A teaching case study of melon farming in Latin America

In the past few decades, international trade of horticulture products has increased, with the United States importing many fruit and vegetables in the “off-season.” Central America has become an increasingly important source of melons during the winter months in the United States. Hinson et al. (p. 262) describe a company in Honduras that began as a cattle/cotton farm in the 1980s and developed into a dominant player in the U.S. melon market. This case study illustrates the company's history, their business decisions, and their strategy of cost-leadership that enabled them to become and remain a leader in melon exports to the U.S.

Adult perceptions of participation of children in garden planning, design, and implementation

Educators involved in garden-based learning need diverse forms of assistance in helping children increase their participation in planning, decision-making, and leadership roles. Eames-Sheavly et al. (p. 247) focused on enhancing the participation of children in school- and community-based garden settings, and examined adult leaders’ perceptions about the participation of children at their sites in “Greener Voices,” a 3-year extension-research integration project. The project included six sites in New York and Pennsylvania, consisting of rural, suburban, and urban settings; children at those sites ranged in age between 3 and 18 years.

Cooperative learning activities strengthen teaching effectiveness

Cooperative learning activities can engage students in the learning process and aid in developing useful skills for future employment. Sánchez and Craig (p. 254) report that several cooperative learning activities are used in the plant systematics course at Pennsylvania State University: a learning fair for elementary school students, applied laboratory examinations, and applied laboratory exercises. Based on a survey, most students liked working in cooperative groups and learned from other group members. In addition, student participation in the lecture portion of the course increased as cooperative activities were completed. Organization and planning were vital to using these activities.

Laboratory sessions taught by undergraduate students

Undergraduate students teach laboratory sessions in the plant systematics course at Pennsylvania State University (Sánchez and Craig, p. 258). Benefits to the student in-structors, as determined through a survey, included increasing knowledge of plant families, acquiring new perspectives on teaching methodologies, and attaining a positive item to add to résumés. Additionally, student instructors practiced leadership skills. Students enrolled in the plant systematics course rated the student-taught laboratory sessions favorably and learned from the teaching materials developed by the student instructors. This teaching method could be integrated into other agriculture courses as well as into those teaching leadership skills.

Consumer preferences for annual planters: price > color harmony > container style

Consumers continue to have an interest in container gardening. Phillips et al. (p. 238) investigated factors (price, color harmony, and container style) that could be incorporated into annual planters and might appeal to this segment. Price was found to be most important factor, accounting for 43.1% of the purchasing decision. Within this factor, no significance was found between lowest ($19.98) and middle ($29.98) price; however, both were significantly more preferred than the highest price point ($39.98). Color harmony was the next most important factor, accounting for 34.9% of the decision to purchase, followed by container style (22.0%).

Placing landscape fertilizers below mulch layers does not affect soil pH or nutrient levels

There were no consistent differences in soil pH or concentrations of nitrogen, potassium, or magnesium when a controlled-release fertilizer was placed above or below layers of cypress, pine bark, eucalyptus, or pine needle mulch in southern Florida. However, Broschat (p. 174) found that certain organic mulches such as cypress, pine bark, or eucalyptus mulches by themselves can increase soil potassium or magnesium concentrations. Use of any of these organic mulches greatly reduced dicot weed densities over that of unmulched plots, but did not reduce the densities of perennial stoloniferous grass weeds.

Two automated systems for direct measurement of water uptake in greenhouse tomatoes

In order to develop a plant-based irrigation control system, Vermeulen et al. (p. 220) evaluated two techniques that can directly reveal the water uptake of substrate-grown tomato plants: weighing devices and sap-flow sensors. Information about technical and practical issues is reported. A good correlation between the two techniques was found, even during a period of imposed drought stress. This indicates that these techniques can also be used in early-warning systems.

Cold storage controls codling moth in fresh apples

Although unusual, discovery of live codling moth larvae in domestic apples by importing quarantine regulators can close this important market. Hansen et al. (p. 195) examined if cold storage at 34 °F, the temperature used for ‘Fuji’ apples, would be sufficient to control codling moth larvae. Feeding late instars and younger diapause-destined (an overwintering state) larvae were dead by the 12th week and 7th week, respectively. Thus, a control program using cold storage is feasible to ensure that fruit are free of live larvae and that the export markets remain open.

Dipping bedding plant liners in plant growth retardants inhibits subsequent stem extension

The commercial production of many common annual bedding plants requires inhibiting internode extension to produce more compact plants. Blanchard and Runkle (p. 178) quantified extension growth and flowering of argyranthemum, calibrachoa, petunia, scaevola, and verbena following a 30-second liner dip in a solution of plant growth retardant (PGR) before transplant. Stem extension was inhibited by 21% to 67% in liners dipped in paclobutrazol or uniconazole, with the magnitude of the response dependent on the chemical and application concentration. This pre-transplant PGR application technique can be used on vigorous species when grown in the same container as less aggressive, non-regulated species.

Behavioral differences in prepurchase processes between purchasers of flowers for self-use or gift-use

Personal use and gift-giving are the two most prevalent purchase intentions in the floral market. Understanding behavioral characteristics associated with personal-use and gift purchases may help to improve the efficiency of marketing strategies in the floral market. Huang (p. 183) observed behavioral differences between self-users and gift-users with regard to information search, prepurchase evaluation of alternatives, retail channel choice, and store choice. Obviously, self-users and gift-users are two distinct market segments. For greater marketing efficiency, marketing strategies need to be realigned according to the intended use of purchased flowers.

Modified nutrient film technique increases uniformity of nutrient supply

Nitrate accumulation in plant tissues, tougher environmental legislation, and the need to maximize nutrient use efficiencies are promoting the use of low concentration nutrient solutions. However, the combination of low concentrations and long cultural beds may result in the forma-tion of nutrient concentration gradients along the beds. Puerta et al. (p. 227) report on a modified nutrient film technique (mNFT) system that allows the supply of low concentration nutrient solutions in 18-m-long (59.1 ft) beds. In two separate experiments, mNFT exhibited uniform plant fresh weight along the beds, while significant differences were observed in a conventional NFT.

Improving growth of calibrachoa in hanging flower pouches

Recently, long, plastic, substrate-filled pouches with planter holes along the top and one side were introduced to the floriculture market. The unique containers pose production problems for growers. Frantz et al. (p. 199) evaluated calibrachoa growth in these containers using commercially available, polymer-supplemented, or layered substrates with the goal of achieving more uniform plant growth and improved after-sale maintenance. Light, porous substrates resulted in uniformly green plants and high numbers of flowers as did a container with heavy, compost-amended substrate above a light, porous layer, which enabled water to be more uniformly distributed throughout the container volume.