Horticultural Industry Research Articles

Soybean By-Products Bioplastic (Polylactic Acid)-Based Plant Containers: Sustainable Development and Performance Study

In most cases, plant containers used in the horticulture industry are not reusable, have many negative impacts on the environment, and take a long time to degrade. To reduce the use of non-biodegradable plant containers, many bio-degradable plant containers have been developed for the horticulture industry. However, the full potential of the sustainability of plant containers is yet to be completely explored. Therefore, two novel biodegradable plant containers are developed in this research to effectively contribute to sustainability’s environmental, social, and economic dimensions. The two biocomposite formulations are developed by mixing soy hull and soy protein isolate (SPI) with polylactic acid (PLA) matrix for plant containers. In the first formulation, the proportion of PLA and soy hulls are 70 wt% and 30 wt%, respectively; in the second formulation, 65 wt% PLA is blended with 30 wt% soy hulls and 5 wt% SPI. The injection molding process is used to manufacture the plant containers from the two formulations. In a field trial, four plant species are grown in the novel plant containers along with polyethylene and commercial PLA/DDGS (dried distiller’s grains with solubles and PLA-based container) containers to investigate biodegradability and plant growth. The results show that the containers from the new formulations outperform existing biodegradable PLA/DDGS containers in terms of certain plant growth and biodegradability.

Stratified Substrates Can Reduce Peat Use and Improve Root Productivity in Container Crop Production

Peat use in horticulture continues to be scrutinized as consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental sustainability concerns associated with peat. Thus, the horticultural industry is driven to search for peat alternatives. Substrate stratification (i.e., vertical layering of unique media atop another in a singular container) has been studied in nursery substrates and has demonstrated improved resource efficiency with regard to water and fertilizer inputs. However, minimal research has evaluated using the concept of stratified substrates as an attempt to reduce peat inputs in greenhouse production. Hence, the objective of this study was to identify if stratifying costly floriculture media atop of low-cost pine bark can reduce peat use, reliance, and cost within the floriculture industry. A floriculture crop, Petunia hybrid ‘Supertunia Honey’, was grown in two distinct substrate treatments: 1) nonstratified (commercial peat-based floriculture substrate) and 2) stratified peat-based substrate layered atop aged pine bark (1:1 by volume) under two different irrigation schedules. Crop growth was evaluated, including growth indices, shoot physiological responses, and root growth measurements. Substrate hydraulic properties such as matric potential and volumetric water content were monitored over time. The results demonstrated that a petunia crop can be produced in stratified substrate systems and yield similarly sized and quality crops as traditionally grown plants. Furthermore, the stratified substrate-produced crop had improved root productivity, yet less bloom, when compared with nonstratified-grown crops.

Significance to the Horticulture Industry

An Investigation of the Impact of Compost Tea Applications on Turf Quality and Soil Microbial Activity. T.M. Waliczek and N.C. Wagner.Journal of Environmental Horticulture 41(1):1–6As the fourth largest crop in the U.S. by acreage, the management of turfgrass is of environmental significance. Additionally, the turfgrass industry continues to grow along with interest in organically managing this crop. However, research regarding the use of compost tea as a management strategy for turfgrass is relatively recent and limited. Studies have suggested that compost soil amendments and teas can reduce reliance on pesticides by suppressing disease, and reduce reliance on fertilizers by increasing soil and plant health. Thus, this study investigated the effects of compost tea soil drench applications on turf quality and soil microbial activity. Results presented in this study provide evidence of the value of compost tea to overall turf quality. Specifically, compost tea improved turf quality ratings beyond that of irrigation applications. While this study illustrates turf quality can be positively impacted using compost tea drenches in turfgrass, more research is needed. Specifically, application timing, rate, and long-term effects of compost tea applications in terms of turf quality and soil biochemical attributes need to be further explored to develop best management practices.Greater Appeal of Native Plants for Environmentally Conscious Consumers. Alicia Rihn, Bridget K. Behe, Susan Barton, and Ariana Torres.Journal of Environmental Horticulture 41(1):7–13Native plants are one category that would benefit from improved marketing and communications to stimulate consumer demand. Marketers realize that not all markets are homogeneous and dividing a marketing into segments enables savvy marketers to capitalize on the attitudes, preferences, perceptions, and behaviors common within individual market segments. In the present study, researchers identified three consumer segments regarding their perceived importance of native plants: Native plant champions segment (50% of the market) believes native plants are very or extremely important; Pro-native plant segment (33% of the market) perceives them as moderately important; and Ambivalent segment (17% of the market) who believe native plants are not or only slightly important. While results showed that there were multiple differences regarding pro-environmental behavior, few differences were identified regarding demographic characteristics. Key behavioral differences in this study were the use of rain barrels, composting, and recycling gardening plastics. Marketers should consider adding native plant messages (e.g., benefits) near the areas where these products are merchandised to attract consumers to the available plants.An Update of the Literature Supporting the Economic Benefits of Plants: Part 2 – Increased Property Values. Macy Fetchel and Charles R. Hall.Journal of Environmental Horticulture 41(1):14–26This article is the second of a series that provides a review of the substantial body of peer-reviewed research that has been conducted regarding the economic benefits of green industry products and services. A previous series documented the health and well-being benefits, including emotional and mental health benefits, physiological health benefits, the benefits that plants provide to society at large and the role they play in addressing critical societal issues, and an overview of resources available for green industry firms to find more detailed information on these plant-related health and well-being benefits. Industry firms should be armed with the economic benefits described in this new series to strategically incorporate these benefits into both industry-wide and firm-level marketing messages that highlight how local and regional economies are affected in order to enhance the perceived value and relevance of green industry products for municipal leaders and gardening and landscaping consumers in the future.Notes on the Origin and Pedigree of Salix ‘The Hague'. Alexander M. Marchenko and Yulia A. Kuzovkina.Journal of Environmental Horticulture 41(1):27–32Clear and accurate records of cultivated plants are important to the horticultural industry. Salix is a genus of considerable taxonomic complexity, and accurate identification of its species and hybrids is not always possible. Therefore, there is a lot of confusion with cultivating willows. We analyzed the original references, herbarium specimens and used the number of the ovules in the ovary of the flower to verify the parentage of the popular hybrid cultivar Salix ‘The Hague'. This study proposes to correct historical inaccuracies related to the origin of this taxon and lists it as a hybrid of S. ×erdingeri × S. gracilistyla.Surfactant-coated Seed Emergence and Establishment Under Deficit Irrigation in Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Soils. Mica McMillan, Samira Daroub, Kimberly Moore, John Erickson, Stanley Kostka, and Michael Fidanza. Journal of Environmental Horticulture 41(1):33–39Soil surfactants are recognized as a valuable tool to treat hydrophobic or water repellent soils and also to maintain and improve turfgrass growth under deficit irrigation. Soil surfactants can achieve this through their influence on soil hydrological properties. Turfgrass seed treatment with a soil surfactant is novel and represents an opportunity to improve germination, emergence, and stand establishment, as well as improve rootzone soil-water dynamics in challenging environmental conditions of drought, limited precipitation or irrigation, and hydrophobic soils.

The roles of microRNAs in horticultural plant disease resistance.

The development of the horticultural industry is largely limited by disease and excessive pesticide application. MicroRNAs constitute a major portion of the transcriptomes of eukaryotes. Various microRNAs have been recognized as important regulators of the expression of genes involved in essential biological processes throughout the whole life cycle of plants. Recently, small RNA sequencing has been applied to study gene regulation in horticultural plants. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the biogenesis and contributions of microRNAs in horticultural plant disease resistance. These microRNAs may potentially be used as genetic resources for improving disease resistance and for molecular breeding. The challenges in understanding horticultural plant microRNA biology and the possibilities to make better use of these horticultural plant gene resources in the future are discussed in this review.

Development and Evaluation of a Small-Scale Apple Sorting Machine Equipped with a Smart Vision System

One of the most important matters in international trades for many local apple industries and auctions is accurate fruit quality classification. Defect recognition is a key in online computer-assisted apple sorting machines. Because of the cavity structure of the stem and calyx regions, the system tends to mistakenly treat them as true defects. Furthermore, there is no small-scale sorting machine with a smart vision system for apple quality classification where it is needed. Thus, the current study focuses on a highly accurate and feasible methodology for stem and calyx recognition based on Niblack thresholding and a machine learning technique using k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classifiers associated with a locally designed small-scale apple sorting machine. To find an appropriate mode, the effects of different numbers of k and metric distances on stem and calyx region detection were evaluated. Results showed the effectiveness of the value of k and Euclidean distances in recognition accuracy. It is found that the 5-nearest neighbor classifier and the Euclidean distance using 80 training samples produced the best accuracy rates, at 100% for stem and 97.5% for calyx. The significance of the result is very promising in fabricating an advanced small-scale and low-cost sorting machine with a high accuracy for the horticultural industry.

In Vitro Seed and Clonal Propagation of the Mediterranean Bee Friendly Plant Anthyllis hermanniae L.

Anthyllis hermanniae L. (Fabaceae) is a perennial Mediterranean shrub with the potential to be used as a bee-friendly ornamental plant in arid and semi-arid regions, valued for its tolerance of barren soils, winds, and strong temperature changes. With the aim of facilitating the introduction of the species into the horticulture industry, its in vitro seed and clonal propagation was investigated for the first time, to our knowledge. Seeds stored in the dark at room temperature for 4, 7, 9, 12, and 18 months germinated at percentages higher than 80% after scarification, when incubated in vitro in solid half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium at temperatures from 10 to 25 °C, while photoperiod (continuous darkness or 16 h light period/8 h dark) during incubation did not affect germination. Explants excised from in vitro grown seedlings established at higher percentages compared to explants from adult native plants, more efficiently in MS medium with 1.0 mg L−1 6 N benzyladenine (BA). During subcultures in the same medium, juvenile explants formed more and longer shoots than adult ones. Almost all adult explants formed shoots when subcultured in MS medium with 0.0 to 4.0 mg L−1 BA, zeatin, kinetin or 6-(γ,γ-dimethylallylamino)purine (2iP). ΒA at 0.5 to 2.0 mg L−1 induced many more shoots (17–21) per explant and much higher multiplication indices compared to all other cytokinins, while longer shoots were produced in a medium without hormones or with 0.5–1.0 mg L−1 2iP. Microshoots cultured in half-strength MS medium with 0.0–4.0 mg L−1 indole-3-butyric acid rooted at highest percentage (around 70%) in the medium containing 4.0 mg L−1 IBA, while microshoots of juvenile origin developed more and longer roots compared to adult ones. Micropropagated plantlets were successfully acclimatized ex vitro (>97%), regardless of their origin. The efficient micropropagation of A. hermaniae will facilitate its sustainable exploitation as a bee-friendly landscape plant, a forage plant for honeybees in Mediterranean areas, and a medicinal plant.

Економіко-математичне моделювання оптимізації виробничих витрат у садівництві

Goal. To build an economic-mathematical model of optimizing the structure of production costs and to reveal the relationship between the investigated indicators and the factors that influence their value. Methods. Scientific abstractions — for the formation of theoretical generalizations and conclusions; the economic-mathematical method — to optimize the cost structure in horticulture; the method of system analysis and synthesis — to establish cause-and-effect relationships in the formation of production costs in horticulture. Results. To improve the management of expenses in the direction of their optimization, it is advisable to use the method of optimization modeling for various structures of apple plantations. The analysis of the simulation results indicates the possibility of reducing the cost of growing apples under the condition of rational distribution of costs. A comparison of the actual indicators of financing apple cultivation with those obtained in the modeling process shows the need for a reasonable approach to spending money on mineral and organic fertilizers, means of protection, and wages. It is these cost items that are the most important in shaping the yield of apples according to the correlation-regression analysis and the data obtained during the calculation of the economic-mathematical model of cost optimization. From the equation obtained as a result of conducting such an analysis, it follows that the listed factors should be placed in the following order according to the degree of importance: depreciation of agricultural machinery, other direct costs, costs of organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizers, fuel and lubricants, general production costs, costs of protective equipment, depreciation of perennial plantings, labor costs. Using the results of cost optimization modeling, it is quite possible not only to increase the yield of apples by 11.88–28.81% but also to reduce their cost price and to reduce total costs by 6.3–67.7%. Conclusions. Optimizing the cost structure using the methods of economic-mathematical modeling is one of the ways to effectively manage funds. The optimal cost structure justified for the horticulture industry makes it possible to reduce the cost price and increase the yield of apples.

Extension Networks and Dissemination of Horticultural Advancements: Development and Validation of a Professionalization Instrument

Horticulture is a vast scientific discipline ranging from ornamentals to consumable food, which is constantly evolving. One of primary goals of horticultural innovation is to improve consistency, and predictability, among products. Extension is one of the primary channels connecting innovations and technologies to growers. However, despite the importance of extension in the dissemination of horticultural advancements, there are no standards for the professionalization of extension networks. Therefore, there is a current gap in the ability to ensure consistency amongst extension providers through professionalization at the network level. The goal of the study was to develop and validate an extension professionalization scale to empirically measure the most critical factors associated with extension professionalization within extension networks. Methodologically, the study extends upon previous research which identified specific capacities associated with extension professionalization at the network level. Specifically, an exploratory factor analysis was undertaken to examine the latent factor structure of the previously identified items. The results of this study identified two primary factors associated with extension professionalization in networks: (a) awareness of the need for extension professionalization, and (b) the operational integration of extension professionalization activities at organizational levels. Although there is existing literature examining professionalization, there are no such instruments specifically developed within an extension context. The present study provides an original and novel tool to prepare more rigorously and consistently trained extension professionals to serve and support the horticulture industry.

Classroom Trade Show: An Alternative to Traditional Classroom Presentations in an Undergraduate Plant Identification Course

Students enrolled in a landscape plant identification course were assigned a plant project at the beginning of the semester that comprised a written portion and a presentation portion. During the Spring 2014 semester, an electronic slide presentation portion was replaced by a “trade show” display presentation format. The modification was implemented to provide a more meaningful and applicable learning experience because trade shows are important events in the horticulture industry. Using this format, students were required to present or sell their plant genus by constructing an informative display, similar to that used for a tradeshow. Groups of students presented on different days. Students who were not presenting or selling were the “customers,” and they perused the trade show to learn about the various genera. A postactivity assessment survey was administered to gain insight into the student learning experience. The activity was evaluated during five spring semesters. Students responded that they were more comfortable with the trade show style of presentation than with a traditional presentation style, with a Likert scale rating of 1.5 (1–5). When asked to rate their ability to be creative with this activity, students agreed (Likert scale rating of 4.2) that the trade show activity allowed them to be creative. Eighty-nine percent of the students liked the activity. When asked to rate the activity compared with a more traditional speech in front of the class, students gave it a rating of 1.4, which is between excellent and above average. During the five semesters, nearly all students (97%) recommended that the trade show activity should be implemented again in future classes. The trade show format was well-received by students and can assist with the professional skills development of students.

Addition of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Enhances Terpene Synthase Expression in Salvia rosmarinus Cultivars

Culinary herbs are commercially cultivated for their wide range of volatile compounds that give characteristic aromas and tastes. Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) is an excellent model for assessment of methods improvement of volatile production as cultivars offer a wide variety of aromatic profiles due to the large family of terpene synthase genes. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associations have been shown to improve essential oil production in aromatic plants and offer one approach to enhance aroma in commercial herb production. Changes in the expression of seven different terpene synthases were compared in six rosemary cultivars in response to addition of AMF to a peat substrate. Addition of AMF profoundly influenced terpene synthase expression in all cultivars and did so without impacting the optimised plant size and uniformity achieved in these conditions. In addition, two methods for AMF application, developed with the horticultural industry in mind, were tested in this study. Uniform incorporation of AMF mixed into the growing substrate prior to planting of a root plug produced the most consistent root colonisation. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential for the use of AMF in the improvement of aroma in culinary herbs within a commercial setting but show that outcomes are likely to greatly vary depending on variety.

Fruit Image Classification Model Based on MobileNetV2 with Deep Transfer Learning Technique

Due to the rapid emergence and evolution of AI applications, the utilization of smart imaging devices has increased significantly. Researchers have started using deep learning models, such as CNN, for image classification. Unlike the traditional models, which require a lot of features to perform well, CNN does not require any handcrafted features to perform well. It uses numerous filters, which extract required features from images automatically for classification. One of the issues in the horticulture industry is fruit classification, which requires an expert with a lot of experience. To overcome this issue an automated system is required which can classify different types of fruits without the need for any human effort. In this study, a dataset of a total of 26,149 images of 40 different types of fruits was used for experimentation. The training and test set were randomly recreated and divided into the ratio of 3:1. The experiment introduces a customized head of five different layers into MobileNetV2 architecture. The classification layer of the MobileNetV2 model is replaced by the customized head, which produced the modified version of MobileNetV2 called TL-MobileNetV2. In addition, transfer learning is used to retain the pre-trained model. TL-MobileNetV2 achieves an accuracy of 99%, which is 3% higher than MobileNetV2, and the equal error rate of TL-MobileNetV2 is just 1%. Compared to AlexNet, VGG16, InceptionV3, and ResNet, the accuracy is better by 8, 11, 6, and 10%, respectively. Furthermore, the TL-MobileNetV2 model obtained 99% precision, 99% for recall, and a 99% F1-score. It can be concluded that transfer learning plays a big part in achieving better results, and the dropout technique helps to reduce the overfitting in transfer learning.

Exploring the Effect of Balanced and Imbalanced Multi-Class Distribution Data and Sampling Techniques on Fruit-Tree Crop Classification Using Different Machine Learning Classifiers

Fruit-tree crops generate food and income for local households and contribute to South Africa’s gross domestic product. Timely and accurate phenotyping of fruit-tree crops is essential for innovating and achieving precision agriculture in the horticulture industry. Traditional methods for fruit-tree crop classification are time-consuming, costly, and often impossible to use for mapping heterogeneous horticulture systems. The application of remote sensing in smallholder agricultural landscapes is more promising. However, intercropping systems coupled with the presence of dispersed small agricultural fields that are characterized by common and uncommon crop types result in imbalanced samples, which may limit conventionally applied classification methods for phenotyping. This study assessed the influence of balanced and imbalanced multi-class distribution and data-sampling techniques on fruit-tree crop detection accuracy. Seven data samples were used as input to adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), gradient boosting (GB), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and eXtreme gradient boost (XGBoost) machine learning algorithms. A pixel-based approach was applied using Sentinel-2 (S2). The SVM algorithm produced the highest classification accuracy of 71%, compared with AdaBoost (67%), RF (65%), XGBoost (63%), and GB (62%), respectively. Individually, the majority of the crop types were classified with an F1 score of between 60% and 100%. In addition, the study assessed the effect of size and ratio of class imbalance in the training datasets on algorithms’ sensitiveness and stability. The results show that the highest classification accuracy of 71% could be achieved from an imbalanced training dataset containing only 60% of the original dataset. The results also showed that S2 data could be successfully used to map fruit-tree crops and provide valuable information for subtropical crop management and precision agriculture in heterogeneous horticultural landscapes.

Impact of Former Peat Extraction Field Afforestation on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hemiboreal Region

The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change mitigation are global issues. Peatlands in Europe are widely distributed in the Nordic–Baltic region, and Baltic countries are some of the largest peat suppliers for horticulture in Europe. However, there is no sustainable substitute for peat in the horticulture industry. Therefore, it is necessary to identify suitable re-cultivation types for former peat extraction fields, because knowledge about the effect of re-cultivation on annual carbon and GHG budgets is limited. Ecosystem GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O) exchange measurements, environmental parameter assessment and sampling in the study were conducted in a hemiboreal vegetation zone for 24 consecutive months in former peat extraction fields with different re-cultivation management strategies (land use types). The aim of the study was to assess the influence of diverse re-cultivation management strategies on the GHG emissions of former peat extraction fields. The most suitable re-cultivation management is afforestation with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in order to obtain the lowest annual CO2eq values and ensure additional carbon sequestration in living tree biomass. The developed linear mixed-effect models showed a good model fit (R2CO2 = 0.80, R2CH4 = 0.74) for the analyzed land use types, and thus can be used for CO2 and CH4 emissions estimation.

Towards sweetness classification of orange cultivars using short-wave NIR spectroscopy

The global orange industry constantly faces new technical challenges to meet consumer demands for quality fruits. Instead of traditional subjective fruit quality assessment methods, the interest in the horticulture industry has increased in objective, quantitative, and non-destructive assessment methods. Oranges have a thick peel which makes their non-destructive quality assessment challenging. This paper evaluates the potential of short-wave NIR spectroscopy and direct sweetness classification approach for Pakistani cultivars of orange, i.e., Red-Blood, Mosambi, and Succari. The correlation between quality indices, i.e., Brix, titratable acidity (TA), Brix: TA and BrimA (Brix minus acids), sensory assessment of the fruit, and short-wave NIR spectra, is analysed. Mix cultivar oranges are classified as sweet, mixed, and acidic based on short-wave NIR spectra. Short-wave NIR spectral data were obtained using the industry standard F-750 fruit quality meter (310–1100 nm). Reference Brix and TA measurements were taken using standard destructive testing methods. Reference taste labels i.e., sweet, mix, and acidic, were acquired through sensory evaluation of samples. For indirect fruit classification, partial least squares regression models were developed for Brix, TA, Brix: TA, and BrimA estimation with a correlation coefficient of 0.57, 0.73, 0.66, and 0.55, respectively, on independent test data. The ensemble classifier achieved 81.03% accuracy for three classes (sweet, mixed, and acidic) classification on independent test data for direct fruit classification. A good correlation between NIR spectra and sensory assessment is observed as compared to quality indices. A direct classification approach is more suitable for a machine-learning-based orange sweetness classification using NIR spectroscopy than the estimation of quality indices.

Field evaluation of glutathione and glutamic acid as host marking pheromones for control of Tephritid fruit flies in a mango orchard in Kenya.

Tephritid fruit flies are a major constraint to the global production of horticultural crops. In Africa, an array of native and alien invasive fruit fly species represents a key challenge to the horticultural industry. In an effort to develop a safer management tool for these pests, we previously identified glutathione (GSH) and glutamic acid (GA), as the host marking pheromones (HMPs) of Ceratitis cosyra and Ceratitis rosa, respectively. Here, we report on the effectiveness of these compounds (GSH and GA) in reducing natural fruit fly population infestations in mango orchards. Mango trees at two different agroecological zones in Kenya were sprayed with HMPs, and the fruits sampled periodically and assessed for fruit fly emergence. Fruit fly emergence data were compared to two controls, the positive control using spot spraying of food bait (SS), and the negative control using water (W). The two HMPs and SS substantially decreased fruit fly emergence from the sampled mangoes. GSH and GA treated mangoes showed reduced C. cosyra and C. rosa infestation by ~70-75% relative to control (W), and with variation noted in the pheromone applied and the recovered fruit fly species. The adult emergence in pheromone-treated plants compared favorably with the positive control SS. However, the HMPs had little impact on reducing Bactrocera dorsalis infestation of mangoes. The decrease in fruit fly emergence in sampled mango fruits from HMP treated trees corroborate previous laboratory results and support the prospect of using HMPs in the management of African fruit fly species. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Actionable insights for horticulture supply chains through advanced IoT analytics

This research addresses one of the key challenges facing the horticulture industry, disruption. Disruption both on farm and post-harvest through the supply chain. Caused by exogenous factors such as wars, trade sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic, the small and medium sized horticulture farming businesses which represent most of the supply to the sector are faced with daily decisions in attempts to mitigate the disruption. A research gap was identified in the data available to these horticulture farmers to inform their supply chain decisions. Using action design research methodology, the gap and problem were defined with a stakeholder group of subject matter experts from the horticulture industry in Australia. Through ongoing cycles of feedback with this group, a framework, the Horticulture Supply Chain Analytics (HSCA) framework was developed with a supporting IT (Information Technology) artifact. The stakeholder group strongly recommended that a level of autonomy be developed in the solution as the farmers are time poor, requiring actionable insights from the supply chain data. A novel concept was developed to achieve this level of autonomy using geospatial enhancements to the supply chain event logs, generated by the GPS (Global Position System) trackers, to allow for autonomous supply chain monitoring and compliance checking. A banana farm was selected for evaluation of the framework, which required deployment of IoT (Internet of Things) sensors, both on the farm and the consignments being transported to customers. The HSCA framework was found to deliver actionable insights for the banana business, improving on farm productivity, reduction in key input costs as well as improving post-harvest quality and yield. Results and learnings from the banana farm use case have been captured and generalized for the horticulture sector.

Cretan Dittany (Origanum dictamnus L.), a Valuable Local Endemic Plant: In Vitro Regeneration Potential of Different Type of Explants for Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation

Origanum dictamnus L. is a medicinal local endemic to the Island of Crete, Greece. Its propagation through biotechnological tissue culture techniques is essential due to its augmented multi-industrial sector demand. For direct organogenesis, among different culture media variants (MS, Gamborg B5), and cytokinins [6-benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (Kin), 2-isopentenyl adenine (2-iP)], the MS + added with BA (2.2 μM) was the most effective treatment for shoots and roots formation. For indirect organogenesis, all explant types (leaves, petioles, roots) showed a 100% callusing rate after 2 months in all media variants tested; ODK1: 20 μM thidiazuron (TDZ) + 5 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or ODK2: 0.5 μM kinetin + 5 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D). The leaves and petiole explants assured a low rate of shoot regeneration (20%) in ODK1. Afterwards, leaf-, petiole-and root-callus derived from both media were transferred to four new media plant growth regulators-free or with BA + IBA + gibberellic acid (GA3). After 10 months from callus transferring, the petiole callus gave rise to roots (20-75%) while the leaf callus exhibited 10-30% shoot or 30% root regeneration. In this study, indirect organogenesis of O. dictamnus was carried out for the first time, thus various organs can be used for plant regeneration, and the developed protocol may be applicable in the horticulture industry.

First Detection of Wilsonomyces carpophilus Causing Leaf Spot and Shot Hole Disease on Vitis vinifera

Grapevines ( Vitis spp.) are cultivated all over the world and viticulture is a horticultural industry. During the spring of 2020, leaf samples with leaf spot and shot-hole symptoms were collected from the vineyards of Urmia county, West Azerbaijan province, Iran. One fungal isolate was recovered from infected tissues. Based on cultural and morphological features, ITS rDNA sequence data, and a generated phylogenetic tree, the obtained fungal isolate was identified as Wilsonomyces carpophilus. Under in vitro conditions, the colony was white to cream colored, sporulation occurred only in a minor proportion of the colony, and the diameter of the colony on potato dextrose agar reached 44 mm after 14 days. To evaluate Koch's postulates, isolate NSS18 was inoculated on leaves of the Chafteh cultivar of grapevine and the same fungus was reisolated from developed symptoms. This is the first report of leaf spot and shot-hole disease on grapevine caused by W. carpophilus, and also Vitis vinifera is a new host for this species in the world.

Сталий розвиток садівництва: методичні підходи до оцінки сталості та її моделювання

The substantiation of the methodology for assessing the sustainable development of horticulture is presented and its model is proposed. Research in the context of a systemic approach allows us to define the sustainable development of the horticulture industry as a state of its economy that ensures sustainable reproduction of the industry's production potential, the goal of which is to satisfy the demand for fruit and berry products, improve the quality of life of the population and environmental safety. Intensification of horticulture on an innovative basis is an irreplaceable direction of its sustainable and stable development. The creation of highly productive gardens and their effective use based on the principles of environmental sustainability is impossible without consistent improvement of equipment, technology and organization of production. Thus, the sustainable development of the industry as an economic system is possible under the condition of maximizing the innovation factor and sufficient investment support for the reproduction of the production base. To formalize the model for assessing the stability/sustainability of the development of the horticulture industry, it is advisable to use the following criteria, indicators and indices (in statics and dynamics): gross collection of fruit and berry products, thousand tons; area of perennial plantations, thousand hectares; productivity of fruit and berry plantations, t/ha; production profitability level, %; production of fruits and berries per person, kg (self-sufficiency level); production of planting material, thousands of pieces; planting area, thousands of hectares; number of investments in the industry, UAH million; the number of completed scientific and scientific and technical works in the field of horticulture; the number of implemented innovative developments. As general indicators of the sustainability of the industry development, it is proposed to use the rate (coefficient) of growth (Tzr) - the ratio of two levels, one of which is taken as a basis for comparison, for the specified indicators (criteria) and the integral indicator the coefficient of sustainability (Ks) - as a product of the indexes of these same indicators. Key words: horticulture, sustainable development, criteria, assessment, indicators, model.

Occurrence and Distribution of Common Diseases and Pests of U.S. Cannabis: A Survey

Hemp and marijuana, both Cannabis sativa L., are revitalized crops to U.S. agricultural and horticultural industries. Hemp (Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol content < 0.3%) was reintroduced in 2014 under a pilot research program and legalized in 2018. Hemp can now be grown in all 50 states. Marijuana (Δ⁹-THC content > 0.3%), although classified as a Schedule I narcotic by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is legal in 37 states for medical and/or recreational use. Although C. sativa is often promoted as a pest-free crop, multiple diseases and arthropod pests have been identified and confirmed in recent years. There are limited options for control of diseases and pests affecting hemp. A survey of diagnosticians, researchers, and industry leaders conducted from 2021 to 2022 sought to determine the distribution and occurrence of 76 common diseases and pests on C. sativa across the United States. A total of 148 responses were collected and grouped by U.S. region: Western, Great Plains, North Central, Northeastern, and Southern. Survey results suggest that whereas some pathogens and pests are widely distributed across the United States, others occur more frequently in specific regions. This finding may indicate variations in economic importance by region. Results from this survey provide a foundation for regional and national prioritization of research and regulatory activities.