Small Plantations Research Articles

Assessing the likelihood of widespread landholder adoption of afforestation and reforestation projects

Tree planting for carbon sequestration is a commonly proposed climate change mitigation strategy, with afforestation projects forming part of voluntary and mandatory carbon offset trading schemes. Afforestation is often promoted as a new economic opportunity for private landholders. While multiple studies have identified physical and economic opportunities for afforestation, few have examined the willingness of private landholders to adopt afforestation, and the factors that influence this willingness. We examine this using data from a survey of Australian landholders. The willingness of landholders to adopt afforestation for carbon sequestration varies substantially depending on how this afforestation is designed and implemented: landholders prefer small plantings on less productive land, which minimise the disturbance afforestation presents to land management, and to landholder values about appropriate uses of agricultural land. Landholders are less willing to consider afforestation if it involves planting the large areas required by many current carbon afforestation schemes. Willingness to adopt afforestation is influenced in particular by landholder's perceptions of its potential to provide a diversified income stream, and its impacts on flexibility of land management. More broadly, it is influenced by their views about the social acceptability of afforestation, particularly whether the landholder believes trees should be planted on agricultural land, and how they believe others in the community view afforestation. Our results suggest that widespread adoption requires designing afforestation so it (i) provides a range of socio-economic benefits that go beyond provision of income; (ii) minimises disruption to land management flexibility; and (iii) is compatible with landholder beliefs about appropriate use of agricultural land.

Modelling Enforcement and Compliance in Fisheries: A Survey

The tea industry of India has been a long journey since 18 th century. In spite of having a strong base as manufactured product, it earns more for the country as an agricultural output. Among the tea producing states of India, Assam is well known internationally since long back. The state dominates the country’s tea map by producing almost half (50 per cent) of total tea production. In recent years, Indian tea industry has witnessed many structural changes like Small tea plantation replacing large plantation, emergence of Bought Leaf Factories (BLFs) etc. Cultivation of tea on smallholding has gained considerable momentum amongst the youths. Being a labour intensive industry, it is the source of employment for the indigenous people of Assam. It has the potentiality for making a positive economic impact ensuring new employment opportunities, proper utilisation of local resources and source of revenue. It is estimated that there are nearly 90,000 Small Tea Growers (STGs) in Assam creating employment for around 1.5 lakh people apart from producing innumerable rural entrepreneurs with the potentiality to transform the socio economic condition of rural Assam. This paper will highlight the prospects of small tea cultivation as a source of self-employment in Assam.

Enhancing the applicability of near infrared spectroscopy for estimating specific gravity of green timber from Eucalyptus tereticornis by developing composite calibration using both radial and tangential face of wood

Specific gravity is a very important factor in determining the economics of wood and wood products. This study is aimed to apply the near infrared spectroscopy technique with integrating sphere and fiber optic probe accessories for fast prediction of specific gravity of green timber (moisture content 27–30 %) of Eucalyptus tereticornis from 10 to 12 year old plantation. Specific gravity (basic density) was determined by conventional method (oven dry wt/green volume) and correlated with near infrared spectra using partial least square (PLS) regression. Calibrations using radial face, tangential face and composite face (both radial and tangential) were developed and compared. Coefficient of determination of cross validation (\( {\text{r}}_{\text{cv}}^{ 2} \)) for radial-longitudinal, tangential-longitudinal solid strips samples and composite face (both radial and tangential) was between 0.74–0.77 and 0.64–0.77 using integrating sphere and fiber optic probe, respectively. The coefficient of determination of prediction (\( {\text{r}}_{\text{p}}^{ 2} \)) was between 0.73–0.85 (with integrating sphere) and 0.69–0.83 (with fiber optic probe). The ratio of performance deviation (RPD) ranges from 2.06 to 2.46 for all models. Root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was higher than root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV). For composite models with radial and tangential face \( {\text{r}}_{\text{cv}}^{ 2} \)/\( {\text{r}}_{\text{p}}^{ 2} \) was 0.74/0.76 using integrating sphere and 0.71/0.83 with fiber optic probe with Quant 2 automatic factors optimization process. The results indicate that the composite model is just as good as the radial and tangential face models and can adequately address the problem where it is difficult to obtain perfect radial or tangential surface, particularly in small girth plantation timber or where surface recognition is difficult.

DO PALM WATER USE CHARACTERISTICS EXPLAIN THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PALMS IN THE CENTRAL AMAZON?

We studied plant water use characteristics of the tree Theobroma grandiflorum (Cupuacu, (Willd. ex Spreng.) Schum., Malvaceae) and the palm Euterpe precatoria (Acai, Mart., Arecaceae) both native to the Amazon and commonly occurring in the region. The tree species is occurring mainly in the terra firme forest whereas the palm species is restricted to the extreme habitats in stream valleys. This study was conducted in a small fruit plantation close to the city of Manaus, in the Central Amazon, Brazil. The main objective of this study was to compare water use characteristics in relation to plant structural traits. Three representative individuals of each species were equipped with Granier-type thermal dissipation probes to measure sap flux density. Water use scaled independent of species with the size of the conductive xylem area (r2=0.85). Furthermore, we found a clear species-specific scaling of water use with plant-size. Overall, palms had a 3.5-fold higher water consumption compared to trees with similar stem diameter and/or plant height. Palms transpired a mean of 1.67 mm m-2 of water per unit crown projection area per day, whereas trees transpired only 0.30 mm m-2 per day, resulting in a 5.6 times lower transpiration rate. We assume that especially the unbalanced plant height/water use ratio of the palms might be limiting the height growth due to increasing hydraulic limitations. Hence, palms are restricted to extreme habitats with higher water availability and usually do not co-occur with more efficient and taller broad leaved tree species in the terra firme forest.

Southeast Asia. Koloniale Schweiz: Ein Stück Globalgeschichte zwischen Europa und Südostasien (1860–1930). By Andreas Zangger. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2011. Pp. 473. Maps, Tables, Notes, Bibliography.

Southeast Asia. Koloniale Schweiz: Ein Stück Globalgeschichte zwischen Europa und Südostasien (1860–1930). By Andreas Zangger. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2011. Pp. 473. Maps, Tables, Notes, Bibliography. - Volume 44 Issue 2

The Chilean Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis): Over 1000 Years of Domestication

The cultivated strawberry of South America, the octoploid Fragaria chiloensis, has a long and interesting history. Although the origin of the species in Chile has not been completely determined, it may have been introduced from North America by birds. After making landfall in Chile, the species spread from the coast into the mountains eventually developing four biotypes. At least two native peoples, the Mapuche, between Rio Bío-Bío and south–central Chile, and the Picunche, between Rio Itata and Rio Bío-Bío, began the domestication process. Although white- and red-fruited forms were domesticated, the white form (likely because of its fruit size) may have been preferred because the red-fruited types are not mentioned as frequently in the literature. At the time of the Spanish invasion of Chile, F. chiloensis was widely grown in small garden plots. Under the Spanish rule, larger plantings, first of 1 to 2 ha and later of many hectares, were grown. As the Spanish continued their exploration and conquest of South America, they carried F. chiloensis with them up the western coast to Perú and Ecuador. For many years these scattered plantings were the source of fresh fruit for the burgeoning human populations. The cultivated F. ×ananassa was introduced in Chile ≈1830 but F. chiloensis was still preferentially grown. In the early 1900s, a large canning industry emerged serving hundreds of acres of F. chiloensis. By the 1950s, F. ×ananassa began to predominate and the rise in importance of the University of California and European-developed cultivars displaced much of the traditional F. chiloensis production. An increased awareness of this vast native Chilean genetic resource arose in the 1980s and 1990s. Scientists at the Universidad de Talca, associated with USDA-ARS Plant Exploration Office-sponsored trips to Chile, and with El Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias–Cauquenes in Chile have collected and characterized germplasm that represents not only tremendous diversity, but captures many of the land races that have been developed. This germplasm has been used in small commercial plantings (0.1 to 0.3 ha) and in breeding programs to further develop F. chiloensis commercial cultivars. A small but vibrant community of small growers, particularly in Chile and Ecuador, produce the land races for commercial sale in local markets. Approximately 30 to 40 ha of open-field plantings are cultivated in Chile with yields averaging ≈3 to 4 tons/ha. The selected F. chiloensis genotypes and collected clones from the wild have served as a valuable source of germplasm in modern breeding programs and the development of new cultivars with the white color and aromatic flavor typical of some of the traditional selections well underway.

Book Review: P.S. Vivek, From Indentured Labour to Liberated Nation: Public Policy and Small Planters in Mauritius

Book Review: P.S. Vivek, <i>From Indentured Labour to Liberated Nation: Public Policy and Small Planters in Mauritius</i>

First Report of the Cucurbit Yellow Vine Disease Caused by Serratia marcescens in Watermelon and Yellow Squash in Alabama.

More than 3,000 acres of watermelon were planted in Alabama in 2010 with a production value more than $4 million (J. Kemble, personal communication). Symptoms typical of cucurbit yellow vine disease (CYVD) were observed in a 2-ha watermelon field in Crawford, AL on 8 June 2010. Watermelon, cv. Jubilee, exhibited a yellow appearance and some plants were completely wilted. Incidence of affected plants was estimated at 25%. On 24 June, plant samples were collected from a 1-ha watermelon (cv. Jubilee) field near Dadeville, AL. Approximately 30% of the plants exhibited yellowing and wilting, which is symptomatic of CYVD. Samples were also collected from a small planting of yellow crooked-neck squash at the same location. Approximately 20% of the squash plants had symptoms typical of CYVD. Cross-sections of belowground stem and primary root revealed a honey-brown phloem discoloration and a healthy appearing xylem, symptoms consistent with CYVD caused by the phloem-colonizing bacterium, Serratia marcescens Bizio (1). Isolations were made from the crown on four symptomatic watermelon and two squash plants. Approximately 2.5-mm3 tissue pieces from the phloem were excised, surface sterilized in 10% sodium hypochlorite, and ground in 1-ml PBS (phosphate buffer with saline). A 10-μl aliquot of slurry was plated onto nutrient agar (NA) (Difco, Detroit, MI) and the plates were stored at room temperature for 4 days. Individual colonies were selected and purified by serial dilution plating. Isolates from watermelon and squash were consistent with S. marcescens in colony morphology, color, and texture. Three isolates obtained from watermelon were grown on NA and suspended in sterile water at 108 cells per ml for mechanical transmission experiments on 'Lemondrop' squash. Sterile water served as a negative control. After 28 days, plants were cross-sectioned at the juncture of the root and stem and observed for phloem discoloration. Of the 56, 58, and 62 plants inoculated in three replicate studies, 78.6, 56.9, and 62.9% developed CYVD symptoms, respectively, while none of the controls were positive. Cultured bacteria from six of the symptomatic, greenhouse-inoculated plants representing the three watermelon isolates were subjected to multiplex end-point PCR using primer sets YV1/YV4, specific for the species S. marcescens, and a79F/R, which amplifies only the CYVD strains of S. marcescens (3). All six bacteria cultures along with the positive control (reference isolate W01 obtained from watermelon in Texas) were positive, while the negative PBS control was negative. Although rhizosphere-inhabiting and plant growth promoting endophytic strains of S. marcescens have been reported from Alabama (2), to our knowledge, this is the first known report of CYVD and phytopathogenic S. marcescens in Alabama cucurbits.

Importance of Small Tea Cultivation in the Growth of Entrepreneurship in Assam

Tea industry of India has made a journey of 180 years and the credit goes to the British entrepreneurs. Assam is a very important state for tea production which produces more than 51 per cent of the country’s total tea. Tea plantations are often called tea estates/ gardens, producing a single agricultural crop, i.e., tea in a large plot of land. The cultivation of tea on small holdings is comparatively a recent development. This small tea cultivation is an integral component of large scale tea industry of the entire state, producing nearly 30 per cent of the total tea. There is a large scope for entrepreneurial involvement in tea cultivation as it provides employment, generates income, wealth and acts as a key force for the economic growth of a region. It has also been found that there are 68,465 small tea growers in Assam, involving nearly 5 lakh families, associated with small tea plantations. It has the potentiality of transforming the socio-economic condition of rural Assam. Cultivation of tea on small holdings is the green revolution of Assam which empowers many people for the first time and rejuvenats the state’s economy. The present paper tries to explore the opportunities of entrepreneurship in tea cultivation by the people of Assam.

INTRODUCING THE OUT-OF-SEASON ARTICHOKE PRODUCTION IN THE PIEDMONT REGION

Artichoke reaches the fresh market in Italy from October to May. During summer, many fresh vegetables are available, while fresh artichoke is not present despite consumer appreciation for its organoleptic quality and freshness. During summer, in the typical Mediterranean growing areas of artichoke, high temperature limits head formation, while the species cultivated in North France are commercialized in Italy in September. In North of Italy there are traditional and small plantations in some areas of the Piedmont Region, producing head artichokes for the summer, although serving a narrow local market only. The major agronomic issue is to overcome the winter freezing temperatures and late spring freeze. A two-year project aimed at the introduction of out-of-season artichoke production took place, testing two F1 hybrids (Opal, Concerto), two weed control strategies (mulching, no-mulching), two transplanting dates (April, May), two covering strategies for late spring freeze (plastic cover, no cover). Gibberellins were applied for flowering to obtain heads in the first year. Harvest occurred in August and September, in the first year, and in June and July, in the second year. During the first year, Opal, early planting and covering enhanced yield, although total production was very limited (0.12 kg/plant). During the second year, early planting only increased production, however, yield was greater than in the first year (0.43 kg/plant). Early planting gave 45% more yield in the second year than late planting. In general, Opal produced more than Concerto, while heavier and greater heads were obtained with Concerto. Opal was thus more adapted for processing than Concerto, and it was tested as canned artichoke. Both hybrids were resistant to freezing winter temperatures, although during summer plant protection was a serious problem, especially due to downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) and European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) attacks, both due to close by growing areas of lettuce and corn, respectively.

Effect of Small Ridge-Tillage Planting with Green Manure &quot;Hairy Vetch&quot; on Soybean Germination and Yield in Upland Field Converted from Paddy Field

Effect of Small Ridge-Tillage Planting with Green Manure &quot;Hairy Vetch&quot; on Soybean Germination and Yield in Upland Field Converted from Paddy Field

Establishment and Management of the Cultivated Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Cultivated blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum and V. virgatum) have been propagated and planted successfully throughout the world. The lowbush blueberry (V. angustifolium and V. myrtilloides) have large areas of production in the state of Maine in the United States and in the Atlantic and Quebec Provinces in Canada on managed naturally occurring native stands. Except for some small demonstration plantings in Canada and a few plantings in Northern China, it has not been managed as a cultivated plant. Extensive plantings of cultivated lowbush blueberries have not been developed because of the slow establishment and lack of rhizome production from cuttings that limit its productivity compared to the cultivated blueberry. Tissue culture plants offer a more juvenile growth habit and quicker establishment, but may not yield as well as cuttings. Lowbush blueberry plants establish from seed quicker but have more genetic variability and a lower yield. A seed propagated lowbush blueberry family such as ‘Novablue’ will provide both rapid establishment and high yields. If planted on the proper sites and managed in the same manner as the wild blueberry, this would provide cultivated lowbush blueberry fields that are more productive than their native North American wild blueberry counterparts.

On Slavery's Borders: Missouri's Small-Slaveholding Households, 1815-1865 (review)

Reviewed by: On Slavery's Borders: Missouri's Small-Slaveholding Households, 1815-1865 Matthew Salafia (bio) Keywords Slavery, Missouri, Border states On Slavery's Borders: Missouri's Small-Slaveholding Households, 1815-1865. By Diane Mutti Burke. Early American Places Series (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Pp. 368. Paper, $24.95.) In On Slavery's Borders, Diane Mutti Burke argues that small slaveholdings dominated the landscape of antebellum Missouri, which in turn [End Page 705] created a "slavery culture that differed socially, politically, and economically from that of plantation regions" (5). The small size of slaveholdings is the dominant variable in Burke's interpretation. These small farms provided the backdrop for a form of slavery that was intimate and remarkably flexible. While Burke's argument for the importance of scale in the lived experience of slavery is persuasive, the uniqueness of Missouri is not the most revealing aspect of her research. Instead, Burke highlights the important insight that antebellum slavery, whether violent or cooperative, whether rooted in accommodation or resistance, whether on a small farm or large plantation, was a fundamentally human exchange. The human element of slavery allowed the institution to function in multiple contexts, which made it at once resilient and tragic. Burke's analysis of the intimacy of small-scale slaveholding makes her work a significant contribution to our understanding of American slavery as a whole. Historians have long identified the humanity of enslaved African Americans as central to understanding how the system of slavery functioned in the antebellum American South. David Brion Davis defined the "problem of slavery" as the attempt to turn a human being into a salable object, and Walter Johnson identified commodification as a contradiction that defined the relationship between the enslaved and slaveholders.1 Yet Burke's work hints at the need to adjust, not change, these formulations. Burke argues that while Missouri slavery exposed "both slaves and owners to a vast array of human exchanges ranging from empathy and cooperation to hatred and brutal violence," the institution functioned and flourished because of the intimacy of these "personal and work interactions" (6). Burke's conclusions echo Robin Blackburn's often neglected arguments that small planters, a diverse economy, and a family-centered regime made American slavery particularly resilient and productive from the outset.2 While the power dynamic was necessarily uneven, and slaveholders had the ability to destroy their slaves' lives with one act of sale, more often than not the relationship was "fraught with the ambiguity" that defines pretty much all human interactions (7). Burke is at her best in the middle chapters of the book when teasing [End Page 706] out the intimate social relations that made up the small slaveholding world. Because she seeks to understand slavery in motion, Burke resists the urge to isolate one race or gender in her analysis, and instead explores all members of the household, "slave and free, male and female, young and old" (8). She also demonstrates that in order to understand small-scale slaveholding we need to look beyond the limits of the household. Ultimately, intimate and personal interactions between households held the entire system together because both legal and illicit mobility linked households together in a broader slaveholding neighborhood. For example, she explains how slave hiring and the small farm household organization made abroad marriages common in Missouri. Because small-scale slavery made it difficult for owners to control slave marriages, slaveholders permitted men and women to choose partners from other farms in the greater neighborhood. The dominance of abroad marriages and the realities of sale forced the enslaved to develop "alternatives to the nuclear family" (226). Using pension records, Burke carefully deduces that many abroad wives lived with their adult children, and others lived with friends and extended kin. Enslaved Missourians adapted to the uniqueness of slavery in Missouri, and slaveholding Missourians adapted to maximize the profitability and stability of the system. "In the final analysis," Burke argues, "slaveholders consented to these unions because they recognized that the fate of the entire Missouri slave system depended on cross-farm families" (202). Similarly, Burke extends the "slave community" beyond the plantation gates, probably because there were not any gates. In contrast...

Profitability of value addition to cashew farming households in Nigeria

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an economic crop in Nigeria grown in small plantations in almost every State because of the ease of cultivation and need for minimum attention. Cashew apple wastes on plantations and this reduces cashew farming household incomes. This study examined value addition to cashew as a way of preventing farm losses due to wastage and lack of proper storage of the cashew apple Nigeria. The processof value addition involved the kernels being graded, heat treated, shelled roasted and packaged. The apples were crushed, processed to juice and bottled for sale. There was a significant difference (P

First Report of Juneberry Rust Caused by Gymnosporangium nelsonii on Juneberry in Michigan.

Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roem., commonly known as juneberry or Saskatoon serviceberry, was historically a widely used prairie fruit that is native to the Northern Great Plains, southern Yukon and Northwest Territories (4). While juneberry is an important fruit crop in the prairie provinces of Canada, small commercial plantings also occur throughout the northern United States (2), including Michigan. On July 18, 2009, severe rust symptoms were observed on plants in a 2-year-old field of A. alnifolia 'Northline' in Northport, MI. The plants had been sourced as seedlings from a nursery in Alberta, Canada in 2007. Signs and symptoms were present on fruits and leaves on virtually all of the plants. Symptomatic fruit were still immature, and on average, more than 70% of the fruit surface was covered with tubular, whitish aecia with conspicuous orange aeciospores. Portions of twigs also showed fusiform swellings (1 to 3 cm long) covered with aecia. Aecia were hypophyllous, fructicolous and caulicolous, roestelioid, and 2 to 4 mm high. The peridium was cylindric and tapering toward the apex, dehiscent at the apex, retaining a tubular shape for a long time and at times becoming lacerated on the sides with age. Peridial cells were linear rhomboidal, 50 to 105 μm long, hyaline to brownish, outer walls smooth, inner walls with small papillae, and side walls delicately verrucose-rugose with elongate papillae having variable lengths. Aeciospores were globoid, 20 to 35 × 25 to 38 μm (average 30.7 × 32.5 μm), orange to cinnamon brown, and densely verrucose with walls 2.5 to 3.5 μm thick. On the basis of these morphological characters, the host, and comparison with a reference specimen (BPI 122010), the pathogen was identified as Gymnosporangium nelsonii Arthur (1,3). The 5' region of the 28S rDNA was sequenced (GenBank Accession No. HM591299.1), confirming the identification as a species of Gymnosporangium, one distinct from previously sequenced specimens available in GenBank. The specimen has been deposited at the U.S. National Fungus Collections (BPI 880671 and 880709). Four other species found previously on Amelanchier spp. in the Midwest differ as follows: G. clavipes and G. clavariiforme have verrucose peridial cells and different 28S rDNA sequences; G. nidus-avis has rugose peridial cells; and G. corniculans has cornute peridia that dehisce from lateral slits while apices remain intact and verrucose peridial walls with verrucae on the side walls (1). The infection was likely caused by basidiospores originating from telia on Juniperus spp. in the area surrounding the field. However, no telia of G. nelsonii were found on junipers in the immediate vicinity. To our knowledge, this is the first report of G. nelsonii on juneberry in Michigan and the Midwest. Because of the devastating impact of this disease on fruit quality, fungicide programs have been devised for disease control and were effective in 2010. Juneberry growers in the Midwest need to be aware of this disease and monitor their crop carefully for symptoms and signs.

Forest impact on floods due to extreme rainfall and snowmelt in four Latin American environments 1: Field data analysis

Summary Flood peak data for focus catchments in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina are analyzed to test the hypothesis that, as the size of the hydrological event increases, the effect of forest cover on the peak discharge becomes less important. Previous research suggests that this hypothesis may hold for small catchments (less than 1 km2) but the pattern is less clear for large catchments. The principal study results are for small paired catchments (0.6–10 km2) with different forest covers (forest/pasture) in highland Ecuador and a small (0.35 km2) plantation catchment in southern Chile subjected to logging. The former were analyzed by comparing the corresponding peak discharges for given rainfall events, the latter by comparing the relationships between peak discharge and rainfall event size for the pre- and post-logging periods. In all cases there is relative or absolute convergence of the responses as discharge increases, with convergence likely for flood return periods of around 10 years. More limited data for larger catchments which have undergone either deforestation or afforestation (131 km2 in Costa Rica and 94–1545 km2 in Chile) suggest that the percentage change in forest cover must exceed 20–30% to provoke a measurable response in peak discharge; convergence of peak discharge response at high flows (return periods of around 5 years) for the different forest covers may then be observed. For a 12.9-km2 snowmelt-affected catchment in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, extreme floods require rain-on-snow events but the data are not sufficient to quantify the complex relationship between forest cover, event return period and peak discharge. In general, forest cover is unlikely to reduce, significantly, peak discharges generated by extreme rainfall but may still offer substantial mitigation benefits for moderate (i.e. more frequent) rainfall events.

The African-American Family in Slavery and Emancipation, by Wilma Dunaway: Review Essay

This is an explosive book, iconoclastic, myth-shattering, and profound. But it is also fine tuned and rich in detail, the work of a master (no pun intended) craftswoman. You have simply got to read this book. Wilma Dunaway has issued a provocative rebuttal to those who have argued that slaveholders rarely broke-up enslaved African families; that slaves were adequately fed, clothed, and sheltered; and that slave health or death risks were no greater than those experienced by white adults. According to Dunaway these weaknesses in much scholarly research stem from a flawed view of the slave family, scholarly neglect of small plantations, limited analysis of Upper South enslavement, and academic exaggeration of slave agency. Dunaway’s study relies largely on her analysis of slave narratives.

Training and maintaining spindle crowns in cherry production

In cherry production all over the world, intensification of the technology is the main objective of research. Small crowns and high planting densities are aimed to attain high yields per hectare and easier harvesting. Rootstocks of reduced vigour for cherries are more difficult to find than in other fruit species, and the rejuvenation of fruiting structures by pruning is aggravated by the reduced vigour. Intensity of the technology ought to be achieved by a thoughtful application of the technological elements (timing of pruning by various intensity) moreover, by finding different policies for individual varieties. Sweet cherry varieties dominating the assortment proved to be very variable regarding their growing habits. In our experiment, we dealt with the slender spindle and free spindle forms, and how to train the trees to develop and to maintain the desirable form depending on the respective variety in order to achieve the right load of flower buds and yields repeatedly. In this paper, we examine the most important practical issues with the training and maintaining of the crowns of cherries with circular projection and central axis grafted on Prunus mahaleb rootstocks

What have we learnt about rainforest restoration in the past two decades?

In summary, rainforest restoration is a long-term endeavour. The short-term funding paradigm that has prevailed in many replanting projects, particularly government schemes, has served restoration objectives poorly and resulted in a great waste of money. Renewed funding for restoration projects may soon be available from markets for carbon sequestration and 'biodiversity offsets'. Assuming these markets require projects to demonstrate sequestration and biodiversity outcomes over many decades, in return for long-term funding, they could give practitioners a real opportunity and incentive to implement successful restoration projects.

INTERACTION EFFECT OF DATE OF PLANTING, BULB SIZE AND FERTILIZATION ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF TUBEROSE PLANTS.

A field experiment was carried out on tuberose plant during 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons at a private farm at Demyana near Belqas Dakahlia Governorate. The main objectives of the study were to find out the effect of using NPK compound fertilizer (19:19:19) the common name (High Fertal) fertilizer at three levels (5, 10 and 15g/plant) either alone or combined with compost (150, 200 and 250g/plant). Tuberose bulbs were graded into large, medium and small sizes and planting was during April, May and June of both seasons .Thus, the experiment was a split split plot design with 3 replicates. The obtained results indicated that large size bulbs planted during April and fertilized with the higher levels of NPK +compost gave the maximum number of cut spikes/ pot with more length compared to using medium or small bulbs receiving the same treatment. Large bulbs also produced spikes of more number of florets spike, more spike diameter, and the number of days from planting to opening of the 1st florets was reduced. Also, higher levels of NPK or NPK+ compost increased N, P and K contents in the leaves of large bulbs planted during April, while the lowest contents were for June planting. Thus, it is recommended to use large size bulbs for planting during April and application of NPK at balanced levels along with compost for improvement of soil properties a matter reflexes on flower production.