The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) has launched SPARKForAutism.org, a dynamic platform that is engaging thousands of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and connecting them to researchers. By making all data accessible, SPARK seeks to increase our understanding of ASD and accelerate new supports and treatments for ASD.

Experiments with factorial arrangements of treatments plus one or more other treatment(s) are sometimes analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means are separated with a multiple comparison. A set of single degree-of-freedom contrasts in a one-way ANOVA, provides formal tests for main effects and interactions. Data from a 2 × 3 factorial experiment that also contained a control were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA with a multiple comparison. Results from this analysis were compared to results obtained from a two-way ANOVA, a one-way ANOVA with pre-planned contrasts, a two-way ANOVA with least squares means comparisons obtained with SAS/general linear models procedure, and a regression model with an indicator variable and random blocks obtained with SAS/Mixed procedure. Results and interpretation differed depending on how the data were analyzed and these differences are discussed.

Girdled or nongirdled `Biscoe' peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) secondary scaffold branches were covered with shade fabric to provide a range of photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) from 44 to 20 days before harvest (DBH), from 20 to 0 DBH or 44 to 0 DBH. Fruit quality was affected differently by the various periods of shade during the final swell of fruit development. Shading 40 to 20 DBH did not affect fruit weight or quality, whereas shading 44 to 0 DBH had the greatest effect on fruit weight and quality. Fruit quality was generally similar on branches exposed to 100% and 45% incident PPFD (IPPFD). Fruit on” girdled branches generally responded to shade more than fruit on nongirdled branches. Fruit weight was positively related to percent IPPFD for girdfed but not nongirdled branches shaded 20 to 0 DBH and 44 to DBH. On nongirdled branches, fruit exposed to 45% IPPFD for 44 to 0 DBH had 14% less red color and 21% lower soluble solids content (SSC) than nonshaded fruit. Harvest was delayed >10 days and preharvest fruit drop was increased by shading to <23% IPPFD. Shading branches for 20 to 0 or 44 to 0 DBH altered the relationship between flesh firmness and ground color: Firmness declined as ground color changed from green to yellow for fruit shaded 44 to 20 DBH, but firmness declined with little change in ground color for fruit shaded 20 to 0 or 44 to 0 DBH. Girdling results indicated that fruit weight and SSC partially depended on photosynthate from nonshaded portions of the canopy, whereas fruit redness, days from bloom to harvest, and ground color depended on PPFD in the vicinity of the fruit.

During a 3-year study of bitter pit in commercial ‘Honeycrisp’ apple (Malus ×domestica) orchards, incidence was associated with low calcium (Ca) levels in fruit peel; high ratios of nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and/or magnesium (Mg) to Ca in fruit peel; excessive terminal shoot length; and low crop load. Peel N and Mg concentrations were negatively correlated and peel Ca concentration positively correlated with crop density (CD). Shoot length (SL) was not consistently correlated with peel N, Mg, or phosphorus (P) and was negatively correlated with only Ca. A two-variable model that included SL and the ratio of N to Ca explained more than 65% of bitter pit incidence. The model has implications for best management of the cultivar in the field and during storage.

The apple growers and packaging houses are interested in methods that can evaluate the quality of apples non-destructively. Harvested fruits are a mixture of immature, mature, and over mature fruits, thereby posing a great problem in deciding their end use and storage time. It is expected that the technique developed from the present project could be effectively used to classify the harvested fruit into immature, mature and over mature apples, rapidly and nondestructively. It would also help the growers to predict the optimum dates to harvest the fruits.York and Gala were the varieties of apples that were used in this study and were obtained from Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Kentland Farm. Apples were harvested at different times resulting in different maturity groups (immature, mature and ripe).Gala apples were harvested on three dates with an interval of 10 days, while York apples were harvested on four dates with an interval of 14 days. They were stored at 0 o C until sampled. For each harvest date, the experiments were conducted in two sets (10 each) on two consecutive days. First the ethylene levels were measured, followed by gas chromatograph and electronic nose. Then the maturity indices were measured.Three maturity indices, starch index, firmness and soluble solids were used as the three variables for the statistical analysis to identify and categorize the fruits into three maturity categories referred as immature, mature and over mature fruits. Apples were also categorized into three maturity groups based on the emanation levels of the aroma compounds evolved from the fruits. Then electronic nose sensor responses were categorized into the above maturity categories, and their effectiveness was determined using a statistical procedure called Discriminant Analysis (DA). From the DA cross validation results the correct classification percentage for Gala andYork apples into maturity groups was 95%. The Electronic nose sensor's effectiveness to categorize the same observations based on sensor responses in to the above classified maturity categories was 83% correct in case Gala apples and 69% for York apples. The EN sensors response data were analyzed by the EN system software and the correct classification percentage for Gala was 83% and for York was 81%. Aroma-based categorization for Gala apples was 100% correct, while the electronic nose for the same analysis was 80%.Based on the three physical parameters, an objective evaluation of maturity could be accomplished. Principal Component Analysis, Canonical Discriminant Analysis and DA results demonstrated that the electronic nose could be used to classify apples into three identified maturity-based groups. The EN sensors (Gala apples), could also classify the apples into aromabased categories. Thus, it can be concluded that the EN system holds promise as non-destructive evaluation technique to determine the maturity of an apple.iv Acknowledgements

The relationship between SPAD-501 meter readings (SPAD) and total chlorophyll content (TCHL) was evaluated for `Delicious' apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) leaves grown in various environments. Regression models were developed between SPAD and TCHL for each of six separate experiments and were evaluated for statistical coincidence. SPAD was linearly related in a positive manner to TCHL in five of the six experiments; however, models differed between experiments, particularly between field- and greenhouse-grown trees. Thus, the relationship between SPAD and TCHL must be determined for each experiment.

Chemical fruit thinners were applied to limbs or whole trees of spur `Delicious' at various stages of fruit development as indicated by fruit diameter. Carbaryl, naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and ethephon all reduced fruit set when applied at a fruit diameter of ≈4 to 15 mm. Fruit thinning for NAA and carbaryl, alone or combined, generally was greater when applied at an average fruit diameter of 8 mm, rather than at 4 mm. Repeated applications of NAA or carbaryl were no more effective than single applications. NAA + carbaryl applied at 9 mm was more effective than NAA applied at 4 mm followed by carbaryl at 8 mm. Applied when fruit diameter averaged 17 to 22 mm, ethephon and ethephon + carbaryl were effective fruit thinners. When applied at full bloom to ≈10 and 20 mm, the insecticides ethion and oxamyl, respectively, were effective fruit thinners.

The influence of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) on peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] fruit quality and the relationship between ground color and flesh firmness was studied by performing three experiments. Fruit with varying ground colors were sampled from different canopy positions with varying PPF. Fruit skin color was measured with a tristimulus colorimeter and values for L* (lightness), chroma (brightness), and hue angle (numerical values for color) were calculated for each fruit. Fruit from the canopy exterior generally were larger, had more surface area colored red, had higher soluble solids concentrations, and were darker, duller, and redder than fruit harvested from interior positions. In all three experiments, the relationship between hue angle and fruit firmness was affected by PPF, but the nature of the relationship (linear vs. curvilinear) and the influence of position was not consistent. When fruit were covered with aluminum foil or a section of the fruit surface was covered with duct tape to prevent light-induced red coloration of the skin, the relationship between hue angle and fruit firmness was similar for different canopy positions. Therefore, the relationship between ground color and fruit firmness is influenced by the light environment in which a fruit develops, and not by canopy position. Ground color does not seem to be a good indicator of fruit firmness because fruit with the same hue angle had greatly differing firmnesses.