8 pages, via online journal, Rose (Rosa ×hybrida) breeders historically have bred plants based on what they personally have deemed attractive and traits required by growers to produce the crop successfully. End-user preferences were not formally considered in breeding decisions. The purpose of this study was to investigate growers’ and consumers’ opinions of roses available on the market and preferences for future roses coming into the market. A web-based survey tool was developed to measure the attributes consumers were considering in purchasing and growing rose plants, their knowledge of diseases and pests, and their hopes for new plants coming to market. A link was sent to horticultural group mailing lists as well as distributed through personal e-mail lists, Facebook, and a news release from Texas A&M University. The survey was posted for 4 months. It included ≈66 questions and took 30 minutes or more to complete. More than 2000 responses were received from rose growers and nursery consumers worldwide. The respondents preferred roses that were disease resistant, with fragrant, abundant, red, and everblooming flowers. The ideal height of the preferred rose shrubs was waist to shoulder-height. Differences were found in preferences between experienced rose growers and those who were not affiliated with rose associations on variables such as the need to use chemicals to manage diseases, the importance of foliage glossiness and large vs. small blooms, the value of roses in the garden setting, the level of difficulty roses pose in growing situations, and the willingness to pay more for a rose shrub in comparison with other garden plants. Differences also were found among age groups and preferences for flower color, fragrance, foliage color, and foliage glossiness. This information could be helpful in targeting marketing of roses.
Czaja, Ronald (author), Hoban, Thomas (author), Woodrum, Eric (author), and Department of Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1992
Published:
USA: Rural Sociological Society
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 91 Document Number: C06663
biotechnology, James F. Evans Collection, The extent and sources of public opposition to the use of genetic engineering in agricultural production are examined through data from telephone interviews with 220 farmers and 332 nonfarmers living in eight North Carolina counties. A model suggesting that public opposition to genetic engineering is influenced by demographic characteristics mediated by three intervening variables (awareness of genetic engineering, faith in government and industry, and moral objection to genetic engineering) is analyzed. Moral objection is the strongest predictor of opposition. Opposition is also related to lower awareness and less faith in institutions. Women are more likely to oppose genetic engineering than men. Implications of findings are noted. (original)
Hoban, Thomas J. (author), Kendall, Patricia (author), and Hoban: Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University; Kendall: Food Science and Nutrition, Colorado State University
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1993
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 96 Document Number: C07635
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, In: Macdonald, June F., ed. Agricultural biotechnology: a public conversation about risk. Ithaca, NY: National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, 1993. p. 73-86
