An inorganic (sulfur) and a conventional organic fungicide spray program were evaluated on an apple scab-resistant (Liberty) and a scab-susceptible (McIntosh) cultivar for control of scab and for cost effectiveness. Trees of both cultivars were either nontreated, treated with inorganic fungicides only, or treated with a conventional fungicide program. McIntosh trees received full-season fungicide applications and Liberty trees received only the summer cover sprays (after petal fall) for control of summer diseases. In 1991, the number of fungicide applications ranged from 0 for nontreated Liberty to 12 for the full-schedule inorganic program on McIntosh, with both treatments providing excellent scab control. All nontreated McIntosh fruit were unmarketable due to scab infection. Due to a dry growing season and lack of summer disease development, nontreated Liberty fruit was of high quality. In 1992, the number of fungicide applications ranged from 0 for nontreated Liberty to 14 for the full-schedule inorganic treatment on McIntosh, with both treatments providing good to excellent disease control. Results were very similar in 1993. Scab incidence was low for all treatments except the nonsprayed McIntosh over all years. Over 3 years of testing, the conventional fungicide program resulted in an average of 9 and 5 applications per year for McIntosh and Liberty, respectively, compared to 12.6 and 7 applications, respectively, for the inorganic fungicide program. The large reduction in the number of sprays for both programs was due to the elimination of all pre-petal-fall applications on Liberty; post-petal-fall applications are needed to control summer diseases such as flyspeck and sooty blotch. An economic analysis for total cost of fungicide applications for each spray program and cultivar was conducted for hypothetical 4.0-, 8.1- and 16.2-ha farms. Regardless of farm size, the cost of fungicides per ha varied among treatments and cultivars. The inorganic and conventional spray program for McIntosh had similar total costs. On Liberty, the inorganic and conventional programs had 73 and 57% less total cost, respectively, than on McIntosh. Fungicides for the conventional program on Liberty were 1.45 times more costly per ha than fungicides in the inorganic program, but the inorganic program required more applications, resulting in a small difference in total treatment cost per ha.

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We investigated the responses of staminate and pistillate floral components of Prime-Jan and Prime-Jim primocane-fruiting blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus Watson) to three different growth chamber temperature regimens, 35.0/23.9 °C (HT), 29.4/18.3 °C (MT), and 23.9/12.8 °C (LT). Temperature was negatively related to flower size, and morphologically abnormal floral structures were evident in 41% and 98% of the MT- and HT-grown plants, respectively. Anthers of LT- and MT-grown plants dehisced. The viability of pollen (as deduced through staining) from Prime-Jan grown at LT or MT exceeded 70%, whereas that of Prime-Jim pollen was significantly reduced (<40%) by the MT regimen. In vitro pollen germinability (typically <50%) was negatively influenced by temperature but was unaffected by cultivar. Pollen useful life was diminished under HT conditions; LT-grown pollen held at 23.9 °C retained 63% of its original germinability over a 32-h period, while the germinability of that held at 35.0 °C for 16 hours decreased by 97%. Virtually all flowers cultured under HT conditions were male sterile, exhibiting structural or sporogenous class abnormalities including petaloidy and malformation of tapetal cells or microspores; HT anthers that were present, failed to dehisce. Stigma receptivity, pistil density, and drupelet set were also negatively influenced by increased temperature; values for these parameters of floral competency among control plants were reduced by 51%, 39%, and 76%, respectively, in flowers cultured under HT conditions. In this study, flowering and fruiting parameters, and presumably the yield potential of Prime-Jan and Prime-Jim, were adversely affected by increased temperature. However, their adaptive response to heat stress under field conditions awaits assessment.

The performance of peach trees [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch cv. Redhaven/Siberian C.] on raised beds as compared to the conventional flat (unraised) orchard floor surface was evaluated from 1982 to 1991. The raised bed was similar to the flat bed in cation exchange capacity (CEC), Ca, P, K, Mg, B, and Zn soil levels in the 0-15 cm depth. Microirrigation, using two 3.7 L.h-1 emitters per tree vs. no irrigation, was applied to trees planted in a north-south orientation on a silt loam, noncalcareous soil. Raised beds increased trunk cross-sectional area (TCA) and yield-efficiency over 5 years. Irrigation increased fruit mass mostly in years of highest evaporation. Significant year to year variations occurred in yield, fruit mass, TCA and yield efficiency. There were significant bed × year interactions for yield and TCA. Irrigation increased leaf boron content regardless of bed type. Leaf potassium was higher in flat beds. Nonirrigated trees had the lowest tree survival on the flat bed, but the opposite was true on the raised bed.