No description available.

Thesis (M. For. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-231). Also available via the World Wide Web.

6 pp. / Ground covers can be any low-growing, creeping, sprawling plant whose primary purpose is to cover the ground in managed landscapes. General planting instructions, their care, selection and cultural requirements used in ground cover and explained in this article in detail.

Revised; Originally Published: 2002 / 6 pp.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Wendell A. Nuss, David S. Brown. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66). Also available online.

This practical thesis aims to reform the use of plant material in landscape architecture projects in the Najd or Central Region of Saudi Arabia. Many aspects of landscape architecture in Najd attempt to emulate western concepts. Neglect or unawareness of the values of Arabic society is one of the main reasons for the failure of the landscape programme. This factor of traditional culture is particularly sensitive in Najd which is the birthplace of Whabism, one of the strictest applications of Islam. This implies special conditions that made outdoor design sensitive and complicated, unable to tolerate western forms. Western urban patterns in planning, such as wide streets, neighbourhood parks and their detailed components of artifacts and plant materials, all shattered the character of traditional landscape architecture in the region. Although indigenous landscape elements in Najd evolved as a result of socio-environmental factors, many consultants do not differentiate between Persian, Islamic, and Najdi gardens. The inventory of available plant species indicates that most are imported from tropical and subtropical countries. These species require stripping of soil from wadi Hanifah for potting, and for top soiling planting projects, a process destructive to the rich wadi habitat. Such a process is necessary when using imported plant material while native ones can adapt to the existing sandy and saline soil. The devastation of the wadi ecosystem, the saline water table and the high cost of maintaining those plants, represents serious short and long term economic, ecological and technical implications. These implications all point to the scale of these negative consequences of using imported plant material. Also, climatic data, points to the suitability and adaptability of native flora and its significance in avoiding further damage to eco-environment. Use of imported plants in arid Najd and creating a man-made micro climate to suit them, is a waste of resources, especially the water budget in Saudi Arabia. The thesis proves that these plants consume large amounts of water, require high levels of maintenance, are unsuitable to Najdi environment, introduce new pests and diseases, require special microclimatic conditions, rich soil and prove unsuccessful in their functions. All the previous factors combine to acknowledge the failure of many tropical gardens in the arid land of Najd. The answer lies in Najd itself which is wealthy in flora adapted to its local conditions. The potential for their use in Saudi Arabian landscape projects is vast. Individually they will substitute for the imported nursury stock, while the available communities represent a ready-made and complete landscape element which would be valuable for Najdi parks. The general question, the comparative advantages of native over imported plants is conclusively answered in the thesis. Though the native plants are diverse, attractive and available, they were tested practically aiming at, firstly to test the individual species, the "target species method", and secondly to test the whole community "target community method". Three test sites were allocated in the Diplomatic Quarter to test the selected target species and communities. The tests were conducted extensively over five years and intensively over three years, during which the author monitored closely a large number of species and communities and arrived at an encouraging set of results and findings. The conclusion of the thesis consists of two parts. Firstly, the successful species which is included in a Flora, and the successful target communities which use selected target communities as a landscape design tool. These are aimed specifically at landscape designers. Secondly, the author recommends how to utilize both methods in a typical Najdi urban park, and how to encourage their successful use.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:36:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_Diss_Anderson_Santin.pdf: 2075563 bytes, checksum: c35b4b0d2b620adb609fb0e13986da25 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The use of cover crops and planting density is directly related to productivity of strawberry plants grown in the field. Given to above, the aim of the present work was to evaluate the productive characteristics and levels of photosynthetic pigments of two cultivars of strawberry on types of mulchings, and numbers of rows per bed planting in the open system The experiments were carried out between May and December/2012 at the Experimental Farm "Prof. Dr. Antônio Carlos dos Santos Pessoa belonging to Unioeste, Campus of Marechal Cândido Rondon, PR. The first experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, factorial 2x4 (Two cultivars, being 'Camarosa' and 'Camino Real' x 4 types of mulchings, being black low-density polyethylene, silver low-density polyethylene, non woven tissue and no mulching) containing three replications. The second experiment was conducted in randomized complete blocks, 2x4 factorial (two cultivars being Camarosa and 'Camino Real' x 4 arrangements of plants per plot, with 1, 2, 3, 4 rows per plot), containing four replication. It was evaluated as pigment, the chlorophylls a and b, chlorophyll a+b and a/b ratio, average number of fruits plant-1, productivity (ton ha-1) or average mass plant-1, average fruit weight-1, soluble solids (Brix), total acidity, pH and soluble solids/total acidity. The mulchings of silver low-density polyethylene and non woven tissue presented lower productivity, not being recommended for the cultivation of strawberry cultivars Camarosa and Camino Real. From among the mulchings used in the present work, black low-density polyethylene was what gave better results, being recommended its use for cvs. Camarosa and 'Camino Real'. The spatial arrangement of plants with two and three rows were presented better results in productivity in the cultivation of the strawberry field / A utilização de cobertura de solo e densidade de plantio estão diretamente relacionadas a produtividade de morangueiros em cultivo a campo. Diante do exposto, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar as características produtivas e teores de pigmentos fotossintéticos de duas cultivares de morangueiro, sobre tipos de mulchings, e números de linhas por canteiro em sistema de plantio a céu aberto. Os experimentos foram realizados entre maio e dezembro/2012, na Fazenda Experimental Prof. Dr. Antônio Carlos dos Santos Pessoa , pertencente a Unioeste, Campus Marechal Cândido Rondon, PR. O primeiro experimento foi realizado no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, esquema fatorial 2x4 (duas cultivares, sendo Camarosa e Camino Real x 4 tipos de mulchings, sendo polietileno de baixa densidade preto, polietileno de baixa densidade prata, tecido não tecido e ausência de mulching), contendo três repetições. O segundo experimento foi realizado em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, esquema fatorial 2x4 (duas cultivares, sendo Camarosa e Camino Real x 4 arranjos de plantas no canteiro, sendo 1, 2, 3, 4 linhas por canteiro), contendo quatro repetições. Avaliaram-se como teores de pigmentos, as clorofilas a e b, clorofila a+b e relação a/b, número médio de frutos planta-1, produtividade (ton ha-1), massa média fruto-1, sólidos solúveis (°Brix), acidez total, pH e relação sólidos solúveis/acidez total. A Camarosa apresentou maior produtividade que a Camino Real . O TNT não é recomendado como mulching, pois não resistiu ao período de cultivo, e não se mostrou eficaz no controle de plantas daninhas. No PEBD preto obtiveram-se melhores resultados no cultivo de Camarosa e Camino Real . A Camarosa apresentou maior produtividade média e maior número de frutos por planta que a Camino Real . A Camino Real apresentou frutos maiores e de melhor qualidade. O cultivo com duas e três linhas por canteiro apresentaram melhores resultados para MMP e NMFP, podendo empregar três linhas a fim de otimizar a área de plantio, ou duas linhas quando se busca facilitar colheita e tratos culturais

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 14, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

The US Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) prohibits the harvest of dropped fruits and vegetables due to potential microbial contamination. Under the FSMA PSR dropped produce includes (i) produce that has detached from the parent plant and unintentionally contacts the ground and (ii) produce that is attached to the parent plant and unintentionally contacts the ground. Due to the benefits of plant growth and pest management, agricultural ground covers are a common horticultural practice implemented in the fresh produce production environment and produce may come into contact with these ground covers. Thus, this thesis aims to (i) quantify the survival of bacteria on different agricultural ground cover types and in different production environments and (ii) evaluate the cross-contamination risk of mulch to fresh produce from different drop heights and contact times. A seven-strain Salmonella cocktail was spot inoculated on coupons of biodegradable mulch, landscape fabric, and plastic mulch, and held in a growth chamber (23°C, 55% RH). At 0, 0.06, 0.17, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 30, 60, 90, and 140 days post-inoculation (dpi), coupons were enumerated for Salmonella. Coupons of plastic mulch were also spot inoculated with a green-fluorescent protein-tagged generic Escherichia coli and held in a growth chamber, greenhouse, and field environment for enumeration at 0, 0.06, 0.17, 0.41, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 dpi. Fresh cucumber, jalapeño, and tomato were dropped from 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 ft using height-modified PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes onto generic E. coli inoculated plastic mulch, as well as tomato onto inoculated biodegradable mulch. Produce samples were enumerated after 3 s of mulch contact. Fresh cucumber, jalapeño, and tomato were also grown in contact with generic E. coli inoculated plastic mulch for 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days post-placement in the field. Salmonella survived on all ground covers for up to 140 dpi in the growth chamber. From 0 to 30 dpi, biodegradable mulch had the lowest Salmonella reduction, followed by landscape fabric and then plastic mulch (P < 0.05). No significant differences in ground cover type and Salmonella reduction were observed at 90 dpi (P > 0.05). Plastic mulch had the highest reduction of generic E. coli in the field followed by the greenhouse and growth chamber over 7 dpi (P < 0.05) with field and greenhouse coupons achieving approximately a 6-log reduction by 0.17 and 7 dpi, respectively. Ground cover type and environment impacted bacterial survival and highlighted the importance of growing location in risk management. Cucumber and tomato samples dropped from 4 (33%; 17%) and 6 (100%; 43%) ft were damaged, respectively. In general, generic E. coli transferred to the tested commodities regardless of drop height or contact time. These findings support that dropped produce should not be harvested due to potential damage and when surfaces were contaminated, transfer was likely to occur. Similarly, if surfaces were contaminated, regardless of contact time (0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 d), transfer was likely to occur indicating cross-contamination poses a food safety risk despite unintentional or intentional ground contact. Food safety efforts should focus on minimizing visible contamination, as outlined in the FSMA PSR, that may contaminate fresh produce in the production environment. Growing produce in contact with the ground alone may not be the sole factor in the contamination of fresh produce, as a contamination event is needed. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / The US Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) is a federal regulation that sets science-based standards for the safe production, harvest, and handling of fresh fruits and vegetables. Within the harvesting requirements of the PSR, produce that drops to the ground cannot be harvested because of potential microbial contamination. Dropped produce includes (i) detached from the plant and touching the ground and (ii) attached to the plant and touching the ground. The ground can include different surfaces including agricultural ground covers, a common horticultural practice that increases plant growth and decreases pests. This thesis aims to evaluate the food safety risk of (i) bacteria on different ground covers and in different growing environments and (ii) fresh produce contacting the ground while detached (i.e., drop) and attached to the plant. Three ground cover types, biodegradable mulch, landscape fabric, and plastic mulch, were inoculated with Salmonella and held in a growth chamber with moderate conditions (23°C, 55% RH). At 0, 0.06, 0.17, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 30, 60, 90, and 140 days, sample coupons were evaluated for Salmonella counts. Plastic mulch was inoculated with green-fluorescent protein-tagged generic Escherichia coli (E. coli) and placed in a growth chamber, greenhouse, and field for 0, 0.06, 0.17, 0.41, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days to investigate survival. At the selected time-points, generic E. coli counts were evaluated on plastic mulch. Fresh cucumber, jalapeño, and tomato were either dropped through height-modified PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipes at 0, 1, 2, 4, and 6 ft onto generic E. coli inoculated plastic mulch and only tomato onto generic E. coli inoculated biodegradable mulch (detached produce), or grown in contact with generic E. coli inoculated plastic mulch in the field (attached produce) for 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days. Salmonella was present on all ground covers for up to 140 d in the growth chamber. From 0 to 30 d, biodegradable mulch had the highest concentration of Salmonella, followed by landscape fabric and then plastic mulch; however, no differences in material were observed at 90 d. Plastic mulch had the lowest concentration of generic E. coli in the field followed by the greenhouse and growth chamber over 7 d. Ground cover types (biodegradable mulch, landscape fabric, and plastic mulch) and growing environment (field, greenhouse, and growth chamber) influenced bacterial survival and should be considered in food safety management and assessment of preharvest contamination risks. Cucumber and tomato samples dropped from 4 and 6 ft were often damaged, compared to lower drop heights. Bacteria transferred to cucumber, jalapeño, and tomato regardless of drop height and contact time. Dropped produce should not be harvested due to damage and likelihood of cross-contamination. Contamination was not influenced by contact time confirming fresh produce in contact with a contaminated source is likely to become contaminated despite unintentional or intentional ground contact. Thus, food safety efforts should focus on minimizing visible contamination on surfaces that may contact fresh produce in the growing environment.

As part of a pre-impoundment study for the Ray Roberts Reservoir Area, Landsat-5 multi-spectral scanner (MSS) imagery was used for cover type interpretation. This research was concerned with analysis techniques for MSS images and a comparison of results obtained using computer assisted interpretatin of MSS images and a comparison of results obtained using computer assisted interpretation of MSS images with those obtained using manual interpretation of false color infrared (CIR) photographs.