The purpose of the study was conducted to identify the existing HT programs in Tennessee and to locate the types of institutions, staff, activities, and clientele involved in those programs. Horticulture as a therapeutic medium is increasing rapidly, especially in the U.S., and there is a significant need to compile information about available programs in Tennessee. The Web-Survey of Horticultural Therapy Programs in Tennessee was developed and used in spring 2007 to survey members of the Tennessee Hospital Association, the Tennessee Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Tennessee Master Gardeners; the Manager of Knoxville Sertoma Center Greenhouse; the directors of Cheekwood Botanic Garden, Nashville, Ijams Nature Center, Knoxville, and the Memphis Botanic Garden. The estimated population for this survey was 1,314 (=N) participants. Two hundred eighty four people started to take the survey and 198 of those completed it successfully. These participants were a little-to somewhat familiar with the use of horticulture as a tool for therapy. The results of the survey indicated there are at least 12 (=n) HT programs in Tennessee. The study showed that each horticultural therapy program was individualized depending on the type of client served, the type of funding of the institution, and the resources available for the horticultural therapy program. The survey found that the main purpose of the HT programs in Tennessee was to “improve mood” of their clients, following by “social interaction,” “stress reduction” and “motor skill development.” Ninety-one percent of respondents felt there was a need for an association in Tennessee, and 86% felt that there was a need for professional HT in Tennessee. A restive-healing garden was designed at the Parkwest Medical Center, Knoxville. The multi-use rooftop garden was designed for patients and staff to provide feelings of security in a home-like deck environment where patients might receive individual and/or group recreational therapy, physical therapy, and horticultural therapy; provide opportunities to relieve tension, frustration and aggression; provide opportunities for reflection, relaxation and privacy for staff and patients; provide opportunities for different social and recreational activities; and provide stimulation of the senses with color, smells, textures, and sound.

Sunflower, Helianthus annus L., native of North America, is widely grown for oil, bird feed, and human snacks. More recently, sunflower is gaining acceptance as an ornamental potted plant and as a cut flower in the florist industry. The objectives of the present study were: 1. To evaluate diverse cultivars of sunflower for their performance under field and greenhouse conditions. 2. To explore the potential of sunflower in the local florist industry. 3. To exhibit the diversity of sunflower characteristics to the public. In 2004, studies were conducted during the spring and summer in the field and during fall and winter in the greenhouse. Commercial seed catalogs were used to obtain diverse cultivars. In the field study seeds were sown according to the prescribed spacing and depth in a randomized complete block design. Severe soil crusting necessitated replanting. Plants were observed from emergence to maturity for horticultural traits such as days to first leaf emergence, height of the plant, days to bloom, number of heads, and branching characters. When observed performance was compared with the catalog description, similarities were found for flower color and head diameter; however, differences were found for plant height and days to bloom. Aesthetic characteristics were evaluated in the field and in the laboratory as cut flowers. Preliminary results indicated that ornamental sunflower cultivars performed well in Kentucky even in an unusually wet, cool growing season. Inconsistency between catalog descriptions and observed performance indicates the need for growers to test promising varieties on a small scale before making large investments. In the greenhouse study cultivars produced fewer branches and heads compared to their field performance. Some cultivars failed to produce flowers under greenhouse conditions. Sunflower heads were found to be attractive and pleasing to a wide range of individuals. These preliminary results indicate that ornamental sunflower could become a niche crop in Kentucky agriculture. Sunflower as an ornamental crop could be productive and profitable, provided that market infrastructures are developed.

Adolescence is marked with many changes in the development of higher order thinking skills. As students enter high school they are expected to utilize these skills to solve problems, become abstract thinkers, and contribute to society. The goal of this study was to assess horticultural science knowledge achievement and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school in high school agriculture students. There were approximately 240 high school students in the sample including both experimental and control groups from California and Washington. Students in the experimental group participated in an educational program called “Hands-On Hortscience” which emphasized problem solving in investigation and experimentation activities with greenhouse plants, soilless media, and fertilizers. Students in the control group were taught by the subject matter method. The activities included in the Hands-On Hortscience curriculum were created to reinforce teaching the scientific method through the context of horticulture. The objectives included evaluating whether the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience experimental group benefited in the areas of science literacy, data acquisition and analysis, and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school. Pre-tests were administered in both the experimental and control groups prior to the research activities and post-tests were administered after completion. The survey questionnaire included a biographical section and attitude survey. Significant increases in hortscience achievement were found from pre-test to post-test in both control and experimental study groups. The experimental treatment group had statistically higher achievement scores than the control group in the two areas tested: scientific method (p=0.0016) and horticulture plant nutrition (p=0.0004). In addition, the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience activities had more positive attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school (p=0.0033). Students who were more actively involved in hands-on projects had higher attitude scores compared to students who were taught traditional methods alone. In demographic comparisons, females had more positive attitudes toward horticulture science than males; and students from varying ethnic backgrounds had statistically different achievement (p=0.0001). Ethnicity was determined with few students in each background, 8 in one ethnicity and 10 students in another. Youth organization membership such as FFA or 4-H had no significant bearing on achievement or attitude.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.41-42).

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The fact that plant life and woody species in particular, like animals, metamorphosis in their development, is not generally appreciated. Unlike an animal, in which metamorphosis affects the whole organism, a fruit tree retains the different phases in different parts of the organism throughout its life. These phases are distinguished by both morphological and physiological differences. [...]

The early attempts to preserve vegetables by freezing were not very successful, even under laboratory conditions, because of the development of undesirable flavours and odours during storage. [...]

<p> The greenhouse industry is interested in light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source supplement to solar light to improve plant growth and development. Before LEDs can be adopted as supplemental light for greenhouse crops, plant responses to LED spectral quality need to be investigated. Tomato and cucumber seedlings were grown under different supplemental blue and red photon flux ratios (B:R ratios) under high (16-19 mol m^&ndash;2 d^&ndash;1) and low (5-9 mol m^&ndash;2 d^&ndash;1) solar daily light integrals (DLIs). The supplemental daily light integral was 3.6 mol m^&ndash;2 d^&ndash;1. A treatment without supplemental light served as a control. Both tomato and cucumber seedlings had increased growth rate and improved morphology when grown under the supplemental LED light compared to the control. However, no significant differences were observed for any growth and morphological parameters measured in this study between the different B:R ratios for both cucumber and tomato transplants under high DLI conditions. Cucumber seedlings showed a tendency to decrease dry mass, leaf number and leaf area under low DLI conditions with increasing B:R ratio. Tomato seedlings did not show any differences between the different B:R ratios under low DLI conditions. Seedlings growth and morphology under supplemental LED light were compared to those under supplemental high pressure sodium (HPS) light. Cucumber seedlings under supplemental HPS light had greater shoot dry mass than those under the supplemental red LED light. Tomato shoot dry mass showed no differences between the HPS and red LED supplemental light treatments. Cucumber seedlings were also grown under supplemental LED pulsed lighting and supplemental LED continuous lighting. Cucumber seedlings showed no differences in shoot dry mass and net photosynthetic rate between the treatments. Collectively, these studies concluded that red LED is preferred for supplemental lighting and the increase of blue light does not offer any benefits unless the efficiency of blue LEDs largely exceeds the red LEDs. The results of this research can be used for fixture development by LED manufactures and as a decision making tool for the adoption of supplemental LED lighting by greenhouse growers.</p>

Rhododendrons are economically important plants in horticulture, and many species are threatened in the wild by habitat degradation. It is therefore doubly important that their nutritional needs should be understood.