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808 MUSS
Horticulture Professor
Penn State
4
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• Then isn’t all that much that we
can do about the caiiy emergence
of spring flowering bulbs and per
ennials. Steps to keep the soil
temperatures as coed as possible
for as long as possible would be
about all any gardeners would be
able to accomplish. Maintain a
-good layer of loose-textured
mulch over the planting soil to in
sulate against temperature fluctua
tions. A thick, heavy mulch may
tend to smother more than insulate
and should be avoided. A layer of
dry oak leaves or similar texture
would be ideal.
Layers of loose mulch over the
tops of the emerging shoots will
also help to protect them against
rapid temperature changes that
could result in freezing and subse
quent damage to the plant In gen
eral, however, the emerging shoot
can be quite hardy and take freez
ing temperatures with no real
damage. There may be some in
jury to the leaf shoots that emerge
early, but much more often, the
actual flower stalk is deeper into
the bulb and shoot base and is not
injured to any degree. Subfreezing
temperatures for extended periods
of time may result in some bulb/
crown damage to bulbs and peren
nials.
If all this Calls to sustain dor
mancy in the plants, we will prob
ably just have to enjoy the floral
display at this time of year while it
is present Generally plants will
retain some degree of dormancy
until the daily temperatures re
main above freezing for a number
of days.
There is not much that can be
done for flowering trees and
shrubs that have initiated growth
and flowering as a result of the
warmer weather. Like the bulbs
and perennials, these will retain
some degree of dormancy as long
as we do not have extended per
iods of warmer weather that may
stimulate full flower development
Any plants that produce fully open
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An Early Spring What Ta Do?
flowers at this time of year will
probably not set fruit later in the
season. Poor or absent pollination,
or freeze injury to potential fruit,
will be the cause in most cases.
All plants in protected locations
where there may be concentra
tions , of heat from building
foundations, pavements, and stone
walls may continue to develop be
cause of their location. Not much
can be done to slow this process.
Woody plants that sustain signifi
cant vegetative and flower bud in-
Ohio Turkey Industry Needs More ‘Good Eggs’
WOOSTER, Ohio The qual
ity of an egg yolk is no joke—es
pecially to the developing chicks
or poults (baby turkeys) that de
pend on it for survival
All developing avian embryos
—chickens, turkeys and ducks
derive most of their energy during
incubation from the fat (lipids)
found in the yolk. Individual fatty
acids are the building blocks of all
lipids. There are six ex' seven prin
cipal fatty acids within yolk lipids.
Mike Lilbum is an animal sci
entist located at the Ohio Agricul
tural Research and Development
Center’s Wooster campus. Lilbum
and his colleagues recognize the
importance of fatty acids to devel
oping turkey embryos. They’re
studying the relationship between
the fatty acid of diets fed to breed
er hens and the subsequent fatty
acid profile of lipids in yolks and
developing embryos. Research
that may alter the fatty acid profile
of yolk lipids might have benefi
cial effects on developing em
bryos.
“We can change the types of
fatty acids in the yolk by putting
hens on a particular diet,” Lilbum
said. “Oil from coconuts, for ex
ample, contains a unique pattern
of shorter chain fatty acids and
while these fatty acids show up in
the yolk, they don’t show up in the
embryo.”
This suggests that these fatty
acids may be preferentially meta
bolized by the embryo and may
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jury should be kept well-watered
during dry periods to reduce the
impact of stress on the foliage
needed to provide food reserves
for the next growing season.
On a cultural note, it is import
ant to keep all bulb foliage in good
growing condition throughout the
spring and summer to rebuild bulb
quality in the soil Very often gar
deners will mow off the leaves
when the bulbs fail to flower for
any reason. If the foliage is cut off
have beneficial effects on overall
embryonic development
“Our work with coconut oil is
one aspect of our ongoing embry
onic studies,” Lilbum said. “It’s a
sideline project from a whole ser
ies of studies aimed at better un
derstanding how yolk fat is util
ized by the developing embryo.”
Lilbum said studying shorter
chain fatty acids like those in co
conut oil is one piece of a larger
puzzle. When those pieces finally
make a picture, he’ll be in a better
position to suggest ways of en
hancing the overall productive
ability of turkey hens, particularly
young hens.
“We know that young hens lay
smaller eggs than older hens, and
these smaller eggs have smaller
yolks. This results in smaller
poults,” he said. “We are trying to
find ways of enhancing the whole
reproductive process, and that be
gins with a better understanding of
embryonic development”
The puzzle will be complete
when Lilbum can suggest ways to
produce thrifty, viable poults from
both young and old hens.
“The main thrust of our re
search focuses on young hens and
why their poults lack the vitality
of poults from older hens,” Lil
bum said. “By finding ways to in
crease production of young hens,
we can increase the economical
impact of the poultry industry.”
Last October, Lilbum spoke at
*n international meeting on turkey
too soon and not allowed to go
through the growing season and
decline on its own, the plants will
be weakened and may not produce
quality blossoms next season and
beyond. Gardeners must realize
that the spring/summer foliage
puts food energy back into the
bulb below ground so it can pro
duce a flower stalk and foliage for
the next season.
All plants have various survival
mechanisms to combat adverse
reproduction, and in April, he will
discuss his research at a confer
ence in Manchester, England.
The poultry industry is import
ant to Ohio. According to the Ohio
Agricultural Statistics Service.
Cornell Announces Two
New Potato Varieties
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. - Two new
potato varieties developed by
Cornell University potato breed
er Robert Plaisted have poten
tial for the round white table
stock and chipstock markets.
Both are resistant to the golden
nematode, a pest unique to New
York State that weakens the
roots and significantly impacts
yield.
"'Salem' is an early-emerging,
mid-season potato with high
yielding ability, bred for table
stock," said Plaisted, who has
been the potato breeder at
Cornell since 1956. The tuber
shape is round to oblong and
slightly flattened. Skin texture
is smooth and bright. Dry mat
ter is low, so "Salem" is a good
choice for a moist baking potato.
It may have a faint yellowish
cast when boiled. Tuber dor
mancy is about two weeks
longer than "Katahdin" or
"Atlantic," and marketable
yields in New York trials have
been greater than either of those
two varieties. Tuber size is like
that of "Katahdin," according to
Plaisted, who said plants
emerge early and tubers start
weather conditions. Dormant buds
in the stems ana crowns of most
plants will be initiated into growth
to replace what may be injured in
spring freezes. Light pruning to
remove damaged wood, or cutting
back to alive stem or branch will
help to retain the quality, shape
and form of the plant throughout
the coining season. Elimination of
growing stress on any injured
plant will do wonders to insure its
survival and success in the coming
seasons.
Ohio ranks first in the nation in
both table egg production and in
overall poultry production. Lil
bum wants to help maintain that
rank by improving production.
sizing early.
"Salem" is resistant to the
golden nematode and to common
scab. It is a cross between
"Rosa" and NY66 [8R6862-2 and
Hudson] It was first evaluated
as D 146-11 and then as NYB4.
Five growers will be offering
certified "Salem" seed in 1998,
including Royce Atwater,
Childstock Farms, Inc., Bob
Leavitt Farms, Gary
Pryputniewicz Farm, and Windy
Mt. Farm.
"'Reba' is a high-yielding
variety with potential for both
the round white tablestock and
potato chip market," said
Plaisted. The tubers are round
and have a bright, white skin.
Boiling quality is good. The chip
color has been equal to or better
than "Monona" from storage at
45 degrees F. A mid- to late-sea
son variety, "Reba" sizes early
and can produce large tubers.
Plaisted reports that in 86 trials
over seven years, the mar
ketable yield has been 108 per
cent of "Atlantic." The best per
formance has been at 7-inches to
9-inches and 150 pounds of
nitrogen.