The Experts below are selected from a list of 174984 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
James Hitchmough - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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establishment of cultivated herbaceous perennials in purpose sown native wildflower meadows in south west scotland
2000Co-Authors: James HitchmoughAbstract:Abstract This paper presents the result of a 3 year field experiment into the establishment of cultivated herbaceous perennials by planting into a purpose sown, urban, native wildflower meadow in Ayr, south-west Scotland. The aim of the experiment was to see whether it was possible to produce an attractive, low maintenance meadow of native and exotic species for use in urban parks. Twenty species and cultivars of herbaceous perennials (forbs) were selected for the study on the basis of possessing attractive flowers and naturally being associated with damp to wet grasslands. They were planted as small container grown Plants into 200 mm diameter gaps in the wildflower meadow in September 1995, as individual Plants, pairs of the same species and pairs of different species. All planted forbs were harvested immediately prior to the annual summer hay cut, dried and the dry weight of their above ground biomass determined. Forbs planted as individuals were significantly larger in the second and third year of the study, than those planted with neighbours of the same or different species. Many species of planted forbs demonstrated high mortality by the third year of the experiment as a result of competition with the surrounding sown meadow. This competition also resulted in very low rates of dry weight increase in most planted species. Of the 20 species planted, only Geranium × magnificum , G. × oxonianum , Iris sibirica and Lychnis chalcedonica are considered to be ‘increaser’ species under meadow cultivation with a summer hay cut. Most species declined under the conditions investigated in this experiment. Factors believed to be responsible for the failure of forb establishment, and the implications of this for future works are discussed.
Kamalam Joseph - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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wick irrigation a smart and user friendly irrigation method for container grown Plants
2016Co-Authors: Kamalam JosephAbstract:Organic vegetable cultivation is gaining importance in the event of over-use of pesticides and fertilizers in commercial vegetable farming. Raising vegetables in the grow bags on the terraces of buildings is gaining popularity. However, the greatest problem faced is with regard to timely application of water especially in the container grown Plants. The limited rooting media of the containers demands frequent replenishment of water. The usual practice of watering is pot irrigation or hose irrigation, which has its own limitations. Water stress can occur from too much as well as from too little water. Stress caused by too little water reduces yield, with the level of reduction depending on when stress occurs in relation to crop development. Quality can also be affected. Over irrigation may also stress the crop through reduced soil aeration and cause similar consequences. A major effect of excess water is the reduction of nitrogen levels within the root zone to less than favorable levels. Further, there is lack of adequate knowledge on actual water requirement of crops at varying growth phases. With the objective of solving these problems, experiments were carried out in the Centre for Water Resources development and Management during the past many years. As a result, a user-friendly irrigation method ‘wick irrigation’ was developed which is cheap and at the same time water efficient. The scientific principle behind this irrigation method is capillary action. Water tends to move toward dry objects using this principle.
Lois Berg Stack - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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survey of consumer interest in organic sustainable and local container grown Plants in maine
2012Co-Authors: Gwendolyn Hawkins, Stephanie E Burnett, Lois Berg StackAbstract:In 2008, we administered a survey to participants at four venues in Maine to determine: 1) the degree of interest in organically, sustainably, and locally grown Plants; 2) whether respondents would pay more for these Plants compared with conventional Plants; and 3) which demographic groups expressed the greatest interest in organically, sustainably, or locally grown Plants. Respondents were highly interested in organic and sustainable vegetable/herb and ornamental Plants; median interest was 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 indicated low interest and 10 indicated high interest. They were less interested in locally grown Plants; respondents’ median interest in local Plants was 6 on the same scale. Survey respondents stated that they would pay 15% more (vegetable/ herbs) or 10% more (ornamentals) for organic, sustainable, or local Plants than they would for conventionally grown Plants. Several demographic factors indicated that respondents were either willing to spend more money on nonconventional Plants, or were at least more interested in these kinds of Plants. Income and education were positively correlated with the amount of money respondents stated they would spend on nonconventional Plants. Younger participants were more interested than older participants in sustainable and organic Plants, but they were not willing to pay more for these Plants than older participants. Similarly, women were more interested than men in nonconventional Plants, but were not likely to spend more on them than men. This survey indicated that there is a strong market for organic and sustainable vegetable, herb, and ornamental Plants. Growers could potentially charge 10% to 15% more for these Plants than for conventionally grown Plants. They would likely receive the highest premium for organic and sustainable Plants from individuals with higher incomes and education levels.
Jianjun Chen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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daily water requirement of container grown davallia bullata and nephrolepis exaltata and implication in irrigation practices
2020Co-Authors: Richard C Beeson, Roger Kjelgren, Jianjun ChenAbstract:Container crop production has become increasingly popular, but daily water requirements of those crops from transplanting to marketable or harvestable stages are largely unavailable. To address this concern, daily water consumption of two Container-Grown fern species, Davallia bullata and Nephrolepis exaltata from initial transplanting to marketable size were studied using a canopy closure model. Daily actual evapotranspiration (ETA) of D. bullata ranged from 4.6 mL to 76.5 mL with an average of 29.0 mL per plant per day. The mean cumulative ETA was 13.2 L during 431 days of production spanning from 8 November 2006 to 4 February 2008. Two crops of N. exaltata were produced. Daily ETA per N. exaltata plant produced in crop 1 varied from 19.0 to 241.2 mL with an average of 69.5 mL, and daily ETA of crop 2 differed from 5.7 to 136.8 mL with a mean of 74.0 mL. Both crops had a cumulative ETA of 9.4 L. Such differences in daily ETA and cumulative ETA between the two fern species raised further concern of irrigation practices in commercial foliage plant production as multiple species are commonly produced in one greenhouse and share the same irrigation schedule. Comparing daily ETA and cumulative ETA values of the ferns with the other studied foliage Plants indicated that daily ETA and cumulative ETA are species specific. Therefore, to improve irrigation efficiency, daily ETA and cumulative ETA values of major Container-Grown Plants should be established. Implementing the research-based daily ETA and cumulative ETA in container plant production should reduce irrigation water leaching and runoff and conserving freshwater resources.
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biochar or biochar compost amendment to a peat based substrate improves growth of syngonium podophyllum
2019Co-Authors: Faisal Zulfiqar, Adnan Younis, Jianjun ChenAbstract:Increasing demand for sustainable and low-cost alternatives to peat is a challenge in the production of Container-Grown Plants. Biochar (BC) and compost, as eco-friendly materials, could be used to completely or partially substitute for peat. However, information regarding plant responses to the substitution is limited. This study evaluated effects of the amendment of a BC or a BC-compost mixture (BioComp) to a peat-based substrate at 20% by volume on the growth of Syngonium podophyllum. BC was pyrolyzed from wheat straw at 350 °C. Compost was made from farm green waste. BC or BioComp amendment elevated the pH and electrical conductivity of formulated substrates and improved plant growth. Concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and chlorophyll in leaves and the net photosynthetic rate of Plants grown in BC or BioComp amended substrates were significantly higher than those grown in the control substrate. Total soluble protein and total phenolic contents were greater in Plants grown in BC- or BioComp-amended substrates as well, but no significant difference occurred in reactive oxygen-related enzymatic activities, reducing power or proline contents across substrates. Our results show that BC or BioComp can be used to replace 20% of peat by volume, and such replacement enhanced S. podophyllum growth.
Marc W Van Iersel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a calibrated time domain transmissometry soil moisture sensor can be used for precise automated irrigation of container grown Plants
2011Co-Authors: Julian Mirallescrespo, Marc W Van IerselAbstract:Irrigation control systems that irrigate Container-Grown Plants based on crop water needs can reduce water and fertilizer use and increase the sustainability of ornamental crop production. The use of soil moisture sensors to determine when to irrigate is a viable option. We tested a commercially available irrigation controller (CS3500; Acclima, Meridian, ID), which uses time domain transmissometry (TDT) sensors to measure soil volumetric water content (θ). The objectives of this study were: 1) to test the accuracy of TDT sensors in soilless substrate; 2) to quantify the ability of the Acclima CS3500 irrigation controller to maintain stable θ readings during the production of Container-Grown begonia (Begonia semperflorens L.) by turning a drip irrigation system on and off as needed; and 3) to study the growth and photosynthetic physiology of begonia at six θ levels. Calibration of the TDT sensors in pots filled with substrate (but without Plants) showed that the 0 determined by the TDT sensors had a very close relationship (R 2 = 0.99) with the gravimetrically determined 0, but the TDT sensors underestimated θ by ≈ 0.08 m 3 ·m -3 . Therefore, a custom calibration of the TDT sensors for the soilless substrate was necessary to get accurate 0 data. The irrigation controller was programmed to maintain six 0 thresholds, ranging from 0.136 to 0.472 m 3 ·m -3 (based on our own sensor calibration), and was able to maintain 0 readings within 0.008 m 3 ·m -3 of the threshold. Theta and Sigma probes were used to collect comparative 0 and bulk electrical conductivity (EC) data, respectively. The results showed a strong correlation with TDT sensor measurements of 0 (R 2 = 0.92) but a moderate relationship for bulk EC (R 2 = 0.53). The begonias had similar dry weight at 0 levels of 0.348 m 3 ·m -3 and higher, whereas total evapotranspiration increased linearly with the 0 threshold. The lowest 0 threshold reduced leaf size, net photosynthesis (P n ), and stomatal conductance (g s ). Overall, the TDT sensors can provide accurate measurements of 0 in soilless substrate but need substrate-specific calibration. The Acclima CS3500 controller, using TDT sensors, was able to maintain stable 0 readings throughout a production cycle. These results suggest that this irrigation controller may be suitable for production of greenhouse crops as well as in drought stress research.