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‘Montmorency’ tart cherry trees (Prunus cerasus L.) are grown commercially in the United States in low-density systems. Commercial tart cherry orchard design has not changed significantly over the past 50 years, but there is some variation from farm to farm in management strategies, including tree spacing, training, and pruning, and the resulting orchard production and turnover. Canopy dimensions and dynamics are important considerations for evaluating and improving orchard management strategies but are not well documented for tart cherry systems. Current orchard design and canopy management strategies were surveyed along a gradient of orchard age across five commercial farming operations in Utah. Trunk cross-sectional area and various canopy dimensions, including spread and volume, were quantified to capture tree size and canopy architecture. The survey indicated a surprising lack of deviation in orchard design in the region over the last several decades with higher variation among blocks within a farm than across farms. As a result, the survey revealed trends in tree growth and canopy structure across the range in orchard ages despite differences in management approaches of the surveyed farms. These trends were useful in illustrating canopy development and space fill. Tree age between 11 and 15 years after planting was determined to represent a transition between establishment and mature growth, where canopies filled available row space and began experiencing senescing canopy structure. Based on the distribution of ages captured in the survey, a significant number of orchards in Utah are at an age range of 11–15 years, perhaps contributing to superior yields per land area reported for the region. The confluence of space-fill and canopy development described in this study highlights a critical period for tart cherry orchard management at the transition of canopy establishment and maturity. These baseline dynamics will provide benchmarks for evaluating strategies for refining and improving orchard management systems for tart cherry in the Intermountain West region.
We present the format for a workshop on introductory computer programming, which was held at the 2015 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA. The main workshop objective was to familiarize attendees with basic computer programming, including data structures, data management, and data analysis. The workshop used the general programming language R, though the concepts and principles presented are transferable across programming languages. Given the increased importance of statistical analysis in the agricultural sciences, the workshop was well attended. Participants appreciated the opportunity to improve their computational literacy and supported follow-up workshops like this at future ASHS events. We have released the presentation and the companion R script online.
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) research and commercial production has recently experienced a global revival motivated by passage of laws reversing long-standing prohibitions and by expansion in markets. Collaborative research has been initiated in response to renewed interest in hemp production, such as the American Society for Horticultural Science Hemp Research and Extension Professional Interest Group (ASHS Hemp). Collaborators new to this crop have identified a lack of standard definitions, descriptions, and procedures for cohesive study specific to hemp production. Standards are necessary for synthesis of data gathered across research and industry programs. ASHS Hemp convened a workshop of hemp researchers and industry representatives to establish consensus on a minimum set of standards for research data and industry assessments. The resulting morphology and physiology standards developed at the workshop are presented here with a focus on plant height, flowering time, and crop quality. Plant height was defined as the vertical distance between the root crown at the soil surface and the stem node (or tip) of the apical meristem of the tallest branch. Plant height was importantly distinguished from stem length and canopy height, which may differ based on pruning and management of the plant. Flowering time was defined to indicate date of initiation of inflorescence development as the earliest day terminal flowering clusters appear visually. Flowering time was distinguished from solitary flowering behavior and floral maturity. Crop quality was determined to be a feature that should be established first by industry based on market standards and then subsequently adopted by researchers targeting outcomes in specific areas. A standard moisture content for dry flower, seed, and straw must be established. A moisture content of 10% to 12% was identified as a current standard for floral yield, whereas 8% was identified as a moisture content standard for seed crops. Bast-to-hurd ratio and decortication efficiency were fiber quality metrics identified for minimum standards, and thousand seed weight, protein content, oil content, and oil composition were considered for minimum seed quality standards. The hemp research community is well positioned to standardize genomic references and establish best management practices for production targets. These efforts would be assisted by the adoption of the proposed standard definitions, descriptions, and procedures decided by consensus at the ASHS Hemp 2022 workshop.