as selected traits (e.g., diameter and weight, head volume, and core volume) were strongly related.
This is the second of two related reports dealing with the effects of cultivar × environment interactions on cabbage (Brassica oleracea L., Capitata Group) crop traits. This study examined planting date and cultivar effects on physical head traits of processing cabbage and compared these findings to those from a similar study of fresh market cabbage. Six cultivars of processing cabbage were planted in May and June-July of 1999 and 2000 at the OARDC Vegetable Crops Research Branch in Fremont, Ohio. Marketable yield for each crop was determined, and measurements were taken of head weight, diameter, density, and volume, and core length, base width, and volume on more than 450 individual heads. Head and core volume and head density were calculated from these direct measures. Year, planting date, and cultivar significantly affected the majority of head traits. May planting led to higher marketable yield and heavier heads with larger diameters than June-July planting. The most variable trait across cultivars was head volume, which was affected by planting date in all cultivars. Differences between processing and fresh market cabbage were found. Average head polar/equatorial diameter values were affected by planting date in the fresh market but not the processing study. In contrast, head density and core volume as a percent of head volume were affected by planting date in the processing but not the fresh market study.
Micropropagated `Red Norland' plants were transferred to an inert mixture of 1 perlite: 1 medium-grain quartzite (v/v) and grown 21 days at 20°C day/15°C night on a 25% Hoagland solution without Ca(NO3)2 (Ca at 10 mg·L–1 from CaCl2, N at 35 mg·L–1 from KNO3). Thereafter, Ca treatments (Ca at 0.2, 1, 5, 25, 125 mg·L–1) were imposed for 21 days with other nutrients unchanged. Day/night temperatures were 20/15°C and 35/20°C for control and stress plants, respectively. Continuous drip supply of nutrient solution in excess of demand maintained target rhizospheric Ca levels. All experiments were conducted in controlled-environment chambers with 400-μmol·m–2·s–1 light level. The following results were obtained. 1) Stress, but not control, plants grown with Ca at 0.2 and 1.0 mg·L–1 displayed reduced leaf expansion, extreme senescence, and death of the primary shoot meristem. 2) Plants grown with Ca at 5, 25 and 125 mg·L–1 grew normally under both temperature regimens, although plants responded to temperature with different biomass partitioning. (3) Total root mass at harvest was similar under all Ca–temperature combinations but low-Ca-treated plants had comparatively darker roots with fewer branches. (4) Light microscopic evaluation revealed normal staining patterns of lignified elements in leaves and stems of all plants. These data suggest that constant rhizospheric Ca levels >1 mg·L–1 are required for continued plant growth during exposure to heat stress.
Volume measurements are useful in crop quality management because they offer three-dimensional estimates of commodity size, which is often closely related to commodity weight and density. The objective of this study was to compare volume estimates calculated with the sphere and spherical ellipsoid volume formulae with direct measures of volume via water displacement across a population of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) heads varying widely in shape. A total of 157 heads with polar (P): equatorial (E) diameter ratios ranging between 0.5 (flat) to 2.1 (tall) were harvested at horticultural maturity from plants grown in 2002 and 2003 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, Ohio. The sphere formula underestimated volume in heads with P:E ratios <1 and overestimated volume in heads with P:E ratios >1. Use of the spherical ellipsoid formula reduced the shapedependency of volume estimates and was determined to be a valuable tool for the accurate, precise, and rapid measurement of head volume.
To better understand the influence of environmental factors on components of crop productivity and nutritional and sensory quality parameters, the fresh-market cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. Capitata Group) `Bravo' was irrigated at different periods relative to head development in 2002 and 2003 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. Irrigation was provided to plots either: 1) from planting to maturity, 2) during frame development only, or 3) during head development only. Control plants received no irrigation after plant establishment. Irrigation timing relative to crop stage significantly affected all head characteristics with the greatest differences between cabbage receiving irrigation during head development and cabbage not irrigated during head development. On average, heads from cabbage irrigated during head development were heavier, larger, less pointed, and had less volume occupied by the core than heads from cabbage not irrigated during head development. A positive, linear relationship (r 2 = 0.89) was found between head volume and head weight. Across years, combined head fructose and glucose concentrations were significantly greater and sucrose concentrations significantly lower in cabbage receiving irrigation during head development than in cabbage not irrigated during head development. Total and individual glucosinolate levels were greater in cabbage not irrigated during head development relative to cabbage receiving irrigation during head development. Head weight, fructose and glucose were positively related to the proportion of estimated crop evapotranspiration replaced by irrigation during head development, while the opposite response was observed in head sucrose and total and indole glucosinolate concentrations.
Plant growth and biomass assessments are required in production and research. Such assessments are followed by major decisions (e.g., harvest timing) that channel resources and influence outcomes. In research, resources required to assess crop status affect other aspects of experimentation and, therefore, discovery. Destructive harvests are important because they influence treatment selection, replicate number and size, and the opportunity for true repeated measures. This work sought to establish the limits to which image acquisition and analysis may replace standard, destructive measures of fresh lettuce biomass. Outdoor, high tunnel, and greenhouse plantings of three cultivars of red and green leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa) were direct-seeded in raised beds and plastic trays in spring, summer, and fall seasons in 2009–10 in Wooster, OH. Overhead images (624 in total) were captured at specific time points after seeding using handheld and tripod-mounted commercial digital cameras. Fresh weight and leaf area of destructive plant samples within the digital images were also collected. Images were analyzed using user-defined settings in WinCAM software (Regent Instruments, Quebec, QC, Canada). A reference grid captured within each image allowed for the calculation of crop canopy cover (percent of two-dimensional image area covered by leaves). Calculations of canopy cover require differentiating leaves and rooting medium by color. The rooting medium was dark in color, and differentiating red leaves against this background was less reliable than differentiating green leaves from background. Nevertheless, in samples collected in the greenhouse 7 to 16 days after sowing (DAS), significant correlations (r) of 0.85 to 0.96 (P < 0.05) were observed between measures of canopy cover calculated by image analysis software and leaf area obtained with a leaf area meter on harvested plant material. In outdoor and high tunnel plots 16 to 30 DAS, correlation coefficients between direct measures of plant biomass and WinCAM estimates of canopy cover were 0.71 to 0.95 (P < 0.0001). We conclude that digital image analysis may be useful in real-time, nondestructive assessments of early stage leaf lettuce canopy development, particularly when the leaf area index (LAI) is less than one and settings are dominated by green leaves.