Cropping sequence and length of rotation play an important role in potato production. Too often, growers are forced to base their cropping system decisions on short-term economic survival. Our market-based economy rewards economic efficiency and has helped push the trend to larger farms with lower production costs. Improving economic efficiency, with large, specialized potato equipment, means f...

Root crops are an important staple food in the Pacific region. Yields are generally low and inorganic fertilizers are deemed an option to increase root crop production. The effects of inorganic N fertilizers on upland taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) were quantified with the aim to investigate relationships between inherent soil fertility, N up...

Agrobacterium rhizogenes and Agrobacterium tumefaciens are plant pathogenic bacteria capable of transferring DNA fragments [transfer DNA (T-DNA)] bearing functional genes into the host plant genome. This naturally occurring mechanism has been adapted by plant biotechnologists to develop genetically modified crops that today are grown on more than 10% of the world's arable land, although their u...

Plants modified to express insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (referred to as Bt-protected plants) provide a safe and highly effective method of insect control. Bt-protected corn, cotton, and potato were introduced into the United States in 1995/1996 and grown on a total of approximately 10 million acres in 1997, 20 million acres in 1998, and 29 million acres globally in 1999. Th...

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of fenamiphos 15G and short-cycle potato (PO)-sweet potato (SP) grown continuously and in rotation with peanut (PE)-grain sorghum (GS) on yield, crop quality, and mixed nematode population densities of Meloidogyne arenaria, M. hapla, M. incognita, and Mesocriconema ornatum. Greater root-gall indices and damage by M. hapla and M. inco...

potato is one of the most productive crops in agriculture and is a valuable food source in developing countries. mycorrhizal fungi involve a symbiosis with most of crop roots and leads to improve the crops growth and yield. in order to investigate the effect of mycorrhiza fungi species on yield of potato cultivars a factorial experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with ei...

I the last decade, tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has become widely distributed across Alabama on many field, vegetable, and floral crops. About 300 plant species, mainly broadleafs, are hosts of TSWV. In addition to peanut, other important crops grown in the Southeast that are susceptible to this virus include tomato, pepper, potato, cucurbits, lettuce, eggplant, and tobacco. Chrysanthemum, ...

What is a GMO? A genetically modified organism, or GMO is the term commonly used for crops that have been genetically engineered (GE) to produce some desired trait. The first GE crops were tobacco plants modified in 1986 to be resistant to direct application of herbicides. The following year, tobacco plants were engineered to resist insects. There followed a host of field trials to also develop...

Solanesol is a high value 45-carbon, unsaturated, all-trans-nonaprenol isoprenoid. Recently solanesol has received particular attention because of its utility, both in its own right and as a precursor in the production of numerous compounds used in the treatment of disease states. Solanesol is found mainly in solanaceous crops such as potato, tomato, tobacco and pepper where it accumulates in t...