June 3, 2008, 10:34 PM CT

Willing To Pay A Premium For Locally Produced Food

New research suggests that the average supermarket shopper is willing to pay a premium price for locally produced foods, providing some farmers an attractive option to enter a niche market that could boost their revenues.

The study also showed that shoppers at farm markets are willing to pay almost twice as much extra as retail grocery shoppers for the same locally produced foods. Both kinds of shoppers also will pay more for guaranteed fresh produce and tend to favor buying food produced by small farms over what they perceive as corporate operations, as per the study.

"Our conclusion is that if a farmer wants to consider producing food for local distribution and marketing it locally, there are people who are willing to pay more for it," said Marvin Batte, a co-author of the study and the Fred N. VanBuren professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics at Ohio State University. "We are not saying that we should be producing all of our foods locally, just that this may be a viable, profitable activity for farmers".

And what's good for farmers also benefits consumers in this case, said Batte, director of the research project.

"This is an indication that certain groups out there value locally produced food and if farmers deliver that, it makes these consumers happier, so it's good for them, too," he said......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

May 27, 2008, 10:24 PM CT

What makes life go at the tropics?

What causes tropical life to thrive: temperature, or sunlight?

The answer is not necessarily both. As per a research studypublished online this week in PNAS Early Edition, the explosion of species at the tropics has much more to do with warmth than with light.

The diversity was uncorrelation to productivity (from photosynthesis), but it was strongly correlation to temperature, said University of Southern California biologist Jed Fuhrman, who led a group that analyzed bacterial samples from warm and cold oceans.

Fuhrmans group found far greater diversity in samples taken near the equator. In particular, samples from low-productivity waters still contained a number of bacterial species, suggesting that photosynthesis has little influence on diversity.

A number of scientists have tried to separate the influence of temperature and sunlight, Fuhrman said, but have found it hard to do by studying higher organisms.

Bacteria are ideal subjects because of their wide distribution and the recent availability of genetic fingerprinting, he added.

The question of what drives diversity is important to biologists who seek to uncover the basic rules governing life.

Is diversity ruled by fundamental laws, and if so, what is the basis of them? Fuhrman asked......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

May 19, 2008, 8:19 PM CT

Children's gardens mushrooming

Scientists have discovered the secrets to enhancing youth participation in school- and community-based garden programs. A 3-year study entitled Greener Voices proves that children will engage in learning more readily when given responsibility for decisionmaking and planning.

Childrens gardens have mushroomed during the past two decades. Gardens are popping up in schools, communities, public venues, and informal settings. Despite recent interest in gardening with children, little credence has been given to what children think about the experience: what interests them, how they may be involved in decisionmaking and planning, and how they can benefit from their involvement. Adults make a number of assumptions about children and gardening, and instead of enlisting the creativity and innovative thinking of young people, they often involve children in the more mundane tasks of planting, weeding, and watering notes Marcia Eames-Sheavly, lead researcher and Senior Extension Associate at Cornell Universitys Garden-Based Learning Program (http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl).

Scientists set out to understand how children and youth engaged in project planning and to gain a better grasp of the constraints faced by adults who teach and design gardening programs. We learned that ongoing efforts are needed to assist sites and the adult leaders who work there, including strategies to expand thinking about the capabilities of children and youth, to help children and youth adjust to new roles, and to identify ways for younger children to increase their participation, added Eames-Sheavly......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

May 19, 2008, 7:48 PM CT

Greener offices make happier employees

As per the 2000 census, Americans office workers spend an average of 52 hours a week at their desks or work stations. A number of recent studies on job satisfaction have shown that workers who spend longer hours in office environments, often under artificial light in windowless offices, report reduced job satisfaction and increased stress levels.

How can employers make office environments more conducive to productivity and employee happiness" Try adding some green to your office. Not greenbacksgreen plants! A research study reported in the February 2008 issue of HortScience offers employers and corporations some valuable advice for upping levels of employee satisfaction by introducing simple and inexpensive environmental changes.

Dr.Tina Marie (Waliczek) Cade, Associate Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Agriculture at Texas State University, explained that the project was designed to investigate whether employees who worked in offices with windows and views of green spaces and workers who had green plants in their offices perceived greater job satisfaction than employees who did not have access to these environmental components.

Scientists posted a job satisfaction survey on the Internet and administered the survey to office workers in Texas and the Midwest. The survey included questions about job satisfaction, physical work environments, the presence or absence of live interior plants and windows, environmental preferences of the office workers, and demographic information......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

May 19, 2008, 7:34 PM CT

New recommendations for grape growers

The inland areas of the Pacific Northwest, where rainfall averages only 4 to 12 inches per year, present growing challenges for vineyard owners and wine grape producers. The arid conditions in this part of the country have not been conducive for vineyard owners who produce and market high-quality wine grapes.

To promote healthy grape production when nature fails to deliver, vineyard managers in the area typically employ an irrigation practice known as regulated deficit irrigation. More than 60% of the wine grapes in the state of Washington are grown using this drip irrigation method. Unfortunately, the current irrigation methods are replete with problems that can cause over-irrigation and compromised grape quality.

Recently, scientists at Washington State Universitys Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center completed a study that should provide vineyard managers new techniques for producing healthy and long-lasting grape crops. Joan R. Davenport was the lead author of the study reported in the February 2008 issue of HortScience. Explaining the impetus behind the research, Davenport said: Most of these vineyards use drip irrigation to supply supplemental water. Soil moisture is often measured to determine when to apply irrigation. However, without knowing the pattern of moisture under these conditions, the best place to check soil moisture content to mimic what the plant root sees was not understood. Our objective was to establish the soil moisture zone in this system......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:09:14 GMT

Hepatica nobilis

Thanks once again to Jackie Chambers, UBC Botanical Garden horticulturist, for supplying both the photograph and write-up for today''s BPotD!

This superb little perennial is currently flowering in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden at UBC Botanical Garden. Hepatica nobilis is native to woodlands of temperate Asia and Europe. The flowers are an exquisite violet-blue, occasionally white or pinkish, and are produced in February to May. Each individual flower is supported by a hairy, leafless stem, perhaps reaching 10cm in height. A selection of flower photographs of Hepatica nobilis are available via Texas A&M. For an alternative perspective on the flowers, see Hepatica nobilis under ultraviolet light.

The leaves of Hepatica nobilis are basal and have a leathery texture. The leaves remain on the plant throughout the winter, and the old leaves only begin to die back in the late spring after new foliage has begun to emerge. Leaves are dark green, often turning reddish with age, and have distinctive lobed edges. Liverleaf, one of the common names for this plant, is based on the colour and shape of the leaves.

The association with liver extends beyond the common name. The genus Hepatica is derived from the Greek word hepar, meaning liver. This refers to the leaves, as well to the medieval belief, based on the Doctrine of Signatures, that a plant with liver-like leaves would be useful in treating liver aliments. Hepatica nobilis is still used for medicinal purposes today.

Hepatica nobilis is myrmecochorous, meaning it relies on ants for seed dispersal. The seeds have special ant-attracting appendages called elaisomes. These appendages are often rich in nutrients. The ants collect the seeds, then take them to their nests. Once the elaisomes have been eaten, the rest of the seed (which is still intact and viable) is discarded and is able to germinate in its new location. Read more on the fascinating world of myrmecochory. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

May 14, 2008, 8:25 PM CT

Window of opportunity for restoring oaks small

Communities of Oregon white oak were once widespread in the Pacific Northwests western lowlands, but, today, they are in decline. Fire suppression, conifer and invasive plant encroachment, and land use change have resulted in the loss of as much as 99 percent of the oak communities historically present in some areas of the region.

A new technical report titled "Evaluation of Landscape Alternatives for Managing Oak at Tenalquot Prairie, Washington" outlines the findings of a study aimed at determining the success of different management scenarios in restoring the regions oak communities. The studys findings indicated that if oaks are to be successfully restored, more aggressive management is needed within the next several decades.

In areas where conifers have encroached into oak woodlands and savannas, about two-thirds of the remaining oaks were predicted to die over a 50-year period unless the conifers are removed, said Peter Gould, a research forester and lead author of the report.

Gould and colleagues conducted a landscape-level analysis of a portion of Fort Lewis, Washington, that is the site of a number of of the Puget Sounds last remaining oak communities. Using geographic information system technology, a forest growth model, and landscape visualization software, the scientists simulated the effects of five different management scenarios on the extent and condition of oaks. The scenarios ranged from no management at all to restoration of the historical extent of oak prairies typical of 1853......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

May 12, 2008, 9:37 PM CT

Beyond nutrition: plants deliver

The need for a renewable and affordable source of carbon that can sustain future economic development without negatively impacting the environment is now widely recognised. It is also apparent that the increasingly high demand for fossil carbon will eventually deplete existing stocks.

The Plant Journal is pleased to present a series of invited peer-reviewed articles that describe processes that plants can or could use to convert their fixed carbon into fuels and other useful products. The articles were commissioned to provide an authoritative scientific backdrop to inform discussion in debates on finding alternative and reliable sources of carbon.

Co-edited by Christoph Benning from Michigan State University and Eran Pichersky from the University of Michigan, this special issue is freely available to download online here: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/tpj/54/4.

The 17 articles in this special issue cover topics related to the production of biofuel from plant or algal biomass. In addition, several articles highlight the usefulness of plant s for the production of pharmaceutical drugs and other high value chemicals and polymers. A flavour of the scope of articles is given below.

Smith reports on how increases in yield of starch and sugars could lead to a sustainable production of bioethanol as a liquid transport fuel......... Posted by: Erica      Read more         Source

Fri, 09 May 2008 02:11:08 GMT

Fritillaria affinis

Thanks once again to Jackie Chambers of UBC Botanical Garden for submitting a photograph and write-up!

Fritillaria affinis has just begun flowering in the Garry Oak Meadow at the UBC Botanical Garden. The meadow is part of a recent initiative to expand the garden''s native plant collections. To learn more about this unique and threatened landscape in British Columbia, visit the site of the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team.

Native to western North America, Fritillaria affinis populations can be found in southern British Columbia through to California. Common English names include checker lily, chocolate lily, or mission bells.

Flowers can be single or in clusters of 3-5 and are produced in the spring (April-May). They can range from 1-4cm long, and are often purple as a base colour, then checkered with greenish-yellow dots. In fact, the genus name is based on this checkered pattern: Fritillaria is derived from the Latin fritillus, which means "dice box".

Flower shape and colour can vary significantly depending on location (e.g., see the Pacific Bulb Society Wiki on North American Fritillaria). All flowers are hermaphroditic, though, meaning they have both staminate (pollen-producing) and carpellate (ovule-producing) structures.

This perennial plant can range in height from 10 to 130cm. The leaves can range from 3-15 cm long, and are often arranged in whorls of 3-5 leaves along the stem. Plants emerge from a bulb typically surrounded by smaller bulblets (link to commercial site).

The USDA NRCS has an extensive factsheet about Fritillaria affinis (PDF), including details about the traditional harvest and cultivated management of these bulbs by the Coast and Interior Salish First Nations. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:57:35 GMT

Transgenic SunUp Papaya Genome

This week's issue of Nature features the draft genome of the transgenic 'SunUp' Papaya, the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree to be sequenced. From Nature News: The papaya genome will be of interest to scientists interested in the dietary benefits of different fruits, the evolution of fruiting trees, and other basic questions of biology. Data from the genome will also help in designing field-based assays to differentiate hermaphroditic plants from female ones - a task that currently takes farmers three to four months of cultivation to achieve. Farmers prefer the hermaphroditic plants for easier pollination. In addition to insights regarding its evolutionary path, the genome analysis also revealed that papaya has fewer functional genes than any other flowering plant already sequenced, but contains more genes for enzymes involved in cell-wall expansion, starch production and for production of volatile compounds.

Read more from the University of Illinois report. Posted by: ruth      Read more     Source