Botany Commons^™

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Effect Of Timing Of Shade On Growth, Development, Physiology, And Fruiting Of A Primocane Fruiting Blackberry In A Controlled Environment, Olivia C. Caillouet, Curt C. Rom, Jason Mcafee, Luke Freeman, Heather Friedrich

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Primocane blackberry production in the upper south is limited by high temperatures during the bloom and early fruiting period, resulting in poor fruit set and poor fruit quality. Shade may have the potential to delay bloom and flowering to a more favorable season. A greenhouse study was established to evaluate the effects of shade on primocane blackberry growth, physiology, and fruiting. Single rooted plants of ‘Prime-Ark® 45’ were planted in 12-liter pots and grown in a greenhouse at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas. At approximately 0.25 m in height, one …

The Effects Of Shade On Primocane Fruiting Blackberries In The Field, Olivia C. Caillouet, Curt C. Rom, Jason Mcafee, Luke Freeman, Heather Friedrich

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Primocane fruiting blackberry production in Arkansas is limited by heat during the flowering and early fruiting season. Shade could be used to delay flowering and fruiting to more favorable growth period. This study was designed to test three levels of shade (0% [control], 30% and 50% shading) applied at three times during the growing season that examined the growth, development, physiology of flowering, and fruiting of ‘Prime-Ark® 45’ blackberries. The seven treatments were as follows: 1) an untreated control (CK), 2) early shade 30% (ES30), mid shade 30% (MS30), 4) late shade 30% (LS30), 5) early shade 50% (ES50), 6) …

Evaluation Of Harvest Time/Temperature And Storage Temperature On Postharvest Incidence Of Red Drupelet Reversion Development And Firmness Of Blackberry (Rubus L. Subgenus Rubus Watson), Jack E. Mccoy, John R. Clarke, Alejandra A. Salgado, Andrew Jecmen

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Since 1964, the University of Arkansas blackberry breeding program has worked to improve fruit quality and shipping capabilities. A major limitation in blackberry fruit is postharvest handling potential for the shipping market. Maintaining fruit firmness in storage is crucial. Red drupelet reversion (or simply reversion) is also an important postharvest disorder in which drupelets change from black to red during storage. It is hypothesized that reversion is increased when fruit is picked at hot temperatures and exposed to a rapid change of temperature. These studies evaluated harvest time/temperature, as well as storage temperature, on berry firmness and the incidence of …

Letter From The Dean, Lalit Verma

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Post-Harvest Disease Resistance In Blackberry Genotypes, John-Paul Kidd, John R. Clark, Patrick Fenn, Barbara Smith

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Forty-nine blackberry genotypes (19 cultivars and 30 breeding selections) were evaluated for post-harvest fruit-rot resistance in June and July 2003. Fully mature, undamaged berries were harvested on two dates for each genotype at the University of Arkansas Fruit Substation, Clarksville. After transporting in chilled coolers back to the Plant Pathology Department in Fayetteville, two replications of 10 berries of each genotype were placed in a high-humidity chamber for 3 d (21-23°C; 16-h daylength). This provided a total of four replications for each entry across the two harvest dates. Natural inoculum from the field provided the post-harvest pathogens, and no additional …

Propagation Of Thornless Blackberries Utilizing Adventitious Shoots From Root Cuttings, Ellen Thompson, John R. Clark, Curt C. Rom

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Studies were conducted in early 2003 to determine the effect of root source and length on yield of adventitious shoots from root cuttings and on subsequent plant yield for University of Arkansasdeveloped thornless blackberries. In the first study, roots from ‘Arapaho’ and ‘Apache’ plants grown in an aboveground bed containing commercial potting soil were compared to field-grown roots. Bed-grown roots averaged 6.9 shoots per 15 cm root cutting while field grown roots averaged 3.4. ‘Apache’ produced more shoots/root cutting compared to Arapaho, (5.9 vs. 4.4 shoots/root cutting, respectively). In a comparison of 15- vs. 30-cm-long root cuttings of ‘Apache’, ‘Arapaho’, …

Propagation Of Thornless Arkansas Blackberries By Hardwood Cuttings, Mark Bray, Curt C. Rom, John R. Clark

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Effects of auxin application and cutting location on canes on adventitious root development in hardwood cuttings of three Arkansas thornless blackberry cultivars were studied. Dormant canes were collected from one-year-old plants of ‘Apache’, ‘Arapaho’, and ‘Navaho’ and stored in a cold room until February. Two- or three-node cuttings were taken from the canes at apical, mid, and basal locations along the cane and were placed under intermittent mist in a perlite-filled greenhouse bed. Cuttings were either untreated or treated with auxin indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), applied as a liquid quick dip at 0.3%. In general, cutting diameter was greatest for basal …

Effects Of Virus Infection On Release Of Volatile Organic Compounds From Insect-Damaged Bean, Phaseolus Vulgaris, Sarah E. Sossamon, Britney K. Jackson, B. Alison Drumwright, Kenneth L. Korth, Gisela F. Erf

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Insects can serve as important vectors of plant pathogens, especially viruses. Insect feeding on plants causes the systemic release of a wide range of plant volatile compounds that can serve as an indirect plant defense by attracting natural enemies of the herbivorous insect. Previous work suggests that the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) prefers to feed on plants infected by either of two viruses that it is known to transmit: Southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV) or Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV). A possible explanation for the preferred feeding on virus-infected tissues is that the beetles are attracted by volatile signals …

The Effects Of Potential Organic Apple Fruit Thinners On Gas Exchange And Growth Of Model Apple Trees: A Model Plant Study Of Transient Photosynthetic Inhibitors And Their Effect On Physiology And Growth, Jason D. Mcafee, Curt C. Rom

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Few fruit thinners have been certified for organic fruit growers. Previous studies have shown that herbicides or shade are capable of reducing photosynthesis and are effective fruit-thinning techniques, although impractical. This project evaluated use of a model plant system of vegetative apple trees grown under controlled conditions to study photosynthetic inhibitors, which could be used as potential organic thinning agents. Various concentrations of osmotics, salts, and oils (lime-sulfur, potassium bisulfite, potassium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, soybean oil) were applied to actively growing apple trees and showed a reduced trend on the rate of apple tree photosynthetic assimilation (Pn), evapotranspiration (Et), and …

Response Of Blackberry Cultivars To Nematode Transmission Of Tobacco Ringspot Virus, Alisha Sanny, John R. Clark, Rose Gergerich

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A study was conducted on eight cultivars of blackberry (‘Apache’, ‘Arapaho’, ‘Chester’, ‘Chickasaw’, ‘Kiowa’, ‘Navaho’, ‘Shawnee’, and ‘Triple Crown’), of which four plants of each were previously determined in the fall of 2001 to have root, but not leaf, infection with Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV). The objectives of our study were to determine virus effects on plant vigor and the spread of virus infection in the plants. Eight plants of each cultivar, four infected and four free of infection, were grown in pots on a gravel pad for the 2002 growing season, and samples of primocane and floricane leaves were …

Evaluation Of Chilling Requirements For Six Arkansas Blackberry Cultivars Utilizing Stem Cuttings, Dayanee Yazzetti, John R. Clark

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Woody perennial plants including blackberries (Rubus subgenus Rubus) require certain amounts of chilling or rest hours below 7ºC during the dormant season for successful bud break the following year. Arkansas-developed blackberry cultivars are being grown in various climates worldwide and all cultivars need chilling requirement estimates for accurate recommendations of adaptation. Determining chilling requirement using stem cuttings collected from field-grown plants rather than whole plants is a desirable system. We conducted a study to evaluate both artificial and field chilling of six cultivars. For the artificial-chilling study, 12- node stem cuttings were collected 2 days after the first killing frost. …

Characteristics Of Some Fruiting Plant Species In Northwest Arkansas, And The Avian Assemblages That Feed On Them, John W. Prather, Kimberly G. Smith, Michael A. Mlodinow, Cecilia M. Riley

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Fruits continue to be recognized as an important food source for birds in temperate areas, particularly during the fall migration period. More than 20 species of plants producing fleshy fruits are found in the Arkansas Ozarks. However, only a few of these appear to be important resources for birds during the fall migration period (August - October). Among those are sassafras (Sassafras albidum), gray-backed grape (Vitis cinerea), black cherry (Prunus serotina), hercules club (Araliaspinosa) and pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). Over the past 4 years, we have documented the physical and nutritional characteristics of those fruits and taken observational data on the …