Plant Sciences Commons^™

In Vitro Propagation, Regeneration, Attempted Tetraploid Induction, And Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation Of Euphorbia Pulchurrima ‘Winter Rose’™, Kimberly Ann Pickens

Doctoral Dissertations

Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulchurrima, is the number one potted flowering plant in the United States. ‘Winter Rose’™ is a very popular cultivar with more than one million plants sold each year. To further improve this cultivar, particularly for larger flower heads and free branching, this research aimed at establishing some in vitro systems for application of biotechnology to poinsettia genetic improvement.

A protocol was established for in vitro axillary bud proliferation using greenhouse grown terminal buds. Buds were placed on Murashige-Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with benzlyaminopurine (BA). Explants produced the greatest number of axillary buds on medium containing between 2.2-8.8 …

Levels And Patterns Of Genetic Diversity In The Rare And Endangered Cumberland Stitchwort, Minuartia Cumberlandensis (Caryophyllaceae), Charles Thomas Winder

Masters Theses

Sequences of a highly variable nuclear gene (G3pdh) were used to characterize genetic diversity within and among populations of the endangered rockhouse endemic, Minuartia cumberlandensis (Wofford and Kral) McNeill (Caryophyllaceae), and compared to a widespread and abundant related species, M. glabra (Michaux) McNeill. By reconstructing phylogenetic relationships among G3pdh variants (haplotypes) and observing the geographical distribution of those ordered variants, an attempt was made to gauge the effects of historical and contemporary population processes acting within the species, particularly those with potential implications for long-term conservation. Both M. cumberlandensis and M. glabra were found to have high overall …

Evaluation Of Botanical Oil Formulations For Management Of Powdery Mildew And Mites, Adriane Lorraine Cannon

Masters Theses

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of newly created soybean oil formulations on powdery mildew (Erysiphe pulphra ), photosynthesis, phytotoxicity, and broad mites (Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks)) on dogwood ( Cornus florida (L.) 'Cloud Nine') trees, and to evaluate the amounts of formulations that are deposited and washed off of peach (Prunus persica, (L.)) leaves, dormant oak (Quercus phellos, (L.) ), and viburnum ( Viburnum x juddii) twigs after simulated rainfall. Oil treatments were applied using a back pack mist blower sprayed pre- and post- inoculation of powdery mildew to evaluate powdery mildew, …

Seasonal Abundance Of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) At A High And Low Prevalence Site For La Crosse Encephalitis In Eastern Tennessee, Nathan David Caldwell

Masters Theses

La Crosse (LAC), a California (CAL) serogroup bunyavirus, is the most prevalent pediatric arboviral disease in the United States and accounts for virtually all encephalitis cases associated with CAL serogroup arboviruses. In Tennessee, USA, prior to the drastic increase of confirmed La Crosse (LAC) encephalitis cases in 1997, the sum of documented cases reported to the Tennessee Department of Health totaled 9. During subsequent years in Tennessee (1997 to 2003), an average of 12 cases has been reported annually. Approximately 62% of these reported cases have occurred in the months of July and August. The native, container-inhabiting mosquito Ochlerotatus triseriatus …

Pb1585-Annual And Perennial Flower Shade Gardening In Tennessee, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Home Garden, Lawn, and Landscape

Gardening in the shade can add interest and color to the restful recesses of your landscape, but it can be difficult and challenging. Shade gardening presents a new set of problems as compared to gardening in the sun. Both the homeowner who instructs his or her builder to leave “every tree possible” and the gardener who one day looks up and finds that the maple and oak saplings planted years ago now flood much of the landscape with shade have trouble finding suitable plants which can add color in these areas of their landscapes.

Perennials, plants which flower year after …

Sp630 Bark Splitting On Trees, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Bark splitting and sloughing results from a number of environmental factors. Sloughing or peeling of the bark is a normal process, especially in the spring when the tree begins to grow, and is more noticeable in some species than in others. The outer layers of bark are dead tissue and cannot grow, so the outer bark must split in order for the tree to grow in diameter. The inner bark is living, and forms a new protective coat as the outer bark pulls apart. If you look closely at normally furrowed bark, you will not be able to see the …

Sp631 Bacterial Wetwood Disease Of Trees, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Wetwood is a water-soaked condition of wood in the trunk and branches of trees. This condition has been attributed to bacterial infection in the inner sapwood and outer heartwood area of the tree. Infection is normally associated with wounding or environmental stress on the tree. The bacteria, Enterobactor cloacae, has been implicated as the cause of wetwood in elm, but numerous other bacteria have been associated with this condition in other trees such as cottonwood, willow, ash, maple, birch, hickory, beech, oak, sycamore, cherry and yellow-poplar. Bacteria alter wood cell walls, causing moisture content of the wood to increase. …

Sp629 Growing Trees From Seed, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Often seedlings or saplings for a desired but uncommon tree are not commercially available for planting. Growing trees from seed is an effective method in obtaining these trees. Some people may wish to preserve offspring of a favored parent tree or just enjoy growing trees from seed as a green thumb project. Knowing when and how to collect and germinate tree seed is essential for success.

Seeds are a primary means of trees perpetuating themselves. The proper handling of seed through the processes of ripening or maturation, collecting, processing, storage (if needed), dormancy, stratification and germination is required for success …

Systematics And Species Concepts In The Genera Lentinus Fr. And Panus Fr., With Emphasis On The Lentinus Tigrinus, L. Crinitus And Panus Lecomtei Complexes, Edward A. Grand

Doctoral Dissertations

The monographic work of Pegler (1983) on Lentinus has established the taxonomic guidelines for most recent studies involving members of the genus (Moncalvo et al. 2002, Rolen 2001, Krüger 2002). Pegler’s taxonomic hierarchy combined both Lentinus Fr. and Panus Fr. into one large genus, Lentinus Fr. The combination of these genera and its validity was one of the reasons for beginning this study. For generic level comparisons, ribosomal DNA sequence data can be helpful for determining relationships among taxa (Binder and Hibbett 2002, Hibbett and Vilgalys 1991, 1993, Hibbett and Donoghue 2001, Moncalvo et al. 2002, Thorn et al. 2000). …

Examining Varroa-Resistant Honey Bee Queens From Commercial Breeders: Colony Productivity, Hygienic Behavior, Suppression Of Mite Reproduction, And The Relationship Of Juvenile Hormone Iii To Mite Abundance, Laura L. Bryant

Masters Theses

This research was conducted to assess the performance of commercially bred honey bee queens sold as resistant to the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor. The study’s objectives were to: 1) Compare honey and pollen stores and V. destructor infestation in colonies established with hybrid Russian, SMR, and control queens, 2) Determine levels of hygienic behavior and mite non-reproduction in the same colonies, and 3) Determine the relationship between juvenile hormone III in honey bee larvae and V. destructor reproduction.

In Part One, when honey, pollen, and V. destructor levels were measured, no significant differences were found among types of queens. …

Assessment Of Insects, Primarily Impacts Of Biological Control Organisms And Their Parasitoids, Associated With Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea Stoebe L. S. L.) In Eastern Tennessee, Amy Lynn Kovach

Masters Theses

Spotted knapweed [Centaurea stoebe L. ssp. micranthos (Gugler) Hayek] (formerly C. maculosa Lam. and C. biebersteinii DC.) (Asteracea) (referred to here as C. stoebe L. sensu lato) a non-indigenous, invasive weed, has been the focus of a biological control program using a complex of insects for more than 30 years in North America. Spotted knapweed is a prolific seed producer and produces two phytotoxic chemicals (catechin and cnicin), both enhancing the invasiveness of the weed. In Tennessee, information about this common weed of roadsides and its associated insects is not well known.

This research consists of five components: …

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis And The Response Of Sorghum Plants To Combined Drought And Saline Stresses, Keun Ho Cho

Masters Theses

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis has been reported often to improve the abilities of host plants to tolerate drought stress. The physiological mechanism is uncertain, but one idea is that the effect might be linked to resistance to salt stress. Several studies have shown more growth in crop plants colonized with AM fungi than nonAM control plants under salt stress. Drought and salt stresses frequently occur together in nature and their initial symptoms in plants are similar. It may be interesting to scrutinize their physiological interaction in host plant as a function of AM fungi. Therefore, the objectives of my studies …

Pb1096 Liming Acid Soils In Tennessee, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Field & Commercial Crops

Soil test results indicate that approximately 50 percent of the cropland in Tennessee is too acid for optimum crop production. Because of this, determining the need for lime should be the first step in developing a sound crop fertilization program. Lime neutralizes excess soil acids and increases pH. If not limed as needed, soils continue to become more acid, reducing the soil’s potential to produce healthy plants and profitable yields.

Pb1688-Starting Your Own Wine Business, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Marketing, Finances and Value-Added Agriculture

You have been making wine in your base ment for several years and routinely receive accolades on how good your homemade wine tastes. Now you are trying to decide if you should start your own vineyard and build a commercial winery. What are the factors that you should consider in starting a winery and a vineyard?

There are many aspects to consider in starting a winery. One of the fi rst considerations should be where to get grapes and what kind of wine to make. You also need to familiarize yourself with the various regulations and governing bodies that regulate …

Molecular Systematics Of North American Eupatorium, Kunsiri Chaw Siripun

Doctoral Dissertations

This study had two primary goals: first, to prepare a thorough taxonomic revision of North American Eupatorium, and second, to conduct initial evaluations using molecular techniques of how diploid and polyploid populations of Eupatorium rotundifolium and E. sessilifolium relate to one another. Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and chloroplast DNA (trnC-psbM) sequences were used for molecular analysis, which allowed assessment of relationships of the polyploidy samples based on both a biparentally and a maternally inherited marker. The Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) method was used for examining the relationships among diploid and polyploid populations …

Sp341-E The Chinch Bug In Grain Sorghum, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Field & Commercial Crops

The chinch bug is very widely distributed throughout the United States but is rarely abundant enough to cause serious crop losses except in certain areas. However, during an outbreak, it can completely destroy stands of corn and grain sorghum.

Sp277-K-Disease Resistance In Recommended Vegetable Varieties For Home Gardens, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Home Garden, Lawn, and Landscape

Growing resistant vegetable varieties is an important method of controlling diseases. The following information is provided as a reference to disease resistance or tolerance in vegetable varieties presently recommended for the home garden. No attempt has been made to designate or evaluate levels of resistance or tolerance in the varieties listed. Varieties are designated only as having some level of tolerance or resistance.

The information provided here has been compiled from seed catalogs and from research and Extension publications. The user of this reference should seek additional information from seed companies relative to specific varieties and their level of disease …

Structural Changes In The Red Spruce-Fraser Fir Forest, Michael R. Mancusi

Masters Theses

Since the early 1900s the southern Appalachian red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.)-Fraser fir (Abies piceae (Pursh) Poir.) forests have been subjected to numerous destructive influences. Historical logging practices, fire, exotic insect infestations, acidic deposition, and global climate change have demonstratively altered the structure and composition of this fragile ecosystem. Most profound was the discovery in 1957 of the balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae Ratz. Homoptera: Adelgidae ), an exotic sap-sucking aphid. A study was initiated in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which contains 74% of the red spruce-Fraser ecosystem. Thirty-six 20x20 m permanent plots untouched by logging …

Insect Fauna Associated With Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga Canadensis (L.), In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Stanley Earl Buck Iii

Masters Theses

Eastern hemlock, Tsuga Canadensis (L.), is an integral part of the forest system in eastern North America. These trees contribute to the biological diversity, environmental health, and economic stability of the regions that they inhabit by producing unique microclimates, cool shady recreational areas, and unmatched beauty. Information regarding the insect fauna associated with eastern hemlock is sparse and scattered with in the literature. Because of this, the insect fauna associated with eastern hemlock was assessed at four sites, representing new and old growth, and nine alternate sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSM). Sites were sampled using malaise …

Sp503-G The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid - A Threat To Hemlock In Tennessee, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), a destructive aphid-like insect pest of eastern and Carolina hemlock, is originally from Asia. Its first discovery in the United States was in Oregon on western hemlock in the 1920s. It was not found in the East until the 1950s, when it was detected in Virginia. Since then it has spread throughout the East from New England to North Carolina (1995) and most recently to East Tennessee in 2002. The HWA is expanding its range an average of 15 miles per year.

The hemlocks found in Asia and the western and mountain hemlocks that occur …

Volume 2, Number 1 (2004), Ut Institute Of Agriculture

Tennessee Land, Life and Science Magazine

Issue Highlights:

• Emerging Markets
• Value in Good Genes
• Songbirds as Indicators
• Tennessee Agriculture in a Global Market