Fruit Science Commons^™

Asimina Triloba (L.) Dunal: The Complete Story Of America’S Forgotten Fruit, Autumn M. Howard

The Cardinal Edge

Asimina triloba, commonly known as the pawpaw, is a unique and historically significant native fruit tree of the eastern United States. This research paper explores the taxonomy, botanical description, distribution, habitat requirements, ecological interactions, economic importance, and reproductive biology of A. triloba. The species is distinguished by its tropical-flavored fruits, adaptation to temperate climates, and reliance on clonal reproduction and specific insect pollinators. While offering promising opportunities for sustainable agriculture and riparian restoration, A. triloba faces challenges related to limited seed dispersal, susceptibility to certain pests and diseases, and the presence of neurotoxic compounds. Despite its historical importance …

Does Green Stem Photosynthesis Affect Plant Drought Tolerance And Recovery In Avocado?, Nadia A. Valverdi, Paula Guzmán-Delgado, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Eleinis Ávila-Lovera

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Woody plants with green stems may have advantages over non-green-stemmed plants in that extra photosynthetic carbon gain has the potential to improve plant drought tolerance and aid drought recovery. However, most studies relating to green stem photosynthesis and drought tolerance have been conducted on non-horticultural plants under natural growing conditions. We investigated whether avocado green stem photosynthesis enhances drought tolerance and recovery. We applied light exclusion and drought treatments to 3-year-old potted trees of cultivars ‘Hass’ and ‘Fuerte’. Measurements of soil moisture, midday stem water potential, stem photosynthesis, bark chlorophyll concentration, concentration of sugars + starch and stem hydraulic conductivity …

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 …

Measuring The Physiological Effects Of Methylobacterium Oryzae Foliar Inoculation Onto Salt-Stressed Tomatoes Grown In A Greenhouse Semi-Hydroponic System, Collin Dice

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Salinity stress has been shown to improve hydroponic produce quality such as that of tomato but at the trade-off of produce yield. In order to improve demand for hydroponic produce, techniques that improve salinity tolerance could offset declines in yield without altering the improved quality of produce. In two separate trials, we tested whether foliar inoculation of the ACC deaminase-producing bacteria Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 improved salt tolerance in tomatoes grown in a semi-hydroponic system using an indeterminate variety exposed to 26mM NaCl (Trial 1) and a determinate variety exposed to 17mM NaCl (Trial 2). We also tested how salinity and …

Seed Rain–Successional Feedbacks In Wet Tropical Forests, Nohemi Huanca Nuñez, Robin L. Chazdon, Sabrina E. Russo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Tropical forest regeneration after abandonment of former agricultural land depends critically on the input of tree seeds, yet seed dispersal is increasingly disrupted in contemporary human-modified landscapes. Here, we introduce the concept of seed rain–successional feedbacks as a deterministic process in which seed rain is shaped by successional dynamics internal to a forest site and that acts to reinforce priority effects. We used a combination of time series and chronosequence approaches to investigate how the quantity and taxonomic and functional composition of seed rain change during succession and to evaluate the strength of seed rain–successional feedbacks, relative to other …

Evaluation Of Pheromone Mating Disruption For California Red Scale Control In Commercial California Citrus, Joel Timothy Leonard

Master's Theses

California red scale (CRS), Aonidella aurantii, is an increasingly injurious insect pest for the California citrus industry due to insecticide resistance, changing weather patterns, and shifting trade regulations. The presence of the insect on fruit, damages the rind of the fruit and high populations can cause dieback of branches as well as lower yields. Pheromone mating disruption of CRS has the potential to alleviate population control concerns and reduce insecticide use. The efficacy of the pheromone mating disruption technique for pest management of CRS was determined using the products CheckMate® CRS and Semios CRS Plus. CheckMate® CRS was evaluated …

Changes In Oxidative Patterns During Dormancy Break By Warm And Cold Stratification In Seeds Of An Edible Fruit Tree, Dilinuer Shalimu, Jia Sun, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin, Liwei Sun, Yujun Liu

Biology Faculty Publications

The transition from seed dormancy to germination is triggered by environmental factors, and in pomegranate (Punica granatum) seeds higher germination percentages are achieved by warm + cold stratification rather than by cold stratification alone. Our objective was to define the pattern of internal oxidative changes in pomegranate seeds as dormancy was being broken by warm + cold stratification and by cold stratification alone. Embryos isolated from seeds after 1–42 days of warm stratification, after 56 days of warm stratification + 7, 28 or 56 days of cold stratification, and after 1–84 days of cold stratification alone, were used …

Visual Responses Of Adult Asian Citrus Psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) To Colored Sticky Traps On Citrus Trees, Mamoudou Setamou, A. Sanchez, R. R. Saldaña, J. M. Patt, Kenneth R. Summy

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The effects of five differently-colored sticky traps in capturing adult Diaphorina citri were evaluated in citrus orchards. Trap catches of D. citri were monitored fortnightly on blue, green, red, white and yellow sticky cards placed on three citrus varieties during D. citri active flight period from April to July in south Texas. Evaluation of mean trap catches of each color by repeated measures analysis of variance produced three separate groups: yellow traps caught significantly more D. citri adults than the other four traps; red and green traps caught significantly more D. citri than blue and white traps, which were not …

Potential For Barn Owl As Rodent Biological Control In Central California Vineyards, Hannah Tillmann

Biological Sciences

The pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) and voles (Microtus spp.) cause significant economic damage to vineyards. In response, many growers have taken steps to attract Barn Owls (Tyto alba) to their properties to help keep these rodent populations in check. This research project investigated Barn Owl consumption of pocket gophers and voles in Central California vineyards in order to assess the efficiency of this integrated pest management strategy. I collected a total of 715 owl pellets from five vineyard locations in Templeton and Paso Robles, California over an eight-month period during nesting and post-fledging seasons. I …

In Vitro And In Vivo Techniques For Screening New Natural Product-Based Fungicides For Control Of Strawberry Anthracnose, Maritza Abril

Dissertations

Seven plant pathogenic fungi (Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, C. fragariae, C. gloeosporioides, Fusarium oxysporum, Phomopsis obscurans, and P. viticola) valuable in screening fungicide efficacy were tested. Optimal and reproducible conditions for germination of these selected fungi were established by incorporating Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 (RPMI) as a medium of known composition and washing conidia to remove innate germination inhibitors. This step reduced average fungal germination times between 3.5 h and 21.2 h. The natural product-based fungicide, sampangine, seven sampangine analogs (4-bromo-sampangine, 4-methoxysampangine, benzo[4,5]sampangine, liriodenine Mel AMC-XIII-103, onychine, cryptolepine, and liriodenine CDH-II-37), plus seven conventional fungicides (benomyl, captan, cyprodinil, fenbuconazole, …

Host Resistance To Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi In Flowers And Fruits Of Highbush Blueberry, Jeffery S. Lehman, Suzu Igarashi, Peter V. Oudemans

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, the causal agent of mummy berry disease, infects blueberry flowers via the gynoecial pathway. To describe the expression of host resistance in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), fungal growth in the styles and colonization of the locules were compared among five blueberry cultivars in a series of controlled greenhouse experiments. Styles were harvested 1 and 4 days postinoculation, and the length colonized by hyphae was determined using fluorescence microscopy. At 8 weeks after inoculation, fruit were harvested and scored for the presence of hyphae in the locules. The infection frequency of styles ranged from 0.33 to 0.71, and only …

Relationships Between Blueberry Flower Age, Pollination, And Conidial Infection By Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi, Jeffery S. Lehman, Henry K. Ngugi, Harald Scherm

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi infects open blueberry flowers via the gynoecial pathway, leading to mummification of the developing fruit. To determine the effect of flower age on infection, stigmata were inoculated with conidia of M. vaccinii-corymbosi between 0 and 5 days after anthesis, fungal growth rates through the stylar canal were measured in detached flowers in the laboratory, and fruit disease incidence was determined in plants grown in the greenhouse. Hyphal growth rates were greatest in flowers inoculated on the day of anthesis, declined linearly with increasing flower age at inoculation (r = 0.921; P < 0.0001; n = 12), and were unaffected by the presence or absence of pollen applied at the time of inoculation. In greenhouse-grown plants, the percentage of infected fruit decreased exponentially with increasing flower age at inoculation (R = 0.878; P = 0.0057; n = 10), with disease incidence ranging from 76.4% for flowers inoculated on the day of anthesis to 15.5% for those inoculated 4 days later. Fruit disease incidence in the greenhouse was linearly correlated with hyphal growth rates in detached flowers (r = 0.985; P < 0.0001; n = 9), justifying the use of detached flowers when investigating gynoecial infection by M. vaccinii-corymbosi. In separate experiments, the effects of timing and sequence of pollination and inoculation on hyphal growth rates through the stylar canal and on disease incidence were investigated. Application of pollen to detached flowers 1 or 2 days before inoculation reduced hyphal growth rates by between 14.0 and 42.9% compared with flowers that received pollen and conidia simultaneously. Similarly, reductions in fruit disease incidence by between 9.5 and 18.3% were observed on greenhouse-grown plants for pollination-to-inoculation intervals ranging from 1 to 4 days. These results document that newly opened flowers are most susceptible to infection by M. vaccinii-corymbosi and that fruit disease incidence is reduced if pollination occurs at least 1 day before inoculation. Strategies that lead to early pollination of newly opened flowers may be useful for managing mummy berry disease in the field.

Variation And Heritability Of Phenology In The Fungus Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi On Blueberry, Jeffery S. Lehman, Peter V. Oudemans

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The germination of field-collected pseudosclerotia and the development of apothecia from eight New Jersey populations of the mummy berry fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi were evaluated under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. Development data for apothecia were used to describe the timing of apothecium formation and to estimate broad- and narrow-sense heritabilities of fungal phenology. Mean development times for the formation of apothecia ranged from 35.4 to 54.7 days. The mean development times for populations collected from early-season cv. Weymouth ranged from 35.4 to 39.6 days and were significantly shorter than the development times for three of the four populations collected from …

Phenology Of Apothecium Production In Populations Of Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi From Early- And Late-Maturing Blueberry Cultivars, Jeffery S. Lehman, Peter V. Oudemans

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Pseudosclerotia were evaluated for differences in timing of apothecium development in four controlled experiments conducted over a 2-year period. In a separate experiment, conidia from 10 randomly selected isolates from both of the fungal populations were used to inoculate open flowers. Germination of pseudosclerotia produced from these artificial inoculations also was evaluated. The timing and rate of shoot elongation for cvs. Weymouth and Jersey were assessed in one greenhouse and two field experiments. Average development times for the fungal population from cv. Weymouth were 8 to 15 days earlier or 33 to 42% less than those for the population from …