Horticulture Commons^™

Value Of Horticulture Industries In Western Australia 2022-2023, Manju Radhakrishnan, Rohan Prince

Horticulture published reports

The horticulture sector in Western Australia (WA) produces high quality fruit, vegetables, nuts and amenity horticulture. Western Australians benefit from consuming this steady supply of diverse, affordable and sustainably grown fresh fruit and vegetables. Amenity horticulture, in the form of parks and gardens, adds a great richness to the quality of life in WA.

It is estimated that WA produced $1.75 billion worth of fruit, vegetables, nuts and amenity horticulture in 2022–23. The real value1 of production at the wholesale level increased by 4% when compared to the 2020 figures presented in the report, Situation analysis of horticulture in Western …

Evaluation Of Pierce’S Disease-Resistant Grapevine Cultivars In Upstate South Carolina, Annie Bruno

All Theses

Interest in wine grape production is increasing in South Carolina, but Pierce’s Disease (PD) caused by the xylem-limited bacteria Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a major limiting factor. Xf is spread by sap-sucking insect vectors in the Cicadellidae family such as sharpshooters. In the United States, Xf has become endemic to the southeast as global temperatures rise, causing winter temperatures to increase, which allows the bacteria to survive year-round. However, PD-resistant grapevine hybrid cultivars have become available through breeding V. vinifera genes with native American Vitis species that are resistant to Xf. In this study, the PD-resistant grapevine …

Leveraging Within-Field Spatial Variability To Optimize Soybean Yield, Seed Quality, And Profitability, Marina Marly Dalla Betta

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Optimizing yield and seed quality in soybean production is critical for both profitability and meeting market demands. However, within-field variability in soil properties poses a challenge in determining optimal management strategies to maximize soybean yield, seed quality, and profitability. This work aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of soybean fields to optimize soybean seeding rates, seed quality, and profitability. Two case studies were used to carry over this research. The first study looked at the optimal economical site-specific soybean seeding rates using 11 on-farm precision experiments across Nebraska. The second study looked at the protein and oil variability within 22 …

Field Assessment Of Fertilization, Nursery, And Crop Management Practices Among Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) Growers In The Ilocos Provinces, Philippines, Annalissa Aquino, Sancho Bon, Angelica Guanlao, Ann Mylalulex Magnaye, Filomena Sta Cruz, Pompe C. Sta. Cruz

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Growth and yield of many economically important vegetables like tomatoes are heavily influenced by crop management practices, particularly fertilizer application, irrigation scheme, and pest management. To attain maximum tomato yields and increase farmers’ profits, these crop production components must be optimized in local farm levels. Before optimization measures can be conducted, baseline information on prevailing practices needs to be evaluated. To assess the nutrient management and other crop production practices of tomato farmers in the Ilocos provinces, Philippines, on-farm surveys were conducted in 16 and 18 barangays planting fresh-type and processing-type tomatoes, respectively. The study involved a total of 88 …

2024 Seeded Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation In Indiana, Wenjing Guan

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

The annual watermelon cultivar evaluation trial is conducted at Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC) in Vincennes, Indiana. It evaluates yield, fruit quality, and overall plant performance of commercial watermelon cultivars and advanced breeding lines. Purdue Extension and seed companies financially support the trial. The 2024 seeded watermelon cultivar trial evaluated 15 cultivars.

2024 Personal-Sized Seedless Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation In Indiana, Wenjing Guan

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

The annual watermelon cultivar evaluation trial is conducted at Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center (SWPAC) in Vincennes, Indiana. It evaluates yield, fruit quality, and overall plant performance of commercial watermelon cultivars and advanced breeding lines. Purdue Extension and seed companies financially support the trial. The 2024 personal-sized triploid watermelon cultivar trial evaluated 18 cultivars.

2024 Standard-Sized Seedless Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation In Indiana, Wenjing Guan

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

No abstract provided.

Developing Holistic And Reduced Fertilization Guidelines For Southeastern Peach (Prunus Persica (L.) Batsch) Orchards, Richardson Bien-Aime

All Theses

Peach production in the southeastern United States requires optimizing fertilization practices to balance economic sustainability and environmental health. Current guidelines may overlook rootstock-specific nutrient requirements and fail to align with orchard-specific conditions, often resulting in overfertilization, increased costs, and environmental risks. This study, conducted at Clemson University’s Musser Fruit Research Center during 2023 and 2024, aimed to refine fertilization practices through two complementary experiments. The first experiment investigated how three rootstocks, ’MP-29’, Lovell, and Guardian, influence nutrient dynamics of ‘Carored’ peach trees. Nutrient concentrations were measured in various tree organs, including leaves, pruned wood, thinned fruitlets, and harvested fruits, along …

Quantifying Temperature Effects On Development Rate And Plant Quality Of Compact Container-Grown Tomato, Morgan Humphrey, Ryan W. Dickson, Sonali Padhye

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mean daily temperature effects on plant development rates and quality were evaluated for compact container-grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Compact tomato varieties ‘Siam’ and ‘Red Velvet’ were grown in greenhouses at 18 to 26 °C (Expt. 1) and 20 to 30 °C (Expt. 2) under supplemental high-pressure sodium lighting and 16-h photoperiod. The number of days to first open flower, first ripe fruit and from flower to ripe fruit were measured and development rates calculated by taking the reciprocal (e.g., 1/d). Temperature effects were predicted by fitting a linear (for first open flower) and a nonlinear exponential function (for …

Characterization Of An Acetogenin-Carrying Nanosuspension And Its Effect On Bacteria Of Interest In The Poultry Industry, Brandon A. Lopez-Romero, Gabriela Aguilar-Hernandez, Billy M. Hargis, Maria De Lourdes Garcia-Magana, Ulises M. Lopez-Garcia, Rosa I. Ortiz-Basurto, Adalberto Zamudio-Ojeda, Juan D. Latorre, Efigenia Montalvo-Gonzalez

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This work aimed to develop a nanosuspension (NSps) as an acetogenin (ACGs) carrier, using soy lecithin (SL) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (βCD) named NSps-βCDSL-ACGs. It was characterized by various spectroscopic techniques (DLS, FTIR, UV-vis diffuse reflectance). Moreover, the NSps morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Also, the antibacterial activity of NSps-βCDSL-ACGs was evaluated against strains of interest in the poultry sector. NSps-βCDSL-ACGs presented nanometric size (207–239 nm), acceptable polydispersity index (PDI) values (0.13–0.17) and a high Z potential value (−47.17–50.36 mV), demonstrating high stability. The presence of ACGs in NSps-βCDSL-ACGs was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The nanoparticles had a spherical …

Broad-Spectrum Resistance To Fungal Foliar Diseases In Wheat: Recent Efforts And Achievements, Amira M.I. Mourad, Asmaa A.M. Ahmed, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Wheat (Triticum spp.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Several diseases affect wheat production and can cause 20-80% yield loss annually. Out of these diseases, stripe rust, also known as yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici), stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici), leaf rust (Puccinia recondita), and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) are the most important fungal diseases that infect the foliar part of the plant. Many efforts were made to improve wheat resistance to these diseases. Due to the continuous advancement in …

Narrow Orchard Systems For Pome And Stone Fruit - A Review, Alessio Scalisi, Mark G. O'Connell, Dario Stefanelli, Shuangxi Zhou, Tim Pitt, Darren Graetz, Kevin Dodds, Liqi Han, Roberta De Bei, Jill Stanley, Ken Breen, Ian Goodwin

Horticulture Research Articles

The main characteristics of Narrow Orchard Systems (NOS) are (i) narrow canopies, with (ii) multiple closely-spaced upright leaders and (iii) narrow inter-rows, regardless of tree spacing within the row. In NOS, planting density can be reduced compared with super-high and ultra-high density planting systems on dwarfing rootstocks, utilising a wider range of rootstock vigours coupled to proportional increases in both within-row tree spacing and upright leader number per tree. This paper reviews the development of NOS and results of research carried out on apple, pear, sweet cherry, peach, nectarine, apricot and plum in production regions worldwide. The history of orchard …

Evaluation Of 23 Pickling Cucumber Cultivars For Machine Harvest In Southwest Michigan In 2024, Ben Phillips

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A pickling cucumber cultivar trial was planted at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (42.088261, -86.351980, Benton Harbor, Michigan). Bejo (BJ), Nunhems (NU), Rijk Zwaan (RZ), and US AgriSeed (UA) seed companies donated parthenocarpic (seedless) cultivars for mechanical once-over harvest. Overall, trial quality was good despite a droughty start, though picking could have started sooner.

Disentangling Genotype And Environment Specific Latent Features For Improved Trait Prediction Using A Compositional Autoencoder, Anirudha Powadi, Talukder Zaki Jubery, Michael C. Tross, James C. Schnable, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In plant breeding and genetics, predictive models traditionally rely on compact representations of high-dimensional data, often using methods like Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and, more recently, Autoencoders (AE). However, these methods do not separate genotype-specific and environment-specific features, limiting their ability to accurately predict traits influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. We hypothesize that disentangling these representations into genotype-specific and environment-specific components can enhance predictive models. To test this, we developed a compositional autoencoder (CAE) that decomposes high-dimensional data into distinct genotype-specific and environment-specific latent features. Our CAE framework employed a hierarchical architecture within an autoencoder to effectively separate …

Genome-Wide Association Analysis And Genomic Prediction Of Salt Tolerance Trait In Soybean Germplasm, Rongqing Xu, Qing Yang, Zhi Liu, Xiaolai Shi, Xintong Wu, Yuenhan Chen, Xingyu Du, Qiqi Gao, Di He, Ainong Shi, Peijun Tao, Long Yan

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction:

Soybean is an important protein and oil crop, and improving yield has traditionally been a major breeding goal. However, salt stress is an important abiotic factor that can severely impair soybean yield by disrupting metabolic processes, inhibiting photosynthesis, and hindering plant growth, ultimately leading to a decrease in productivity.

Methods:

This study utilized phenotypic and genotypic data from 563 soybean germplasms sourced from over 20 countries. Employing four distinct models—we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using four models, including MLM, MLMM, FarmCPU, and BLINK in GAPIT 3, we conducted a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) to identify single nucleotide …

Industrial Hemp Biomass Negatively Affected By Herbicide Drift From Corn And Soybean Herbicides, Milos Zaric, Bruno Canella Vieira, Barbara Houston, Guilherme Sousa Alves, Samuel E. Wortman, Julie A. Peterson, Greg R. Kruger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The establishment of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) fields near row crops has raised concerns about the potential adverse effects of herbicide drift on hemp production. This study examined hemp susceptibility to drift of herbicides registered for use in corn and/or soybeans. Herbicide solutions (2,4-D, dicamba, glufosinate, glyphosate, imazethapyr, lactofen, mesotrione) were applied separately in the wind tunnel (3.6 m s⁻¹ airspeed), simulating drift scenarios, with conventional TP95015EVS (TP) and air inclusion AI95015EVS (AI) flat fan nozzles calibrated to deliver 140 L ha⁻¹ carrier volume at 230 kPa. Mylar cards and hemp plants (20–25 cm tall) were placed …

Shelf-Life Evaluation Of Eastern Cantaloupe Cultivars, Wenjing Guan

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

As of 2018, Indiana cultivated approximately 1,800 acres of cantaloupes, primarily of the eastern type. For over a decade, ‘Aphrodite’ has been the most popular cultivar. Recently, extended shelf-life cultivars have been introduced and are gaining popularity in Indiana. Commercially, cantaloupes are typically harvested at the half-slip stage and are recommended to be stored at 36 to 45 °F with 95% relative humidity, allowing for an expected shelf-life of 10-14 days (Shellie and Lester, 2016). With the introduction of new cultivars, questions have arisen regarding how harvest maturity, storage temperature, and storage duration impact the shelf-life of both established and …

Evaluation Of Five Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Cultivars In Southwest Michigan In 2024, Ben Phillips

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A jack-o-lantern pumpkin cultivar trial was planted at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (42.081985, -86.354087, Benton Harbor, Michigan). Rupp (RP) seed company donated pumpkin seeds. Overall trial conditions were excellent, and the crop was harvested early due to the environmental conditions compounded with black plastic mulch pushing the plants to produce and ripen fruit early.

Evaluation Of 10 Specialty Pepper Cultivars In Southwest Michigan In 2024, Ben Phillips

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A specialty pepper cultivar trial was planted at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (42.081985, -86.354087, Benton Harbor, Michigan). Tozer (TZ) and United Genetics (UG) seed companies donated specialty pepper cultivars for plastic-mulch bedded and trellised hand harvest. Overall trial conditions were excellent, however our pre-plant fertilizer mixing was outsourced this year, and a spreader was rented from the same company. Due to either a mixing error or a misapplication with a piece of unfamiliar or malfunctioning equipment, the plots received a toxic level of boron, which remained in plant tissues for the whole season.

Evaluation Of 18 Bell Pepper Cultivars In Southwest Michigan In 2024, Ben Phillips

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A bell pepper cultivar trial was planted at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center (42.081985, -86.354087, Benton Harbor, Michigan). Bejo (BJ), Clifton (CL), Enza Zaden (EZ), Sakata (SK), Seminis (SE), and United Genetics (UG) seed companies donated bell pepper cultivars for plastic-mulch bedded and trellised hand harvest. Overall trial conditions were excellent, however our pre-plant fertilizer mixing was outsourced this year, and a spreader was rented from the same company. Due to either a mixing error or a misapplication with a piece of unfamiliar or malfunctioning equipment, the plots received a toxic level of boron, which remained in plant …