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In Georgia, horticulture is now the number two commodity in the state. The labor needs of the industry is increasing, however, enrollment in horticulture classes at UGA has been dropping. Most entry-level employees joining horticulture firms are completely without training or understanding of the industry, the type of work or the basic skills necessary to be functional. If horticulture was taught, it was by persons with Vo-Ag training in small engines, or animal husbandry etc. Students reported teachers had very little enthusiasm for the subject, no school facilities and that the school principle/administration had no vision for, or understanding of, horticulture. We are addressing this situation through an innovative partnership between Georgia High Schools, The Georgia Department of Education, and the University of Georgia. We can reverse the trend by training new and existing high school teachers by providing them a standardized floriculture curriculum and comprehensive training in greenhouse management, classroom teaching methods, industry awareness and a provide a long-term link to UGA. Our objective is to increase the number of students who are trained, motivated and willing to work in the field of horticulture as entry level workers. To do this we set about to standardize the course curriculum statewide, certify the high-school, faculty and administration for commitment and program continuity, Set up a model training greenhouse system at UGA, and conduct new teacher training at UGA through ALEC, and conduct postcertification training for teachers at UGA during the summer to upgrade skills, enthusiasm. The venture, including a model greenhouse at UGA, has been funded for over $100,000. The program currently has 218 Schools, 64 w/labs and greenhouses, 215 teachers and 25,049 students participating.
In an effort to expand and improve the agriculture curriculum, the Georgia Department of Education set standards for new greenhouses to be built at high schools. These modern greenhouses are to serve as teaching facilities for new horticulture classes. However, current teachers had little or no background or experience in teaching greenhouse or nursery management courses. In response to the GDE needs, a summer workshop “Managing Crop Production and Equipment in the School Greenhouse” was held at CAES Griffin Campus and at Pike County High School. Faculty from UGA departments presented topics such as water quality, irrigation and crop nutrition, cultural guidelines for major floricultural crops, IPM, pesticide safety, and marketing, business planning and fund raising. Included in the program were numerous hands-on activities designed to cover the essential practical skills needed for a greenhouse employee—proper handling and planting of plugs, watering, calculating fertilizer rates, fertilizer injector maintenance and calibration, soil pH and fertility monitoring, scouting and pest identification, and proper pesticide handling and spraying techniques. Twenty-two teachers from schools with horticulture curriculum attended the training. The workshop evaluations indicated high satisfaction with the material presented. Teachers pointed out that the practical skills had not only been very useful but also the manner in which they were presented would be easily applicable to students. The knowledge acquired will be incorporated into the fall and spring curriculum. Through the effort of the floriculture specialist, a high-quality educational program was delivered to Georgia High School teachers, which in turn translate into attracting student into joining the growing ornamental horticulture industry.
Abstract
Aqueous extracts of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) roots inhibited seed germination in tomato and lettuce, but not in cucumber. The extracts reduced hypocotyl growth in lettuce, shoot growth in asparagus, and inhibited radicle elongation in barley, lettuce, and asparagus. Seedling growth in tomato and two cultivars of wheat were not affected. Inhibition was concentration-dependent. Radicle growth in ‘Grand Rapids’ lettuce was sensitive to an extract concentration as low as 0.05 g dry root tissue/100 ml H2O. Asparagus radicles were more sensitive than asparagus shoots. In one experiment, phytotoxicity of crude extract was not altered by autoclaving. Aqueous root extracts of A. racemosis Willd. also inhibited germination and radicle growth in ‘Grand Rapids’ lettuce. A crude extract was purified by solvent partitioning, and charcoal adsorption, cation exchange, and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). A band from the TLC was found to fluoresce under ultraviolet light, react with phenolic-sensitive localization reagents, and inhibit the growth of lettuce and asparagus radicles.
Abstract
Mechanical stress, whether from shaking or flexing reduced the elongation of greenhouse chrysanthemums. Stress for 30 seconds once a day was slightly less effective than twice a day. Mechanical stress may be used to reduce excessive stem elongation without the use of chemicals.
Bumblebees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators of mostly self-sterile rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade). Annual bee colonies start from solitary overwintered queens who emerge in near-synchrony with rabbiteye blueberry bloom. Although colony populations may reach several hundred individuals by midsummer, in early spring most Bombus visiting rabbiteye blueberry are queens reared the previous season. Thus, practices that encourage production of queens in summer may increase populations of blueberry pollinators the next spring. In south Georgia, midsummer shortages of nectar-yielding plants may nutritionally limit queen production, and cultured bee forages may help overcome this deficiency. Candidate plants must not compete with the crop for pollinators, and they must be attractive to bees, easy to grow, vigorous, and non-invasive. In 3 years of trials, the following plants have shown promise as supplemental bumblebee forages in south Georgia: Althea (Hibiscus syriacus), abelia (Abelia ×grandifolia), vitex (Vitex agnuscastus), red clover (Trifolium pratense perenne), Mexican heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia), monkey grass (Liriope muscari), summer sweet (Clethra alnifolia), and giant sunflower (Helianthus giganteus).
Pedigrees of 137 red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) varieties released throughout the world since 1960 were used to calculate: 1) the genetic contribution of founding clones to these varieties; 2) genetic relatedness among them; and 3) their inbreeding coefficients. Fifty founding clones contributed to the pedigrees of these varieties with a mean genetic contribution ranging from <0.1% to 21%. Varieties were clustered according to the genetic contribution into groups strongly related to geographical origin. Varieties developed in the former USSR and derived from `Novost Kuzmina' formed a distinct cluster. The remaining varieties were clustered in groups based mainly on whether they were of North American or European origin. Varieties were clustered also on the basis of Wright's coefficient of relationship-a measure of genetic relatedness. Cluster groups were related to their geographical origin and the varieties within the groups could be traced to similar intermediate parents. Inbreeding coefficients ranged from 0.0 to 0.625 and were related, in part, to the numbers of generations of controlled hybridization from common ancestors. The British group, with the largest number of generations of breeding, had a low mean inbreeding coefficient, indicating that inbreeding can be minimized with attention to the mating system. Strategies are suggested for maintaining and increasing the genetic diversity in the world's red raspberry breeding populations.
Abstract
Plants of the ‘Cara Mia’ rose (Rosa hybrida L.) grown at elevated day temperatures with long photoperiodic cycles or at reduced night temperature with short photoperiods differed in shoot growth rate, petal number, final stem length, and harvest date when compared to plants grown at suggested day and night temperatures. Node number remained nearly constant under all growing conditions. Plants of ‘Town Crier’ rose grown with a night temperature of 13°C (minimum) during the first 3 weeks following shoot removal produced flowering shoots of the same length in the same amount of time as did those grown at a minimum night temperature of 17°C throughout shoot development. Cooler night temperatures during the second 3-week period after shoot removal increased flower development time by four days but did not affect stem length. Results indicate that some rose cultivars can tolerate lower than normal night temperatures for a portion of the growing cycle without reduced growth and/or yield.
Candidate gene (CG) analysis can be an efficient approach for identifying genes controlling important traits in fruit production. Three chronological steps have been described for determining candidate genes for a trait—proposing, screening, and validating—and we have applied these to the problem of internal breakdown of peach and nectarine. Internal breakdown (IB), also known as chilling injury, is the collective term for various disorders that occur during prolonged cold storage and/or after subsequent ripening of stone fruit. Symptoms include mealiness, browning, and bleeding. Candidate genes for IB symptoms were proposed based on knowledge of the biochemical or physiological pathways leading to phenotypic expression of the traits. Gene sequences for proposed CGs were obtained primarily from the Genome Database for Rosaceae. Screening the CGs involved identifying polymorphism within a progeny population, relying mainly on simple PCR tests. Several polymorphic CGs were located on a peach linkage map and compared with phenotypic variation for IB susceptibility. A major QTL for mealiness coincided with the Freestone-Melting flesh locus, which itself is likely to be controlled by a CG encoding endopolygalacturonase, an enzyme involved in pectin degradation. Further gene sequences positioned on the consensus linkage map of Prunus by other researchers were co-located with QTLs for IB traits. Validation of the role of identified CGs will require detailed physiological or transgenic studies.