Fruit Production and Organic Agriculture
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Drought stress physiology and landscape performance of birch taxa (Betula spp.) in Arkansas Gu Mengmeng
Gu Mengmeng
Betula is a genus of approximately 50 species distributed throughout the northern temperate America, Europe and Asia. Their natural habits are usually humid and cool temperature sites. Birch, especially white-barked taxa, are very popular ornamental plants in the northern United States. In general, white-barked birches generally perform poorly in the south due to intense summer heat and periodic drought, which increase birches' susceptibility to bronze birch borer. Besides anecdotal observations, performance data of white-barked birches or other birch options is not available under southern conditions. The objective of our field study this study was to evaluate survival and growth of about 20 birch taxa in Arkansas. In the greenhouse, several popular birch taxa are exposed to water deficit stress to explore its physiological response and mechanism.
Using Alternative Methods of Bloom Thinning for Apple Vikramjit Singh Bajwa
Apple Flower
My research is focused towards identifying and characterizing potential blossom thinning agents for Apple. I am investigating various chemicals or methods for their ability to inhibit pollination or fertilization or both in flower at full bloom. I have tried these chemicals on flowers for their effectiveness in field conditions and will find out those, which are organically certifiable, non-phytotoxic and improve quality characters like size, firmness, and sweetness and results in good return bloom. I have tried chemicals such as salts with strong osmotic potential that can cause pistil dehydration/desiccation or kill pistils or cellular membrane breakdown and thus preventing fertilization from happening. Oils (such as vegetable oils, corn oil), and other chemicals like Polysulfide (Lime-sulfur), which can prevent pollination and fertilization either by pistil desiccation or by acting as pollinicides i.e. killing pollen or preventing the germination of pollen on stigma by forming a boundary between them.
Impact of Potential Organic Pesticides and Fruit Crop Load Regulators on Photosynthesis of Apple Jason McAfee
As organic fruit production is continuing to increase in demand, we are interested in finding new alternatives that are organically certifiable in the agricultural industry. This requires screening of naturally occurring compounds in which we can use as potential crop load regulators or even potential herbicides. We are measuring the effects of various compounds on the photosynthetic efficiency of the plant. This will give us a better understanding of how various salts, osmotics, oils, and bioregulants can affect an apple tree. In doing so, we can create new alternatives for orchard growers managing an organic and sustainable management system.