Accurate pre-harvest estimation of avocado (Persea americana cv. Haas) yield offers a range of benefits to industry and growers. Currently there is no commercial yield monitor available for avocado tree crops and the manual count method used for yield forecasting can be highly inaccurate. Remote sensing using satellite imagery offers a potential means to achieve accurate pre-harvest yield forec...

1 Metrica Corporation 1012 Hercules, Houston TX 77058 U.S.A. 2 Rehabilitation Engineering Program Depts. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Biomedical Engineering University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 U.S.A. 3 Amerigon Corporation 5462 Irwindale Avenue, Irwindale, CA 91706 U.S.A. 4 PhaseMedix Consulting 24380 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 114 Farmington Hills, MI 48336 U.S.A. 5 Depart...

Robotics and intelligent sensing systems can provide useful information to improve yield and quality in specialty crop production. A key requirement for treecrop applications is the ability to associate sensed data to the individual trees in an orchard. A mobile ground robot with a scanning lidar (laser range sensor) is used to build a three dimensional (3D) model of an orchard and algorithms a...

The effectiveness of two different types of pheromone release systems in disrupting OBLR mating and subsequently preventing fruit damage were compared in 2.6–5.6-acre blocks in three commercial orchards in western NY: (1) Microsprayers (aerosol spray-burst devices, MSU), one application setup for the summer (Doyle and Oakes orchards); (2) Paraffin-based pheromone emulsions (Agrium), one applica...

Orientational responses of four species of feral tortricid moths (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to polyethylene tube dispensers of pheromone were observed in a 0.8 ha apple orchard treated with such pheromone dispensers and in an untreated 0.8 ha orchard. Male oblique-banded leafrollers, Choristoneura rosaceana (Walker) (mean 7.2 ± 0.4 moths/night during 21 nights) , Oriental fruit moths, Grapholit...

Teacher preparation is a highly contested area in England with a range of epistemological approaches potentially being promoted through the availability of a range of preparation routes. The dominant model of teacher preparation used by programmes led by university education departments is that of developing reflective practitioners. However, other models, including those coined as ‘craftworker...

Northern red oak is a high-value hardwood used for lumber, furniture and veneer. Intensively managed northern red oak seed orchards are required to obtain genetic gain for trait improvement. Data from conifer seed orchards and natural and managed stands of hardwood trees have shed light on the distance over which pollen can move, and underscore the need for managerial attention to seed orchard ...

Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) is an important conifer in much of the southeastern United States. However, the species and its associated ecosystems are in decline, and recent evidence about hybridization with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) raises concerns that the species may be at risk of further losses due to introgression. Although shortleaf pine is not widely planted for timber prod...

Understanding and monitoring ecological impacts of the expanding agricultural industry in Belize is an important step in conservation action. To compare possible alterations in herpetofaunal communities due to these anthropogenic changes, trapping arrays were set in a manicured orchard, a reclaimed orchard and a lowland broadleaf forest in Stann Creek district at Toucan Ridge Ecology and Educat...