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- Author or Editor: Stan C. Hokanson x
The genus Clematis contains many well-known large flowered cultivars, as well as lesser-known nonvining species. Intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were used to fingerprint 32 vining cultivars and five nonvining species (C. fruiticosa, C. integrifolia, C. heracleifolia, C. hexapetala, and C. recta) for use in assessing genetic relationships and cultivar identification. Four ISSR primers yielded a total of 44 bands in the vining accessions, of which 36 (86%) were polymorphic. The average polymorphism levels were 83% for the cultivars and 94% for the nonvining species. All 32 vining cultivars were distinguished with the use of two ISSR primers, and the five nonvining Clematis species were differentiated with three ISSR primers. A similarity matrix of the cultivars showed low similarity levels between the samples, with an average similarity of 0.28. A UPGMA-derived dendrogram showed no strong groupings among any of the samples. Two cultivars with known parentage, Clematis viticella L. `Betty Corning' and `Sylvia Denny', grouped with one reported parent but not the other, suggesting they are more similar to one parent. `Multi-blue', a sport reportedly arising from `The President' did not segregate near `The President'.
Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) cultivars used by commercial producers in North America often change rapidly due to several factors including modified cultural practices, processing and marketing practices, the desire for new cultivars with larger and higher quality berries, resistant insect and disease pests, loss of traditional chemical control methods, and private sector breeding programs. Within the past decade, the annual plastic-mulched production system has quickly expanded into eastern North America prompting the need for cold-hardy cultivars adapted to that system. The continuing loss of traditional chemical controls for strawberry insects and diseases, including the impending loss of methyl bromide, has prompted the need for increased insect and disease resistance. In addition, consumer demands for a healthier food product with lower chemical residues has heightened this need. Small fruit experts from across North America provided information on the primary strawberry cultivars used in the recent past, the present, and potential cultivars for the future, as well as on current strawberry acreage in their respective states and provinces.
Forty deciduous azalea (Rhododendron sp.) cultivars from commercial sources were evaluated for powdery mildew (Microsphaera sp.) resistance. Plants were established in two duplicate field plantings in Ohio and Minnesota and evaluated in 2002 and 2003. Plants were scored using a disease symptom rating based on the percent of leaf area infected, evaluating both ab- and adaxial leaf surfaces. Highly significant differences were found for cultivar, location, year, cultivar × location and cultivar × year for disease severity. Calendulaceum × speciosum, `Fragrant Star', `Garden Party', `Late Lady', `Millennium', `Parade', and `Popsicle' showed no powdery mildew symptoms in both locations. Another group of plants with only minimal symptoms (<25% leaf area affected) included `Jane Abbott', `Magic', `Northern Hi-Lights' and `Snowbird'. The symptom-free cultivars exhibited glaucous foliage, suggesting a potential, common resistance mechanism. The mean scores for the abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces were 2.34 and 1.64, respectively, although four cultivars had more disease symptoms on the adaxial surface. `Arneson Gem' showed nearly a two-point difference between abaxial and adaxial scores. Evaluations of azalea powdery mildew susceptibility should consider both leaf surfaces and use the highest score as the best estimate of host resistance.
Forty-one deciduous azalea (Rhododendron subgen. Pentanthera G. Don) cultivars were assessed for powdery mildew (PM) resistance in a two-location, 3-year field trial. Disease severity (percent leaf area affected) on abaxial leaf surfaces was used to rate the level of field resistance. This measure was proportional to (r = 0.83) but higher than estimates from corresponding adaxial surfaces. Eleven of these cultivars (27%) appeared to be highly resistant under field conditions, i.e., evidence of PM on the leaves was zero or near zero. Twenty-three of the cultivars evaluated in the field experiment were also evaluated in a growth chamber experiment. In contrast to the field study, PM was more severe on the adaxial leaf surface in the growth chamber but still highly correlated with the abaxial response (r = 0.93). Based on adaxial disease scores, no cultivars in the growth chamber experiments were completely resistant. Growth chamber disease ratings based on either leaf surface were predictive of field performance (r 2 = 0.62), suggesting use of the chambers could serve as a low-cost, off-season, early selection component of a deciduous azalea PM resistance breeding program.
In the perennial strawberry production system, removal of the harvested crop represents a loss of nitrogen (N) that may be influenced by cultivar. Eight strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) cultivars and eight numbered selections grown in advanced matted row culture were compared over three seasons for removal of N in the harvested crop. Replicated plots were established in 1999, 2000, and 2001 and fruited the following year. `Allstar', `Cavendish', `Earliglow', `Honeoye', `Jewel', `Northeaster', `Ovation', and `Latestar' and selections B37, B51, B244-89, B683, B753, B781, B793, and B817 were compared for yield and fruit N concentration. Harvest removal of N (HRN) was calculated from total season yield and fruit N concentration at peak harvest. There were significant differences in HRN among genotypes, ranging from 1.80 to 2.96 g N per meter of row for numbered selections B781 and B37, respectively. Among cultivars, HRN ranged from 2.01 to 3.56 g·m–1 for `Ovation' and `Jewel', respectively. The amount of HRN was largely determined by yield, however, there were also significant genotype differences in fruit N concentration, ranging from 0.608 to 0.938 mg N per gram fresh weight for B244-89 and `Jewel', respectively. These differences indicate that N losses in the harvested crop are genotype dependent.
Strawberry (`Chandler') plants were grown in a greenhouse hydroponic culture system from 28 Apr. to 20 July to produce runners (stolons) with several daughter plants. By mid-July, each `Chandler' plant had developed about 30 daughter plants on 12 runners with 1 to 6 daughter plants on each runner. Daughter plants varied in weight from <0.9 to >10 g. Daughter plant weight and position on the runner affected new root development on plug plants during the first 7 days under mist irrigation. At 3 weeks, 87% of daughter plants that weighed <0.9 g and at least 96% of daughter plants that weighed >1.0 g were rated acceptable for field transplanting, respectively. The percentage of daughter plants from second to tenth node position that were rated acceptable for field planting ranged from 98% to 88%, respectively. Runner production in the fall was not affected by either position on the runner or weight at the time of daughter plant harvest. But, larger daughter plants produced more branch crowns than did smaller daughter plants in the fall. Transplant survival in the field was 100%. In the spring, `Chandler' plants produced a 10% greater yield from daughter plants that weighed 9.9 g compared to those that weighed only 0.9 g.
A further characterization of the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mutant `Wisconsin SMR-18' bla (blunt leaf apex) revealed a new character associated with the previously described leaf phenotype. The attachment of the blade to the petiole of bla plants is flat across, as opposed to the cordate or indented attachment in the wild-type `Wisconsin SMR-18' plants. The new character (truncate leaf base) was easier to score and becomes distinctive earlier in development than previously described leaf apex characters. It was expressed consistently in homozygous bla plants. Segregation analysis of 1159 F2 seedlings arising from self-pollinated `Wisconsin SMR-18' × `Wisconsin SMR-18' bla F1 plants suggested that the leaf base and leaf apex character were controlled by a single locus or two tightly linked ones with a maximum distance between the two of 0.03 cM. In a field study of growth and fitness characteristics, the two genotypes did not differ significantly for flower or fruit count. The similar flowering and fruiting characteristics, along with the reliable early occurring truncate character, likely will make the two genotypes useful for pollination and gene movement studies.
Anticipating the phaseout of methyl bromide, the USDA-ARS small fruit breeding program at Beltsville, Md., discontinued soil fumigation in strawberry breeding and selection trials in the mid 1990s. To address resulting weed and pathogen pests, a modified or advanced matted row system was developed. This system uses matted row-type culture, established on raised beds with subsurface drip irrigation and organic mulch. The mulch is the residue of a killed cover crop that fixes some nitrogen and provides an economical, biodegradable mulch for suppressing weeds and reducing erosion. Since 1996, the small fruit breeding program has conducted replicated performance trials on both advanced matted row and a regional adaptation of annual hill plasticulture. Both of these systems were managed without methyl bromide fumigation or fungicide application. Data from these trials were used to compare advanced matted row and plasticulture for yield, fruit quality and harvest season. Yield for the two systems was genotype dependent, and the advanced matted row system had later production and slightly lower fruit quality.