brothers in California. He sold his Lunenburg farm and traveled to Santa Rosa 60 miles north of San Francisco with the expressed aim of repeating his success in plant improvement achieved with the potato. It was a fateful decision that would change his life
Abstract
Mulching ‘Puebla 152’ beans with rice hulls to a depth of 4 cm reduced afternoon soil temperature, soil temperature fluctuation, and slowed the loss of soil moisture. These effects were greatest prior to canopy closure. Fresh weight of nodules, roots, stems, leaves, and total plant increased 50%, 38%, 49%, 24%, and 38%, respectively, with mulching, but pod and final seed weight were unaffected. Mulching had little effect on the concentration of soluble and insoluble carbohydrates. N2 fixation rates (C2H2 reduction) were low (≤ 0.6 µmole/plant per hr) but were as much as 3 times higher in mulched than unmulched plants.
The effect of long-term regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies on bioactive compounds and enzymes at harvest, during cold storage [0 °C, 90% to 95% relative humidity (RH)] and after a simulated retail sale period (15 °C, 70% to 75% RH) of extra-early nectarine ‘VioWhite 5’ [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] was evaluated for 3 consecutive years. RDI strategies were scheduled as follows: 1) control [irrigated at 110% of maximum crop evapotranspiration (ETc) during the whole season], 2) RDI1 (irrigated at 110% ETc during critical periods of growth and at 85% of control during the rest of the growing season), and 3) RDI2 (irrigated at 110% ETc during critical periods of growth and at 80% and 60% control during the second fruit growth stage in March and late postharvest, respectively). Results suggested the existence of water stress when RDI was applied on extra-early nectarine. The RDI effect induced a change on the activity of enzymes studied that depended on the intensity and duration of water stress. RDI fruit, especially RDI2, presented higher catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzyme activity and, together with dehydroascorbic acid level, appeared as indicators of this abiotic stress. RDI nectarine fruit increased total phenolic and flavonoids contents improving the nutraceutical quality of the product. With storage, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) increased its activity through the reduction of flavonoids, particularly in pulp. In this study, RDI2 achieved the highest initial and stored antioxidant capacity values. Peel compared with pulp was the main tissue where bioactive compounds were found in ‘VioWhite 5’ nectarine fruit and the only tissue with anthocyanin content in this white pulp nectarine. The significant water savings were of 780 and 2050 m3·ha−1 per year for RDI1 and RDI2, respectively. RDI can be used as a field practice to enhance bioactive compounds on extra-early nectarine fruit and to contribute to reduce water demand.
Table olives (Olea europaea) traditionally are hand harvested when green in color and before physiological maturity is attained. Hand harvesting accounts for the grower's main production costs. Several mechanical harvesting methods have been previously tested. However, tree configuration and fruit injury are major constraints to the adoption of mechanical harvesting. In prior work with a canopy shaker, promising results were attained after critical machine components were reconfigured. In this study, stereo video analysis based on two high-speed cameras operating during the harvesting process were used to identify the sources of fruit damage due to canopy-harvester interaction. Damage was subjectively evaluated after harvest. Fruit mechanically harvested had 35% more bruising and three times as many fruit with broken skin as that of hand-harvested fruit. The main source of fruit damaged in the canopy was the strike-impact of fruit by harvester rods. Implementation of softer padding materials were effective in mitigating fruit injury caused by the impact of rods and hard surfaces. Canopy acceleration was correlated with fruit damage, thus restricting improvements needed for fruit removal efficiency through increased tine frequency.
been or will be used for irrigation as a result of limited supply of high-quality water, soil salinization will increase in these areas. Rose ( Rosa spp.) is one of the most economically important ornamental crops in the world. Rose has been
tolerance was higher when grafted onto Rosa ‘Manetti’ and ‘Natal Briar’ than R . odorata (syn. R . indica L. ‘Major’), R . multiflora ‘Rum 9’, and ‘Dr. Huey’. However, the relative salt tolerance of the five rootstocks alone (without grafting with
vessels used for acclimatization. Material and Method Plant material The various plant species and cultivars studied in this set of experiments belong to various botanical families and they are either ornamental or fruit species. Rosa hybrida ‘Red Bells
The recent increased market demand for locally grown produce is generating interest in the application of techniques developed for controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to urban agriculture (UA). Controlled environments have great potential to revolutionize urban food systems, as they offer unique opportunities for year-round production, optimizing resource-use efficiency, and for helping to overcome significant challenges associated with the high costs of production in urban settings. For urban growers to benefit from CEA, results from studies evaluating the application of controlled environments for commercial food production should be considered. This review includes a discussion of current and potential applications of CEA for UA, references discussing appropriate methods for selecting and controlling the physical plant production environment, resource management strategies, considerations to improve economic viability, opportunities to address food safety concerns, and the potential social benefits from applying CEA techniques to UA. Author’s viewpoints about the future of CEA for urban food production are presented at the end of this review.
marketable fruits than the globe-fruited cultivars (Black Beauty and Rosa Bianca) when fruit numbers were summed over spring and fall seasons and the year was considered a random effect in the statistical model ( Table 2 ). ‘Gretel’ and ‘Hansel’ produced more
for parks as well as home gardens. A vast selection of different cultivars of Rosa × hybrida with a color spectrum ranging from whites to intense purples is available. Especially in red rose cultivars, a visible change in color during flower