In that same study, Huang and Yang report anecdotal evidence that suggests equal yields in orchards that use chemicals vs. orchards that use ant bridges to control for pests. Similarly, Peng and Christian , report lower levels of fruit damage in cashew with the presence of weaver ants. However, as vegetation complexity declines in agroecosystems, tree…

Recruitment is understood to be an integral component of trail-following in which ant workers follow chemical foraging trails to a food source, then re-apply chemical trails until that food source is exhausted. Tuna baiting is an effective and widely used method of assessing ant recruitment in coffee agroecosystem. To assess the impact of connectivity on…

This relationship was not observed in 2021, and it might be derived from the relatively higher crop load and lower leaf area to fruit ratio in 2021 compared to 2020, especially by SH and HQ . SH and HQ did not have a similar source-sink balance as 2020, which lowered their capacity to translocate photosynthates…

The weather conditions during the execution of this experiment were highlighted by greater maximum daily temperatures when compared to the reference period . This was more prominent during the driest months . Moreover, global solar radiation received at the experimental site was to ca. 200 W m−2 greater than the total solar radiation recorded within…

It can occur in many varieties, but is especially prevalent in Cabernet Sauvignon on California’s North Coast. It has been described in the literature in many different countries, with descriptive terms that include waterberry , bunchstem dieback , shanking , stiellähme , palo negro , desséchement de la rafl e and dessichimiento della rachide . No specifi…

California epitomizes the agriculture-climate challenge, as well as its opportunities. As the United States’ largest agricultural producing state agriculture also accounted for approximately 8% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions statewide for the period 2000–2013. At the same time, California is at the forefront of innovative approaches to CSA. Given the state’s Mediterranean climate, part of an integrated…

As expected, the cluster heat storage tended to be negative in the morning as the berries began to rapidly warm, and positive in the afternoon while generally cooling and releasing heat .The time series of measured and simulated berry temperature were compared graphically for east- and west-facing clusters in order to qualitatively assess model performance…

Many post harvest strategies are designed to extend fruit shelf life, but often result in loss of fruit quality, and may unintentionally contribute to post harvest waste. While the relationship between DNA methylation and tomato fruit ripening is well understood , it was not known what effect early harvest and storage temperature, which often disrupt the ripening…

The first relies on quantitative probe-based PCR, while the second diagnostic uses a newly developed CRISPR-Cas12a system, which enables rapid detection with simpler equipment than quantitative real-time PCR. In summary, my thesis provides genomic resources and a knowledge of migration history and patterns for these two agricultural pests with significant economic implications. This information, combined…

For species-rich lineages, phylogenetic reconstructions from published studies were used to gather information on the character states of fruit type and growth habit inferred for ancestors of these lineages, as is typically included in this type of study . For the few radiating lineages for which phylogenetic information has not yet been generated, character states…