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Over 225 apple cultivars grown at the Horticultural Research Center in Belchertown have been evaluated for fruit quality and fruit characteristics. Methods used to determine fruit characteristics and organoleptic assessment will be presented. The postharvest potential of the most promising apples will be presented. Two apples ripen about the first of September and show promise for early market. `Sansa' is a medium-sized red apple that ripens about the first of September. It is a high-quality apple with characteristics similar to `Gala'. `Ginger Gold' is a large, firm, mild-flavored, russet-free, yellow apple. `Honeycrisp' is a red apple that ripens in mid-September, before `McIntosh'. It is a large, mild-flavored apple that is sometimes erratic in red color development. It maintains firmness and explosive crispness out of storage better than any other apple evaluated. `Golden Supreme' is an extremely attractive, russet-free `Golden Delicious' type ripening 7 to 10 days before `Golden Delicious'. When ripe it has a very aromatic, fruity flavor. It stores better than `Golden Delicious'. Other apples with merit that have commercial potential include: `Hampshire', `Shizuka', `Cameo', `Creston', `Coop 25', `Coop 29', and `Braeburn'. `Pink Lady' is a very late maturing, new cultivar that is being heavily planted in other areas. Although it does mature here, based upon starch rating, fruit size is small, the flesh is dry and very tart, and taste is only fair.
Eight unique varietal grape juices were examined for their antioxidant characteristics and commercial potential compared to that of commercial `Niagara' and `Concord'. Grape juices were cold-pressed from mature grapes, clarified, preserved, analyzed for pH, soluble solid and titratable acidity levels, pasteurized at 73 °C for 12 seconds, and sampled for microbial testing. A preliminary panel of 41 routine evaluators assessed all juices for 18 quality characteristics against known and blind controls. Based on these results, `Reliance', `Traminette', and New York 73 juices were presented to a 107-member panel of untrained judges. Panelists rated experimental juices against commercial controls for color, appearance, aroma and flavor intensity, sweetness, tartness, overall quality, and preference. Among juices tested, `Reliance' and NY 73 offer the greatest potential as specialty grape juices. `Traminette', `Chardonel', `Chambourcin', and NY 62 may also have potential as grape juice cultivars, if processed to improve their color and clarity. Small juice lots were hand-pressed from mature grapes and examined for total anthocyanin and phenolic content, antioxidant characteristics (DPPH and FRAP) and levels of individual phenolic compounds via GC-MS. Total anthocyanin and phenolic contents of experimental juices varied from 0–1460 μg·gfw-1 and 1001–2850 μg·gfw-1, respectively, and were highest in NY 73. Estimates of antioxidant activity differed slightly among tests, but activity appeared highest in `Chambourcin' and NY 73 and lowest in `Reliance'. Levels of individual compounds varied substantially among juices.
Root observations in situ with a rhizotron camera enabled us to compare the performance of apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) trees on 3 rootstock clones planted in a New York orchard with a history of apple replant disease. Visual observations were conducted in situ at monthly intervals during 2 growing seasons through minirhizotron tubes for trees grafted onto 3 rootstocks: M.7 (M.7), Geneva 30 (G.30), and Cornell-Geneva 6210 (CG.6210). There were 3 preplant soil treatments (fumigation, compost amendment, and untreated checks) and 2 tree planting positions (within the old tree rows or in the old grass lanes of the previous orchard at this site). Preplant soil treatments and old-row versus grass-lane tree planting positions had no apparent influence on root systems, whereas rootstock clones substantially influenced root growth and demography. New root emergence was suppressed during the first fruit-bearing year (2004) on all 3 rootstock clones compared with the previous nonbearing year (2003). A root-growth peak in early July accounted for more than 50% of all new roots in 2003, but there was no midsummer root-growth peak in 2004. The median lifespan for roots of CG.6210 was twice that of G.30 and M.7 in 2004. Also, CG.6210 had more roots below 30 cm depth, whereas M.7 had more roots from 11 to 20 cm depth. Trees on CG.6210 were bigger, yielded more fruit, and had the highest yield efficiency in the third year after planting compared with trees on G.30 and M.7 rootstocks. Crop load appeared to inhibit new root development and changed root-growth dynamics during the first bearing year, with a resurgence in new root growth after fruit was harvested in October 2004. Rootstock genotype was the dominant influence on root lifespan and distribution in this study, whereas preplant soil fumigation, compost amendments, and replanting positions had little apparent impact on root characteristics despite their influence on above-ground tree growth and yield.
The North American pawpaw [Asiminatriloba (L.) Dunal] is a tree fruit native to the eastern and midwestern areas of the United States. The fruit has a rich, unique flavor and pawpaw has great potential as a new fruit crop. Kentucky State University (KSU) in Frankfort is the site for the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) for Asimina species, containing over 1700 accessions from 17 different states. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity in reproductive characteristics for pawpaw accessions in the KSU-USDA repository orchard from six geographic regions (Ind.-site 1, Ind.-site 2, Ky., Md., N.Y., and W.Va.). Data were collected in 2002, 2003, and 2004 for trunk cross-sectional area, total number of flowers, length of flowering, flowering peak, fruit set, total number of clusters, total number of fruit, number of fruit per cluster, average fruit weight, yield, yield efficiency, length of harvest, harvest peak, and growing degree days required for ripening. Significant differences in characteristics were found within and among populations for the various regions. Accessions from Kentucky and West Virginia had the latest flowering peaks. Trees from Maryland had the highest fruit weight in 2002, whereas the West Virginia population produced the largest fruit in 2004. The New York accessions consistently had the latest harvest peak and required the fewest growing degree days for ripening. Correlations were also found between several vegetative and reproductive characteristics. This study suggests that a significant level of reproductive diversity exists within KSU's repository collection that could be used in future breeding strategies for cultivar improvement.
1 To whom reprint requests should be sent. E-mail address: imcivor@hortresearch.co.nz I. McIvor was funded by a Royal Society of New Zealand Teacher Fellowship.
In order to investigate the super-density planting in peach orchards, the experiment was carried out using nursery trees out of hardwood cuttings in `Sunaga Wase' peach (Prunus persica L.). The nursery trees were planted with various planting densities of 1 × 0.5 m (20,000 trees/ha), 1 × 1 m (10,000 trees/ha), 2 × 0.5 m (10,000 trees/ha), 2 × 1 m (5,000 trees/ha), and 6 × 5 m (330 trees/ha) as traditional density on 22 Mar. 1995. As soon as fruit harvest in mid-July, the peach trees were pruned by thinning and heading-back the shoots to induce the new shoot as well as to limit the tree height and lower the canopy. During the second year after planting, nursery cutting trees yielded the most peach fruits from the planting density of 1 × 0.5 m, as much as 14.37 t, which was 14 times higher than the 6 × 5 m of traditional density, followed by 2 × 0.5 m, 1 × 1 m, 2 × 1 m, and 6 × 5 m, respectively. According to summer pruning just after harvest, remaining vegetative buds burst and then the new shoot grew very vigorously in several days. The floral bud differentiation on the new shoots was lower, as much as 32.2%, than that of 77.9% in no-pruning shoots. There were no differences in fruit characteristics among various planting densities.
The USDA, Louisiana State University, and Lincoln University have released a new southernpea cultivar named WhipperSnapper. The new cultivar is the product of a plant breeding effort to incorporate genes conditioning superior yield and seed characteristics of Asian vegetable cowpeas into American snap-type southernpeas. The new cultivar was developed for use by home gardeners and market gardeners as a dual-purpose cultivar that can be used to produce both fresh-shell peas and immature, fresh pods or snaps. Typical ready-to-harvest WhipperSnapper snaps are green colored, 6.4 mm in diameter, 7.6 mm in height, and 24 cm long; the pods are slightly curved at the attachment end. Typical mature-green pods suitable for fresh-shell harvest exhibit an attractive yellow color, are 25 cm long, and contain 14 peas. Fresh peas are cream-colored, kidney-shaped, and weigh 24.5 g/100 peas. Dry pods exhibit a light straw color, and the dry peas have a smooth seed coat. The quality of WhipperSnapper seed is excellent. In replicated field trials, WhipperSnapper produced significantly greater yields of both snaps and peas than the snap-type cultivar Bettersnap. WhipperSnapper has potential for use as a mechanically-harvested source of snaps for use by food processors in mixed packs of peas and snaps. Protection for WhipperSnapper is being sought under the Plant Variety Protection Act.
North American Vitis species and hybrids thereof have been the source of rootstocks for V. vinifera for the last century. Collection and evaluation of native Vitis in north-central Texas, western Texas, and New Mexico have been made to determine their current status. Known geographical pockets of grapevines were visited, with specimens taken and identified by comparison to herbarium collections and published descriptions. In locals where more than one species existed, many natural hybrids with varying morphological characteristics have become established. In North Central Texas, two areas were visited. The first was Tarrant, Parker and Wise counties where three grapevine species (V. mustangensis, V. cinerea var. helleri, and V. vulpina) and many hybrids were observed. The second was Wilbarger County where V. acerifolia was found growing in the south while V. ×doaniana was found growing in the north. West Texas was primarily populated with V. acerifolia with the exception of the Silver Falls Canyon area in Crosby County where hybrids of V. acerifolia, V. arizonica and V. riparia were observed. In New Mexico, two areas were visited: San Miquel County (North Central region), where V. acerifolia, V. arizonica, and V. riparia were observed and Eddy County (southern New Mexico) where V. arizonica was observed. A rich diversity of Vitis germplasm appears to remain in these habitats.
Horticultural science has an essential role to play in the conservation of rare plants, but to date, most horticultural research in this field has taken place on an informal rather than experimental basis. Plant conservation as a scientific and practical discipline would benefit greatly from applying the more rigorous approach characteristic of commodity-oriented horticultural research. In turn, the profession of horticultural science has a great deal to gain by participating more actively in plant conservation programs. Benefits include an influx of new ideas, new people, and new resources. Some of the traditional research fields within horticulture that are directly relevant to rare plant conservation include: seed technology, propagation and tissue culture, nutrition, growth regulation, soil management, and protection from pests and diseases. Three case studies illustrate various ways in which the theory, technology, and knowledge base of horticulture can be applied to plant conservation. They include the rare plant propagation program at Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, Fla.; mountain meadow revegetation projects in Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks in Washington; and research activities of the recently established Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance.
A USDA/OICD sponsored agricultural research team visited the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1990 to gather information regarding soybean utilization and to increase genetic diversity of the soybean crop through new germplasm collections. A total of 25 new soybean accessions were collected and brought to the Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, one of the OICD sponsored team participants. In accordance with the U.S. policy on the New Germplasm Collection, part of the seed of each accession was sent in original packs to USDA Soybean Germplasm Collections, University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill. Limited seed increase was done in the greenhouse and one 10m long observational row of each accession was grown at VSU Research Station in 1991. Seed traits, plant agronomic characteristics, insect pest, and disease pathogen reactions were observed and documented. Chemical analysis for nutritional quality, antinutritional factors, and biochemical components of green seeds and pods at R-7 stage and mature seeds of each accession are underway and those values will be compared with existing commercial cultivars, advanced breeding lines, and plant introductions.