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Thursday, July 31
 

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - A genome size and ploidy survey of The Morton Arboretum linden collection (Tilia spp. L.)
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
The linden genus (Tilia spp.) is a group of mostly trees native to the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia composed of approximately 30 species. As a group of broadly adapted trees, lindens are planted in municipal forests around the world along streets and in parks. Species are known to be somewhat difficult to identify due to the consistently shared morphology of the foliage and flowers as well as notable variation on a single specimen. Additionally, species are capable of hybridization when overlapping in distribution. Ploidy variation within the genus has been reported in the literature as both diploids (2n=2x=82) and tetraploids (2n=4x=164). In order to better understand relationships among species, ploidy should be known. Flow cytomery can be used to determine ploidy and relative genome size. The Morton Arboretum Plant Collections Network accredited Tilia collection includes 58 unique taxa representing 24 species from around the world. The current study uses flow cytometry with the fluorochrome DAPI and Pisum sativum 'Ctirad' as the internal standard to determine ploidy in wild and cultivated lindens. Information from this study can and will be used to inform the development of a genus phylogeny as well as applied in breeding programs.
Speakers
KO

Katherine Opila

The Morton Arboretum
NA
Co-authors
KS

Kim Shearer

The Morton Arboretum
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source The Morton Arboretum

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - Effects of Magnesium Fertilization on Chlorophyll Accumulation in Watercress
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
Magnesium (Mg) is a critical macronutrient in plant physiology, playing a central role in photosynthesis, enzyme activation, and energy metabolism. As the core atom in the chlorophyll molecule, magnesium in form of Magnesium Sulphate, directly influences chlorophyll biosynthesis and overall plant health. This study investigated the effects of varying magnesium concentrations from very low (100 mg/L), low (150 mg/L), medium (200 mg/L), high (250 mg/L), on chlorophyll accumulation in watercress. Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) is a fast-growing, nutrient-rich leafy vegetable from the Brassicaceae family. The main objective of the study was to determine the optimal magnesium application level that maximizes the chlorophyll content without causing nutrient imbalances. The experiment was conducted under controlled environmental conditions using a split plot design. Watercress was grown hydroponically using nutrient film techniques throughout key stages of vegetative growth. Chlorophyll content was assessed using SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development) meter readings and confirmed through spectrophotometric analysis of chlorophyll extracts. Results revealed that all magnesium treatments led to significant increases in chlorophyll content compared to the untreated control group. The most significancy concentration occurred at 200 mg/L and 250 mg/L concentrations, with 200 mg/L emerging as the most efficient level for promoting chlorophyll accumulation without physiological stress. Enhanced chlorophyll levels correlated with improved leaf coloration; deep green color and overall vigor, suggesting greater photosynthetic efficiency and biomass potential. This study demonstrates that appropriate magnesium fertilization can substantially improve chlorophyll concentration and physiological performance in watercress. These findings offer valuable guidance for growers seeking to optimize yield and quality of leafy greens through targeted nutrient management. Future research should explore supplemental magnesium fertilization effects on biomass accumulation and interactions with other macronutrients.
Speakers
AS

AFFOUE SEPHORA FLAVIE YAO

Kentucky State University
Co-authors
GA

Germaine Akeza

Kentucky State University
Ms. Germaine N. Akeza is a graduate Research Assistant at Kentucky State University, pursuing a master’s in environmental studies. Born and raised in a densely populated Country from a family of subsistence farmers whose farming experience instilled in her the principles of hard... Read More →
RK

Richard Kabanda

Kentucky State University
TN

THEONESTE NZARAMYIMANA

Kentucky State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Land Grant

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - Evaluating New Sweetcorn Hybrids for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in the Virgin Islands
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
Many breeding populations of sweetcorn have been developed for resistance to corn earworm, Heliothis zea, using Zapalote Chico (ZC) lines as a main resistance genetic resource. We are evaluating ZC as a source of drought and heat tolerance and to determine if ZC confers such tolerance to Hawaiian Super Sweet (HSS) developed at University of Hawaii. We are comparing the genetic potency of single-eared ZC landrace that is segregating for purple stem and tassel, and green stem and tassel in a hybrid with the the all-green, double-eared HSS. Forward and reciprocal hybrids were developed between HSS for a total of four hybrid sub-groups incorporating the two color sub-groups of ZC and HSS as the parents. The hybrids were developed at the University of the Virgin Islands, agInnovation Research Station. The F1 and the parents were evaluated under three levels of severity of deficit irrigation and exposed to the same level of summer heat. Fresh yield, sweetness and time to harvest were compared among the F1s. Preliminary results show that based on the three metrics we used, the HSS/ZCpurple had a higher tolerance to water deficit than the HSS/ZCwhite, while no significant difference were observed among the reciprocal F1s. The double-eared HSS/_derived hybrids may have the potential to improve sweetcorn production for the Virgin Islands small-scale producers Key words: Abiotic stress, genetics, hybrid, sweetcorn, Zapalote Chico
Speakers
NM

Naseem McIntosh

University of the Virgin Islands
NA
Co-authors
HA

Henry Awika

University of the Virgin Islands
SM

Sydney M Philbert

University of the Virgin Islands
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA-AMS-SCBG-VIDA

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - Growing Medicinal Shrubs in the Arid Southwest
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
In the Southwest, increasing water shortages and persistent arid conditions make growing crops difficult. An important question to ask is whether expanding to organic growing systems can support small farms to not only meet water demands but also support the farm’s income. Catering to the environment by selecting medicinal native plants that are drought and heat-tolerant could achieve this goal. Organic farming methods and alternative crop choices play a crucial role in resilience. Our project’s objective is to identify perennial shrubs that hold cultural relevance for small farmers in the Southwest. High-value shrubs with medicinal properties were cultivated using organic farming practices. For the first year in June 2024, we planted chokecherry (Prunus virginiana L.), native plum (Prunus americana M.), and golden currant (Ribes aureum P.), and they were monitored for establishment. In May 2025, survival rates were conducted, only a total of 5 shrubs did not survive out of a total of 36 shrubs. However, 31 perennial shrubs from three species overwintered successfully and have returned for a second year. After year one, we conclude that these native shrubs exhibit high survival rates in the region. For upcoming work, we will conduct replicated trials using water-deficit, well-watered, and normal watering being our control.
Speakers
KR

Kristen Ramos

New Mexico State University
Co-authors
CM

Connie Maxwell

New Mexico State University
NA
IG

Ivette Guzman

New Mexico State University
KL

Kevin Lombard

New Mexico State University
Kevin Lombard is a Professor of Horticulture and Research Director of the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center at Farmington, a 250 acre research farm uniquely located on the Navajo Nation. His research encompasses specialty crop evaluations including grapes, fruit... Read More →
RH

Robert Heyduck

New Mexico State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA NIFA ORG GR0007385
  • Funding Option OREl or ORG funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - Temporal Light Quality or Intensity Alternations Elicit Sequence-Dependent Intermediate Lettuce Growth Compared to Fixed
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
In sole-source lighting of indoor-grown plants, blue (B, 400-500 nm) and red (R, 600-700 nm) light are commonly used because of their high photosynthetic photon efficacy. Increasing the B fraction generally decreases plant size and biomass but enhances secondary metabolism. When light is a limiting factor, proportionally increasing B R light promotes electron transport and thus photosynthesis and biomass. Although indoor farming typically uses fixed lighting, dynamic lighting that tailors light quality and intensity for each growth phase has potential to balance desirable traits. We evaluated how temporally alternating the relative and absolute amounts of B and R light influenced growth, morphology, and pigmentation of red-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’. We grew plants indoors at 20-22 °C air temperature and 18%-24% relative humidity under a 24-hour photoperiod. After germination under R180 (each subscript denotes photon flux density in µmol∙m–2∙s–1) for 4 days, plants were subject to four fixed light treatments (R180, B90R90, B180, and B180R180) or four temporal light alternations over six 4-day intervals (R180→B180, B180→R180, B90R90→B180R180, and B180R180→B90R90, with each repeating the switch between 4 days of the former treatment and 4 days of the latter treatment). We collected data on seedlings and mature plants 12 and 28 days after seed sow, respectively. For fixed light treatments except B180R180, increasing the B fraction from 0% to 100% decreased shoot biomass by 38%-47% for seedlings and 62%-74% for mature plants, but increased chlorophyll concentration and red coloration. Given equal B and R light, doubling the PPFD increased shoot biomass by 54%-55% for seedlings and 75%-83% for mature plants. Temporal light quality or intensity alternations resulted in similar seedling growth to the latter treatment in the alternating sequence, if fixed. In contrast, repeated temporal light alternations resulted in intermediate mature plant growth between growth under the former and latter treatments in the alternating sequence, if fixed, albeit more resemblant to the latter. Interestingly, given the same total light integrals, the B180→R180 alternation increased shoot biomass by 40%-50% and leaf size compared to fixed B90R90. We conclude continuous or intermittent high B light decreases lettuce growth, and effects of temporal light alternations on lettuce growth are generally in between effects of fixed light treatments, oftentimes resembling effects of the latter treatment in the sequence.
Speakers
TM

Talia McCann

University of Delaware
NA
Co-authors
QM

Qingwu Meng

University of Delaware
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Funding was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (award # 80NSSC23K1427).

9:00am CDT

UG 3 - Temporally Increasing Light Intensity Produces Similar Lettuce Growth More Efficiently Than Fixed High Light
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
Sole-source light-emitting diode (LED) lighting is indispensable in controlled environments without sunlight, including growth chambers, indoor vertical farms, and spaceflight conditions. Crops like lettuce (Lactuca sativa) are typically grown under fixed light over the entire growing cycle. There is potential to improve light use efficiency through dynamic lighting using dimmable LEDs, but a knowledge gap exists in plant responses to changing light intensities. In an indoor experiment, we characterized how temporal light intensity alternations influenced growth, morphology, and pigmentation of red-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’. From day 0 to 28, we germinated and grew lettuce hydroponically at 21-23 °C air temperature and 18%-27% relative humidity under six lighting treatments, including two fixed photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFDs) of 150 and 350 µmol∙m–2∙s–1 and four temporal PPFD alternations with increasing PPFDs (150→250→250, 150→350→350, 250→250→350, and 250→350→350 µmol∙m–2∙s–1) over three lettuce growth phases [lag phase (days 0-11)→exponential phase (days 11-25)→finish phase (days 25-28)]. All treatments had the same light spectrum (50% warm white 50% red) and 24-hour photoperiod. We collected seedling data and transplanted additional seedlings into Kratky-style hydroponic units on day 11 and collected mature plant data on day 28. Increasing the fixed PPFD from 150 to 350 µmol∙m–2∙s–1 increased seedling shoot fresh and dry mass by 69% and 84%, respectively, leaf number from 4 to 5, leaf width by 22%, chlorophyll concentration index by 15%, and red coloration, while decreasing leaf length by 11%. Similarly, for mature plants, increasing the fixed PPFD from 150 to 350 µmol∙m–2∙s–1 increased shoot fresh and dry mass by 66% and 70%, respectively, leaf number by 23%, leaf width by 11%, and chlorophyll concentration index by 37%, while decreasing light use efficiency (biomass per unit light) by 27%-29%. Compared to the fixed 350 treatment, the 250→250→350 and 250→350→350 alternations resulted in similar biomass, morphology, and pigmentation. However, the 250→250→350 alternation had 23%-31% higher light use efficiency than the fixed 350 treatment. With all treatments taken together, increasing the total light integral from 363 to 847 mol∙m–2 increased shoot fresh and dry mass but decreased light use efficiency. In conclusion, a temporal light intensity alternation produces comparably high biomass in lettuce more efficiently than fixed high light.
Speakers
SD

Sarah Ding

University of Delaware
NA
Co-authors
QM

Qingwu Meng

University of Delaware
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:00am - 10:00am CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Undergraduate Student 3
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Funding was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (award # 80NSSC23K1427).

9:45am CDT

Coffee Break
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:45am - 10:15am CDT
Empire AB
Thursday July 31, 2025 9:45am - 10:15am CDT
Empire AB
  Conference Central Activities

10:00am CDT

Complimentary Seated Massage
Thursday July 31, 2025 10:00am - 4:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Take a moment to relax and recharge with a complimentary seated massage in the exhibit hall! Offered exclusively to conference attendees, this refreshing experience is available on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to stop by early. Whether you need a quick escape from the hustle and bustle or a moment to unwind between sessions, our skilled massage therapists will help melt away tension—leaving you refreshed, reenergized, and ready to make the most of your time at the conference. Don't miss out on this perfect opportunity to treat yourself!
Thursday July 31, 2025 10:00am - 4:00pm CDT
Empire AB

12:14pm CDT

Thursday Poster Session 5
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:14pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:14pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster presentation

12:15pm CDT

GG - Enhancing Molecular Analysis of Emerald Ash Borer Resistance in Fraxinus Species
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Assessments of genes associated with plant host defense responses can be challenging as the defensive mechanisms that enable the host-mediated defense can be the very compounds that make gene expression assays particularly challenging. RNA extraction from woody plant tissues presents significant challenges due to endogenous phenolics, secondary metabolites, and stem polysaccharides. We have established an improved extraction protocol for Fraxinus species, yielding superior results to commercial kits. Our optimized approach, validated across diverse tissue types from over 10 Fraxinus species, consistently produces high-purity RNA with exceptional concentrations (>3000 ng/μL) and integrity (RIN scores 8.0-10.0). The RNA quality we have achieved allows us to detect and analyze rare transcripts that may play crucial roles in emerald ash borer resistance mechanisms. Our approach enables us to quantify copy numbers of defense genes triggered during insect attacks, shedding new light on the molecular basis of resistance pathways in ash trees. By employing digital droplet PCR and RNA-seq calibrated, we can determine the key defense genes' exact transcript copy numbers, including those encoding protease inhibitors, phenolic compounds, and terpenoid synthases central to anti-herbivory responses. We have validated a stable reference gene suite with reliable quality control and consistent expression benchmarks. These references serve as crucial yardsticks when measuring expression patterns across ash trees with varying levels of EAB vulnerability. By determining actual transcript numbers, we can make more meaningful comparisons between ash species and genotypes, helping us identify the critical expression thresholds needed for effective resistance. This work strengthens our partnership with the Chicago Region Tree Initiative, supporting efforts to build more resilient urban forests and protect endangered ash species. Through our detailed analysis of gene expression profiles across diverse ash populations, we are working to pinpoint the genetic signatures that confer EAB resistance. These findings will enable the development of efficient molecular screening tools (e.g., SNP marker panels, transcriptomic signature profiles, or RNA expression ratio tests) for large-scale population assessment and accelerate efforts for this important genus. (Co-authored by Dr. Nathan Maren, Woody Plant Breeder and Genomics Specialist at The Morton Arboretum).
Speakers
RP

Robert Petursson

The Morton Arboretum
Co-authors
NM

Nathan Maren

The Morton Arboretum
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm

12:15pm CDT

GG - Genetic Mapping of Apple Stomatal Traits With Computer Vision
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Stomatal function is a critical determinant of overall plant vigor, health, and yield. Higher stomatal conductance is associated with higher yields, and therefore is a trait of interest for plant improvement. Although stomatal conductance is governed by a complex balance between many factors, stomatal size and density are two traits that set the foundation for a genotype’s response to the external/internal factors. Understanding the genetic architecture of these traits is a key first step in the process of genetic selection; unfortunately, phenotyping stomatal traits on the scale required for mapping studies can be logistically challenging. In this experiment, we microscopically imaged stomata in apple leaves and used two computer vision methods to rapidly phenotype stomatal traits- a convolutional neural network (CNN) and the web-based computer vision platform BioDock. Two apple populations with existing molecular marker information were phenotyped: a biparental mapping population of approximately 400 individuals and the USDA’s Malus germplasm collection. Genetic mapping was carried out using the ‘r/qtl’ and ‘GWASpoly’ packages in R for the mapping population and germplasm collection, respectively. Both computer vision models yielded accuracies >90% for phenotyping stomatal density in the training and validation datasets, demonstrating that these models are effective methods for quickly phenotyping large stomatal image datasets. Preliminary results indicated peaks associated with stomatal density on chromosome 1 and chromosome 7. Furthermore, stomatal density was negatively correlated with stomatal size- resulting in less variation in total stomatal area than either the distributions of distribution or size would indicate. Future work in this project will focus on identifying the genes involved in regulating stomatal density in apples, as well as generalizing the computer vision models to function on multiple plant species.
Speakers
KB

Kenneth Buck

Cornell University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm

12:15pm CDT

GG - Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Characterization of RING-Type E3 Ligase Proteins in Pisum Sativum During Root
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Pea (Pisum sativum) is a valuable legume crop recognized for its rich nutritional profile, offering plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, and essential minerals. It holds a significant place in the growing plant-based protein industry, which is projected to reach $313.5 million by 2025. However, global pea production is declining due to soilborne diseases, notably root rots caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi (Fsp). In our earlier study, we performed time-course transcriptome analysis on four Fsp-tolerant and four Fsp-susceptible pea genotypes during pathogen infection, identifying several Fsp-responsive genes. Interestingly, the dataset also contained Fusarium-derived genes, many of which encode ubiquitin, ubiquitin-like proteins, and the ubiquitin-40S ribosomal protein S31 fusion protein. EffectorP analysis revealed that these proteins are secretory in nature. We hypothesize that Fusarium secretes these proteins into host cells to manipulate the host’s ubiquitin-proteasome system, leading to the degradation of plant defense proteins. To explore this further, we investigated RING-type E3 ligase proteins in Pisum sativum, which play key roles in protein ubiquitination. A total of 663 genes encoding RING-type E3 ligases were identified, each containing at least one RING domain as predicted by the SMART database. Domain analysis revealed additional conserved motifs within these proteins. An Un-rooted Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic tree grouped the RING proteins based on shared domain architecture. Transcriptomic data indicates that these genes are differentially expressed during Fsp infection. The E3 Ligase genes are upregulated in Fsp-susceptible cultivars and downregulated in Fsp-tolerant cultivars. These genes can be used to generate future knock-out mutants and perform functional studies to enhance pea resistance to Fsp-induced root rot.
Speakers
JM

Josiah Manning

Texas A
M.S. in Horticultural Sciences graduate student at Texas A
Co-authors
AP

Adwaita Parida

A and M Texas, College station
AD
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm
  • Subject Genetics and Germplasm
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Startup funding to the Dhingra Genomics and Biotechnology Lab.

12:15pm CDT

GG - Optimizing Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Technology for Rapid Onsite Diagnosis of Phytophthora capsici
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Detecting Phytophthora capsici (P. capsici) based solely on visual symptoms is challenging and often leads to misdiagnosis. Farmers frequently harvest seemingly healthy fruits, only for fruit rot to develop after shipping. Furthermore, other pathogens can mimic P. capsici symptoms on cucurbits and peppers, and plants may even suffer simultaneous attacks by multiple pathogens, complicating identification. Without timely and accurate diagnosis, P. capsici can spread rapidly, causing significant crop losses. Current diagnostic methods, including traditional microscopy-based culture techniques and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are time-intensive and lack sensitivity for early-stage infections. This study introduces an optimized Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) genomic approach for rapid and precise detection of P. capsici in plant samples, both in laboratory and field settings. Designed for portability and capable of sequencing reads up to 100 kb, the ONT MinION device—smaller than a smartphone—provides a promising solution for in-field diagnostics. Plant tissue samples, symptomatic and non-symptomatic, were collected from cucurbit and pepper fields through collaborators during late summer and early fall. Total DNA was extracted using a magnetic bead-based kit (Primerdesign, Southampton, UK). Sequencing libraries were prepared using ONT’s 1D-cDNA sequencing kit, loaded onto a MinION 107 v9.5 Flow Cell, and analyzed using the Mk1B MinION device. Raw sequence reads in fast5 format were converted to fastq or fasta, with high-quality reads subjected to BLAST searches against the NCBI database for P. capsici identification. The deployment of ONT enables the generation of actionable genomic data in real-time, enhancing our understanding of P. capsici and its role in Phytophthora blight disease development in cucurbits. This technology represents a breakthrough in the rapid, field-based diagnosis of P. capsici, providing farmers with an efficient tool to mitigate crop losses. Keywords: Oxford Nanopore Sequencing Technology (ONT), Phytophthora capsici, Raw sequence reads, Phytophthora blight.
Speakers
KT

KUMUDINI TALARI

Alcorn State University
Research Associate at Alcorn State University
Co-authors
EA

Emran Ali

Alcorn State University
NA
SW

Sumyya waliullah

Alcorn State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm
  • Subject Genetics and Germplasm
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source NIFA,NM State University, Delta regional, Alcorn Extension Program

12:15pm CDT

GG - Screening Common Bean and Runner Bean Genotypes To Ashy Stem Blight and White Mold
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Ashy stem blight and white mold caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goidanich and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum L. de Bary, respectively are important fungi pathogens affecting common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) worldwide. Genetic resistance is the most environmental friendly approach to control both diseases. Our objective was to evaluate the response of Phaseolus spp. germplasm to three fungal isolates. Two runner bean accessions (P. coccineus L.), and 23 common bean genotypes including 10 UPR-Mp breeding lines derived from multiple-parent crosses were inoculated with the NY133 S. sclerotiorum isolate and PRI21 and PRI24M M. phaseolina isolates by the cut-stem method in the greenhouse. The disease severity was evaluated at 35 days post-inoculation. Middle American common beans ‘Othello’, TARS-MST1, and ‘Verano’ were susceptible (mean scores > 6.5) to all fungal isolates whereas the runner beans PI 183412 (Sel-1 and Sel-2) and breeding line UPR-Mp-57 were susceptible to NY133. Andean common beans A 195, ‘PC 50’, PRA154, PRA155, and VA 19 were intermediate (scores 4-6) to NY133, PRI21, and PRI24M. In contrast, Middle American beans 92BG-7 and BAT 477 were intermediate to NY133 and PRI21, and susceptible to PRI24M. The runner beans PI 183412-Sel-1 and PI 183412-Sel-2, and common bean breeding lines UPR-Mp-22, UPR-Mp-48, UPR-Mp-54, and UPR-Mp-57 were resistant (scores < 3.5) to PRI21 and intermediate to PRI24M. Conversely, UPR-Mp-34 and UPR-Mp-54 were resistant to NY133. This information should help to select parents with higher levels of resistance that may be used in breeding programs for both diseases.
Speakers
DV

Diego Viteri

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Co-authors
AL

Angela Linares Ramirez

University of Puerto Rico
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm

12:15pm CDT

GG - Where, when and at what time to phenotype canopy cooling capacity in wheat breeding programs?
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
In light of the increasing demand for resilient crops amid global food security concerns, recent advances in omics technologies have accelerated plant breeding efforts. Nonetheless, their effectiveness is often undermined by limited phenotypic resolution, particularly under field conditions. Traditional approaches based on single daily measurements are insufficient to capture the full spectrum of genotypic responses, especially when environmental stress is present. This study explores the potential of thermal imaging using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor canopy temperature (CT) in wheat, providing a non-invasive proxy for assessing plant water status. A collection of 184 genetically distinct wheat genotypes was examined under both irrigated and rainfed conditions within a Mediterranean agroecosystem. Thermal data were recorded across multiple phenological phases (from anthesis to grain filling) and at various times throughout the day. The analysis revealed that both developmental stage and time of observation substantially influenced CT patterns, thereby impacting the detection of genotype-specific responses to drought. The most pronounced thermal contrasts between irrigation regimes were observed during the milk-dough and dough stages, particularly in the mid-afternoon when vapor pressure deficit (VPD) reached its peak. These insights support the integration of diurnal thermal phenotyping into breeding pipelines as a means to enhance the identification of drought-adaptive traits in cereal crops.
Speakers
GA

Gustavo A. Lobos

Universidad de Talca
Co-authors
AD

Alejandro del Pozo

U. de Talca
NA
CA

Carlos Araya

U. de Talca
NA
DC
FM

Felipe Moraga

U. de Talca
NA
GR

Gonzalo Rios-Vasquez

U. Católica de Valparaiso
NA
HA

Hamza Ali Khan

U. de Talca
NA
HD

Hanns de la Fuente-Mella

U. Católica de Valparaiso
NA
IP

Isadora Perez

U. de Talca
NA
IM
JF

Jesus Flores

Curimapu
NA
JC

Jose Cares

U. de Talca
NA
JP

Josefa Pacheco

U. de Talca
NA
LI
MB

Manuel Bravo

U. Católica de Valparaiso
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Central Sierra Shifting Paradigm To Sustainable Organic And Conventional Production Systems
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
The regional surveys assess stakeholder needs and shape regional policymaking. The regional survey was conducted in the Central Sierra region (CSR) of California, covering El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne counties, with 52 respondents. The respondents were classified as beginner (20 years) farmers selling their produce mainly at the farmers market and local processing units. The survey found that a significant proportion grows organic food (33%) along with conventional food (38%) and prefer in-person extension communication (79%). The survey recorded diverse crop production systems, including wine grapes, apples, olives, walnuts, berries, pears, vegetables, and flowers in the CSR mostly depend upon groundwater trapped in deeper fractured rock formations, followed by surface water from irrigation districts, springs, and seasonal creeks. The survey underscores the shift in interest among farmers for regenerative practices, (a) field-management, for example, irrigation mainly done by plant-based indicators, followed by calendar-based and sensor-based irrigation, showing the potential area for irrigation workshops, (b) input-management (cover crops, no-till, mulching, manure/composting, etc.), as most of them being the resource limited. Our results agree with the Intermountain Region (Utah extension personnel), who found a similar increase in interest among farmers regarding regenerative agricultural practices in a recent survey. This survey emphasizes emerging interest of (a) resource limited farmers in (b) regenerative practices, and (c) in-person extension communication.
Speakers
HS

Hardeep Singh

Farm Advisor, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
Co-authors
AS

Arshdeep Singh

California State University Chico
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Community and Agriculture Audits in Two Kansas City Communities
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Due to natural disasters, COVID-19, and economic shifts, resilient agricultural food systems have become increasingly important to cities. Research examining the conditions that support resilient agricultural production systems is critical. Grassroots urban agriculture initiatives often arise to help mitigate the effects of disturbances. The ability of local initiatives to absorb and manage shock relies upon access to various forms of capital including human, social, financial, physical, and natural capital. Along with these forms of capital, governance and political infrastructure can greatly influence food system resilience. Food system audit tools have increased in popularity as a way to evaluate a food system’s accessibility to capital as well as examine system gaps and strengths. Many food system audit tools have been created to assess food systems at different system levels for different stakeholder audiences. This project used the audit tool titled the Community and Agriculture Resilience Audit Tool (CARAT), developed by the North American Food Systems Network, to assess how the communities of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas are utilizing the assets of their food system to achieve community resilience. During this study, policies, practices, and programs relating to the urban food system were analyzed by using the 101 indicators from CARAT. To analyze these urban food system assets, the researchers conducted interviews and focus groups with key community stakeholders. In these interviews, specific indicators from CARAT were used as questions to gauge the implementation or lack thereof of policies, practices, and programs specifically relating to urban food systems within the two cities. Searches of publicly available websites were also conducted to examine each city’s zoning ordinances and codes. After data collection, the 101 indicators are then scored based on the CARAT scoring guidelines: does not apply (x), no (0), being considered (1), in place (2), and being implemented (3). These scores act as a baseline for the two cities’ food systems and highlight areas of strengths and weakness to community stakeholders to help prioritize actions to enhance food system resiliency. The initial results indicate that there are more community policies, practices, programs in the CARAT themes of Natural Resource Management and Place-based Economics and fewer community policies, practices, programs in the themes of Community Health
Speakers
DK

Dustin Kohn

Kansas State University
Co-authors
EP

Eleni Pliakoni

Kansas State University
RS

Rebekkah Stuteville

Metropolitan Community College- Maple Woods
NA
TJ

Tricia Jenkins

Kansas State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems
  • Subject Local Food Systems
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Game-changing Research Initiation Program

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Comparison of ecosystem services of high diversity intercropping and monocropping
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Intercropping systems have been used for thousands of years and provide numerous ecological benefits that promote sustainability. This study evaluates the performance of three diverse seed mixes (warm season soil builder, warm season pollinator mix, milpa garden warm season) alongside 3 monocrops: iron and clay cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), mancan buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), and butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) in terms of soil health improvement, pollinator support, and productivity. Additionally, the social acceptance of the seed mixes’ appearance and their use in public and private landscaping will be assessed. Soil samples were collected from each plot before and after each growing season to analyze soil health. Plots were observed for five minutes weekly to count the number of flowers and pollinator visits. The harvested produce was weighed and analyzed for nutritional content. Cowpea resulted in a higher average improvement in soil health indicators compared to the three seed mixes. Pollinator activity indicated that the ratio of pollinators to flowers was similar between the monocrop buckwheat and the three seed mix treatments. Butternut squash produced significantly greater weight, calories, and nutrients than the garden milpa. Milpa demonstrated comparable soil health and pollinator support to other seed mixes. These encouraging results suggest that milpa can be an effective tool for sustainable agricultural practices.
Speakers
MB

Molly Boyd

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NA
Co-authors
CE

Christian Elowsky

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NA
LL

Louise Lynch-O'Brien

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NA
RS

Ronald Stephenson

Plant Sciences Hall
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Connecting Researchers to Small-Scale Farmers: A Case Study with On-Farm Sweetpotato Trials in Western Washington
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
There is growing interest in the viability of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) as a direct market crop in the maritime climate of western Washington. In 2023 and 2024, we partnered with researchers at the Washington State University Northwest Washington Research and Extension Center (WSU NWREC) to coordinate on-farm sweetpotato trials across northwest Washington with on-station trials. In 2023, 20 farmers participated in the on-farm trials and in 2024, 33 farmers participated. Many of the participants were small-scale ( 0.0001). This mirrored findings from the on-station trial, indicating plastic mulch or other soil warming strategies are needed to ensure good yield in the region. Qualitative data from farmers based on their experience proved to be highly valuable and informed research directions for the 2025 growing season. For example, slip production and curing can be challenging for many small-scale growers who do not have appropriate facilities, so we initiated trials at the research station on both topics. The on-farm trials provided opportunities to build relationships with farmers through frequent farm visits and surveys responses. Extension- and research-led trials together resulted in a better understanding of crop performance in this geographically diverse region and among growers who each have a different set of management practices and priorities. This information has been added to the growing guide and WSU resources have been tailored to better fit and address the needs of niche-market farmers learning to grow this new specialty crop.
Speakers
LM

Laurel Moulton

WSU Extension Regional Small Farms Program
Co-authors
CM

Carol Miles

Washington State University
LS

Laura Schulz

Washington State University
SG

Samantha Grieger

WSU Extension Regional Small Farms Program
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Contributions to Food System Resilience by Urban Agriculture Sites
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Food systems continue to face disruptions, from supply chain breakdowns to climate change and pandemics. Resilience is the ability of a system to respond and adapt to changing circumstances and withstand disruptions. Resilience capacities of urban and peri-urban agriculture sites are important to ensure nutritional security in cities. This project is part of a four-pronged research project covering a transdisciplinary assessment of urban food systems in and around Kansas City; the other three projects include community health; agricultural productivity; and sustainability. This project aims to develop a survey to assess and evaluate the resilience capacities of urban agriculture sites. A literature search was performed and resulted in development five categories of behavior-based resilience capacities for urban agriculture sites: civic engagement; political engagement; social capital; transformational capacity; and land access. A survey based on these categories and using validated questions was developed to collect proxy measurements of resilience capacities for urban agriculture sites. The survey was developed in collaboration with an advisory board of local food system experts. Data was collected using the survey instrument from urban and peri-urban agriculture sites in the following categories: urban production; peri-urban production; intensive production; community garden; training farm; and high school garden. The survey instrument and a follow-up interview were administered to site operators and a truncated survey was given to site employees, volunteers, and visitors. Survey results will illustrate how urban agriculture sites contribute to the resilience of the food system and the community and allow for the comparison of resilience indicators between types of urban agriculture sites. The data will provide a picture of the contributions to food security by type of urban agriculture in the area around Kansas City. The results of the research could be used to help urban agriculture sites become more resilient, as well as influence planning and policy around urban agriculture when seeking to create more resilient communities.
Speakers
KW

Kara Walker

Kansas State University
Co-authors
CR

Cary Rivard

Kansas State University
EP

Eleni Pliakoni

Kansas State University
PB

Priscilla Brenes

Kansas State University
NA
RS

Rebekkah Stuteville

Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods
NA
TJ

Tricia Jenkins

Kansas State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems
  • Subject Local Food Systems
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source This work is supported by Kansas State University's "Game-changing Research Initiation Program." Project title: "Development of Resilient Urban Food Systems That Ensure Food Security in the Face of Climate Change."

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Fertilizer and Mulch Use for Peppers in an Extensive Green Roof Environment
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Although green roofs offer an alternative growing space to produce fresh edibles for urban consumers, sufficient fertility levels are often lacking in mediums used for extensive green roof applications which can limit plant growth. Therefore, a study was conducted during the 2024 growing season to evaluate fertilizer and mulch use for ‘Candy Cane’ peppers grown in the extensive green roof environment located atop the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Agriculture Building. Growth characteristics were collected during early-, mid-, and late-season, while fruit were harvested approximately every four weeks (six times total) throughout the growing season. Fertilizer rate and mulch application interactions did not generally influence (P > 0.05) leaf chlorophyll content or plant vigor at any timing. Marketable fruit yields were also not influenced (P > 0.05) by either fertilizer rate or mulch use. These results suggest that the low rate of fertilizer used was sufficient and mulch use is not required to maximize ‘Candy Cane’ pepper growth and yields. Our results indicate that peppers can be grown effectively in extensive green roof environments with proper water and nutrient management.
Speakers
avatar for Gracie Carmon

Gracie Carmon

Graduate Assistant, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Co-authors
AW

Alan Walters

Southern Illinois University
KL

Kaitlyn Lamaster

Southern Illinois University
SS

Steven Still

Southern Illinois University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Finding the Sweet Spot: Evaluating 21 Sweetpotato Entries with a Public Taste Test
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is a new crop to western Washington and has been evaluated for yield and wireworm resistance in trials at Washington State University’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center (WSU NWREC) in Mount Vernon, WA since 2019 and in on-farm trials across western Washington since 2023. Trials at WSU NWREC have included over 20 different sweetpotato cultivars and breeding lines, some of which have proven well suited for production in the region due to high yield and/or wireworm resistance. To assess marketability in the region, in February 2025 we evaluated eating quality of 21 sweetpotato cultivars and breeding lines, including nine orange-fleshed, five yellow-fleshed, and six purple-fleshed entries. Participants in the taste test (IRB exempt
Speakers
LS

Laura Schulz

Graduate Research Assistant, Washington State University
I am a PhD student at Washington State University working with Carol Miles on introducing sweetpotato as a new crop in western Washington.
Co-authors
CM

Carol Miles

Washington State University
JW

Jordan White

Washington State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems
  • Subject Local Food Systems
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source e U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, under award number 2022-38640-37490 through the Western Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program under project number SW23951

12:15pm CDT

LOCSY - Soil, Media, and Tissue Testing for Urban Farms: Extension Outreach and Discovery in the Unique Urban Growing Systems of Cook County
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
There has been a long tradition of Cooperative Extension as a "go-to" source for soil testing in the popular media and research literature. However, soil and media testing within the unique growing systems of urban agriculture has not been extensively explored. In 2021, Cook County Extension began directly subsidizing and conducting multiple soil, compost, media, and tissue tests for a cohort of urban farms in the greater Chicagoland area. Using the data collected, we began building a baseline soil test database to help growers make specific nutrient and media management decisions. Through soil data collection and interpretation, we hoped to begin reducing the guesswork and decision-making of which tests to take, when, and how to interpret them. The standard soil, media, and tissue testing results reveal important soil, media, and uptake trends but are not always straightforward to interpret. Continued work with testing protocols, media incubation studies, and field trials could reveal more predictable trends in the future to better guide urban farmers' nutrient management planning. This poster presents the initial soil database results and interpretation to begin to understand and help explain the unique growing conditions of urban agriculture.
Speakers
ZG

Zachary Grant

Extension Educator, University of Illinois Extension
Zack is a Local Foods and Small Farms Extension Educator housed in Cook County, Unit 6.  He joined Extension in 2015 to focus on urban agriculture production programming for a diverse group of stakeholders. Zack educates, conducts research, and provides technical assistance in small... Read More →
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Local Food Systems

12:15pm CDT

NUR - An Inexpensive Fertilizer Dispenser Can Reduce Labor Costs and Over-Application, but May Offer Less Dexterity than Manu
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
As US nurseries explore ways to decrease labor costs, mechanization and automation technology (AMT) has become increasingly important. AMTs can help nurseries with repetitive, labor-intensive tasks such as fertilization. Our objective was to compare the Fertileeze Pro-35, an inexpensive fertilizer dispenser (
Speakers
KM

Karl McKim

The University of Tennessee
Co-authors
AF

Amy Fulcher

University of Tennessee
GP

Grace Pietsch

University of Tennessee
NA
JJ

Jakob Johnson

University of Tennessee
NA
MV

Margarita Velandia

University of Tennessee
WH

Walker Harrell

University of Tennessee
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Subject Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA NIFA 2024-51181-4329

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Determining the accuracy and efficiency of commercially available herbicide application equipment used in container nurs
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
With costs that can exceed $5,000 per acre, weed management is often one of the largest threats to container nursery profitability due to lack of postemergence herbicide options, need for labor intensive hand weeding, and the demand for weed free ornamentals. Due to high variability in nursery infrastructure, taxa being grown, and grower preferences, no one piece of herbicide application equipment is used at all nurseries in the ornamentals sector. For granular formulations, herbicides are applied with devices ranging from homemade hand-shaker jars, commercially available gravity-flow type hand spreaders, hand-crank hand-held spreaders (i.e. belly grinder spreaders or chest spreaders) and on a larger scale, tractor mounted granular spreaders. Costs for each of these application devices can vary widely and can have a significant impact on the accuracy, distribution pattern, and efficiency of the application, all which effect weed control and labor costs. For example, hand-shakers might be used to treat pots individually to reduce herbicide waste, that is, the herbicide landing outside of the pot during an application. This is a slower process but results in less non-target herbicide loss compared with a belly-grinder in which over 50% of the herbicide applied may not reach the target depending upon pot spacing. The L.E.A.P. (Labor, Efficiency, Automation, Production) team is currently working to evaluate, implement, and develop automation to increase the sustainability of the nursery industry. As part of this work, commonly used and commercially available herbicide application equipment is being evaluated for accuracy, distribution patterns, efficiency, efficacy and crop safety. Prior to initiation of this work, studies were conducted to determine most accurate method of measuring application equipment performance, specifically for granular applicators. Commercially available herbicide pans, plastic and glass plastic beakers, and small plastic funnels (5 cm diameter) with end caps were all tested in multiple different arrangements with 1 to 12 collection devices placed within blocks of nursery containers containing recently potted ornamentals in 3.8 L nursery pots. The use of the plastic funnels placed sunken in the potting substrate was determined to be the most accurate method, in which 82% to 120% of the target dose was captured across all four plant canopies and was the most practical method to implement as it could be used accurately regardless of canopy structure or pot spacing and is ideal for on-farm evaluations. Project was supported by LEAP Nursery Crops Toward Sustainability Award No. 2024-51181-43291.
Speakers
CM

Chris Marble

University of Florida/IFAS
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Subject Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA-NIFA-SCRI Award No. 2024-05427.
  • Funding Option SCRI funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Determining the Effects of Increased Controlled-Release Fertilizer on Growth and Physiological Responses of Three Native
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Native edible berry plants create additional opportunities for native plant growers and nurseries due to their dense nutrient content. However, their growth and physiology under nursery conditions have not been widely studied. Controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) are commonly used in nursery production, yet their optimal application rates for native edible berry plants remain understudied. While overfertilization can lead to excessive nitrogen (N) leaching, underfertilization can limit plant growth. The objectives of this research were to determine the effects, in a greenhouse, of increased CRF rates ranging from 0 to 0.96 g·L⁻¹ N on the development and physiology of three native edible berry species: Elaeagnus commutata (silverberry), Rhus trilobata (skunkbrush), and Shepherdia argentea (silver buffaloberry). For each species, thirty plants were randomly allocated to receive 15N–3.9P–10K CRF treatments at five different nitrogen concentrations: 0, 0.12, 0.24, 0.48, and 0.96 g·L⁻¹ N. These application rates corresponded to 0%, 25%, 50%, 100%, and 200% of the manufacturer's recommended dose. Throughout the 50-day experimental period, all plants received manual irrigation with tap water. Across all three species, higher CRF application rates led to increased leachate electrical conductivity (EC) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) concentrations, as well as enhanced relative plant growth index, total leaf area, leaf dry weight, photosynthesis rate, and stomatal conductance. Lower CRF rates resulted in decreased chlorophyll content, photosystem II efficiency, and leaf nitrogen content in E. commutata and R. trilobata, though root-to-shoot ratios were higher at these lower rates. Physiological parameters such as photosynthesis and stomatal conductance showed no significant increases beyond the 0.12 g·L⁻¹ N CRF rate, while growth parameters remained statistically similar at CRF rates above 0.24 g·L⁻¹ N. This research demonstrates that CRF application rates below the manufacturer's recommendation were sufficient to maintain growth and physiology of the three native edible berry species. Under our experimental conditions, the optimal application rate was determined to be between 0.12 and 0.24 g·L⁻¹ N, which effectively sustained plant growth and physiological responses while minimizing NO₃-N concentrations in leachate. This reduction in fertilizer application could decrease production costs for native plant growers and nurseries, providing both environmental and economic benefits while expanding opportunities in the growing market for nutrient-dense native edible plants.
Speakers
avatar for Ji-Jhong Chen

Ji-Jhong Chen

University of Wyoming
NA
Co-authors
DC

David Claypool

University of Wyoming
JF

Jill Fabricius Keith

University of Wyoming
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Subject Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Hatch Regular Research Funds (Project accession no. 7003535), University of Wyoming College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, & Natural Resources, Office of Research and Economic Development Designated, Department of Plant Sciences. United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Plant Sciences Hatch Funds (WYO-631-22)

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Effects of Pot Type and Fertility on Initial Growth of Galactia microphylla for Tuber Transplant Production
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Advancing restoration and conservation of coastal dune species improves dune ecosystem function by maintaining biodiversity, mitigating habitat degradation, and reducing erosion through stabilization of deteriorating dunes. Galactia microphylla (Littleleaf Milkpea) is a leguminous coastal dune species found in the Florida panhandle which serves as the sole food source for beach mice (Peromyscus polionotus) for more than one month in fall. We conducted a container production experiment to determine the effects of 3 gallon pot type (tall and short) and fertility regimes (Osmocote 15-9-12 plus minors; 3 month formulation) with 1, 2, or 3, 15 g applications applied at a maximum of 15 g per month over 3 months. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with a split-split plot arrangement of treatments restricting randomization with pot type randomly allocated within each block and fertilizer application randomized within each pot type. There were nine single pot subsamples per treatment for a total of 324 pots. Each pot was filled with the same volume of 100% pine bark mulch with fines and planted with 8 (tall pots) or 12 (short pots) heat scarified seed on week 20 (April 16, 2024). Fertilization began week 24 (June 10, 2024) and emergence (%) recorded June 13, 2024. First flower and first fruit (green capsules) were recorded by production week, and mature fruit harvested when brown to evaluate seed production potential. Emergence was 69.3% with no difference between pot types. First flower (Weeks 34–35) and first fruit (Week 36) did not differ among pot types or fertility regimes. Fruit (2 fruits/pot) and seed number (7.6 seed/pot), seed per fruit (1.5) or seeds per plant (1.2) did not differ between the pot types or among the three fertilization regimes. Results suggest bulk container production of Galactia microphylla has potential in both pot types and that flowering, fruiting and seed production are not improved with fertilization regimes providing greater than the standard (30 gram) Osmocote application. Additionally, there was no evidence of a difference in flowering, fruiting, or seed production when fertilization exceeded the standard level of application. Overall, this experiment provides support for bulk container production of Galactia microphylla for tuber production and suggests the lowest quantity of fertilizer tested was sufficient to achieve fruit and seed production.
Speakers
MT

Mack Thetford

University of Florida
Co-authors
DM

Debbie Miller

University of Florida
NA
TS

Tabitha Slattery

University of Florida
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Subject Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Funding provided in part from US Fish and Wildlife Service project F23AC01606 and F21AL02217, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire Stennis projects FLA-WFC-005653 and FLA-WFC-006306

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Establishing In Vitro Propagation Protocols for the Conservation of Parrotia spp.
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Parrotia subeaqualis, a recently introduced plant species in the US, exhibits limited genetic diversity due to the limited collection area. Mirroring the declining populations in their native China, limited genetic sampling can impair cultivar development and threaten cultivars' long-term survival. Conservation efforts and providing the initial plant material for breeding programs rely on efficient and dependable propagation methods. This research focuses on developing optimized in vitro establishment and regeneration protocols for various genotypes of Parrotia spp. We conducted experiments to identify the most effective treatment options and media compositions for in vitro initiation and plant regeneration. These experiments explored using different tissue types collected throughout the growing season, basal media, plant growth regulators (PGRs), and other additives. Initial trials with P. subaequalis were unsuccessful due to heavy contamination. Systematically testing different combinations, we determined the specific stimuli required to induce regeneration-competent tissue for diverse Parrotia lineages. Subsequent experiments on P. subaequalis revealed that the most effective media for P. subaequalis was Murashige
Speakers
NM

Nathan Maren

The Morton Arboretum
Co-authors
KG

Ketniel Guzman

The Morton Arboretum
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Labor, Efficiency, Automation, Production: LEAP Nursery Crops Toward Sustainability
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
LEAP is an acronym for investigating the complex nursery specialty crops production system to identify both the individual and interactive effects of Labor, Efficiency, Automation, and Production on current and future nursery industry sustainability. This system is currently experiencing a crisis of labor availability. Our goal is to develop new automation and through better understanding of diffusion of innovation stimulate adoption of existing technologies to study their effects on the remaining system components, including consumer preference at the retail level and the effect of labor retention and re-allocation as a buffer against ongoing labor scarcity. This dynamic approach is necessary, given the complex nature of the nursery specialty crops system that encompasses culturally diverse owner-producer-employee relationships in terms of labor, with high needs for many physically demanding tasks, biological systems, machines, technology, energy, and natural inputs, i.e., water and other resource, all overlaid by preferences and demands of widely different consumer groups. To prevent that labor availability crisis from becoming catastrophic, LEAP and its AB recruited experts at the federal and state level in both plant and social sciences, economics, mechanical engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence to create five powerful, culturally and disciplinarily diverse teams with expertise in Production and Robotics Engineering (PE), Socioeconomics (SE), Behavioral Adoption (BA), Consumer Preference (CP), and Extension and Science Communication (EX). These teams will work collaboratively with the advisory board, stakeholders, producers, county and regional Extension staff, and allied industries to accelerate the diffusion and impact of automation adoption through nurseries and their workers to illustrate technology’s inherent effect on output, labor efficiency and productivity, revenue, rural economics, and nursery sustainability.
Speakers
CM

Chris Marble

University of Florida/IFAS
Co-authors
AL

Alicia L Rihn

University of Tennessee
AF

Amy Fulcher

University of Tennessee
AL

Anthony LeBude

NC State University
GK

George Kantor

Carengie Mellon University
NA
HG

Hao Gan

University of Tennessee
NA
HZ

Heping Zhu

USDA-ARS
NA
HL

Hui Liu

University of Tennessee
NA
JA

James Altland

USDA-ARS
NA
KA

Karla Addesso

Tennessee State University
NA
LW

Laura Warner

University of Florida
NA
LC

Le Chen

University of Tennessee
NA
LN

Lloyd Nackley

oregon state university
Lloyd Nackley is a plant ecologist who applies a systems approach to improve nursery and greenhouse management. Nackley's research program at Oregon State University focuses on addressing four challenges facing nursery and greenhouse production in Oregon: irrigation application, pest... Read More →
LA
MP

Marco Palma

Texas A
NA
MV

Margarita Velandia

University of Tennessee
MS

Md Sultan Mahmud

University of Georgia
NA
NB

Natalie Bumgarner

University of Tennessee
SS

Susan Schexnayder

University of Tennessee
NA
TR

Taylor Ruth

University of Tennessee
NA
VT

Vashti Tatman

University of Florida
NA
WH

William Hered

Carnegie Mellon University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops
  • Subject Nursery Crops
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, SPECIALTY CROPS RESEARCH INITIATIVE. Labor, Efficiency, Automation, and Production: LEAP Nursery Crops Toward Sustainability CAP 2024-51181-43291
  • Funding Option SCRI funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

12:15pm CDT

NUR - Screening of a Biochemical Pesticide for the Management of Rose Rosette Disease
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Rose rosette disease (RRD) is a major threat to rose production in nurseries. The causal agent of the disease is a negative strand ssRNA virus called Rose rosette virus (RRV) belonging to the genus Emaravirus. RRD is transmitted by the eriophyid mite Phyllocoptes fructiphilus and grafting. Symptoms of the disease include excessive lateral shoot growth, an abundance of thorns, witches' broom, leaf proliferation, deformed leaves and flowers, mosaic patterns, red pigmentation, and eventually plant death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of novel fungicide treatments, NinjaTM, at various application rates, intervals, and methods in managing RRD. Treatments were applied preventively as a sprench (7-day interval) or drench (14-day interval). Pink Knock Out® rose plants were inoculated with RRD on the same day as fungicide treatments. For inoculation, rose plants were exposed to two mite-infested rose terminals (approximately 4 inches long, with 4-5 leaves), collected from RRD symptomatic shrubs in Rutherford Co., TN. Each plant received about 20 mites. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with ten single-plant replications and conducted twice in a quarantined greenhouse at the Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, TN. At the end of the trials, data on the total number of shoots, number of shoots exhibiting RRD symptoms, open flowers, and phytotoxicity were collected. Two sepals from each plant were randomly selected for mite quantification under a dissecting microscope. The proportion of shoots with RRD was calculated by using the number of affected shoots to the total number of shoots. Rosette severity was rated using a scale of 0-3, where 0= no rosettes, 1= one rosette, 2= two rosettes and 3= three or more rosettes. RRD severity was rated on a scale of 0-3, where 0= no symptoms, 1= one shoot with symptoms, 2= two shoots with symptoms, and 3= three or more shoots with symptoms. Results indicated no significant difference in RRD severity between treated and non-treated control plants. However, plants treated with 11 oz NinjaTM exhibited a significantly lower rosette rating compared to the control plants. Furthermore, both the 8 oz and 11 oz NinjaTM treatments significantly reduced the proportion of shoots with RRD. No significant differences were found in mite count per sepal or open flowers among any of the treated and non-treated control plants. These findings suggest that biochemical pesticide treatment may offer a promising strategy to reduce RRD infection in roses.
Speakers
CJ

Christina Jennings

Tennessee State University
Co-authors
CO

cansu oksel

Tennessee State University
FB

Fulya Baysal-Gurel

Tennessee State University
NA
KD

Kumuditha D Hikkaduwa Epa Liyanage

Tennessee State University
NA
PL

Prabha Liyanapathiranage

Tennessee Department of Agriculture
NA
TS

Terri Simmons

Tennessee State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Nursery Crops

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - Apple Orchards of Sonoma County - UC Cooperative Extension
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Sonoma County, California is home to many small- to mid-scale apple orchards with diverse cultivars, management approaches and sales outlets. This poster will outline recent UC Cooperative Extension apple programming that responds to high-priority needs identified by apple growers, orchardists, and processors in this region. The new UCCE Specialty Crops Advisor based in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties conducted a Needs Assessment that identified key issues and challenges for sustainable apple orchard system management. This poster will summarize key findings from the Needs Assessment. Stakeholders asked for educational programming on key topics to improve apple orchard health and yield. In response, outreach and Extension education activities focused on science-based sustainable apple orchard management strategies to accelerate practice implementation. This poster will outline these Extension efforts that responded to the Needs Assessment findings and will present evaluation survey results. For instance, stakeholders specifically asked for apple orchard management webinars, so the CE Advisor worked with local and UC partners to deliver a 5-part educational apple webinar series covering key aspects of sustainable apple orchard management. Findings showed that webinars increased attendees’ knowledge (100% of 35 respondents) and 97% reported they will use knowledge gained to manage apple orchards more sustainably. The CE Advisor worked closely with commercial apple growers to address tree health challenges in the orchard on a case-by-case basis. The most common pest issues in the region include codling moth, a suite of diseases, and rodents. Many apple orchards are managed as low-input systems, so tree water stress and nutrient deficiencies are common. The CE Advisor used science-based information and strategies to help growers address these issues. With grower permission, local apple orchard growers’ “Success Stories” are included in Extension educational presentations and materials to highlight examples of sustainable apple orchard management. This poster will include several of these “Success Stories” highlights. This poster will present findings outlining apple growers’ needs for Extension education and applied research in Sonoma County, California. It will outline UCCE activities implemented to increase growers’ practical knowledge and skills to guide sustainable decision making, increase orchard health and yield, and promote grower-to-grower knowledge sharing. Findings will help guide future work to enhance apple orchard sustainability and apple supply for the local food system.
Speakers
EA

Ellie Andrews

Specialty Crops Advisor for Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties, UC ANR
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1
  • Subject Pomology
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source UC ANR

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - Evaluation of 4-Vita Biostimulant and Promalin in Mitigating Green Spot in ‘WA 38’ Apple
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
With more than 20 million of trees planted in Washington State, ‘WA 38’ apple, commercialized as ‘Cosmic Crisp®’, is channeling the interest of the apple industry. Since the variety hit the market in 2019, consumers reported positive eating experiences and appreciation for its crispiness and juiciness. In suitable growing conditions, ‘WA 38’ can achieve high red coloration and satisfactory pack-out. One of the causes of loss is the ‘green spot’ (GS) disorder that impacts mainly the stem-hemisphere of the apple displaying skin discolored areas that might degenerate affecting the cortex. The onset of the GS occurs at the end of July, and the disorder incidence at harvest fluctuates year to year. Several mitigations approaches were investigated, but only bagging fruit at early stage of development provided positive results. Because the bagging practice is not economically sustainable on commercial scale, the application of a new foliar biostimulant (Plants for Plants 4-Vita) and Promalin (GA4 7 BA) were tested against untreated control. 4-Vita aims to protect the trees by abiotic stressors like drought and heat, stimulating water use efficiency and productivity. On the other hand, Promalin is known to improve fruit shape and size and reduce russeting by increasing epidermis cell elasticity. Our hypothesis focused on the potential positive effects of a biostimulant and a PGR in mitigating the GS in ‘WA 38’. The products were tested in season 2023 on a Granny Smith/M9-T337 orchard top-grafted in 2015 with ‘WA/38’ scions and trained to spindle, by applying them separately on distinct rows, bi-monthly, starting at 4 weeks AFB for 4 times. Productive parameters, pack out and GS incidence GS were assessed for each treatment. Results showed that Plants for Plants 4-Vita and Promalin did not improve yield and did not significantly mitigate the incidence of GS in comparison to untreated control.
Speakers
SM

Stefano Musacchi

Washington State University
Co-authors
SS

Sara Serra

Washington State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1
  • Subject Pomology
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source WSU Endowment

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - Field Evaluation of Six Grafted Cherry (Prunus avium) cultivars under Northwest New Mexico Growing Conditions
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
RELEVANCE Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) have some historical production in the Four Corners area with renewed interest for fresh eating, baking, juicing and distilling. RESPONSE Six grafted cultivars were planted March 2014 as bare-root, 3-year old tree seedlings on a high mesa location at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Farmington at 5,640 feet above sea level (36°4’ N by 108° W). Cultivars ‘Bing’, ‘Skeena’, ‘Rainier’, ‘Benton’, ‘Santina’ and ‘Coral’ were grafted onto either Krymsk 5 or Krymsk 6 rootstock. Yield data was collected for 2019 and 2021 growing seasons. Trees were pruned during winter dormancy beginning in 2020 to control height. Lower yields in 2021 compared to 2019 are attributed to extensive pruning and to bird damage that was noticeably more impactful in 2021 compared to 2019. In all other years since planting, killing spring frosts reduced or eliminated flower production resulting in little to no fruit yield. When harvested, fruit sugar content (measured in °brix; the higher the °brix, the sweeter) ranged from 15.3° to 22.1° brix in 2019 and 13.3° to 24.6° in 2021. Sugar content is acceptable for any number of post-harvest fresh market to fermentation applications. IMPACT Cherry trees are among the first fruit trees to break dormancy on a high mesa site in Northwest, NM and have been prone to damaging spring frosts resulting in flower death and reduced fruit yields. When cherry have yielded, post-harvest metrics have favorable sugar content. Growers can expect to have non-bearing years related to spring frost risk and are advised to have cherry plantings as part of a diversified cropping system to lessen risk during non-fruitful years. PUBLIC VALUE STATEMENT The work is helping to support northwest New Mexico fruit growers.
Speakers
KL

Kevin Lombard

New Mexico State University
Kevin Lombard is a Professor of Horticulture and Research Director of the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center at Farmington, a 250 acre research farm uniquely located on the Navajo Nation. His research encompasses specialty crop evaluations including grapes, fruit... Read More →
Co-authors
BM

Bernd Maier

Amaro Winery and Taproom
NA
CV

Ciro Velasco-Cruz

New Mexico State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1
  • Subject Pomology
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (GR0007668) through the Northwest New Mexico Agriculture Restoration Project

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - High tunnel stone fruit production in northern New Mexico
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Late spring frost is a major challenge to stone and pome fruit production in northern New Mexico. In this study, three cultivars of peach (Prunus persica)—Challenger, China Pearl, and Contender on Nemaguard rootstocks were planted at 4x10ft planting density with three replications in a 30x72ft high tunnel in April 2017, but severe leaf chlorosis appeared later in the season. We kept the better west row and removed the central and east row. In 2018, tissue-cultured GF677 and Rootpac® R were planted in May and budded in August 2018. Trees were trained to open vase system. Thermostat-controlled propane heaters and fans were employed for frost protection. In 2021, we began securing the sidewalls and the doors of the high tunnel and setting up heaters. In 2022 and 2023, the high tunnel system plus heating system was sufficient to protect blooms and fruitlets from late frosts, and yields averaged 15.8 kg/tree in 2022 and 12.3 kg/tree in 2023, respectively. There was no significant difference among cultivars in either year. However, there were significant differences between rootstocks in 2022, with trees on Nemaguard averaging 24.3 kg/tree across cultivars, while trees on GF677 and Rootpac® R averaging 11.2 and 11.8 kg/tree, respectively. The nearly two years older in age for trees on Nemaguard could contribute to this difference in 2022. There was also a reasonable crop in 2024. By the end of 2024, Trees on Nemaguard with 1-2ft new growth were smaller than plants on GF677 and Rootpac® R, with 1.5-4 ft new growth. There were limited replications in this high tunnel study but GF677 and Rootpac® R were more suitable than Nemaguard rootstock for the high pH soil conditions in New Mexico. Cherry had limited fruit set during this study. In 2022 and 2023, we observed deformed flowers without petals and some flowers with blackened pistils. Only handfuls of cherries were harvested in both 2022 and 2023. The high temperatures inside the high tunnel in summer could affect the floral bud initiation/ development. More studies are needed to clarify the deformed flowers. Growers should be cautious with sweet cherry production in high tunnels in northern New Mexico.
Speakers
SY

Shengrui Yao

New Mexico State University
Co-authors
RH

Robert Heyduck

New Mexico State University
NA
SG

Steven Guldan

New Mexico State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - Irrigation And Foliar Fertilization Effects On Yield And Fruit Quality Of Peaches.
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Previous studies in the southeastern United States have reported benefits of irrigated vs non irrigated orchards, including no major effects of soil-applied fertilizers on fruit yield and quality. However, the benefits of irrigation systems and foliar fertilization effects on yield, and fruit nutrient profiles and quality are limited. This study was conducted in a nine-year-old peach orchard using a split-plot randomized complete block design with two irrigation systems, drip vs micro-sprinkler as whole-plots, and foliar treatments as split plots. Preharvest foliar applications included water (control), nanocellulose crystals (CNC 3%), Calcium (Ca 6%), Potassium Silicate (K2SiO3), plus the combination of CNC with Ca and K2SiO3. Trees received no soil-applied fertilization, and irrigation was managed using the Peach Smart Irrigation App recommendations (https://smartirrigationapps.org/peach-app/). Even though no significant differences were observed in irrigation systems or foliar treatments for fruit weight or perimeter, all foliar treatments resulted in higher total yield compared to the control under drip irrigation. Under micro-sprinkler irrigation, only K2SiO3 and CNC increased total yield relative to the control. Regarding texture, control fruit showed decreased firmness after two weeks of storage at 2 °C and 90% relative humidity. There were main effects of irrigation in total soluble solids (TSS), where micro-sprinkler (10.27%) had higher TSS than drip irrigation (9.67%). Overall, these findings suggest that drip irrigation and foliar applications, particularly with CNC and K2SiO3, may enhance yield in peaches.
Speakers
SC

Selvin Carrillo Ramos

University of Georgia
Co-authors
DC

Dario Chavez

University of Georgia
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1

12:15pm CDT

POM 2 - Visualization of Regional Fruit Growth Rate in Persimmons Using 3D Phenotyping
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Understanding fruit growth and developmental patterns is crucial, as they directly influence fruit size, morphology, and ultimately, yield. While conventional models describe fruit growth and development based on parameters for the whole fruit, how tissue growth in different fruit regions is coordinated to drive overall fruit growth and development remains unclear. Here, we investigated the relationship between the spatial variation of growth rates and fruit morphology in persimmon (Diospyros kaki), a fruit tree species with highly diverse fruit morphology. Starting two weeks after blooming, fruits from four cultivars were marked with dotted lines routinely. Those fruits were sampled and used for the reconstruction of 3D fruit models. The relative positions and distances between points marked were used as parameters for the local growth. All cultivars exhibited more active growth near the calyx than near the apex, particularly during the early stages of fruit development. However, the extent of these spatial differences varied among cultivars. In flattened fruits, growth was highly concentrated near the calyx, with remaining minimal in other portions. In contrast, elongated fruits exhibited a gradual growth gradient from the calyx toward the apex, with high growth even near the apex. These findings provide a foundation for fruit shape regulation and elucidation of physiological disorders in persimmon.
Speakers
AK

Akane KUSUMI

Graduate school of Agriculture, Kyoto University
Co-authors
RT

Ryutaro Tao

Kyoto University
NA
SN

Soichiro Nishiyama

Kyoto University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Pomology 1
  • Subject Pomology
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI grant no. 24KJ1497 to AK

12:15pm CDT

WUM - Assessing the Environmental Impact of Irrigation and Fertilization Practices in Greenhouses Using the Gray Water Footpri
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Agricultural runoff can contaminate surface and groundwater through the accumulation of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and phosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P). The Gray Water Footprint (GWF) estimates the volume of freshwater required to dilute pollutants to achieve target water quality standards. GWF can be used to compare the environmental impact of agricultural practices, such as irrigation and fertilization. In this project, we estimated and compared the GWF of three irrigation systems and two fertilizer rates in the production of Petunia milliflora F1 (Picobella Pink) in greenhouses. The experiment was a split plot design with two factors: irrigation (overhead, drip irrigation, and subirrigation) and control released fertilizer (CRF) rates (2.1gN-1.26gP-1.68gK or 1.8gN-1.08gP-1.44gK per pot). Plant growth and leachate were measured weekly. GWF was estimated with nitrate or phosphate from the leachate recovered from the containers. Significant differences were observed by irrigation system, but not by CRF rate or the interaction between the factors. In general, GWF (L of water to dilute the pollutant) of phosphate was higher than nitrate. The subirrigation, closed irrigation system had zero GWF because it does not release any leachate. Fertilizer inputs can be reduced while effectively maintaining the quality of petunia in container-production; however, it did not affect pollution rates. In contrast, the choice of irrigation system had a significant effect on nitrate and phosphate runoff rates.
Speakers
AP

Alvaro Pantoja-Benavides

University of Connecticut
Co-authors
RR

Rosa Raudales

University of Connecticut
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:15pm CDT

WUM - Comparison of Three Common Brands of Smart Irrigation Controllers to Evaluate Their Water Saving Potential for Sage (Sal
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Improving irrigation efficiency is essential for sustainable agricultural production. Smart irrigation technologies enhance water-use efficiency by integrating wireless communication, advanced sensors, and adaptive scheduling based on actual plant water requirements and weather conditions. Unlike traditional fixed-schedule timers, smart controllers dynamically adjust irrigation to optimize water use. This study aimed to compare three commercially available smart irrigation controllers: Hunter® Hydrawise (Hunter Industries, San Marcos, CA, USA), Orbit® B-hyve (Salt Lake City, UT, USA), and Rachio (Rachio Inc., Denver, CO, USA). The experiment was conducted at the Utah State University Greenville Experiment Station in Logan, Utah, USA. The experimental site (18.5 m x 6.4 m) comprised 12 plots (1.8 m x 1.8 m each), arranged in a completely randomized block design with three blocks, each containing four treatments (three smart controllers and one control). The control plot operated on a fixed timer: 20 minutes of irrigation daily managed by Rachio, whereas the other three smart controllers operated independently utilizing the weather data to schedule irrigation. Each plot was equipped with four sprinkler heads positioned at the corners. Controllers were installed and configured following manufacturer guidelines, utilizing Wi-Fi-enabled communication with their respective software applications. Each controller was configured, ensuring similar settings for a fair comparison, adhering to their respective technical features. Plugs of sage plants were transplanted in 7.5 L containers filled with Metro-Mix® 820 substrate. Initially, plants were irrigated daily for 20 minutes for two weeks to ensure proper establishment. Subsequently, the smart controllers managed irrigation based on real-time weather data, maintaining substrate moisture between 25-30% volumetric water content. Results showed significantly higher total water use in the control plots compared to those managed by smart controllers. Among the smart controllers, Hunter Hydrawise consumed significantly more water than Orbit and Rachio. Growth parameters including plant height, growth index, biomass, and visual appearance did not differ significantly across treatments. However, flower dry weight was significantly higher under Orbit compared to the control and Hydrawise, and similar to Rachio. Physiological parameters such as assimilation rate, stomatal conductance, maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) remained consistent among all treatments. This study will be replicated during the upcoming summer to further validate the findings and enhance the reliability of the results.
Speakers
AC

Anju Chaudhary

Utah State University
Co-authors
SP

Shital Poudyal

Utah State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:15pm CDT

WUM - Evapotranspiration of Young Pecan Orchard in the Mesilla Valley, NM
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Dona Ana County is one of the largest producers of pecans in the nation, making this area one of the most significant pecan production regions in the world. However, it is facing a shortage of water due to prolonged drought in the region. Management of water to grow crops, including pecan, is crucial to sustaining the agricultural industry in the region. This study assesses the evapotranspiration (ET) of a flood-irrigated young pecan orchard planted in 2021 in the Valley. This orchard has a partial canopy cover of pecan and pasture as a cover crop above the soil. In this orchard, ET was measured using an eddy covariance system and calculated as a residual using the energy budget method. Results indicate that ET primarily varies between 2.5 and 5.5 mm/day from June to August in the years 2021 and 2022.
Speakers
UP

Uduwarage Perera

New Mexico State University
Co-authors
AS

A. Salim Bawazir

New Mexico State University
NA
AF

Alexander Fernald

New Mexico State University
NA
RH

Richard Heerema

New Mexico State University
NA
TK

Thanushan Kirupairaja

New Mexico State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:15pm CDT

WUM - Greener Landscapes in a Drier World: Identifying Drought-Tolerant Ornamentals Plants in a Changing Climate for Western O
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Climate change, including rising average global temperatures, prolonged drought, and irregular weather patterns, presents significant challenges to landscape plant communities. Urban green spaces are vital to support mental health, mitigate urban heat island effects, and foster community cohesion. The objective of this project is to evaluate the drought-tolerance and ecosystem services of several ornamental plants. We hypothesize that, compared to other species, slow-growing broadleaf deciduous plants will exhibit superior drought resilience by sustaining greater biomass, attracting more pollinators, and preserving aesthetic value in the landscape. The trial was established April 20204, at Oregon State University’s Lewis-Brown Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon on a Chehalis silt clay loam. Experimental design is a randomized complete block with four replications. The single factor is plant taxa, which include 17 unique taxa of monocots, broadleaf deciduous and broadleaf evergreen, and conifer. From May 15, 2024 to Aug 30, 2024 date individual plants received an average of 1 gallon of water per week applied using a 0.5 GPH emitter. Their performance was assessed using leaf area index (LAI), plant height and width, presence of living leaves, pollinator activity, and volumetric water content (VWC). All plants survived the initial establishment in spring of 2024 and subsequent summer irrigation of 0.5 gallons per week per plant. Allium, Muscari armeniacum, and Narcissus exhibited vegetative growth in spring, fall, and winter, and summer dormancy or drought avoidance. Ceanothus, Cornus stolonifera, and Physocarpus opulifolius, being deciduous plants, retained foliage in spring, summer, and fall, and winter dormancy. After the first year, we found that broadleaf deciduous species tolerated drought while increasing in height and width, while enhancing urban green spaces during the spring and summer months. Juniperus squamata, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Arctostaphylos coloradoensis maintained year-round green vegetation. In summer of 2025 no irrigation will be applied, and data will be collated until July and presented at the this conference. After the first year, we found that broadleaf deciduous species tolerated drought while increasing in height and width, while enhancing urban green spaces during the spring and summer months. Findings from this study will provide data-driven recommendations to improve ecological management and guide the landscape industry in selecting climate-adapted species for the Pacific Northwest.
Speakers
CS

Christian Sanchez

Oregon State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:15pm CDT

WUM - Measuring evapotranspiration rates in commercial broccoli fields - Salinas Valley, CA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Salinas Valley is a major U.S. production region for cool-season vegetables. As regional producers work to achieve groundwater sustainability, there is a growing need to improve irrigation efficiency while sustaining crop yields. Recent advancements and availability in satellite-derived evapotranspiration (ET) data provide opportunities to inform on-farm water management. Quantifying the accuracy and limitations of these methods, however, remains important to build trust for increased operational adoption. This is especially the case for short-season vegetable crops, where performance evaluations of satellite-derived ET have been limited to-date. OpenET is a free, publicly-available platform that uses an ensemble of six satellite-based models to monitor and archive daily-to-monthly ET throughout the western U.S. at 0.25 acre resolution. In this study, daily OpenET values were compared with in-situ ET data from an eddy covariance system deployed in commercial broccoli fields during 2023 (66 days) and 2024 (76 days). Applied water was measured by an on-site digital flow meter, and precipitation was recorded by a nearby weather station. Cumulative totals from the OpenET ensemble mean were within 8.2% and 0.7% of in-situ data during the 2023 and 2024 deployment periods, respectively. Summary performance metrics were within previously published ranges for cropland sites during 2023 (mean bias error: 0.27 mm/day, mean absolute error: 0.65 mm/day) and 2024 (mean bias error: 0.02 mm/day, mean absolute error: 0.61 mm/day). Ensemble ET totals represented 88% of the 344 mm of total water received from irrigation and rainfall for the full crop cycle in 2023 (92 days), and 67% of 518 mm water received during 2024 (101 days). Results indicate OpenET quantified crop water consumption at these two sites with reasonable accuracy, while revealing differences in irrigation application efficiency. Additional discussion will address potential sources of satellite model uncertainty, challenges of collecting eddy covariance data in commercial plantings of short-season horticultural crops, and future verification efforts planned for regional high value specialty crops.
Speakers
MB

Michael Biedebach

California State University, Monterey Bay
Co-authors
AP

Adam Purdy

California State University, Monterey Bay
NA
LJ

Lee Johnson

California State University, Monterey Bay
NA
MC

Michael Cahn

UC Cooperative Extension
RS

Ryan Solymar

California State University, Monterey Bay
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:15pm CDT

WUM - The foliar application of silicon on the production agrícola of mini watermelon cv. Sugar baby cause mitigating effects
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
The Plants in ambient conditions are subject to dealing with biotic and abiotic stresses. Water deficit, being an abiotic stress, causes changes in plants that make them respond in several ways, such as reduced growth, leaf senescence and lower fruit growth rate, production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), caused by a deficiency in the dissipation of energy due to impaired photosynthesis. The application of silicon becomes an alternative to mitigate the effects of this stress on plants, being deposited in the cell wall, providing rigidity, and increasing the plant's defense enzymes. The study aimed to understand the morphological, physical, and post-harvest responses of mini watermelon according to different soil humidity associated with the foliar application of silicon. The study was conducted in a greenhouse using the mini watermelon cv. Sugar Baby. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, in a 3x2 factorial scheme, with three water tensions in the soil (-35 kPa without water deficit, -50 kPa moderate water deficit, and -65 KPa severe water deficit) and two doses of foliar Si (0 and 1.5 g L-1), with four repetitions. The variables plant length, stem diameter and shoot dry mass, root dry mass, total soluble carbohydrates, proline, gas exchange, and post-harvest analyses were analyzed. There was a significant difference for the variables (p>0.05), but there was no interaction between tension and Si. Proline levels were not statistically significant. The water deficit promoted shorter plant length, aerial part dry mass, root dry mass and Si provided greater stem diameter. For biochemical variables, water deficit caused a higher carbohydrate content in the leaf and lower gas exchange rates. Si influenced skin thickness and average fruit weight. Thus, SI proves to be a strategy for cultivating mini watermelon in conditions of deficient water application.
Speakers
MM

Marcio Mesquita

Federal University of Goiás
Co-authors
HO

Henrique Oliveira

Goiano Federal Institute
MG

Moemy Gomes de Moraes

Federal University of Goias
NA
RB

Rafael Battisti

Federal University of Goias
NA
RA

Ricardo Aparecido dos Santos

Federal University of Goias
NA
RA

Rilner Alves Flores

Federal University of Goias
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:15pm - 1:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Water Utilization and Management

12:59pm CDT

Thursday Poster Session 6
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:59pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Thursday July 31, 2025 12:59pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster presentation

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Dynamic 24-hour Lighting Can Maintain Winter Greenhouse Strawberry Production While Reducing Lighting Electricity Cost
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Greenhouse strawberry greenhouse production in Ontario, Canada has dramatically increased in recent years. This rise in strawberry production is primarily driven by consumer demand for high quality fruit year-round. To achieve true year-round production, supplemental lighting is needed to compensate for the low sunlight condition during the winter months. Photoperiod extension (up to 24 hour(h)) is a promising strategy which can be implemented in Canada as the utility companies incentivize the use of low cost, off-peak electricity use during the night. Our study aimed to look at the impact of various lighting treatments with photoperiods up to 24h on strawberry growth, production, and fruit quality. Three ever-bearing strawberry cultivars ‘Albion’, ‘Favori’, and ‘Bravura’ were grown in four adjacent double-poly greenhouse at the Harrow Research and Development Centre in Harrow, Ontario, Canada from fall of 2023 to spring 2024. The plants were subject to 4 lighting treatments: 16h of white light (16W), 16h of white light plus far-red (16WFR), 16h of white light followed by 8h of blue light (16W8B), and 16h of white light followed by 8h of blue and far-red light (16W8BFR). Plants under all light treatments were subject to the same DLI. In all strawberry cultivars, plants grown under 16W8BFR produced a similar fruit number and cumulative fruit weight as those grown under 16W and 16WFR. In addition, strawberry fruit produced from plants grown under both 16W8B and 16W8BFR had similar Brix or titratable acidity values when compared to fruit from 16W and 16WFR treatments. In depth physiological responses to extended photoperiods will also be discussed. The results show that in three ever-bearing strawberry cultivars, 24h lighting is a viable production strategy which can reduce the electrical cost associated with lighting while maintaining fruit yield and quality.
Speakers
XH

Xiuming Hao

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Co-authors
CL

Celeste Little

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
NA
JL

Jason Lanoue

Agriculture
SS

Sarah St. Louis

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Effect of Growth-Promoting Bacteria on Strawberry Yield Under Soilless Greenhouse Conditions
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Bacterial endophytes, which live inside plants, could be beneficial by enhancing plant growth, improving stress tolerance, and combating diseases. In a previous study, greenhouse soil-based strawberries inoculated with endophytes exhibited over 60% more root growth. Field strawberry research demonstrated an average marketable yield increase of 15% from a single endophyte (IALR619) across multiple sites. However, high environment variability, resulted in inconsistent yield performance at these field sites. Since greenhouse hydroponics allows the regulation of nutrients and climate variables, it was hypothesized that the addition of growth-promoting bacteria would result in higher yields. In a pilot run, three bacteria and three day-neutral strawberry cultivars were screened. Based on the preliminary results, two endophytes, IALR1379 and IALR619, were tested on the strawberry cultivar Albion using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. IALR619 is mainly a biocontrol bacterium with moderate ability to synthesize plant hormone auxin and solubilize insoluble phosphate compounds. IALR1379 has high activity of auxin synthesis, N-fixing, and solubilization of insoluble phosphates. Bato buckets filled with perlite were planted with strawberry bare roots in the Fall of 2024. Each replication or unit consisted of five Bato buckets connected to a single nutrient reservoir, with four plants per bucket. EC and pH were maintained at 1 ± 0.01 and 6 ± 0.01. The treatments included IALR1379 and IALR619 inoculated plants and a non-inoculated control. First bacterial inoculation was done when new leaves appeared, followed by a second treatment applied one month later. Fruits were harvested weekly over nine instances, and the fresh weight of marketable, unmarketable, and diseased fruits was recorded separately. The quality of the fruits was determined by measuring the BRIX index of 4-5 fully ripe fruits. Chlorophyll content was measured using a SPAD meter. The average marketable yield of IALR619-treated plants was 8128 g, while IALR1379 treated plants and control plants recorded 7474 g and 7071 g, respectively. Although these values were not statistically significant, the yield increase of IALR619-treated plants was 14.9% higher compared to the control. SPAD values and BRIX index for different treatments were not significant. The beneficial effects of endophytes are most evident when plants are under stress. This experiment will be repeated in the spring to determine whether endophytes and can help strawberries to tolerate summer heat and achieve higher yields.
Speakers
BA

Bimal Amaradasa

Institute for Advance Learning and Research
Dr. Sajeewa Amaradasa joined IALR in 2018 as a plant pathologist. His research is focused on investigating beneficial plant bacterial endophytes to control economically important diseases of crops. Dr. Amaradasa’s work involves collecting crop-specific fungal plant pathogens important... Read More →
Co-authors
AT

Amy Turner

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
NA
SL

Scott Lowman

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source The USDA SCBGP grant administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Genetic Improvement of Fruit and Vegetable Crops for Enhanced Stress Resistance at CPBGG, South Carolina State Universit
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Title: Genetic Improvement of Fruit and Vegetable Crops for Enhanced Stress Resistance at CPBGG, SCSU Bazgha Zia1, Fetien A. Abera1. 1Center of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics (CPBGG), Public Service and Agriculture, South Carolina State University, 300 College Street, Orangeburg, SC 29117. The Center for Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics, established in 2024 at SCSU is dedicated to advancing resilient crops through innovative breeding techniques, genetic research, and genomic technologies. The center focuses on creating resilient, high-yield crop varieties to address global food security challenges, particularly under stressors such as drought, unfavorable temperature conditions. By integrating global partnership, classical plant breeding methods with cutting-edge genomic tools, the center aims to develop superior crop varieties that meet the needs of farmers, consumers, and the agricultural industries Vegetable production faces numerous challenges, including disease pressure, drought, salinity, and extreme temperature conditions, all of which compromise the quality, yield, and nutritional value of vegetables. We invite universities, private companies, and other relevant stakeholders to collaborate with us for 1) Genetic improvement: Leveraging cutting-edge genomic tools and resources to develop crops with superior stress resistance, 2) Testing and demonstration: Partnering in the introduction and evaluation of new rootstocks, varieties, and genetic material for practical application in diverse agroecological conditions and 3) On-farm experimentation: Utilizing both on-station and farmer-partnered farms for real-world testing and genetic characterization of diverse crop genotypes. In alignment with our strategic goals, we introduced CPBGG and conducted a rapid assessment to identify the challenges farmers face in growing various crops, vegetables, and fruits in Law and Orangeburg counties. The assessment involved 65 farmers from young farmers' cooperative associations and small-scale farming communities. Our findings revealed a significant demand for better access to knowledge and technology. In fact, a few farmers even invited us to conduct experiments on their farms. This positive process underscores the importance of the center's ongoing efforts to forge partnerships with universities and private companies. We are introducing watermelon rootstocks to demonstrate and test their performance. Additionally, we are keen to collaborate in genetic improvement, using both the on-station farm and the farms of our committed farmers for the genetic characterization and genetic analysis of diverse genotypes. Through collaborative efforts, we aim to create innovative solutions for small-scale farmers and agro-businesses, improving food security and agricultural resilience.
Speakers
BZ

Bazgha Zia

South Carolina State University
Co-authors
FA

Fetein A. Abera

South Carolina State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Genetics and Germplasm
  • Poster # csv

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Interaction of Photoperiod and Temperature on Flowering of Short- and Long-day Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) Cultivar
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) ranks third among fruits produced in the United States and continues to gain popularity among consumers. Its adaptability for controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) based production system makes strawberries an attractive fruit crop for year-round production. However, achieving optimal productivity requires precise management of flowering for fruit yield and suppressing flowers for more runner production for nursery propagation. Therefore, understanding how different cultivars respond to environmental factors such as temperature and photoperiods is essential. This study explored the flowering pattern of two strawberry cultivars, 'Seascape' (long-day) and 'Earliglow' (short-day), under varying temperatures (12°C, 20°C, and 28°C) and photoperiod conditions. In experiment 1, both cultivars were grown in growth chambers at a 16-hour photoperiod for eight weeks. 'Seascape,' despite being a long-day cultivar, did not show flowering under these conditions, while 'Earliglow,' as anticipated, also did not initiate flower due to its short-day requirements. In experiment 2, plants were grown in a growth chamber under a short photoperiod (12 hours) at the same temperature treatments before being transferred to greenhouse conditions (16-hour photoperiod, 22°C). Interestingly, both cultivars previously exposed to 28°C initiated flowering earlier compared to other treatments. Notably, 'Seascape,' despite its classification as a long-day cultivar, demonstrated a clear dependency on the short-day induction period for flower initiation. 'Earliglow' plants exposed to 12°C exhibited delayed flowering. However, these plants developed elongated inflorescences and produced significantly higher numbers of flowers over time than plants exposed to higher temperatures (20°C and 28°C). Further investigation into these phenomena through transcriptomic, metabolomic, and hormonomic analyses is necessary to characterize the underlying regulatory mechanisms of the photoperiod and temperature interaction in strawberry flowering.
Speakers
MH

Mahadi Hasan Redoy

University of Tennessee
Co-authors
EW

Ethan W. Darby

The University of Tennessee
NA
TI

Tabibul Islam

University of Tennessee
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Light Quality Impacts on Rooting and Growth of Strawberry Cuttings in Controlled Vertical Farming Conditions
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The demand for vigorous strawberry plantlets is increasing to ensure stable production, but challenges in producing disease-free plantlets have emerged due to external environmental changes, including abnormal weather patterns. Additionally, developing a strawberry vertical farm export model is crucial for expanding the global market for high-quality Korean strawberries. To achieve this, optimal nursery technology is required to produce healthy plantlets under stable, disease-free conditions. This study aimed to determine the optimal light quality to enhance the propagation efficiency of strawberry cuttings in a controlled vertical farming system. Strawberry cuttings of the ‘Sulhyang’ cultivar were collected from a greenhouse on December 9, 2024, and transplanted into a vertical farm on December 10. The plants were grown in an environmentally controlled system maintained at 23°C, 70% relative humidity, a 16-hour photoperiod, and a light intensity of 300 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. The medium contained 165 mL of mixed substrates, and 24-cutting trays (500 × 330 × 100 mm) were used. The experiment consisted of four light treatments: Red Blue White (RBW), Red Blue White UV (RBW UV), Red Blue White Far-red (RBW FR), and Red Blue White UV Far-red (RBW UV FR). Growth parameters were measured at 13, 41, and 79 days after transplanting. At 13 days, plantlets under Far-red (FR) light exhibited a 40% increase in shoot length and a 43% increase in petiole length compared to those under UV treatment. Additionally, at 800 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ light intensity, the photosynthetic rate in UV-treated plantlets was 10% higher than in RBW-treated plantlets. At 41 days, the root surface area of UV-treated plantlets was 21% greater than that of RBW-treated plantlets. After 79 days, UV-treated plantlets showed a 69% increase in root strength and a 36% increase in total chlorophyll content compared to RBW treatment. These results suggest that UV treatment in vertical farms can enhance rhizosphere development and physiological capacity, leading to the production of more vigorous strawberry plantlets. This approach may contribute to the expansion of the strawberry vertical farming industry and improve the quality of plantlets for export.
Speakers
SC

Su-Hyun Choi

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
Co-authors
DK

Dae-Young Kim

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
DL

Dongsoo Lee

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
HR

Hee-Ryong Ryu

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
HL

Hye-Eun Lee

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
KY

Kyeong-Hwan Yeo

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
NY

Nari Yu

National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, RDA
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea, grant number PJ01752101

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Photosynthetically Active Radiation and Leaf Temperature in the Early Development of Strawberry Plants in Vertical Farming
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The study explores the relationship between light intensity and leaf temperature difference in strawberry plants grown using biotechnological tools in a vertical system under artificial full-spectrum lighting (AFSL). The research reveals scientific findings that enhance vertical farming practices and increase the sustainability of these systems. The aim of this project is to identify the light intensity, using LED panels, that provides the highest economic return for strawberry cultivation, correlating energy efficiency, morphological, and physiological characteristics in strawberry production. Increased light intensity and leaf temperature resulted in reduced plant development, lowering gas exchange, photosynthetic rates, and chlorophyll levels.
Speakers
avatar for Henrique Oliveira

Henrique Oliveira

Researcher/Full Professor, Goiano Federal Institute
Co-authors
CM

Cleiton Mateus Sousa

Instituto Federal Goiano
NA
GF

Gabriella Ferreira Goncalves

Goiano Federal Institute
NA
JL

Jhon Lennon Bezerra da Silva

Goiano Federal Institute
NA
MM

Marcio Mesquita

Federal University of Goiás
RE
RS

Rhuanito S. Ferrarezi

University of Georgia
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) ; Goiano Federal Institute and Foundation for Research Support of Goiás State (FAPEG)
  • Funding Option OREl or ORG funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Short-term Carbon Dioxide Enrichment Results in Physiological Acclimation Within One Week for Strawberry
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a critical input for photosynthesis and subsequent plant growth. In controlled environments, CO2 can be enriched above concentrations normally found in the ambient air, which has been shown to accelerate production and increase yields of many crop species. To capitalize on these benefits, broad recommendations have been adopted to enrich CO2 at a concentration of 800-1200 μmol·mol–1. However, these initial benefits may not persist throughout crop production due to prohibitive plant acclimation. The purpose of this study was to determine the timing and severity of CO2 acclimation responses of everbearing strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) during the vegetative growth stage. Crown divisions of strawberry ‘Quinault’ were transplanted into 10.7-cm pots and grown for two weeks in walk-in growth chambers under either an ambient (450 μmol·mol–1) or enriched (900 μmol·mol–1) CO2 concentration. Temperature, relative humidity, and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) setpoints were consistent between CO2 treatments at 22/18 °C, 55/65% (day/night), and 320 µmol∙m–2∙s–1 (18-h photoperiod; daily light integral of 21 mol∙m–2∙d–1), respectively. Net photosynthesis (Anet) was surveyed daily for seven days on the same leaf using a portable leaf photosynthesis system, and A in response to internal leaf CO2 concentration (Ci) (A-Ci) curves were collected on day seven. On day 14, Anet and A-Ci curves were collected on the same leaf and on the most recently expanded new leaf, before destructive data (e.g., leaf area, dry mass) were collected. Survey measurements revealed Anet was higher for plants grown under the enriched compared to ambient CO2 concentration across all seven days. However, Anet declined after day 3 for enriched plants compared to relatively stable Anet measurements for ambient plants. After one week of exposure under treatment conditions, maximum rate of photosynthetic electron transport (Jmax) and maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylase (Vcmax) (both indicators of photosynthetic acclimation) were lower under the enriched compared to ambient CO2 concentration. No difference in dry mass between treatments was observed. While the higher Anet observed under the enriched CO2 concentration indicates a potential benefit for production, declining Anet after three days and physiological acclimation within one week pose possible limitations to maximizing the use of this input. Further elucidating the timing of strawberry acclimation to CO2 enrichment will help to improve control strategies for controlled environments to optimize plant yield and quality with fewer resources.
Speakers
JC

Joshua Craver

Colorado State University
Co-authors
JB

Jennifer Boldt

United States Department of Agriculture
KH

Kale Harbick

United States Department of Agriculture
NA
SP

Samantha P. Rosado

Colorado State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA-NIFA-UIE Project #: 2023-70019-39371

1:00pm CDT

CE 1 - Strawberry 'Keepsake' in a greenhouse: Improving Yield, Morphology, and Photosystem Efficiency by Optimizing Far-Red Lig
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Far-red (FR) light significantly influences plant growth and development by affecting photosynthesis efficiency, photomorphogenesis, and reproductive characteristics. This study analyzed the effects of four supplemental FR light intensities (90, 60, 30, and 0 µmol/m²/s) with a peak wavelength of 35nm on the growth, yield, and physiological responses of the strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cultivar 'Keepsake' in a greenhouse setting under natural daylight. The study's findings indicate that elevated FR intensities (FR90 and FR60) promoted vegetative growth, as evidenced by elongated petioles, increased leaf area, and crown count. The increased intensity of FR light (FR90 and FR60) diminished the efficiency of Photosystem II (PSII) compared to FR0, indicating a potential disruption in PSII functionality, as non-regulated energy loss (PhiNO) was elevated in FR60 and FR90. Despite these physiological changes, the biomass of plants, as well as fruit diameter and weight, remained unaffected across all treatments. However, the net assimilation rate (NAR; grams of dry shoot biomass per cm² leaf area) was higher in FR60 compared to other treatments. In FR30, flowering was postponed by 51 days compared to other treatments, which correlated with the lowest fruit count, while FR90 and FR60 promoted early flowering with a higher fruit count, with FR60 plants reaching uniform flowering sooner than other FR treatments. The total sugar content (TSS) was marginally reduced in FR0. This study reveals that moderate FR intensity positively influences growth and yield, whereas low FR intensity may delay reproduction and overall yield in certain June-bearing strawberry varieties.
Speakers
FK

Fraidoon Karimi

University of Wyoming
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments 1
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Presidential Fellowship 2023/24, University of Wyoming

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Analyzing Aflatoxin Risks Through Molecular Detection of A. flavus Strains and Co-Infection Patterns In Peanut Seeds
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Aspergillus flavus is an airborne fungus that can contaminate agricultural commodities very rapidly, including grains and nuts. This pathogen causes aflatoxin contamination in peanuts, which leads to significant crop losses and their quality, particularly in storage conditions. Accurately identifying toxin and non-toxin producing A. flavus isolates is important in terms of effective management because traditional approaches have limitations such as being less effective and time-consuming. To address this problem, we developed molecular tools to differentiate toxigenic and non-toxigenic A. flavus isolates. We identified A. flavus isolates through morphological and species-specific primer (FLA1/FLA2). Also, to characterize toxigenic and non-toxigenic A. flavus isolates, we employed a combination of approaches such as RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and aflatoxin measurement, focusing on four genes (AflD, AflQ, AflP, AflR) from the aflatoxin biosynthesis gene cluster with primer optimization. In addition, research on the co-infection pattern of aflatoxin contamination on peanut seeds during storage conditions is limited. To address this, we collected peanut isolates from different seed lots and performed ITS sequencing to understand the pattern of microbial communities on peanut seeds during aflatoxin contamination. Regarding aflatoxigenic and non-toxigenic A. flavus detection, different gene expression patterns were observed among four AFs biosynthesis genes. However, by combining gene expression patterns, quantification and AFs production, we differentiated toxin and non-toxin producing A. flavus isolates. These results indicated the efficacy and specificity of these molecular tools, which could be helpful for developing good molecular markers for distinguishing toxigenic and atoxigenic isolates and to manage A. flavus contamination in peanut seed lots. Our co-infection results from peanut seed lots during multiple years observed the infection of diverse microbiota along with A. flavus, which indicates other microbes co-infect with A. flavus infection. This co-infection could trigger aflatoxin production in peanut seeds. Therefore, this approach offers novel insights into peanut seed-associated microbiomes, co-infection and aflatoxin production, shedding light on the correlation between the role of microbial communities and aflatoxin contamination.
Speakers
MM

Md Mostafa Masud

Alcorn State University
Co-authors
EA

Emran Ali

Alcorn State University
NA
SW

Sumyya Waliullah

Alcorn State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Assessing Postharvest Texture Variations in Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush Blueberries Grown in Alabama
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Blueberry firmness is a crucial factor affecting shelf-life, fruit quality and consumer acceptance. Rabbiteye (RE; Vaccinium virgatum) blueberries are noted for their tough skin and lower pulp firmness compared to southern highbush (SHB; Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Yet limited firmness data is available on newly released RE genotypes bred for high yield, large berry size and increased firmness. The research objective was to evaluate weight loss, fruit firmness, and berry diameter on 14 RE and 3 SHB genotypes through storage. Blueberries were harvested from E.V. Smith Research station (Tallassee, AL) in 2024, then stored at 4 °C and 85% relative humidity. Four postharvest timepoints were followed: days 0, 14, 28, and 42 in storage. Firmness and fruit size were measured using a FruitFirm1000 texture analyzer, and weight loss was recorded using a digital scale. Significant changes in weight loss (%), firmness (g/mm), and fruit size (mm) during storage were found for the interaction between genotype and days in storage. On day 42, RE genotypes of ‘T-3081’, ‘Vernon’, and ‘T-3075’ exhibited the lowest weight loss at 7.2%, 7.8%, and 7.9%, respectively. Conversely, ‘MS1228R’ (18.3%), ‘MS1110R’ (13.6%), and ‘Titan’ (13.2%) (RE genotypes) and ‘Newhanover’ (14.9%) (SHB genotype) had the highest weight loss. During storage, most cultivars decreased in berry diameter. RE genotypes ‘Titan’, ‘T-3081’, and ‘T-3075’ had the largest diameter (24.9, 24.1, and 26.1 mm, respectively) at harvest and retained fruit diameter through storage (23.7, 23.4, and 26.1 mm, respectively). At harvest (day 0), ‘Titan’ (RE) had the highest firmness (287 g/mm), while ‘MS1110R’ (RE) had the lowest (152 g/mm). After 6 weeks of storage (day 42), RE genotypes of ‘Titan’, ‘Vernon’, ‘T-3075’, and SHB ‘Legacy’ maintained high firmness (˃200 g/mm), while ‘Alapaha’ (RE), ‘NewHanover’(SHB), and ‘MS1110R’ (RE) were lowest (˂150 g/mm). Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) identified three distinct firmness clusters, categorizing cultivars into enhanced (‘Titan’, ‘T-3075’), moderate (‘Legacy’, ‘Overtime’, and ‘T-3081’), and suppressed firmness (‘Alapaha’, ‘Krewer’, ‘Brightwell’, and ‘MS1110R’). HCA was crucial in selecting 10 genotypes (7 RE and 3 SHB) for future cell wall and texture analysis. This study provided valuable data for growers to select RE genotypes with maintained firmness and shelf-life. This data will aid blueberry breeders in selecting high-quality and competitive RE genotypes.
Speakers
PE

Peter Ephraim

Graduate Research Assistant, Auburn University
Peter Ephraim is a PhD student in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University. Peter has a strong background in food science, holding a bachelor’s degree in food science and technology from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi and a Master’s... Read More →
Co-authors
CR

Camila Rodrigues

Auburn University
NA
MT

Marlee Trandel Hayse

Auburn University
MM

Michael Miller

Auburn University
NA
SR

Sushan Ru

Auburn University
SJ

Suzanne Johanningsmeier

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Subject Postharvest
  • Funding Source Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Assessing Shelf-life and Nutritional Value of Vitamin C Biofortified Lettuce
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Enhancing vitamin C concentration in crops like lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) through biofortification can increase dietary intake for consumers, yet its rapid degradation post-harvest remains a challenge. This limitation necessitates practical strategies to optimize post-harvest retention of ascorbic acid and extend the shelf-life of lettuce. This study aims to assess the effect of ascorbic acid foliar sprays on post-harvest stability of vitamin C content during post-harvest storage. A shelf-life study was conducted under refrigerated (4°C) and ambient (22°C) storage conditions over a 72-hour period. Potential results suggest that higher vitamin C concentrations may enhance leaf chlorophyll content and antioxidant capacity, potentially improving overall plant health and stress resistance. However, increased vitamin C levels could also lead to greater oxidation over time, impacting nutrient retention post-harvest stability. This study is expected to demonstrate the feasibility of vitamin C biofortification as a functional food strategy, enhancing the nutritional profile of lettuce while maintaining acceptable post-harvest quality. The findings from this study could provide valuable insights into improving fresh produce shelf-life and micronutrient retention. This research hopes to address dietary deficiencies while minimizing food waste.
Speakers
KM

Katerina Mojica Vargas

Graduate Research Assistant, Texas Tech University
Co-authors
CS

Catherine Simpson

Texas Tech University
HL

Haydee Laza

Texas Tech University
NA
LT

Leslie Thompson

Texas Tech University
NA
SS

Sukhbir Singh

Texas Tech University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Poster # csv

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Comparison of Fruit Quality, Anthocyanin Contents, and Volatile Organic Compounds at Various Pigmentation Levels in Red
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
As consumer preferences and needs for strawberries have become increasingly diverse, various strawberry cultivars have been developed in Korea. Although the ‘Seolhyang’ (SH) cultivar still occupies the highest proportion in the strawberry industry, the proportion of strawberry cultivars has unique characteristics, including bigger size, higher ascorbic acid content, or unique color. One of the distinctive cultivars recently gaining attention is a white-pink colored strawberry known as ‘Cinderella’ (CD). Thus, the objective of this study aimed to evaluate the metabolic variations in secondary metabolites between SH and CD cultivars, based on the pigmentation of the fruit peel, which could be 0%, 50%, 75%, or 100%, following a 3-day cold storage period. The fully developed strawberry had a higher fresh weight and fruit diameter in CD than in SH cultivar. The peel color variables, including lightness, yellowness, and hue angle, were gradually decreased with fruit pigmentation. The redness of the peel increased rapidly along with fruit pigmentation in SH, while that of CD showed only a slight increase. The ethylene production rate indicated higher values in SH than in CD during fruit pigmentation. Fruit firmness gradually decreased while soluble solids content (SSC) increased along with fruit pigmentation, regardless of strawberry cultivars. The anthocyanin analysis revealed that the SH cultivar had notable levels of pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, pelargonidin-3-(6”-malonylglucoside), and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, which contributed to fruit pigmentation. In contrast, pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside was only detected in the CD cultivar. Based on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) profiling, a total of 74 VOCs were detected, including 26 esters, 14 alcohols, 12 aldehydes, 9 ketones, 5 terpenes, and 3 acids. In SH cultivar, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-nerolidol, methyl hexanoate, hexanoic acid, and linalool were major VOCs. On the other hand, methyl hexanoate, ethyl hexanoate, (E)-2-hexenal, mesifurane, and (E)-nerolidol were the main VOCs in the CD cultivar. Therefore, the results indicate that the profiles and levels of anthocyanins and VOCs were differently regulated during the pigmentation of strawberry fruit between SH and CD cultivars.
Speakers
avatar for Hyowon Park

Hyowon Park

Ph.D candidate, Chung-Ang University
Co-authors
HK

Ho-Yeon Kim

Korea Institute of Science and Technology
NA
JL

Jinwook Lee

Chung-Ang University
NA
JP

Jiwon Park

Chung-Ang University
NA
JJ

Joohyuk Jo

Chung-Ang University
NA
SB

Si-Eun Byeon

Chung-Ang University
NA
TL

Theintthandar Latt

Chung Ang University
PhD candidate at Postharvest Physiology Laboratory, Chung-Ang University.
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Subject Postharvest
  • Funding Source This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through ‘Smart Agri Products Flow Storage Technology Development Program’ funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA; Grant No. 322052052HD030).

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Degreening temperature can be lower for two seedless mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) cultivars
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Production of mandarin, sweet orange, and grapefruit has increased in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world in recent years due to growing market demand for high-quality, blemish-free fruit. Citrus fruit grown in the coastal region of the southeastern U.S. are more susceptible to blemishes and poor peel color than those grown in cooler climates. Early season, Florida mandarins are commonly degreened by treating with ≤ 5 ppm of ethylene for 12 h to 72 h at 29 °C /96% relative humidity (RH). However, optimal citrus degreening conditions vary with citrus cultivar, growing area, stage of maturity and season. Additionally, degreening can negatively affect mandarin quality (flavor, nutrition, acidity, sensory acceptability) and promote postharvest decays. The objective of this study was to evaluate the postharvest quality of two seedless mandarin cultivars degreened at temperatures lower than the commercial standard of 29 °C. These cultivars were released by the University of Florida breeding program: ‘UFGlow’, grown on ‘Rich’ trifoliate, ‘Carrizo’ citrange or ‘Sun Chu Sha’ mandarin rootstocks, and ‘UFSunrise’, grown on ‘Rich trifoliate’, ‘Carrizo citrange’ or HRS 812 rootstocks and were compared to the commercial cultivar ‘Owari-satsuma’, grown on ‘Carrizo citrange’ rootstock. On the day of harvest, fruit of each cultivar were pooled, treated with 5.0 μL·L-1 ethylene in a humidified, flow-through system for 72 hr at 20, 25 or 29 °C and 95% RH, then transferred to 8 °C/87% RH and evaluated weekly for 21 days. The three cultivars had better peel color and higher peel total carotenoid content when degreened at 25 or 29 °C than at 20 °C. Soluble solids content and total titratable acidity changed slightly during storage, independent of degreening treatment. Degreening did not affect ascorbic acid content; fruit total antioxidant capacity (oxygen radical absorbance capacity, ORAC) declined less with the ethylene treatment but remained constant in ‘UFGlow’. The best degreening treatment for these seedless mandarin cultivars was 5 ppm ethylene at 25 °C/96% RH for 72 hr, resulting in the best peel color, highest total peel carotenoids content, less weight loss and firmer fruit. Although ‘Owari’-satsuma developed better color at 29 °C, weight loss was significantly higher than when degreened at 20 or 25 °C.
Speakers
SS

Steven Sargent

University of Florida
Professor and Extension Postharvest Specialist
Co-authors
CA

Charles A. Sims

University of Florida/IFAS
NA
JX

Jose X. Chaparro

University of Florida/IFAS
NA
MA

Mark A. Ritenour

University of Florida/IFAS
RO

Ramadhani O. Majubwa

Sokoine University of Agriculture
NA
TM

Theodosy Msogoya

Sokoine University of Agriculture
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Effectiveness of Blue Light Over Infrared for Sugar Estimation in Frozen Sweetcorn
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
We had earlier showed that spectrometric scanning of dehusked, fresh sweetcorn-on-the-cob (SOTC) in the visual (Vis) blue wavelength range (Vis-blue) offered an alternative nondestructive brix quantitation. In this report, we demonstrate that scanning in the Vis-blue is effective in a wide range of sample temperatures including freezing temperatures where the in-market infrared (IR) scanners fail. This is an important development for instore consumer decision-making experience. Eight packs of frozen (~-340C) SOTC in thin, translucent polyethylene packing bags were evaluated. Each pack contained at least12 pieces of SOTC, representing three different commercial brands bought directly from two different groceries stores on St. Croix. The samples were transported in ice and kept frozen (at temperature conditions as in the stores) until the time of measurements. At least six random SOTC were marked for IR and Vis-blue data every 5 minutes from freezing to room temperatures (~22degC) until the samples were completely thawed. The thawing temperatures at which each instrument was able to start recording were noted. The IR was insensitive at temperatures below ~160C, while the Vis-blue scanner recoded brix on frozen samples all the way to room temperatures and at complete sample thaw. The Vis-blue scanner also measured all frozen samples through the plastic packaging and directly on samples taken out of the packing. The Vis-blue scanner was also able to obtain spectral signals on the SOTC while the samples were in the freezer, but the signals were weak and, in some cases, when the sample packaging was completely covered in ice. With further developments and refinements, the Vis-blue scanning method can be integrated into scanning devices for quality assessments of frozen corn.
Speakers
HA

Henry Awika

University of the Virgin Islands
Co-authors
DG

Donna Gonzalez

University of the Virgin Islandss
NA
JS

Johnson Southwell

University of the Virgin Islandss
NA
TS

Thalia Stanley

University of the Virgin Islands
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Subject Postharvest
  • Funding Source USDA-AMS-SCBR-VIDA

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Maturity of Select Florida Avocado Genotypes for Optimum Eating Quality
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a subtropical fruit prized for its nutritional properties, versatility, and health benefits. Florida growers have shown interest in expanding avocado production into South-Central Florida due to the decline in citrus production resulting from greening and canker diseases. However, the worldwide market is mostly dominated by the ‘Hass’ cultivar, a Guatemalan (G) x Mexican (M) avocado hybrid with excellent eating quality and the ability to withstand long-distance shipping and postharvest handling. Florida focuses on larger green West-Indian (WI) or WI x G avocado hybrids, suited to subtropical climates. There is a need to identify WI genotypes that are well-adapted to South Central Florida conditions and evaluate their production and quality potential in this region. But the relationship between genotype and maturity is not yet fully understood. This study focuses on determining when these should be harvested to reach full ripeness and achieve the best eating quality, through correlation between dry matter (DM), firmness, and taste preference. A taste panel consisting of 25 panelists evaluated the sensory attributes of avocados that reached firmness equal to 15 N or lower. The results show that WI varieties and their hybrids, despite both low and high DM content (16.4% to 28.4%), are well-accepted by the panelists with taste ratings ranging from 5 (neither like nor dislike) to 6.6 (like moderately). The characteristics that contributed to the panelists' preference include buttery, creamy, nutty, and sweet. Additionally, fruits harvested later tended to show an increase in DM and a decrease in ripening time. Fruits, when harvested at their full physiological maturity, require 10 days to reach full ripeness at room temperature (20°C - 22°C). This study contributes to understanding factors that can help optimize fruit quality and provide valuable insights for the Florida avocado industry.
Speakers
RN

Rachel Noma

University of Florida
Co-authors
AP

Anne Plotto

USDA U.S. Horticultural Research Lab
NA
MR

Mark Ritenour

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Poster # csv

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - Postharvest Assessment of Rabbiteye and Southern Highbush Blueberry Visual and Fruit Quality
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Blueberries are valued for their flavor and nutritional content, yet postharvest data on rabbiteye (RE; V. virgatum A.) genotypes remain limited. In this study fruit quality of 16 RE and 3 southern highbush (SHB; V. corymbosum L.) genotypes were evaluated through cold storage. Fruit harvested in 2024 from E.V. Smith Research Center (Tallassee, AL) were stored at 4°C and 85% relative humidity in a randomized complete block design. Measurements were taken on days (d) 0, 14, 28, and 42 including color attributes (L*, a*, b*, C*, h* CIELAB units), soluble solids content (SSC, °Brix), titratable acidity (Tacid) and pH. Total anthocyanins (mg/g), phenolics (mg/100g), and DPPH antioxidant capacity (mM/100g) were quantitated via UV-VIS spectrophotometry. Significant interaction for days in storage*genotype were observed in Tacid and SSC:Tacid ratio. Tacid was highest in ‘MS1228R’ and ‘MS1234R’ (42d; 0.73 and 14d; 0.77) and lowest in ‘Legacy’ and ‘NC5303’ (42d; 0.30 and 0d; 0.31). The SSC:Tacid ratio was highest in ‘Brightwell’ (0d; 47.47) and lowest in ‘Vernon’ (0d; 19.76). SSC decreased with increased storage time (0d to 28d) by 0.69 °Brix while pH increased from 0d (3.31) to 42d (3.54). Genotype differences indicated ‘Brightwell’ and ‘Ochlocknee’ had the highest SSC (16.5 and 15.9 °Brix) compared to ‘T-3075’ and ‘New Hanover’ (12.4 and 12.1 °Brix). pH was highest in ‘Legacy’ and ‘New Hanover’ (3.67 and 3.63) and lowest in ‘T-3075’ and ‘MS1234R’ (3.25 and 3.19). Across all storage timepoints, RE genotypes were higher in total anthocyanins, phenolics and antioxidant activity at 16.54 mg/g, 298.40 mg/100g and 21.41 mM/100g, respectively compared to SHB genotypes at 11.35 mg/g, 213.90 mg/100g and 17.19 mM/100g. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) indicated 3 clusters of interest. In cluster I, ‘Vernon’, ‘Overtime’ and ‘MS1595R’ had enhanced C* and h*. In cluster II, ‘Brightwell’ and ‘Ochlocknee’ indicated enhanced anthocyanin, phenolic and antioxidant activity, while ‘T-3075’ and ‘T-3072’ had suppressed phytonutrient content in cluster III. The industry accepted range for blueberry SSC is 11.2-14.3 °Brix and all genotypes in this study met industry standards. Some RE selections, e.g., MS selections, were above the U.S. accepted range (0.2 to 0.5) for Tacid relating to sour/tart flavors. HCA was useful in sub-selecting RE and SHB genotypes for sensory and electronic analysis to assess flavor patterns. Identifying fruit quality and flavor traits postharvest will aid in selecting superior RE germplasm to enhance consumer acceptance and inform breeding efforts.
Speakers
CC

Clarisse Cochran-Chipura

Auburn University
Co-authors
EC

Elina Coneva

Auburn University
MT

Marlee Trandel Hayse

Auburn University
SC

Sungeun Cho

Auburn University
NA
SR

Sushan Ru

Auburn University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Subject Postharvest
  • Funding Source AgR Seed Grant Program # 7008151

1:00pm CDT

PH 2 - The Effects of UV-Treated Hydroponic Nutrient Solution on Postharvest Quality of Romaine Lettuce
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) is a highly nutritious, leafy green vegetable that can be easily grown hydroponically, offering a sustainable and efficient alternative to conventional agricultural practices. Although hydroponically grown lettuce is less susceptible to microbial infection compared to its soil-grown counterparts, contamination with human pathogens is still possible. Sterilization methods, such as ultraviolet (UV) light treatment, may be employed to control contamination in the hydroponic system, but its effect on lettuce postharvest quality remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of nutrient solutions treated with two doses of UV-C on the harvest and storage quality of the romaine lettuce cultivar 'Sparx' grown in a deep-water culture (DWC) hydroponic system. Nutrient solutions were either left untreated (control) or treated three times over a six-week growing period with UV-C (254 nm) at two different flow rates, delivering estimated UV-C doses of 18.93 mJ/cm² (low) or 37.85 mJ/cm² (high) per treatment. Postharvest quality was evaluated by measuring leaf length, fresh weight, dry root weight, water loss, soil plant analysis development (SPAD), color, texture, visual quality, respiration rate, micronutrient content, and nutritional content at time of harvest and over a seven-day storage period. We utilized a randomized complete block design, and the experiment was repeated three times. Lettuce grown in the low dose UV-C-treated nutrient solution had significantly longer lettuce leaf length, higher fresh weight, and higher vitamin C content compared to the high dose UV-C treatment. Additionally, fresh shoot weight was significantly higher in the low dose UV-C-treated lettuce compared to the high dose treatment. In terms of visual quality, the high dose UV-C treatment showed significantly better visual quality at the end of storage compared to lettuce grown in the control nutrient solution. No significant differences were observed for dry root weight, water loss, SPAD, texture, color, or micronutrient content between the three treatment groups. Overall, this study demonstrates that UV-C-treated nutrient solution had no negative impact on quality parameters of hydroponic lettuce at harvest or during storage, indicating that UV-C treatment, particularly at lower doses, may be a viable option for effectively sterilizing hydroponic systems without compromising lettuce postharvest quality.
Speakers
TK

Tori Kent

Kansas State University
Co-authors
EP

Eleni Pliakoni

Kansas State University
MB

Manreet Bhullar

Kansas State University
SA

Sachin Adhikari

Kansas State University
NA
TJ

Tricia Jenkins

Kansas State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Postharvest 2
  • Subject Postharvest
  • Funding Source Kansas State University Global Food Systems Seed Grant Program

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Effect of Cellulase, Gibberellins, and Cytokinin on Seed Germination of Rosa arkansana Porter
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Roses seeds (achenes) have a reputation of being challenging to germinate due to physiological and minor physical dormancy. The effect of gibberellins (GA) on rose seed germination has generally been neutral or negligible. Soaking rose seeds in cellulase before stratification has been documented to improve germination in some roses, likely due to degrading the outer covering around the embryo to allow for better imbibition. This experiment uniquely combines cellulase with GA to ascertain if there would be a stronger effect of GA if reaching the embryo was a limitation. A full factorial was used with a two-day duration of either dry seed, a 0.5% cellulase soak, or reverse osmosis (RO) water soak followed by a one-day soak of 200ppm GA3, 200ppm GA4 7, 200ppm GA4 7 plus 6-benzyladenine as Promalin®, or RO water. Rosa arkansana was chosen due to it being challenging to germinate. Four replications of 100 seeds each for each of the 12 treatments were prepared and mixed with 80cc of moist peat moss. All treatments were given a common warm stratification (8 weeks room temperature) and cold stratification (12 weeks 4C) followed by constant 10C in a growth chamber. Germination was recorded and germinated seedlings removed three times while at 10C at 5-week intervals. Promalin® led to slightly faster germination at week 5, but by week 10 GA treatments were not significantly different than the water control. Cellulase and RO water pre-GA soaks were not significantly different than each other at any time interval and by week 15 both were significantly better than the dry seed treatment. This data suggests the importance of having well hydrated seeds going into stratification, a neutral effect of GA on germination of this species, suggests 6-benzyladenine may slightly speed along germination, and that cellulase may not significantly improve water penetration over a sufficient imbibition duration.
Speakers
SM

Sonja Maki

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Co-authors
DZ

David Zlesak

University of WI River Falls
GO

Gabe Olson-Jensen

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Optimizing Micropropagation of Native Mirabilis Species for Sustainable Cultivation
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Native four o’clocks (Mirabilis spp.) are drought-tolerant perennials native to North America, valued for their vibrant flowers and ecological contributions, including pollinator support and soil stabilization. Despite their ornamental appeal and value in ecological restoration, their use in horticulture has been limited due to propagation challenges such as low seed availability, poor germination, and complex dormancy requirements. Micropropagation, the production of new plants from small tissue sections under sterile conditions using artificial media and controlled environments, presents a promising solution to these limitations. It offers a reliable method to produce large quantities of native Mirabilis for conservation and nursery applications. In 2021, an effective micropropagation protocol was developed for the rare North American species Mirabilis macfarlanei. Building on this success, the current project evaluated the applicability of this protocol to three additional native species: Mirabilis greenei, Mirabilis laevis var. villosa, and Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia. Single-node cuttings were surface sterilized with 20% bleach and cultured on Driver and Kuniyuki Walnut (DKW) medium supplemented with 4 µM 6-benzylaminopurine (BA). All three species were successfully established in vitro and proliferated. Growth parameters, including average number of shoots, shoot length, and shoot dry weight, were compared between DKW with 4 µM BA and Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with the same BA concentration. For M. greenei, shoot proliferation was similar between MS and DKW (5.7 and 5.8 shoots, respectively). M. laevis var. villosa and M. laevis var. crassifolia produced more shoots on MS medium (10.6 and 4.5) than on DKW (7.8 and 3.9). All species exhibited higher shoot dry weights on MS medium, while shoot lengths were comparable across treatments. Rooting success varied among species. The rooting medium developed for M. macfarlanei (DKW supplemented with 0.5 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid [IAA], 0.5 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid [NAA], and 0.15 mg/L Sequestrene® 138) was effective only for M. greenei. However, M. laevis var. villosa and M. laevis var. crassifolia rooted better on MS medium containing 1 µM NAA and 0.15 mg/L Sequestrene® 138. Rooted plantlets of all three species were successfully acclimatized in rockwool, with M. laevis var. villosa and M. laevis var. crassifolia flowering under greenhouse conditions.
Speakers
SU

Senay Ugur

University of Idaho
Co-authors
AK

Anne Knerr

University of Idaho
NA
MG

Melissa Galindo

University of Idaho
NA
TP

Timothy Prather

University of Idaho
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Physiological Quality Assessment of Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Seeds Using Controlled Deterioration Technique
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Bush bean is a popular vegetable as it is high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Assessment of the physiological quality of bush bean seeds is essential for ensuring better crop performance and yield, and the controlled deterioration technique is a reliable and practical tool for this purpose. The objective of this study was to determine the seed quality of two bush bean varieties using the controlled deterioration technique. Two bush bean varieties (Jhar Sheem-1 and Jhar Sheem-2) were induced with 12%, 16%, and 20% moisture levels for 0, 4, 8, and 16 days. Seed quality factors, such as, germination percentage, abnormal seedlings percentage, dead seed percentage, soil emergence percentage, root and shoot lengths, and dry matter content, were evaluated. In this study, 24 treatments were arranged as completely randomized design with 3 replications. Both varieties showed an identical performance at 12% moisture in 0 days of the aging period, but prominent differences were noticed at a highly deteriorated level of the factors. The percentage of normal seedlings declined to 85.34% in Treatment-24 (Jhar Sheem-2 at 20% moisture level with a 16-day aging period) compared to Treatment-1 (Jhar Sheem-1 at 12% moisture level with no aging period). Meanwhile, seedling abnormality increased by 22.00% in Treatment-11 (Jhar Sheem-1 at 20% moisture level with an 8-day aging period) relative to Treatment-1. Conversely, root and shoot dry matter were 93.06% and 28.62% lower, respectively, in Treatment-24 than Treatment-1. Moreover, highly remarkable (1%) relations were traced among all the traits, ranging from -0.466 (seed dry matter x abnormal seedling) to 0.983 (normal seedling x root length). Another finding was that among all the values about normal seedlings (i.e., the germination percentage); their affiliation with the soil emergence was prominent, i.e., 0.983. Thus, the outcomes revealed that the controlled deterioration test was highly effective in assessing the physiological conditions of the varieties. According to the vigor and quality performance, bush bean Variety-1 (Jhar Sheem-1) can be used as a parent for hybridization programs to produce superior inherent quality. Future investigations can be conducted to find more acceptable temperature and moisture trait limits among other bush bean varieties.
Speakers
MR

Md Rubel Reza

Kentucky State University
Co-authors
MC

Milon Chowdhury

Kentucky State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation
  • Subject Propagation
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source EVENS-ALLEN

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Physiology and Susceptibility of Avocado Trees to Laurel Wilt on Unreleased Experimental Phytophthora-Resistant Rootstocks
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The University of California Riverside (UCR) rootstock breeding program has selected five advanced avocado (Persea americana Mill.) rootstocks for their resistance to Phytophthora Root Rot (PRR), a major disease affecting avocados worldwide. Another significant threat to avocado trees is laurel wilt (LW), caused by the fungus Harringtonia lauricola. To date, laurel wilt has been reported in 12 states, but has only infected avocado trees in Florida, where it has killed approximately 290,000 trees worth an estimated $95 million. It is anticipated that laurel wilt will eventually spread to California, the leading avocado production region in the U.S., as well as to Mexico and South America, where the largest world-wide avocado production occurs. For the UCR experimental PRR-resistant rootstocks to be successful in the long term after their commercial release, they should positively influence the LW resistance of ‘Hass’ and other scions. In this study, we tested the LW susceptibility and physiological responses of ‘Donnie,’ ‘Hass,’ ‘Gem,’ and ‘Reed’ scions grafted onto UCR advanced clonal rootstocks PP35, PP40, PP42, PP45, and PP80 under climate-controlled greenhouse conditions. All scions were also grafted and tested on ‘Waldin’ seedling rootstock, which is the primary avocado rootstock used in South Florida. Trees of each scion/rootstock combination were either inoculated with H. lauricola or with deionized water as a control. There were six single-plant replicates per treatment for each scion/rootstock combination, arranged in a completely randomized design. Visual disease symptoms were evaluated on a scale of 1 to10 (1= no symptoms, 10 = severe symptoms) every 3 to 4 days from the time of inoculation until the trees were harvested. Physiological variables, including leaf gas exchange (net CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, and transpiration), were also measured. At the end of the experiment, all plants were harvested, and the presence or absence of H. lauricola was confirmed by plating stem sections on CSMA (cycloheximide-streptomycin malt agar) medium. Although all scion/rootstock combinations were susceptible to LW, there were differences in susceptibility among combinations. The combinations ‘Hass’/PP45, ‘Gem’/PP40, ‘Gem’/PP80, ‘Hass’/Waldin’, and ‘Gem’/’Waldin’ exhibited the greatest tolerance to LW, as indicated by fewer external symptoms and less reduction in leaf gas exchange variables compared to the other combinations tested. Therefore, these more LW-tolerant scion/rootstock combinations have potential for planting in areas where both PRR and LW diseases occur. The most tolerant combinations identified in this study continue to be evaluated under field conditions for horticultural characteristics and yields in Florida.
Speakers
BS

Bruce Schaffer

Professor, University of Florida
Co-authors
EA

Edwin A. Gutierrez-Rodriguez

University of Florida
NA
JH

Jonathan H Crane

University of Florida, TREC
PM

Patricia M. Manosalva

University of California Riverside
NA
RG

Romina Gazis

University of Florida
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation
  • Subject Propagation
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA-SCRI Grant #:2024-51181-43302

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Propagation Strategies on Four Grapevine Varieties
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Improving stem cutting propagation of grapevine species holds immense importance with the growing interest in grapevine cultivation in the region. Propagating these plants from stem cuttings can be a challenging endeavor. As a result, this research initiative seeks to address this issue by exploring methods to enhance the success rate of stem cutting propagation. By developing more efficient and reliable techniques, nurseries can increase their ability to supply grapevines to local growers, which not only expands the availability of grapevines in the market but also plays a pivotal role in bolstering the wine industry in Mississippi. By facilitating the growth of this industry, improved grapevine propagation methods contribute to economic development, agricultural diversification, and ultimately benefiting the local economy and wine enthusiasts. Hardwood and semi-hardwood cuttings of four bunch grape varieties: ‘Miss Blanc’, ‘MidSouth’, ‘Norton’ and ‘Mamont Noir’ were subjected to 10 hormone treatments of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) alone and in combination with ascorbic acid. These treatments were applied as a basal quick dip. Sixty days after treatment, rooting percentage, growth index (new shoots), cutting quality (0-5, with 0 = dead and 5 = transplant-ready cutting), total root number, average root length (of three longest roots), and root quality (0-5, with 0=no roots and 5=healthy, vigorous root system) data were collected. Of the four varieties trialed, ‘Miss Blanc’ performed the best with the greatest rooting percentage of 95% as a hardwood cutting and ‘Mamont Noir’ performed the best as a semi-hardwood cutting with the greatest rooting percentage of 100%. ‘MidSouth’ and ‘Norton’ will both require further research to assess the best rooting option for these varieties.
Speakers
JR

Jenny Ryals

Mississippi State University
Co-authors
ES

Eric Stafne

Mississippi State University
NA
HW

Haley Williams

Mississippi State University
PK

Patricia Knight

Mississippi State University
NA
SL

Scott Langlois

Miss State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation
  • Subject Propagation
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Small Fruit Consortium 2024-R-14 and Hatch project MIS-211150 under accession number 7003104.

1:00pm CDT

PROP - Tissue Culture Propagation of Tea in the United States
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Tea (Camellia sinensis) has the potential to be cultivated as a commercial crop in the United States, but growers need access to clean plant material. The wholesale value of tea in the United States was $13.6 billion in 2022, yet less than 100 acres of tea are currently grown here. Tissue culture can be a means to provide disease-free and genetically identical plants. Three experiments were carried out using explants, which are 2.5 cm stems with single, active nodes from the young shoots of 28-year-old ‘Minto Pacific’ plants. Experiment 1 tested chemo- and thermotherapy: 40 explants were placed in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2, 4-dioxo-hexahydro-1-3-5 triazine (2 mL/L), aspirin (1.4 mL/L), and ribavirin (1.5 mL/L). Explants were placed in a growth chamber at 25 ± 1 ℃ on a 16-h photoperiod for 4 to 5 weeks, then subcultured and placed in an incubator for an additional 4 to 5 weeks set at 32 to 35℃ on the high end/light period and 28 to 30℃ on the low end/dark period (alternating every 4 h). All explants were either contaminated or dead, potentially due to high temperatures, by the end of this 8 to 10 week cycle. Experiment 2 evaluated use of meristems, which were excised from axillary buds of the aforementioned young shoots of 28-year-old ‘Minto Pacific’ plants and placed on MS media supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (1 mL/L) and gibberellic acid (0.5 mL/L). Explants were placed in a growth chamber at 25 ± 1 ℃ on a 16-h photoperiod. Of the 10 meristems, there was no contamination, but only one meristem has survived long-term (5 months). With Experiment 3, explants (n=26) were soaked in 4% v/v Plant Preservative Mixture (PPM) for 2 h, then transferred to MS medium, before being placed in a growth chamber at 25 ± 1 ℃ on a 16-h photoperiod. Contamination and physiological disorders developed over time, leaving only one visually healthy explant after 5 months. The effect of PPM as a soak or a growth medium-additive needs to be further investigated through additional experiments.
Speakers
MS

McKenzie Shelton

Washington State University
Co-authors
CM

Carol Miles

Washington State University
CM

Chakradhar Mattupalli

Washington State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Propagation
  • Subject Propagation
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source Western SARE, Northwest Agriculture Research Foundation

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Detection and Quantification of Onion Seedlings Lying on the Ground Using UAV Imagery and YOLOv8 in the Vidalia Region
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Vidalia sweet onion (Allium cepa spp.), holds significant economic and cultural value in the Vidalia region, known for its sweet flavor and low pungency. The success of marketable bulb production is closely linked to the early crop stages, particularly seedling production and field-quality transplanting. Due to the limited availability of mechanical transplanters, transplanting is predominantly performed manually, resulting in variability in planting quality. A major issue is the presence of seedlings lying on the ground, which significantly reduces survival rates and leads to undersized bulbs. Assessing the number of such seedlings manually is labor-intensive and inefficient. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a rapid and accurate method to quantify the number of seedlings lying on the ground across the field using a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery and the YOLOv8 deep learning model. On January 6, 2025, aerial RGB images were captured using a UAV over an experimental onion field located at the UGA Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, GA. The seedlings were transplanted on December 15, 2024, under three treatment conditions: 100% properly transplanted plants, 100% lying on the ground, and 25% lying on the ground. The objective of this study was to detect and quantify the percentage of plants lying on the ground within each plot using computer vision techniques. The images were manually annotated and used to train a YOLOv8 object detection model. The dataset was split into 70% for training, 15% for validation, and 15% for testing. Model performance was evaluated using standard YOLOv8 accuracy metrics, including precision, recall, and F1-score. The YOLOv8 model demonstrated strong performance in detecting onion seedlings lying on the ground. It achieved moderate to high precision and recall, as well as a high F1-score on the test dataset. When applied to the annotated aerial images, the model accurately quantified the percentage of fallen seedlings within each treatment. In the 100% properly transplanted treatment, a small number of seedlings were falsely identified as lying on the ground. These results confirm the model's ability to reliably distinguish between transplant quality levels using UAV imagery. This approach offers a scalable solution for monitoring transplant quality and identifying problematic planting zones.
Speakers
avatar for Regimar dos Santos

Regimar dos Santos

University of Georgia
Bachelor's degree in agronomic engineering from the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil at 2021. Master's degree in plant production with an emphasis on computational intelligence in genetic improvement at 2022, with a doctorate in progress at the state university of... Read More →
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Developing an AI-Driven Tool for Enhanced Daylily Flower Image Processing
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
This study developed an AI-powered image preprocessing tool to analyze daylily flower traits, providing a user-friendly and feature-rich solution for accurate image segmentation- a process that separates the flower from the background in photographs. The tool's design combines a pre-trained TRACER convolutional neural network (CNN) with an EfficientNet backbone to ensure robust and precise segmentation. It features a user-friendly graphical interface built with PyQt that facilitates seamless image uploads, real-time visualization of segmentation results, and customization options. Furthermore, a built-in manual refinement pencil function allows for precise corrections to automated masks, ensuring accuracy when needed. It supports multiple output formats, including masks and annotated images, enabling easy integration into subsequent analyses. A dataset comprising 1,450 daylily color images was employed for training and evaluating the tool. A comparative analysis of four deep learning models (TRACER, BASNet, U2 Net, and DeepLabV3), using metrics such as Accuracy, Precision, Recall, Dice Score, Jaccard Index, and XOR Error, highlighted the superior performance of the TRACER model in terms of accuracy and reliability. The findings show that the tool successfully separates flowers from intricate backgrounds, effectively addressing issues such as petal overlap, various phenotypes, and environmental variations. This automation tool has the potential to replace the labor-intensive and error-prone manual segmentation process, which has posed a significant limitation in AI applications for daylily research, including accurate trait prediction and classification.
Speakers
RG

Ramana Gosukonda

Fort Valley State University
Co-authors
CD

Chunhua Dong

Fort Valley State University
NA
PK

Priyanka Kumar

Fort Valley State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2
  • Subject Technology Applications in Horticulture
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source This work is supported by the 1890 Capacity Building Program, project award no. 2024-38821-42107, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Evaluation of a Low-Cost Vision-Based Targeted Weed Spray Technology
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Broadcast herbicide applications across fallow fields with sparse weed populations can lead to substantial chemical waste, increased costs, and environmental impacts. To address this issue, we developed and evaluated a low-cost, vision-based targeted herbicide spraying system leveraging the Open Weed Locator (OWL) methodology using only the OWL hardware with project-specific custom software. It utilizes simple RGB cameras and image-processing algorithms to detect green vegetation (weeds) against soil backgrounds in real-time, triggering targeted herbicide application only where weeds are detected. The primary objective of this study is to assess the practical effectiveness of this technology in field conditions, focusing on use-cases relevant to fallow weed management scenarios. Field trials are planned to quantify the system’s performance by evaluating weed detection accuracy through metrics such as sensitivity, specificity and precision. Additionally, we will measure the percentage of herbicide chemical savings compared to conventional broadcast methods. Preliminary analyses suggest that this targeted approach significantly reduces chemical input. Detailed evaluations from forthcoming field trials will provide essential data to guide future improvements and support broader adoption of affordable, precision weed management tools.
Speakers
MS

Manpreet Singh

Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
NA
Co-authors
CK

Charchit Kumar

Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, California State University, Fresno
CC

Christopher Court

Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, California State University, Fresno
DR

David Ryman

Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, California State University, Fresno
PL

Peter Larbi

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center
ST

Santanu Thapa

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
WM

Walter Mizuno

Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, California State University, Fresno
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Integrating Multispectral Imaging and Low-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Comprehensive Phenotyping of Horticultura
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Accurate plant phenotyping is essential for crop improvement but remains a major challenge, especially when tracking both above- and below-ground traits over time. Traditionally, these traits are measured manually and destructively, limiting data quantity and quality. At the Texas A
Speakers
AM
Co-authors
AS
FN

Fahimeh Nia

Texas A
NA
JP
LR

Lorenzo Rossi

Texas A
Dr. Rossi’s research program focuses on understanding the responses of horticultural crops to environmental stresses, with the goal of developing environmentally sound and effective management strategies. He is a horticulturist with expertise in plant stress physiology, plant biology... Read More →
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Integrating Remote Sensing and AI for Rapid Nitrogen Assessment in Cannabis sativa L.
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a remarkably versatile crop with extensive applications in food, fiber, and medicine, offering environmentally sustainable and highly productive raw materials across various industries. Historically cultivated primarily for fiber, modern dual-purpose hemp varieties now present enhanced economic opportunities by enabling the simultaneous harvesting of seeds for grain and stems for fiber. Nitrogen (N) fertilization significantly influences key growth parameters, including plant height, stem diameter, biomass accumulation, and seed yield. However, conventional nitrogen assessment methods are invasive and labor-intensive. To address these challenges, multispectral drone imaging has emerged as a non-destructive alternative, leveraging correlations between nitrogen levels and leaf chlorophyll content to enable rapid monitoring of critical physiological indicators such as assimilation rates, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rates. In 2024, an experiment was conducted at North Carolina A0.70), chlorophyll content and BNDVI (R² = 0.55), stomatal conductance and NDVI (R² = 0.82), and transpiration rate and MCARI (R² = 0.56). In contrast, negative correlations were observed with SIPI2 (R² = 0.69), TGI (R² = 0.39), and additional SIPI2 indices (R² = 0.54 and R² = 0.39, respectively). This study highlights the potential of integrating drone-based remote sensing and machine learning for efficient, non-destructive monitoring in hemp cultivation. By advancing precision agriculture practices, these technologies offer promising pathways to enhance productivity, optimize nitrogen management, and promote sustainability in hemp cultivation.
Speakers
HS

Harmandeep Sharma

Research Assistant Professor, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Co-authors
AB

Arnab Bhowmik

North Carolina A
GG

Gregory Goins

North Carolina A
NA
HS

Harjot Sidhu

North Carolina A
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2
  • Subject Technology Applications in Horticulture
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source This work is supported by the Evans-Allen project award no NC.X-355-5-23-130-1 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Modeling Leaf Nitrogen in Organic Celery using VIS-SWIR Reflectance Spectra and Partial Least Squares Regression
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Nitrogen (N) management is a major challenge in organic vegetable production, aiming to supply sufficient N for optimal yield and quality while minimizing N losses. These challenges are exacerbated by uncertain mineralization patterns of different organic fertilizer products and season-specific impacts on soil N availability. Monitoring plant tissue N dynamics throughout the production season can provide meaningful information regarding fertility management, but sampling plant tissue can be labor-intensive and costly, and lab analysis may be time-consuming. Considering that N from organic nutrient sources is generally not immediately available for crop uptake, the need for reliable tools to rapidly monitor plant N status is paramount in improving N use efficiency, particularly in organic systems. In this study, a hyperspectral imaging approach was explored. Celery samples were collected from two research trials repeated in two production seasons at midseason (approximately 70 days after transplanting; DAT) and final harvests (approximately 110 DAT). One experiment focused on integrated nutrient management practices, comparing celery grown following a sunn hemp cover crop to a weedy fallow (whole plots), and evaluating impacts of composts (subplots) including an unamended control, yard waste compost, vermicompost, and a mixed compost treatment. The other experiment compared ratios of preplant N:in-season N application from 0-100% preplant N (whole plots) under two organic preplant fertilizers (subplots) contrasting in composition and anticipated N mineralization. At each harvest, six plants from each experimental unit were weighed and allocated into representative portions for crop quality analyses on fresh and dry bases. A spectroradiometer with a leaf clip reflectance probe was used to collect leaf reflectance spectra (350-2500 nm) from approximately eight leaves from each experimental unit. Spectra were normalized to a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one across wavelengths. To ensure balanced representation in training and validation, the data were stratified by harvest timing, trial, and year, and randomly split following 80% calibration and 20% external validation distribution. The final model used 19 latent components, explained 76.4% of the variation within external validation data, and had a root mean square error of 0.36. The model can be categorized as providing “approximate quantitative predictions,” and total N content from dried aboveground biomass in the original dataset spans from 1.0 - 4.3 g N/100 g DW. Building robust models using hyperspectral data to predict crop N status under diverse production practices and environmental conditions is an area deserving of continued research in organic vegetable production.
Speakers
XZ

Xin Zhao

University of Florida
Co-authors
AS

Aditya Singh

University of Florida
NA
MC

Moses Chilenje

University of Florida
NA
SL

Stephen Lantin

University of Florida
NA
ZR

Zachary Ray

University of Florida
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2
  • Subject Technology Applications in Horticulture
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source This work is supported by the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative program, project award no. 2019-51300-30243, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

1:00pm CDT

TECH 2 - Monitoring Hurricane Effects in Pecan Fields: An Object Detection Framework to Detect Fallen Trees
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Disaster events such as hurricanes strongly affect pecan crop production due to fallen trees, which generate a significant impact on production areas. An appropriate method to monitor these effects is by counting the fallen trees. This monitoring is commonly performed by a field team. Although accurate, this approach is time-consuming, costly, and non-scalable. Consequently, an image-based approach emerges as a timely opportunity. For instance, aerial images captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) present high spatial resolution and coverage, contributing to tree identification. However, relying solely on images remains a laborious and time-consuming task. Consequently, the development of object detection models to automatically identify and count fallen trees emerges as an unprecedented and dynamic method. Therefore, we aimed to integrate UAV image technology and the YOLOv12 detection model for detecting fallen trees in pecan fields. On September 27th, 2024, the hurricane Helene crossed the State of Georgia, USA. On October 7th, 2024, we captured RGB images using a multirotor UAV. We captured high-resolution (~3 cm/px) in eight pecan fields. The images were processed to generate one orthomosaic for each field. Consequently, we counted the fallen trees using assisted image processing for ground truth data. Together, the pecan fields presented more than 200 fallen trees. Subsequently, we trained the YOLOv12 model to automatically identify the fallen trees. Initially, we manually labeled all the fallen trees as “Fallen”. Afterward, we split our dataset into training (70%), validation (15%), and testing (15%). To enhance model performance and generalizability, we implemented data augmentation for the training dataset. As a result, the model achieved identification metrics of fallen trees higher than 70%. Certainly, this approach presents a great opportunity to measure the effects caused by hurricanes, giving farmers the ability to make faster and better decisions regarding their fields. Ultimately, these findings support precision agriculture practices and introduce pecan crops into this context, further strengthening the introduction of technologies into the world of specialty crops.
Speakers
avatar for Marcelo Barbosa

Marcelo Barbosa

University of Georgia
Co-authors
LW

Lenny Wells

University of Georgia
NA
LO

Luan Oliveira

University of Georgia
LS

Lucas Sales

University of Georgia
Agronomy Engineer graduated from the Federal University of Paraíba. With experience in the management and cultivation of Ornamental Plants, through a year of experience working in Greenhouses in the state of New Hampshire, USA. Experienced in the management and cultivation of vegetables... Read More →
RD

Regimar dos Santos

University of Georgia
Bachelor's degree in agronomic engineering from the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil at 2021. Master's degree in plant production with an emphasis on computational intelligence in genetic improvement at 2022, with a doctorate in progress at the state university of... Read More →
VM

Victor Martins

University of Georgia
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Technology Applications in Horticulture 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Assessing Saltwater Tolerance of Mustard Greens (Brassica juncea) Genotypes using Hydroponics
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
With freshwater supplies dwindling and sea levels rising, irrigation water for crops can become salinized. Therefore, salt-tolerant genotypes of food crops are needed. Here, we tested genotypes of Brassica juncea (brown mustard), a widely grown and consumed leafy green that has mineral and nutrient rich leaves and is also an important oil-seed crop, for their salt tolerance. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of three mustard genotypes (var. ‘Florida Broadleaf’, ‘Carolina Broadleaf’, and ‘Southern Giant Curl’) grown in nutrient film-technique (NFT) hydroponic systems under varying salinity treatments. Five synthetic seawater dilutions (15, 22.5, 30, 37.5, and 45% Instant Ocean at approximately 10, 13.5, 17, 21, 24.5 dS/m conductivity, respectively) with added fertilizer (Masterblend 20-20-20 at approx. 1.5 dS/m) were compared to a control (fertilizer only at approx. 1.5 dS/m) to identify the optimal salinity range for vegetative production over 6 weeks after seeding. Two different production systems were used to evaluate the genotypes: production-scale NFT systems in a greenhouse in Citra, FL, and lab-scale tabletop NFT systems in an environmentally controlled room. In the greenhouse setting, plants were destructively harvested at 7 day intervals to gather growth over time, while in the lab setting, plants were harvested once at the end of the experiment to calculate the biomass and growth along with water and nutrient use efficiencies per genotype. Preliminary findings suggest that yields and water use efficiencies were improved at a 15% seawater dilution (approx. 10 dS/m) and showed a drop in biomass at higher seawater dilutions. The genotype ‘Florida Broadleaf’ demonstrated higher fresh biomass than either of the other genotypes with ‘Southern Giant Curl’ showing the most sensitivity to salt treatments in both the greenhouse and desktop systems. Data collected in these experiments will be used to construct a dynamic crop growth model for mustards that incorporates salinity to predict crop biomass. Crop models such as this could help inform plant breeders studying salt-tolerance and provide insights into yields and crop growth rates to agricultural producers farming in salt-afflicted soils or for use in saltwater hydroponics.
Speakers
JP

Jean Pompeo

University of Florida
Co-authors
DH

Daniel Hofstetter

University of Florida
NA
KR

Karthikeyan Raghupathy

Clemson University
NA
MC

Melanie Correll

University of Florida
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2
  • Subject Vegetable Crops Management
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA-AFRI-SAS-2023-69012-39038; USDA-HATCH-ABE-006356; USDA-NIFA-McIntire-Stennis Capacity Grant

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Divergent Leaf Physiology in Kale Cultivars Under Organic and Conventional Farming Systems
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala), a member of the cruciferous (Brassicaceae) family, has gained significant popularity as a nutritionally dense leafy vegetable in recent years, attributed to its rich nutraceutical properties, including phytochemicals, antioxidants, and antiproliferative compounds. These properties play a critical role in addressing global nutritional deficiencies through cost-effective dietary sources, leading to kale’s designation as a superfood by the research community. Its popularity has steadily increased, particularly in the United States. To meet the growing demand for kale, optimizing production systems is essential. In this study, we evaluated leaf physiology, yield parameters, and nutrient content across kale cultivars grown under both organic and conventional farming systems. We observed substantial variation in leaf photosynthesis and other physiological traits, reflecting the different responses of cultivars to cultivation methods. Additionally, significant differences in mineral content and total soluble proteins were noted, with organic farming practices notably enhancing soluble proteins, leaf nitrogen content, nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), and several key minerals compared to conventional practices. These findings suggest that organic farming practices may enhance the nutraceutical quality of kale, potentially offering superior nutritional benefits compared to conventional methods systems.
Speakers
BA
Co-authors
DT
VJ
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Effect of biochar and vermicompost to mitigate salinity stress in high-tunnel grown tomato
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Saline water irrigation, higher summer temperatures, limited soil leaching and agricultural intensification with heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers are the main causes for high salt accumulations in high-tunnel soils. These salinity issues have led to soil degradation as well as decline in crop production. In order to improve soil health and bolster the crop yield, use of organic amendments like compost, crop residues and animal manure has been widely practiced. Studies have shown that biochar and vermicompost can improve soil homeostasis by adsorbing excess sodium and chloride ions and holding excess water in root zone. Furthermore, researchers have found that these soil amendments complement each other when used in combination, leading to high crop yield and enriched plant nutrient contents. However, research gaps exists in using emerging soil amendments like biochar, and vermicompost. Hence, the objective of our current study was to assess the growth and yield attributes of tomato under salinity stress and evaluating the role of these soil amendments alone and in combination to mitigate salt stress. Two potted experimental trials were conducted in late spring and early fall in high tunnel at Oklahoma State University. The treatments were arranged in a complete randomized design. Treatments included three levels of salinity (1.5, 4, 8 mS/cm) and different treatment combinations (0, 5, 10% v/v) of biochar and vermicompost in soilless media. Data collection was done on different yield parameters, phytochemicals, stress indicators along with soil media tests. Results show that soil amendments treatments helped reduce salinity stress to some extent and aid in overall crop performance. To sum up, our salinity stress study provides insights on minimizing the salt toxicity by appropriate use of emerging soil additives, providing practices for producers to improve crop production in high-tunnels.
Speakers
PP

Pradeep Paudel

Oklahoma State University
An MS student at Oklahoma State University, interested in the use of organic amendments for crop production and soil health improvement.
Co-authors
BC

Bee Chim

Oklahoma State University
NA
NM

Niels Maness

Oklahoma State University
NA
SK

Shivani Kathi

Oklahoma State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Effect of Selenium Fertilization on Carotenoid and Nutritional Accumulation in Watercress with Deep Water Hydroponics
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Nutrient biofortification in leafy vegetables can enhance dietary health benefits, improve crop nutritional quality, and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Deep water culture hydroponic production along with micronutrient exploration can lead to solutions to optimize nutrient uptake. Selenium (Se), an essential micronutrient, has been shown to influence plant metabolism, particularly the synthesis of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids and glucosinolates. However, its role in modulating these phytochemicals in hydroponically grown Nasturtium officinale (watercress) remains underexplored in controlled environment agriculture systems. This study investigates the effects of selenium fertilization at varying concentrations (0, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 mg Se·L⁻¹) on carotenoid and glucosinolate accumulation in water cress varieties cultivated in deep water hydroponics. The controlled environment environment system provides an ideal environment for plant growth, allowing precise manipulation of nutrient levels, pH, temperature, and light intensity. The selenium treatments are based on a randomized complete block design to ensure statistical accuracy. Various growth parameters, biomass accumulation, and biochemical analyses of carotenoid and glucosinolate levels were measured to determine the interactions between selenium uptake and metabolite biosynthesis. Carotenoid content was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Glucosinolate concentrations were determined through chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods to measure bioactive compound content. Research suggests that selenium supplementation may modulate plant physiological responses and enhance carotenoid and glucosinolate synthesis. It is essential to study ways to optimize hydroponic deep water culture production systems to improve the nutritional and functional quality of leafy greens like watercress. These findings can provide information to guide controlled environment and sustainable agricultural practices. Results from this research may also advance nutrient-fortification strategies, enhance functional food development, and address micronutrient deficiencies, thereby supporting both horticultural innovation and public health. Keywords: Selenium fertilization, Beta-carotene, Deep Water Hydroponic, Watercress, Agricultural sustainability, Controlled Environment Agriculture
Speakers
avatar for Cora Teets

Cora Teets

Research Associate, Kentucky State University
Hi! I am Cora Teets, I am a resercher in the Center Nutritrition and Cancer for Resrach at Kentcuky State Universoty. I also act as an adjunct professor for Basic Nutrition at the University. I am passionate about mentoring students and establishing collaborations to make the most... Read More →
Co-authors
AA

Adekunle Adeyeye

Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY
TN

THEONESTE NZARAMYIMANA

Kentucky State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2
  • Subject Vegetable Crops Management
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source USDA ARS: 210238-20047-206002-3100
  • Funding Option OREl or ORG funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Effects of Biostimulant Application on Plant Growth, Fruit Yield, and Quality of Six Sweet Peppers Cultivars
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Sweet peppers are a warm-season vegetable prized for their vibrant colors, rich flavor, and high nutritional value. Biostimulants are a new class of agricultural products consisting of microorganisms or bioactive substances, used as a sustainable approach to enhance plant growth and productivity. This experiment aimed to evaluate the effects of biostimulant applications on plant growth, yield, and quality of sweet pepper cultivars grown in a container production system. Three biostimulants were tested including a seaweed extract (Kelpak Maxx, 1% solution), a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Continuum V2, at a rate of 2 ml per gallon), and stabilized monosilicic acid (Dune, at a rate of 2 ml per gallon). Six sweet pepper cultivars were selected for the study: Cornito Giallo, Escamillo, Green Machine, Carmen, SVPB8500, and Cornito Rosso, all purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Biostimulant treatments were applied biweekly through manual fertigation with 120 ml of solution. Plants in the control group were fertigated with 120 ml of water. Plant vegetative growth including plant height, widths, and leaf SPAD were measured three times during the growing season. Once fruit ripening began, pepper fruits were harvested every two weeks from July to September. At each harvest, marketable and unmarketable yield and fruit number were recorded. Fruit quality variables including fruit length, diameters, and color were also measured. Results showed that the sweet pepper cultivars varied in vegetative growth, fruit yield, and quality. The two cultivars Green Machine and SVPB8500 had higher leaf SPAD of 64.2 and 63.9, respectively, than Carmen, Escamillo, Cornito Giallo, or Cornito Ross. The cultivars Carmen, Cornito Giallo, Cornito Rosso, and Escamillo had similar plant heights ranging from 36.4 cm to 38.4 cm, higher than Green Machine or SVPB8500. Biostimulant treatment did not affect leaf SPAD or plant height early in the season.
Speakers
AP

Abby Pennington

Mississippi State University
Co-authors
AA

Ali Alsughayyir

Mississippi State University
NA
GB

Guihong Bi

Mississippi State University
JA

Jacob Arthur

Mississippi State University
TL

Tongyin Li

Mississippi State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2
  • Subject Vegetable Crops Management
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Specialty Crop Block Grant Program; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project MIS-149220.

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Influence of Silicon and Brassinosteroids Application on Yield and Nutrient Composition of Arugula
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Rising temperatures, erratic precipitation, and increased periods of drought present significant challenges to vegetable crop production by disrupting growth reducing yield and crop quality. To address these challenges, biostimulants have been used in crop production for their ability to enhance plant growth, improve nutrient uptake, and increase resilience against environmental stresses. However, there exists a research gap in the mode of applications and rates of different biostimulants in various vegetable crops grown in open-field conditions. Hence, the current study evaluated the effects of two distinct biostimulants (silicon and brassinosteroids) on arugula (Eruca sativa) production. Although silicon is not universally recognized as an essential nutrient for plant growth, it is considered beneficial and has been proven to exhibit biostimulant properties. Contrarily, brassinosteroids are a class of plant hormones crucial in regulating growth, development, and stress responses in crops. These biostimulants were applied independently through the soil and foliar application at two different rates to assess their effects on the growth, yield, and nutritional quality of arugula. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three blocks in open-field conditions. Data was collected on various parameters, including the number of leaves per week, fresh and dry weight at harvest, and mineral and phytochemical content such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, sugars, phenols, and flavonoids content. Results show that silicon applied plants have improved yield. By assessing biostimulants impact on the yield and nutrient composition of arugula, the current research concludes the potential of biostimulants as a sustainable approach to improve growth of arugula under challenging environmental conditions
Speakers
NR

Nandini Reddy Muraka

oklahoma state university
Co-authors
NM

Niels Maness

Oklahoma state university
NA
SP

Steve Phillips

Oklahoma state university
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Leaf Anatomical and Physiological Variability of Tomato Genotypes with Modified Polyamine Metabolism and its Potential Role to Stress Resilience
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The anticipated impacts of climate extremes on food production have led research into novel paths aimed at optimizing cultivation techniques and developing genotypes resilient to abiotic stresses. Research over the last 20 years led to a considerable amount of evidence that the regulation of polyamine metabolism (and in particular of thermospermine) through the overexpression or gene mutation of polyamine oxidases (PAOs) genes, could enhance plant resilience. However, there are still limited data on how the differential expression of PAOs genes affects physiological and morpho-anatomical traits that contribute to plant resilience. Therefore, in this study we explored the morpho-anatomical and functional-physiological variability of leaves of 8 tomato genotypes, one reference (cv. Moneymaker), and 7 with modified thermospermine metabolism, comprising 3 overexpressing genotypes and 4 loss-of-function mutants for two thermospermine-specific PAO genes, SlPAO3 and SlPAO4. The plants were cultivated under greenhouse conditions following standard commercial practices, and a total of 17 morpho-anatomical and functional traits were assessed for each genotype. Based on plasticity indices (IP), notable phenotypic variability among genotypes was observed, particularly in leaf morpho-anatomical traits, pigment concentrations, performance index (PItotal), plant height, and total leaf area. In contrast, the lowest IP values were recorded for traits related to gas exchange and Fv/Fm. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified two main axes accounting for 78% of the total variation, and a clear grouping of genotypes emerged according to the type of PAOs gene expression modification (overexpression or gene mutation). These findings reveal substantial differences in leaf structural traits among genotypes, depending on PAOs expression levels, aligning with previous studies highlighting the role of polyamines in organogenesis. Considering the critical importance of leaf structure–function interactions in determining both productivity and stress resistance, further investigation into the role of PAOs as a potential tool for enhancing plant resilience to abiotic stresses is warranted.
Speakers
IK

Ioannis Karapanos

University of Florida / North Florida Research and Education Center
Co-authors
AK

Andriana Karachaliou

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
DN

Dimosthenis Nikolopoulos

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
EK

Evangelos Kyrkoulis

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
GL

Georgios Liakopoulos

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
PB

Panagiota Bresta

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
PT

Paraskevi Tavladoraki

Department of Science, University Roma Tre
SC

Styliani Chorianopoulou

Crop Science Athens Attica Greece, Agricultural University of Athens
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Leveraging the potential of Methylobacterium symbioticum to boost spinach productivity
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Nitrogen is a vital element for plant growth, playing a crucial role in photosynthesis and protein synthesis. The bio-stimulant "Utrisha N," which contains the bacteria Methylobacterium symbioticum, has the potential to enhance nitrogen availability by fixing atmospheric nitrogen, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural practices. While it has been evaluated in other row crops, its application in vegetable crops remains untested. This study examined the effects of the foliar application of "Utrisha N" on yield, nitrogen metabolism, and phytochemical profiles under various nitrogen conditions. The results indicated that the foliar application of "Utrisha N" during the developmental phase of spinach significantly increased both fresh and dry biomass and chlorophyll content. No significant changes in nitrogen mineral metabolism were observed regardless of nitrogen availability. We assessed nitrogen assimilation by calculating the percentage accumulation of amino acids in the vegetative tissues. The differential expression of genes related to nitrogen metabolism influenced by Methylobacterium symbioticum is currently being analyzed. This study's results will help clarify the potential benefits of Methylobacterium in improving nitrogen metabolism and boosting spinach productivity.
Speakers
avatar for Sandeep Sran

Sandeep Sran

Graduate Research Assistant, Texas A & M University, College Station
Co-authors
DT
VJ
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Physiological and Morphological Screening of Tomato Cultivars for Thermotolerance
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Temperature constraints on tomato production challenge local production in warm climates. In Oklahoma, there is a narrow optimum temperature window required for fruit set, which ultimately results in a decline during late July and August. Growers are motivated to select heat tolerant tomato genotypes for better results. Previous research shows that there is a range of physiological responses when considering heat tolerant and heat sensitive cultivars. To investigate further, a controlled environment trial will be designed to evaluate eight different tomato cultivars at two different temperature regimes, optimum (26°C / 20°C) and elevated (36°C/26°C). Morphological measurements will be collected daily and are to include days to first truss, days to first open flower, days to first fruit set, and flower-fruit set ratio. Non-destructive physiological measurements will be collected weekly, including net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, leaf temperature, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Electrolyte leakage will be measured once upon the completion of the trial. Differences in net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance were found to be significant between the two temperature regimes (p > 0.001) at 28 days after transplanting. Net photosynthetic rate averages were 4.358 µmol m-2 s-1 for the elevated temperature and 7.815 µmol m-2 s-1 for the optimum temperature. Stomatal conductance averages were 0.081 mol m-2 s-1and 0.150 mol m-2 s-1 for elevated and optimum regimes respectively. A Euclidean Distance will be calculated between the responses to the two temperatures upon completion, creating a heat tolerant index. The results will assist with the development of a screening tool for heat tolerant cultivars.
Speakers
CD
Co-authors
JQ

Justin Quetone Moss

Oklahoma State University
NA
SK

Shivani Kathi

Oklahoma State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2

1:00pm CDT

VCM 2 - Production of Alternative Microgreen Species as Affected by Five Types Growing Substrate
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Microgreens are young seedlings of various vegetable and herb species that are usually harvested 10 to 14 days after germination. They are a popular specialty crop because they are rich in mineral nutrients and health beneficial phytochemicals, grow quickly, need little space, and can be produced year-round in a protected environment. The choice of substrate is critical for successful microgreen production because it affects shoot growth, nutrient absorption, and total shoot yield. Compared with commonly used peat-based substrate, easy-to-use hydroponic mat products made from various fibers serve as sustainable alternative growing media. This study examines the effect of five substrates on the growth performance of four microgreen species including ‘Red Garnet’ amaranth (Amaranthus tricolour), ‘Red Gruner’ purslane (Portulaca oleracea), Rainbow Sprinkles Mix (with chard and beet, Beta vulgaris), and Shungiku (Glebionis carinata). The five substrates include bamboo mat, coco coir fiber mat, Ectone mat (made from recycled plastic bottle), jute mat, and a peat based soilless substrate. Results showed that fresh shoot weight was affected by the interaction between species and substrate type. Shungiku grown on peat and coco coir produced the highest fresh shoot weights of 74.7 and 70.2 g per growing tray, respectively, among all treatment combinations. Microgreens species varied in their preference of substrate for maximum shoot yield, with peat producing in higher fresh shoot weight than other substrate types in purslane and Rainbow Sprinkles Mix. Overall, peat and coco coir mat resulted in higher dry shoot weight than jute, bamboo, or Ectone mat across the four tested species. These results show the importance of choosing the right substrate for maximum yield and quality in microgreen production.
Speakers
AA

Ali Alsughayyir

Mississippi State University
NA
Co-authors
AP

Abby Pennington

Mississippi State University
GB

Guihong Bi

Mississippi State University
JA

Jacob Arthur

Mississippi State University
TL

Tongyin Li

Mississippi State University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Vegetable Crops Management 2
  • Subject Vegetable Crops Management
  • Poster # csv
  • Funding Source United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Specialty Crop Block Grant Program; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Project MIS-149220.

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Controlling Weeds in Nursery Container Production by Alternative Pesticides: A Potential Research Area
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The ornamental crop industry in the United States, is a billion-dollar industry. Weed management in nursery container production is a significant challenge, as weeds compete with ornamentals for essential resources, reducing plant quality, marketability, and overall profitability. Controlling weeds in containers is one of the highest production costs encountered by nursery growers, often exceeding $4,000 per acre. Previous research results have shown that weeds within a restricted area can reduce ornamental growth by 60%. Some of the most problematic weed species identified in the container production includes liverwort, hairy bittercress, oxalis, chick weed, etc. Liverwort is one of the major weed problems in greenhouses and nursery container production. Historically liverwort has been reported as a weed issue in cooler regions of the Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. It thrives well in moist, low UV light condition, and in presence of high fertility and a cool temperature. Hence, nurseries and greenhouses are ideal places for their growth. Growers rely mostly on hand weeding to manage these problematic weeds, especially inside the greenhouse production system as there are limitations in applying herbicides within greenhouse conditions. Since hand weeding is very time consuming, laborious, and expensive, there is an immediate need for research to improve chemical weed control practices through alternative pesticides that can be applied to container production and improve growers’ productivity and profitability. New plants are always being added to nursery production so phytotoxicity studies are also required. Some previous research has focused on evaluating synthetic versus organic herbicides for weed control inside greenhouse conditions. However, there is almost no information available on how alternative pesticides such as fungicide or miticides can be used for weed control in container production and whether they will be safe on ornamentals. This significant knowledge gap has led to the development of this master’s research proposal. Hence the objectives of this research proposal are: To evaluate the preemergence efficacies of fungicide and miticide as alternative pesticides on liverwort control; To assess newer herbicide formulations and rates for controlling weeds and phytotoxicity on container-grown woody shrubs; To disseminate the research results to the growers and scientific community. Preliminary results have shown that miticide Tetracurb Max and fungicide Zerotol can provide suppression of liverwort in containers without causing any significant injuries to the woody ornamental shrubs.
Speakers
SG

Sushil Grewal

Michigan State University
Co-authors
DS

Debalina Saha

Michigan State University
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Germination Moisture and Temperature Requirements of Italian Ryegrass
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The changing climate is impacting weed ecology and growth patterns in agricultural production systems. General understandings of temperature and moisture requirements have been documented for different weed species, however, there is evidence that production practices and environmental factors affect weed species response to temperature and moisture. Laboratory studies were initiated in 2023 at the University of Idaho Research and Extension Center to determine the germination temperature and moisture requirements of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) collected in Idaho and Washington. For the germination temperature requirement experiments, weed populations and wheat cultivars were grown on a thermogradient table with 10 varying temperatures between 4 C and 35 C. In the germination moisture requirement experiments, polyethylene glycol (PEG 8000) obtain 10 different osmotic potentials (0 to -2 MPa) at temperatures >12 C, there were no differences in germination speed and maximum germination between the Italian ryegrass and spring wheat. However, Italian ryegrass had faster germination speed and greater maximum germination at temperatures
Speakers
CM

Chandra Montgomery

University of Idaho
Co-authors
AA

Albert Adjesiwor

University of Idaho
JC

Joan Campbell

University of Idaho
NA
TR

Traci Rauch

University of Idaho
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Identifying Lactuca spp. Germplasm Resistant to Western Flower Thrips
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Recently, Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), transmitted by the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), has emerged as a major limiting-factor in lettuce production, causing up to 100% yield losses in California. Florida, the third-largest lettuce-producing state in the US, following California and Arizona, cultivates approximately 11,000 acres of lettuce annually. While cases of INSV have not been reported in Florida lettuce, F. occidentalis is a common pest in many crops in Florida including lettuce, the virus poses a significant threat to lettuce crops if introduced. Since INSV is exclusively transmitted by thrips, effective thrips management is crucial to mitigate its impact. Currently, management of F. occidentalis mainly relies on pesticides, however, over-reliance on pesticides may lead to insecticide resistance and further raising environmental and health risks. An integrated pest management approach, incorporating thrips-resistant lettuce cultivars as a first line of defense, could provide a sustainable solution to mitigate the possible negative effects of INSV. The aim of this study was to identify lettuce germplasm with resistance to F. occidentalis. In no-choice experiments, 39 lettuce germplasms including commercial cultivars were evaluated for the resistance to F. occidentalis. These germplasms were planted under thrips-free conditions and plants were placed individually to thrips-proof container and infested with 7 female thrips when they developed 5-6 true leaves. The thrips colony was reared on Okeechobee cultivar, a cultivar susceptible to other sap-feeding insects, which was also used as control for the experiments. Fourteen days post-infestation, the number of larvae and adult thrips per plant. Experiments were conducted in an insectary room maintained at 25 ± 1 °C with a photoperiod of 16-hour light and 8-hour dark. Five replicates (plants) were conducted for each lettuce germplasm. Several germplasms, including breeding lines 50100, 70096, and 70882, cultivars such as Bambino, La Brillante, Manatee, Emperor, Hacienda, and Valmaine, as well as plant introductions (PI) 204707 and 251246, exhibited significantly less larvae (Alpha level 0.05) than Okeechobee, suggesting resistance to F. occidentalis. On the other hand, breeding line 60183 and Gator had significantly higher number of larvae thrips than Okeechobee suggesting high susceptibility to F. occidentalis. These findings highlight promising candidates for further identification of genomic regions responsible for resistance against F. occidentalis and to develop resistant lettuce cultivars that could be a first-line of defense against INSV. Since INSV has not been reported in Florida, this underscores the importance of proactive resistance breeding efforts to prevent potential outbreaks.
Speakers
TB

Tennyson Bilinkhinyu Nkhoma

University of florida
Co-authors
DM

De-fen Mou

University of florida
NA
GS

German Sandoya Miranda

University of Florida EREC
JB

Julien Beuzelin

University of florida
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2
  • Subject Weed Control and Pest Management
  • Funding Source This project is partially supported by USDA NIFA Hatch project Accession Number 7005266 and USDA-AMS Specialty Crop Block Program/Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) grant 23SCBPFL1181.​

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Investigation of laser-guided variable-rate spray technology to achieve thorough trunk applications
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Air-blast sprayers with intelligent spray technology can apply pesticides more efficiently to tree canopies than conventional sprayers. However, little research has examined their effectiveness for trunk applications to control pests such as flatheaded borer (FHB). FHB larvae chew directly into the trunk upon hatching, necessitating thorough coverage with contact insecticides. Our objective was to explore the potential of using intelligent variable-rate spray technology to achieve thorough coverage on tree trunks. A red maple (Acer rubrum) block was divided into three plot-row-types: single-row (SR), double-row (DR; South and North rows), and triple-row (TR; South, interior, and North rows). Water sensitive paper (WSP) wraps were used to assess spray coverage. Wraps were secured around trunks of ten trees per row at 15 and 40 cm above the ground. Plots were sprayed with water using a Jacto A400/850 air-blast sprayer in constant-rate (CR) and variable-rate (VR) modes using the Smart Apply intelligent spray control system. CR discharged 69% higher spray volume than the VR mode (P < 0.0001). SR had >99% coverage; coverage in SR was not affected by spray mode or wrap height (P ≥ 0.0592). For DR, coverage ranged from 98.4% to 99.9%, and spray mode did not affect coverage on upper wraps (P ≥ 0.0829) within a row, while CR (99.6%) had lower coverage than VR (99.9%; P = 0.0043) for lower wraps in the northern row. However, TR coverage varied with the spray mode and wrap height (P < 0.0001). Upper wraps in the southern and interior rows had higher coverage from CR than VR, 98.6% versus 89.9% (P = 0.0019) and 98.7% versus 78.8% (P = 0.0137), respectively. For lower wraps, both the southern and interior rows had higher coverage from CR than VR, 98.5% versus 93.4% (P = 0.0019) and 99.5% versus 94.0% (P = 0.0137), respectively. Coverage was very high, i.e., ≥98.0% for 18 of 24 treatment combinations and ≥89.9% for 23 of 24 treatment combinations, but did not achieve 100%. There was no advantage to CR for SR or DR. For all plot-row-types and spray modes, the spray rate was higher than desired. CR sprayed 480, 251, and 210 GPA in the SR, DR, and TR plots, respectively, while VR discharged 239, 156, and 140 GPA. Future research should examine the use of adjuvants to increase coverage and determine a coverage range that balances acceptable FHB control, labor costs, and spray volume.
Speakers
KM

Karl McKim

The University of Tennessee
Co-authors
AF

Amy Fulcher

University of Tennessee
CY

Cory Yurisic

University of Tennessee
NA
EE

Erica Eady

The University of Tennessee
NA
GP

Grace Pietsch

The University of Tennessee
NA
HZ

Heping Zhu

USDA-ARS
NA
SX

Sun Xiaocun

The University of Tennessee
NA
WC

Wesley C Wright

The University of Tennessee
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2
  • Subject Weed Control and Pest Management
  • Funding Source USDA SCRI Grant # 2020-51181-32199
  • Funding Option SCRI funded all or part of the research associated with this abstract

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Pest Silencing- RNA Interference as a Strategy for Pest Management
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
The current study seeks to improve our ability to utilize RNA interference in developing novel tactics for management of arthropod pests related to crop protection and vector mitigation. The use of this technology in the development of novel arthropod control strategies has been substantially limited relative to its potential for implementation, and inherent advantages over traditional means for controlling pests. Past efforts in applying RNA interference as a strategy for management of arthropod pests have been limited by substantial hurdles that this research seeks to address. While the potential for the utility of RNAi in pest management has been recognized in the past several decades, previous research has found that the practicability of the technology in an applied setting is stifled by a number of factors, including the molecular instability of RNA, host susceptibility, evolved resistance, efficacy, and off-target effects. Our interest in exploring the potential for RNAi as a strategy for pest management application comes from recent developments in our investigation into the genomic basis of toxin resistance in insects. This work suggests the vital importance of a family of genes found in all insects that we believe may function as a target for RNAi that would alleviate many of these stated concerns; these genes are directly involved in insect immunity, they are highly conserved throughout insects yet have enough sequence variability to allow for species-specific targeting, and many of these genes cause lethality when silenced using RNA interference. In our analysis, we highlight the potential of this family of genes in being leveraged towards pest management applications across arthropod species; and in our experimental study we target a member of this gene family in 2 species of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster and D. sechelia, as well as a target gene that has previously been shown to cause lethality when knocked down in fruit flies. We show that member genes in this family may be an effective target for the development of RNAi based bioinsecticidal approaches, with potential applications in a broad range of arthropod pests.
Speakers
avatar for Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes

PhD Student, Wesleyan University
Hi, I'm Chris! I am currently in my second year as a PhD student in the Biology Department at Wesleyan University. I work in the Coolon Lab, where my project is focused on developing RNAi as a tool for Pest Management. While the lab is more focused on Genomic Analysis, I chose to... Read More →
Co-authors
JC

Joseph Coolon

Wesleyan University
NA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2

1:00pm CDT

WCPM 1 - Prevalence of Aphid-Transmitted Potyviruses in Pumpkin and Winter Squash in Georgia, USA
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
Viruses are a major biotic threat to cucurbit production in the southeastern United States. Many important cucurbit viruses are transmitted by whiteflies and aphids. Recent cucurbit virus research in Georgia is predominantly focused on whitefly-transmitted viruses (WTVs) and research is lacking on the aphid-transmitted viruses (ATVs) in cucurbit crops of Georgia. This study investigates the occurrence, prevalence, and emergence of ATVs in pumpkin and winter squash crops grown in a vegetable research farm at the University of Georgia-Tifton Campus during the fall season of 2022 and 2023. We screened plants for characteristic virus symptoms such as mosaic, mottling, yellowing, chlorotic spots, vein clearing, shoestring, upward curling, crumpling, blistering, and deformation of leaves. We collected symptomatic leaf samples of pumpkin and winter squash from the field. We processed the leaf samples for small RNA libraries for high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to identify ATVs present in the samples. We amplified viral genes for sanger sequencing and ran quantitative polymerase chain reactions (qPCR) for molecular validation of HTS results. HTS analysis revealed the presence of two ATVs, zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). The qPCR results suggested a significant temporal shift in ATV’s abundance in these two crops. In 2022, PRSV and ZYMV incidence was observed in 56.25% and 31.25% pumpkin leaf samples. In winter squash, PRSV and ZYMV incidence was found in 50% and 32.14% leaf samples. Mixed infection of both viruses was at 28.12% for pumpkin and 25% for winter squash. In 2023, PRSV was not detected in pumpkins, and it was detected at a negligible level (0.62%) in winter squash. ZYMV was predominant in pumpkin (61.25%) and winter squash (42.50%). Phylogenetic analysis of ZYMV-encoded coat protein (CP) and helper component-protease (HC-Pro) suggested a close relationship with the European isolates. However, PRSV-encoded CP and NIa-VPg showed a close relationship with isolates from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Spain, and the United States. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest single or mixed infections of ZYMV- and PRSV-infected pumpkin and winter squash in Georgia, USA. The findings of this study will serve as an important foundation for future research to understand the complex interactions between insect-transmitted viruses in cucurbit crops, which is vital for developing resistant cultivars and effective virus management strategies for commercial cucurbit vegetable crop production.
Speakers
NA

Nirmala Acharya

PhD student, University of Georgia
Co-authors
AS

Alvin Simmons

USDA ARS
NA
DG

David G. Riley

University of Georgia
NA
JC

Juan Carlos Diaz Perez

University of Georgia
MK

Manish Kumar

University of Georgia
NA
SB

Sudeep Bag

University of Georgia
NA
TM

Ted McAvoy

University of Georgia
NA
TC

Timothy Coolong

University of Georgia
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Empire AB
  Poster, Weed Control and Pest Management 2

1:30pm CDT

Coffee Break
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:30pm - 2:00pm CDT
Empire AB
Thursday July 31, 2025 1:30pm - 2:00pm CDT
Empire AB
  Conference Central Activities

6:00pm CDT

Trivia Night/Competition Award Ceremony
Thursday July 31, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm CDT
Empire AB
Don't miss this fun event!

Test your horticultural knowledge against other teams for a night of fun and camaraderie! 4 players per team allowed. You can join as a team, or sign up as an individual and we will team you up. https://forms.gle/3WptLLMCxm1ATtn78

Awards for the student and early career competitions will be presented between rounds of trivia.
Thursday July 31, 2025 6:00pm - 7:30pm CDT
Empire AB
  Competitions, Student Activities
 

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