Cucurbits
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Pumpkin Pollinator Power
Field Study and Observations on the Impact of Flowers on Pumpkin Pollination and Fruit Set … including 2023 data and updates. Pumpkins (Cucurbitaceae, specifically c. pepo, c. maxima, and c. moschata) are a monoecious plant that requires transfer of pollen from male to female flowers for pollination and successful fruit set and yield. Due to…
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Pumpkin Pollinator Power
Field Study and Observations on the Impact of Flowers on Pumpkin Pollination and Fruit Set The following is an excerpt from a research project that I began in 2019 and am finalizing this growing season. Pumpkins (Cucurbitaceae, specially c. pepo, c. maxima, and c. moschata) are a monoecious plant that requires transfer of pollen from…
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The Root of the Action
This blog was adapted from a term paper written for Plant Physiology (BZ 440) at Colorado State University. In their article “Are we there yet? The long walk towards the development of efficient symbiotic associations between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and non-leguminous crops” Pankievicz, Irving, Maia, and Anѐ (2019) provide an overview of the need for alternatives…
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Magnesium Deficiency in Pumpkins
The following was adapted from an assignment in a plant physiology course that I completed in fall 2022. Once the calendar changes to September, it seems that pumpkin everything is everywhere: pumpkin soup, breads, deserts, pumpkin spice lattes, and the vining fruiting vegetable itself as porch décor or jack-o-lanterns. On our 13-acre farm in the…
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Good morning! Welcome 2023!
It obviously was a busy fall semester because my last blog (with the exception of my 2022 research summaries) was written the week before the semester began. Wow! Those were 16 wildly rewarding weeks. Actually, all of 2022 was a wildly rewarding ride! I started Art and Stem LLC on July 4, 2022. I sold…
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2022 Research Projects
End of 2022 Greetings! Hard to believe but this year is coming to a close – as fast as the entire years has come and gone it seems! Before we officially enter 2023 I wanted to write a blog summarizing my horticulture research projects from the past 12 months. I regret that I did not…
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Future Plans for this Member of the Class of 2023!
By earning my graduate degree, I hope to eventually transition from full-time entrepreneurship to a job in industry, research, or education. This decision has nothing to do with both of my business’s successes – I am blessed to have two thriving businesses! Instead, it “stems” from a desire to have a more stable form of…
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Hot Weather Effects on Cucurbits
High temperatures affect a plant’s ability ot photosynthsize. At temperatures over 40 degrees C (104 degrees F), during the day the photosynthesis rate is reduced. This is due to the enzymes that are involvded in photosynthesis being temperature senstitive. Enzymes are proteins and at too high of a temperature, protiens break down. Therefore, the rate…
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After a Whole Winter of Winter Squash
Okay, I lied. Well….. Maybe not totally. Although I won’t be doing another “Winter Squash Wednesday” blog or social media post (at least for a while), I did want to do one more squash blog before the spring planting season starts at the greenhouse and the spring season officially begins. In this blog, I will…
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Stripes and Spots, Oh My!
A blog about striped and stopped cucumber beetles, and how they both are cucurbit pests. Basic cultural controls, such as weed barrier, removing weeds and plant debris, and rotating crops, are key to preventing cucumber beetles from taking up residence in your cucurbit field and risking the possibility of infecting your crop with bacterial wilt.…