8 pages., Via online journal., With growing interest in food system solutions to address poor health outcomes related to preventable chronic diseases, organizations and researchers are examining the value of community gardens as interventions to promote individual and community health. Research suggests that participation in community gardens improves access to fresh, healthy foods and increases fruit and vegetable consumption. In addition to these physical benefits, research also documents a variety of social and communal benefits, by expanding social capital, stabilizing neighborhoods, and cultivating relationships. Unfortunately, most of these studies focus on a specific case, cross case, or intervention studies within a geographically specific locale. Learning lessons from successful community garden programs can be difficult because community gardens often rely on the synergy of a complex network of support agencies that assist in various technical and educational capacities. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the use of a framework for program development and evaluation that stakeholders, including extension, can adopt to show program outcomes. The framework used a Delphi approach with a diverse panel of community garden stakeholders to reach consensus about program outcomes. The study demonstrated that the panel could reach consensus on a variety of short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes.
9 pages., Via online journal., Certain pesticides are coming under scrutiny because of their impact on pollinator insects. Although most consumers express willingness to aid pollinators, the reasons for consumers’ preferences or barriers to purchasing pollinator-friendly plants and the types of pollinators’ that consumers are trying to protect are less understood. Using an online survey of 1200 Connecticut (CT) consumers, of which 841 had home landscapes, we find that 46% of consumers with home landscapes purchased pollinator-friendly plants to attract pollinators to their landscape. Consistent with past research that focused on consumers’ preferences for pollinator-friendly plants, the data also reveal that some consumers are willing to pay premiums for plants that contribute to pollinator’s health. However, only 17% stated that attracting pollinators was their primary motivation; a finding that suggests labeling alone will likely not motivate consumers to purchase plants. The major barriers to purchasing pollinator-friendly plants included lack of labeling (cited by 28%), followed by high price (28%). Consumers purchasing pollinator-friendly plants were trying to attract butterflies (Lepidoptera) (78%), bees (Apidae) (59%), hummingbirds (Trochilidae) (59%), and other birds (41%). We also find that demographics and purchasing behavior affect barriers and types of pollinators desired. Simply labeling plants has the potential to increase purchasing, but increasing price could be detrimental as many consumers feel pollinator-friendly plants are highly priced. Implications for ornamental horticulture stakeholders are discussed.
3 pages., Via online journal., Increased global trade coupled with diversified employment opportunities have generated demand for college graduates to possess enhanced interpersonal and foreign communication skills and a well-developed understanding of foreign culture. Horticultural employment opportunities also require students to possess a mastery of horticultural theory with an established record of direct, hands-on experience. Despite these needs, financial limitations of students and academic departments coupled with a lack of available opportunities may restrict students from developing these critical skills. Through development of cooperative learning programs, students have an opportunity to master and refine their horticultural skills while simultaneously raising funds, which are allocated for professional development including an international learning program. This article provides a successful overview of a student-based cooperative learning program that enhances student learning opportunities.
4 pages., Via journal article., Learning by doing plays a critical role in a learner’s conceptual understanding. By actively engaging with a concept, students gain experience and develop an enduring understanding of the concept. The concept of pollen viability is a critical component in the field of plant breeding and can be used to explain various aspects of pollen quality. An inquiry activity was designed to expose undergraduate students in a horticulture course to the concept of pollen viability and its application. The entire class was tasked with collaborating to identify an in vitro germination medium optimized to germinate plumeria (Plumeria rubra) pollen. To determine optimum sucrose and pH concentrations of the medium, student groups were assigned treatments of pollen from two plumeria cultivars that were germinated in Brewbaker and Kwack media of differing sucrose and pH concentrations. Students calculated the percentage of germinated pollen and assessed pollen tube integrity and used these variables as evidence of an optimized medium. Although undergraduates were engaged in authentic research practices during the inquiry activity, lack of time and resources impeded completion of the activity. However, students were exposed to methods and instrumentation directly related to evaluating pollen viability. Moreover, they were exposed to the basic practice of pollen quality assessment that they can use to carry out investigations on pollen fertility. In addition, insight was gained to improve the inquiry activity in the future. Now, well-informed modifications to the inquiry activity can be made to pilot this activity in a formal horticulture laboratory section.
Both, Arend-Jan (author), Bugbee, Bruce (author), Kubota, Chieri (author), Lopez, Roberto G. (author), Mitchell, Cary (author), Runkle, Erik S. (author), Wallace, Claude (author), and Rutgers University
UT State University
University of Arizona
Michigan State University
Purdue University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2017-08
Published:
United States: American Society for Horticultural Science
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 16 Document Number: D10439
6 pages., Via online journal., Electric lamps are widely used to supplement sunlight (supplemental lighting) and daylength extension (photoperiodic lighting) for the production of horticultural crops in greenhouses and controlled environments. Recent advances in light-emitting diode (LED) technology now provide the horticultural industry with multiple lighting options. However, growers are unable to compare technologies and LED options because of insufficient data on lamp performance metrics. Here, we propose a standardized product label that facilitates the comparison of lamps across manufacturers. This label includes the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) efficacy, PAR conversion efficiency, photon flux density output in key wave bands, as well as the phytochrome photostationary state (PSS), red/far red ratio, and graphs of the normalized photon flux density across the 300–900 nm wave band and a horizontal distribution of the light output.
6 pages., Via online journal., This study examines the impact of a residential horticultural career academy, Camp Tomorrow’s Undergraduates Realizing the Future (TURF), conducted from 2010 to 2016 at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, OK. Each year, up to 25 Oklahoma high school students were engaged in 2 weeks of hands-on activities representing a variety of horticulture-related careers. Instructors for Camp TURF included OSU faculty, staff, and graduate students from the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, related OSU departments, and horticulture and landscape architecture industry professionals. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education sponsored this career academy, which was geared toward potential first-generation college students, and helped to expose students to the university atmosphere as well as expand their knowledge of science- and math-related career fields. Pre- and postassessments given at Camp TURF show significant changes in college readiness and familiarity with horticulture careers, but did not necessarily increase interest in particular horticulture and landscape architecture careers. Upon following up with academy graduates, we learned that the academy has been a positive experience for numerous attendees, with 76.6% going on to higher education and two students majoring in horticulture and landscape architecture-related areas.
