Salt Tolerance of 14 Bedding Plants Tested

Villarino and Mattson (p. 539) screened 14 bedding plant species for salt tolerance during greenhouse production. Transplants were exposed to sodium chloride-treated irrigation water for 5 weeks, resulting in average substrate pour-thru electrical conductivity (EC) values of 4.0 (control), 7.0, 9.8, 12.1, or 14.2 dS·m⁻¹. Pansy and zinnia exhibited 100% mortality when exposed to 14.2 dS·m⁻¹. Fuchsia and snapdragon were unaffected at 7.0 dS·m⁻¹. At 9.8 dS·m⁻¹, all of the species had a significantly reduced dry weight. These results may provide guidance as to which species could be irrigated with more saline water while not compromising plant growth and quality.

Soil Management for Reducing Salt Problems in Irrigated Pecan

Pecan is among the most salt-sensitive tree crops currently grown in the southwestern U.S. According to a Texas field study conducted in the El Paso Valley (Miyamoto and Nesbitt, p. 569), ripping, subsoiling, and trenching helped lower soil salinity. However, decompaction of surface soil alone using a surface chisel did not improve salt leaching significantly. To improve salt leaching in alluvial soils, shank working depth needs to be close to the thickness of the clayey layer that limits drainage. To alleviate salt stress, salts must be leached from a substantial portion of the root zone.

Student-operated University Composting Program Saves Money

A university cafeteria composting pilot program was established in which students source-separated organic waste at a food court while the program educated students on the value of organic waste and compost. Students sorted trash into bins for recyclables, compostables, and trash. Waste audit results demonstrated the value of the operation to the university in terms of savings in waste hauling expenditures, and showed the percent contamination and waste diverted to the university's recycling and composting program. The analysis concluded that the program had a payback period of less than 2 years (Sanders et al., p. 639).

Consistent Thinning Improves Sweet Cherry Quality But Not Value

For two consecutive seasons, Einhorn et al. (p. 546) thinned the highly productive sweet cherry cultivar Sweetheart to either half the fruit buds per spur, or all but one. Thinned treatment yields were reduced by 54% and 40% compared to unthinned trees. A reduction in the growth of unthinned fruit was observed by 30 days after full bloom. Vegetative growth, fruit size, fruit quality attributes, and return bloom increased with decreasing crop load. At harvest, the size distribution of thinned treatment fruit shifted to larger size classes, but these improvements did not consistently translate to a higher crop value per tree.

Benefits of Allotment Gardening for Seniors Linked to Reduced Stress

Following recent studies that have demonstrated the physical and psychological health benefits of gardening activities in later life, researchers in the UK compared the health and well being of older adult home gardeners and allotment gardeners to other seniors who were active in non-gardening pursuits. Hawkins et al. (p. 577) found that the allotment gardeners had significantly lower levels of perceived stress levels when compared to the other participants. The allotment gardeners also exhibited more favorable scores on other health and well-being measures, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Powdery Mildew Resistance Yields Savings for Pumpkin

Coolong and Seebold (p. 533) evaluated three pumpkin varieties with varying degrees of powdery mildew resistance (none, intermediate, high) with three fungicide programs (none, low input, high input) over two seasons in Kentucky. In general, the variety with high resistance provided adequate control of powdery mildew regardless of spray program, and superior yields compared to the non-resistant variety. The researchers suggest that growers can greatly reduce fungicide sprays for powdery mildew when growing varieties with high resistance. In some years and locations with low disease pressure it may be possible to eliminate sprays specifically for powdery mildew when growing a high-resistance variety.

Economic Contributions of the U.S. Green Industry in 2007–08

Hodges et al. (p. 628) provide updated estimates of the economic contributions of the U.S. green industry. Total impacts were estimated at $175.3 billion in output (revenue), $107.2 billion in value added, and employment of 1.95 million jobs, including regional multiplier effects on the broader economy. The largest sectors in terms of employment impacts were landscaping services (1,075,343), nursery/greenhouse production (436,462), and retail lawn and garden stores (190,839); the two top states were California (257,885) and Florida (188,437). Total value added contributions represented 0.76% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Output impacts increased by 29% since 2002–03.

Reduced Glyphosate Efficacy against Weeds in Florida Citrus

There are no reports of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Florida citrus; however, reduced susceptibility of certain weed species to glyphosate has been observed by weed scientists and citrus growers. To determine the differences in tolerance of four weed species to glyphosate, Singh et al. (p. 599) studied efficacy, absorption, and translocation of glyphosate. Among four weed species, florida beggarweed was the most sensitive and ivyleaf morningglory was the most tolerant to glyphosate. Increasing application rates and the addition of non-ionic surfactant did not improve glyphosate efficacy, but increased glyphosate absorption and translocation.

Saflufenacil Herbicide More Effective in Tank Mixes

Saflufenacil is a post-emergence, contact herbicide for dicot weed control in Florida citrus. Singh et al. (p. 606) conducted field experiments at various locations in Florida for 2 years to expand the spectrum of weed control with saflufenacil by tank mixing with glyphosate and pendimethalin. Excellent burndown broadleaf and grass weed control with extended residual control compared to saflufenacil or glyphosate applied alone were observed. This tank mix combination was comparable with currently used tank mix treatments for weed control in citrus. There was no phytotoxicity of any treatment on citrus trees, indicating excellent crop safety.

Indole-3-acetic Acid Herbicide Mimics Used to Control Mugwort

Aminopyralid and aminocyclopyrachlor-methyl are two recently registered herbicides that mimic indole-3-acetic acid and offer systemic herbicidal activity for potential control of difficult-to-manage perennial weeds like mugwort. Koepke-Hill et al. (p. 558) demonstrated greater than 90% mugwort control, even 365 days after treatment, with applications of both herbicides at an abandoned ornamental nursery. In non-cropland and land-reclamation or conversion to alternative use settings, aminopyralid and aminocyclopyrachlor-methyl offer potential in controlling tough perennial weeds like mugwort when compared to other herbicides, including other mimics of indole-3-acetic acid like clopyralid and picloram.

Garden Features and Homeowner Attitudes in Southwestern Europe

Spanish gardens frequently present significant problems with regards to design and maintenance, which has substantial impact on the consumption of water for irrigation. In a survey conducted by Fernández-Cañero et al. (p. 616) in the Aljarafe region of southern Spain, features and management practices in domestic gardens and the attitudes of owners with regard to more-sustainable alternatives were analyzed. They found that homeowners who had prior knowledge of the principles of xeriscaping were significantly more open to applying these principles in practical ways.

Improved Technology for Producing Long-cane Blackberry Plants

Blackberry growers in the U.S. want to produce fruit when blackberry shipments from Mexico are limited. Takeda and Soria (p. 563) used a unique blackberry trellis and cane training system to propagate single-cane blackberry plants, which can be manipulated to produce off-season fruit that commands higher prices. The new system increased long-cane plant output seven-fold over the current commercial propagation technique. The new method is efficient for producing large numbers of blackberry plants that can be manipulated to produce fruit in the off-season and should be useful to both growers and nurserymen.

Reducing Carbon Dioxide Consumption in Greenhouses

Frantz (p. 647) used supplemental carbon dioxide (CO₂) in combination with reduced temperatures to evaluate the productivity of lettuce compared to a traditionally maintained, warmer greenhouse without supplemental CO₂. The cooler settings decreased total carbon consumed (combined fuel use and CO₂ supplementation) by 7% during the 3-month heating season, and had larger lettuce with more leaves than plants in the warmer, unsupplemented greenhouse. Fuel savings due to lower temperature set points paid for the cost of adding CO₂.

Postharvest Treatments for Degreening of ‘Villa franca’ Lemons

‘Villa franca’ lemons are sensitive to ethylene, which enhances development of reddish/brown peel blemishes. Mayuoni and Porat (p. 624) report three alternative approaches for postharvest degreening of ‘Villa franca’ lemons without causing ethylene damage: 1) a slow process, involving natural degreening during 4–5 weeks of storage at 13 °C without exposure to ethylene; 2) a moderate “under-degreening” process, involving a short 48-hour exposure to ethylene followed by 2 weeks of storage at 13 °C; and 3) a fast process involving degreening with ethylene for up to 4 days at high temperature (30 °C).

Impacts of Crop Load Adjustment in ‘Seyval blanc’ Winegrapes

Shoot thinning (ST), cluster thinning (CL), and a combination of the two (ST+CL) were applied to ‘Seyval blanc’ grapevines. Berkey et al. (p. 593) report that a consumer sensory panel preferred CL wine over control wine in 2009, but that the required price to compensate the grower for lost yield and additional labor costs would increase from $556/t in the control to $824/t for CL grapes. The required price of ST+CL grapes was $1022/t, an unjustified increase as ST+CL wine was not preferred over the control. The sensory panel indicated no wine preferences in 2010.