A COMPARISON OF HAND RAKING AND MECHANICAL HARVESTING OF LOWBUSH BLUEBERRIES

1983 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 951-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. HALL ◽  
D. L. CRAIG ◽  
R. A. LAWRENCE

A mechanical harvester developed for lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) was demonstrated in a field trial to be potentially viable for machine harvest. On a well-managed, relatively weed-free field, four experienced hand rakers were able to harvest a larger percent of the fruit than the machine, but it took about eight times as long to do so. The quality of the berries, as measured by percent poor berries and amount of foreign material, was not significantly different between hand- and machine-gathered berries. On a field that contained a considerable native weed population, the hand rakers were able to extract a greater harvest with better berry quality. The potential of the harvester is discussed in relation to present trends in the industry.Key words: Lowbush blueberry, mechanical harvest

1973 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-557
Author(s):  
AMR A. ISMAIL

The effects of early preharvest application of 18 ethephone ((2-chloroethyl) phosphonic acid) treatments on the size, weight, soluble solids content, pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids/acid ratio, and the keeping quality of lowbush blueberry fruit (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) were studied. For all these characteristics, no significant differences were observed between fruits receiving the ethephon treatments and the untreated fruits except in the case of fruits receiving 1,000 ppm ethephon when about half-grown. Weight of berries per unit volume from this treatment was significantly higher than for all other treatments including untreated fruits. These findings indicate that early preharvest application of ethephon for selective abortion of barrenberry fruits in lowbush blueberry fields does not adversely affect the observed characteristics of blueberry fruits.


1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Prange ◽  
J. R. DeEll ◽  
A. R. Westgarth ◽  
S. K. Asiedu

This study investigated the response of two cultivars of lowbush blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., cultivars Fundy and Blomidon, to controlled atmosphere (CA) storage in all combinations of 1, 2, and 5% O2 and 0, 5, 10, and 15% CO2, and storage in air. A second set of samples was inoculated with a Botrytis-infected raspberry prior to storage to determine the effect of CA storage on decay development. The berries were held at 0 °C in air-tight chambers flushed each day for 30 min. Half-liter samples were stored for 2,4, and 6 wk in air or CA storage and then evaluated for percent unmarketable berries, firmness, titratable acids and percent decayed berries. This was followed by 7 d in air at 10 or 20 °C and recording of percent unmarketable berries. The experiment was replicated over 2 yr. Both cultivars responded positively to CA storage. Increasing CO2 in the presence of 1–5% O2 reduced decay and the percent unmarketable berries and maintained titratable acids and berry firmness levels. After 42 d of storage, Fundy had 30.5% unmarketable berries in air storage, compared with 8.7% in 15% CO2. Blomidon had 36.0% and 6.8% unmarketable berries in air and 15% CO2, respectively. Decreasing O2 reduced the percentage decayed berries and maintained titratable acids. Botrytis inoculation before storage reduced berry quality, but cultivars responded differently. The quality of berries 7 d after removal from storage was influenced primarily by cultivar, storage time and shelf temperature and not by storage atmosphere. Key words:Vaccinium angustifolium, oxygen, carbon dioxide, shelf-life, firmness, titratable acidity, decay, CA storage


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-648
Author(s):  
Kobi Peled

A striking feature of Palestinian oral history projects is the extensive use that interviewees make of direct speech to communicate their memories—especially those born before the 1948 Arab–Israeli war. They do so irrespective of whether or not they participated in or actually heard the dialogues they wish to convey. This article seeks to characterize and explain this phenomenon. In the interviews conducted by the author—an Arabic-speaking Jew—as well as in other projects, this mode of speech is marked by ease of transition from character to character and between different points in time. It clearly gives pleasure to those engaged in the act of remembering, and it grades readily into a theatrical performance in which tone of speech and the quality of the acting become the main thing. This form of discourse sprang up from the soil of a rural oral culture and still flourishes as a prop for supporting memory, a vessel for collecting and disseminating stories, and a technique for expressing identification with significant figures from the past.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Bridges ◽  
Anna Breard ◽  
Alison Lacombe ◽  
Don C. Valentine ◽  
Shravani Tadepalli ◽  
...  

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1026
Author(s):  
Federica Gaiotti ◽  
Marco Lucchetta ◽  
Giacomo Rodegher ◽  
Daniel Lorenzoni ◽  
Edoardo Longo ◽  
...  

In recent years, the application of nanotechnology for the development of new “smart fertilizers” is regarded as one of the most promising solutions for boosting a more sustainable and modern grapevine cultivation. Despite showing interesting potential benefits over conventional fertilization practices, the use of nanofertilizers in viticulture is still underexplored. In this work, we investigated the effectiveness of non-toxic calcium phosphate nanoparticles (Ca3(PO4)2∙nH2O) doped with urea (U-ACP) as a nitrogen source for grapevine fertilization. Plant tests were performed for two years (2019–2020) on potted adult Pinot gris cv. vines grown under semi-controlled conditions. Four fertilization treatments were compared: N1: commercial granular fertilization (45 kg N ha−1); N2: U-ACP applied in fertigation (36 kg N ha−1); N3: foliar application of U-ACP (36 kg N ha−1); C: control, receiving no N fertilization. Plant nitrogen status (SPAD), yield parameters as well as those of berry quality were analyzed. Results here presented clearly show the capability of vine plants to recognize and use the nitrogen supplied with U-ACP nanoparticles either when applied foliarly or to the soil. Moreover, all of the quali–quantitative parameters measured in vine plants fed with nanoparticles were perfectly comparable to those of plants grown in conventional condition, despite the restrained dosage of nitrogen applied with the nanoparticles. Therefore, these results provide both clear evidence of the efficacy of U-ACP nanoparticles as a nitrogen source and the basis for the development of alternative nitrogen fertilization strategies, optimizing the dosage/benefit ratio and being particularly interesting in a context of a more sustainable and modern viticulture.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 18-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Abbaschian

Materials science and engineering (MSE), as a field as well as a discipline, has expanded greatly in recent years and will continue to do so, most likely at an even faster pace. It is now well-accepted that materials are crucial to the national defense, to the quality of life, and to the economic security and competitiveness of the nation. Mankind has recognized the importance of manmade materials to the quality of life for many centuries. In many cases, the security and defense of tribes and nations have substantially depended on the availability of materials. It is not surprising that historical periods have been named after materials—the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, etc. The major requirements from materials in those days were their properties and performance. Today, in this age of advanced materials, the importance of materials to defense and quality of life has not changed. However, the critical role of materials has taken an additional dimension: it has become essential to enhancing industrial competitiveness.The knowledge base within MSE has also expanded vastly throughout these years and continues to do so at an increasing rate. We are constantly gaining a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of materials, developing new ways to produce and shape them for applications extending from automobiles to supersonic airplanes, optoelectronic devices to supercomputers, hip implants to intraocular lenses, or from household appliances to gigantic structures. We are also learning that, in many of these applications, we need to depend on the combinations or composites of different classes of materials (metals, ceramic, polymers, and electronic materials) to enhance their properties.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEONARD J. EATON ◽  
DAVID G. PATRIQUIN

Soil ammonium and nitrate in the top 15 cm of soil were monitored after application of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate to plots at 14 PF (previously fertilized) and 12 NF (never fertilized) lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) stands representing a range of soil types and management histories. Overall, nitrate values in unfertilized and ammonium sulfate plots were higher at PF than at NF sites, suggesting greater nitrification at PF sites. In laboratory incubation studies, nitrification proceeded immediately in soil from a PF site, but only after a 4-wk lag in that from an adjacent NF site. Nitrification rates were low compared to that in a garden soil (pH 6.6). N-Serve inhibited nitrification in both soils. In ammonium nitrate plots, "excess" N values (N values in fertilized plots minus values in unfertilized plots) were higher for PF than for NF sites, suggesting greater immobilization, plant uptake or loss of N at NF sites. There was no evidence, in laboratory studies, of immobilization of added N by soil from either type of site. Rhizome N concentration increased significantly in response to fertilization at an NF site, but not at a PF site. Key words: Blueberry (lowbush), fertilizer and soil nitrogen


Botany ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott N. White ◽  
Nathan S. Boyd ◽  
Rene C. Van Acker ◽  
Clarence J. Swanton

Red sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.) is a ramet-producing herbaceous creeping perennial species commonly found as a weed in commercially managed lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) fields in Nova Scotia, Canada. Flowering and seed production occur primarily in overwintering ramets of this species, indicating a potential vernalization requirement for flowering. This study was therefore initiated to examine the role of vernalization, photoperiod, and pre-vernalization stimulus on ramet flowering. Red sorrel ramets propagated from creeping roots and seeds collected from established red sorrel populations in lowbush blueberry had an obligate requirement for vernalization to flower. Ramet populations maintained under pre- and post-vernalization photoperiods of 16 h flowered following 12 weeks of vernalization at 4 ± 0.1 °C, whereas those maintained under constant 16, 14, or 8 h photoperiods without vernalization did not flower. Vernalization for 10 weeks maximized, but did not saturate, the flowering response. Pre-vernalization photoperiod affected flowering response, with increased flowering frequency observed in ramet populations exposed to decreasing, rather than constant, photoperiod prior to vernalization. This study represents the first attempt to determine the combined effects of vernalization and photoperiod on red sorrel flowering, and the results provide a benchmark for the future study of flowering and sexual reproduction in this economically important perennial weed species.


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