M.S.

Ph. D.

Ed. D.

The Virginia Seed Service had its beginning in an older organization, the Virginia Crop Improvement Association. This later association was developed to stimulate the more widespread use of improved seed for field crops. / Master of Science

The counties involved in this study belong to the Piedmont Plateau. Soils are largely from crystalline rock and except for small areas of Davidson and Lloyd types, the soils are derived from acidic rock. The soils of this area are deficient in phosphorus but are fairly well supplied with potassium. In most cases lime and phosphate are the limiting factors in securing high yields of pasture and forage crops, and in getting stands of certain legumes. / Master of Science

The evaluation of production alternatives in agriculture requires a close examination of their economic and environmental impacts. This study was conducted to identify the crops with the highest profit potential given terminal market prices over the last five years, evaluate the feasibility of adopting new crop alternatives, given historical price information and limited production resources, and determine the potential environmental impacts of adopting new cropping strategies in Accomack and Northampton Counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. A database of daily terminal price information was created to identify the market windows for specific commodities, their respective high, median and low prices, and their price variability over the last five years. A linear programming model was used to determine optimal farming operations for those farmers that grow only wheat and soybean versus farmers who are willing and able to include vegetables in their crop mix. PLANETOR, an environmental impact computer program, was used to estimate the potential soil erosion, pesticide leaching and runoff, nitrogen leaching, and phosphorous runoff for different scenarios. The model shows that some of the new vegetable commodities could substantially increase the net returns of the farming operations in question. Romaine and Boston Lettuce were consistently selected as the most profitable alternatives while the region's traditional crops offered little competition. Wheat and soybean production showed acceptable levels of soil erosion, as defined by the T-values for the region, and low potential for nitrogen leaching. They did, however, exhibit a higher potential for water contamination, through leaching, or runoff, of high toxicity chemicals. Although lettuce production had higher than recommended soil losses, a well-diversified crop mix offsets its negative impacts at the farm level. Lettuce also uses low toxicity chemicals, decreasing potential health hazard from their leaching or runoff. The introduction of the new vegetable commodities is recommended on the basis of the high profits that they offer, as well as the more positive pesticide leaching and runoff potential. Their final adoption, however, should take place only after establishing a well defined marketing strategy and resolving potential marketing problems. No crop exists that could offer both high profits and have no impact on the environment. Kenaf was thought to be one, but it was soon eliminated on both grounds. This study showed, however, that the new vegetable crops considered may offer better net returns, while they do not necessarily translate into environmental disasters. / Master of Science

A method was developed for estimating costs of harvesting operations in the hardwood stands of the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia. The method was then tested on one logging operation to estimate the cost of harvesting a group selection tract as compared to a clearcut. Eight loggers were contacted and interviewed to obtain data on their costs of logging. The mean, median, and standard deviation of the responses were calculated to develop a profile. Mean crew size was three men, including the owner operator. Mechanized equipment consisted of a cable skidder from 75 to 120 hp. and a small to medium size loader. Average skidder age was 4.8 years. Loggers produced 144 cords per week, of which 54.6% was pulpwood and 42.4% sawtimber with 3% firewood. Products were hauled an average of 33 miles one way. Labor costs, including wages and all benefits averaged $411 per man per week. Total harvesting costs had a mean of $2252 per week. Mean hauling cost was $1289 per week. Annual production averaged 6778 cords. Cords per man hour was 0.99. Total cost per cord including hauling averaged $26. The information taken from the interviews was incorporated along with data from current literature into the Harvesting Analysis Technique (HAT), a main frame harvesting simulator, to model group selection harvests against clearcut harvests. A twenty-seven acre group selection cut was compared to a 160-acre clearcut. Clearcut area was based on the access estimated possible by the group selection skid road network. Results showed group selection harvested at a 21% slower rate than clearcutting. Harvest cost per cord was 25.8% greater. Variation in cost was caused mainly by the increased average skid distances present in the groups. Every 100 foot increase in skid distance resulted in a $0.68 increase in cost per cord for skidding in group selection harvests compared to a $0.33 increase for clearcutting. / Master of Science

Broccoli (<i>Brassica oleracea</i> L. var. italica) has become an increasingly popular vegetable with American consumers. Much of the attractiveness of fresh broccoli is derived from this vegetable's high nutrition and excellent organoleptic properties. In a consumer response survey, Virginia Master Gardeners indicated a preference for broccoli that has less stalk and more florets by weight. The objectives of this research were to produce single unit broccoli, and to examine vacuum and shrink-film wrapping of single unit and bunching broccoli as alternatives to the standard post harvest practice of top icing in order to preserve post harvest quality attributes: vitamin C, color, odor, and turgidity. Broccoli cv. 'Symphony' was direct seeded and transplanted at two sites in Virginia (within row spacing 20 cm , .9 m centered, 3 row bed). Single unit broccoli was classified as broccoli with head diameters greater than or equal to 20 cm (i.e., equivalent to one bunch of broccoli). Single unit and bunching broccoli for post harvest experimentation was vacuum or shrink-film wrapped with plastic film wraps of varying gauges. The broccoli was held in cold storage from 12 to 22 days with no supplemental ice. Single unit broccoli was produced successfully at one site only. The yields, however, were a fraction of total bunching broccoli yields. There was no significant difference in marketable yields with either planting method (direct seeded vs transplanting) at site 2. Transplants, however, out yielded the direct seeded broccoli at site 1. Vacuum and shrink-film wrapping proved to be very effective in preserving organoleptic attributes of single unit and bunching broccoli even when never receiving ice. Vitamin C and chlorophyll retention were not influenced by wrapping. / Master of Science

Large woody debris (LWD) was added to North Fork Stony Creek and North Prong Barbours Creek as an experimental stream enhancement technique. The purpose of this study was to determine the stream channel responses to LWD additions at the scale of the stream reach and around individual logs, to determine benthic macroinvertebrate relations to physical habitat, and to determine the potential effects of LWD created stream channel alterations on benthic macroinvertebrates. Pool frequency and total surface area increased substantially at the expense of riffles in the random and controlled placement sections one year after LWD additions in Stony Creek. Although logs oriented as ramps produced more channel scouring, only log dams created pools. Results in Barbours Creek were similar but less pronounced. Substratum detritus was greater in pools than riffles for both streams, but there was no difference between years, sections, or as a result of LWD additions. Most functional feeding groups and invertebrate orders were significantly more abundant in riffles than pools. The exception were collector gatherers which accounted for a large proportion of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage. Increased poor area at the expense of riffle area may decrease the overall relative abundances of functional feeding groups and result in a reduction of the stream's substratum detritus processing capabilities. Decreased riffle area should result in an overall decrease in the abundance of potential food items for brook trout in Barbours Creek, but not in Stony Creek. However, average biomass was not significantly different between pools and riffles for either stream. Biomass may therefore compensate for a loss of prey items for brook trout because, although numbers may decrease, average individual weight increases with an increase in pool habitats. / Master of Science

This study gained insights into preferences of selected citizens of Virginia for information and education in personal financial management. Quantitative and qualitative data were triangulated. The quantitative data used were collected by Porter (1990) by a mail survey. The Porter database (N=506) was sorted to identify those respondents (n=50) with addresses located in the Central District of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. The resulting Central District database was then sorted to identify those respondents with characteristics similar to the participants in the qualitative data collection. This resulted in 12 respondents. The respondents' (n=12) responses to four questions on the Porter survey were reported. The qualitative data were collected from five focus groups (N=35) conducted in the Central District in October, 1991. The focus group participants were primarily the financial decision maker of the household, between the ages of 19 to 49, had annual gross incomes between $10,000 and $29,000, and had an educational level of at least a high school degree, but did not have a four year college degree. An 11 question interview guide was used in the focus groups to gain insights into the 4 closed-ended questions on the Porter survey. / Master of Science