No abstract

Additional index words. Citrullus lanatus, blossom-end rot, calcium, gypsum Abstract. Field experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of Ca supplied as gypsum in factorial combination with watermelon [Citrullus launatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai] cultivars Charleston Gray, Crimson Sweet, and Tri-X Seedless on yield and the elemental concentration of leaf and rind tissue. Also, the effect that ontogenetic changes and sectional differences had on the elemental concentration in rind tissue was investigated. The experiments were conducted at two locations in Oklahoma. Yield was not affected by Ca; however, mean melon weight was reduced at 1120 kg Ca/ha. Leaf Ca concentration increased linearly in response to Ca rate. 'Tri-X Seedless' had lower leaf Ca and higher K concentrations than did 'Charleston Gray' or 'Crimson Sweet'. Fruit ontogeny (days from anthesis) and melon section (blossom or stem-end) interacted to affect elemental concentrations in the rind tissue. There was also a significant genotypic effect on elemental concentration in rind tissue. Increasing rates of Ca applied to soil reduced the incidence of-blossom-end rot (BER) in 'Charleston Gray' melons. Calcium treatment did not affect flesh redness or soluble solids concentration (SSC) of watermelon.

Taproots of 2-year-old `Apache' seedling pecan [Carya illinoensis (Wang)] trees were pruned to 1 ft (30 cm), 2 ft (60 cm), or 3 ft (90 cm) in combination with wounding treatments consisting of no wounding, scraping through pericycle tissue on one or two sides of the taproot, or longitudinally splitting the taproot for about half its length. The trees were planted in a Port silt loam soil and a Teller sandy loam soil and grown without irrigation. At the end of the first and second growing seasons, top growth was measured, trees were dug and root system regrowth was evaluated. Tree root weight and number of roots per tree decreased with increasing taproot length.

Height control for vegetable transplants has become challenging with the loss of the industry standard growth regulator, daminozide (Alar). One alternative to growth regulators—brushing—was conducted on two cultivars of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Five weeks of brushing twice daily resulted in height suppression for both tomato cultivars. Brushing treatments were performed successfully by use of a grower-designed apparatus constructed from readily available materials.