R. Thomas Fernandez

Assessment of aliphatic–aromatic copolyester biodegradable mulch films. Part I: Field study

The objective of this work was to study the use of new biodegradable films in agriculture under open field conditions. Three biodegradable mulch films made from modified biodegradable polyester of different thicknesses and colors (black and white) and a conventional low density polyethylene (LDPE) mulch film were used to cover the beds of tomato plants. Changes in physical appearance of the films were recorded as well as changes in their mechanical, optical, and physical properties. Once tomato harvest was completed, the conventional LDPE mulch film was removed and all the tomato plants were cut using a mower. The biodegradable mulch films were plowed into the soil. The change in the appearance of the film was recorded and samples of each film after plowing were characterized according to the properties mentioned above. After the biodegradable films photodegraded, cross-link formation occurred within the films which promoted brittleness. Titanium dioxide, an additive used to produce white color in the films, catalyzed the photodegradation, while carbon black used for black color stabilized the photodegradation. The white films started to degrade after two weeks while it took about eight weeks for the black films to significantly degrade. The black biodegradable film seems to be a more promising alternative as a mulch film because of the comparable yields and weed suppression ability to conventional mulch film.

Assessment of aliphatic-aromatic copolyester biodegradable mulch films. Part II: Laboratory simulated conditions

In a previous paper, we demonstrated that the main mechanism of degradation of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) biodegradable mulch films when exposed to field conditions was crosslinking due to the photodegradation from solar radiation. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of crosslinking on the biodegradability of PBAT samples. PBAT films were subjected to UV photodegradation in laboratory simulated conditions to investigate the effects of crosslinking and other major changes in the structure and mechanical properties of the films. Crosslinking caused the films to become more brittle and produced a reduction of the tensile strength and percent elongation. Besides the crosslinking degradation mechanism, chain scission also occurred in the samples. After 45d of biodegradation test, the non-crosslinked PBAT sample reached 60% of mineralization. However, the percent mineralization was reduced when samples were crosslinked. The percent mineralization of samples with 10%, 30%, 50%, and 70% gel content was 36%, 43%, 21%, and 24%, respectively. Our results indicate that crosslinking is a key process underlying the degradation of the PBAT film and did affect the biodegradability of the films, since the samples with greater amount of gel content generally showed less percent mineralization in the biodegradation tests.

Seeking attention: an eye tracking study of in-store merchandise displays

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role that visual measures of attention to product and information and price display signage have on purchase intention. The authors assessed the effect of visual attention to the product, information or price sign on purchase intention, as measured by likelihood to buy. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used eye-tracking technology to collect data from Australian and US garden centre customers, who viewed eight plant displays in which the signs had been altered to show either price or supplemental information (16 images total). The authors compared the role of visual attention to price and information sign, and the role of visual attention to the product when either sign was present on likelihood to buy. Findings – Overall, providing product information on a sign without price elicited higher likelihood to buy than providing a sign with price. The authors found a positive relationship between visual attention to price on the display sign and ...

Formulation effects on isoxaben and trifluralin in runoff water from container plant nurseries

Abstract Sprayable and granular formulations of isoxaben and trifluralin were applied to container plant nursery beds to determine formulation effects on herbicide runoff and weed control. In 1998 herbicide application was followed by 0.8 cm of irrigation delivered in 60 min, and runoff water samples were collected on the day of application (DOA). The highest concentrations of isoxaben and trifluralin detected in runoff water were 0.50 and 0.15 μg ml−1, respectively. Total isoxaben in runoff water was greater from the granular than from the sprayable formulation, but no differences attributable to formulation were detected for trifluralin. In 1999 herbicide application was followed by irrigation applied in three pulse cycles of 30 min each (0.8 cm per cycle). Runoff water samples were collected daily through 2 d after herbicide application (DAA). The highest herbicide concentrations were found in the first runoff sample on the DOA. Isoxaben was detected at 1.6 μg ml−1 from both formulations, and trifluralin concentrations were 0.8 and 0.2 μg ml−1 from the sprayable and granular formulations, respectively. Isoxaben concentrations were similar between formulations on the DOA, higher from the granular formulation 1 DAA, and higher in five of the nine runoff samples 2 DAA. Trifluralin concentrations were higher from the sprayable formulation for the first pulse cycle on the DOA and higher from the granular formulation in three of the nine samples 1 DAA and in four samples 2 DAA. The total amount of isoxaben recovered was 9.1% of applied from the granular formulation and 7.3% of applied from the spray formulation. The total amounts of trifluralin found were similar among formulations (0.5% of applied). Weed control was effective for both formulations in both years. Nomenclature: Isoxaben; trifluralin.

Conducting field research in retail stores: A meandering path to a successful research project

This case study follows the sometimes meandering path of a team of international academics conducting field research in retail stores. Field studies in retail stores are rare because the potential for disruption to trade is generally not tolerated by retailers nor are the benefits to the retail industry well understood. Research into retail, marketing, product testing, advertising and promotion, therefore, is most commonly undertaken externally via focus groups and panels, exit interviews, analysis of scanner and point of sale data, observation, and laboratories with simulated shopping and surveys. Here, we record the experience of conducting field research to assess consumers’ perception of merchandise displays, using eye tracking technology. Applying concepts from sociology and anthropology, we explain and analyse the pathways, obstacles, facilitators and supporters that we encountered on our way to completing successful field experiments in retail garden centres. Commencing with a review of field studies in retail stores, we walk through the phases of the project, including the reflections of team members. We conclude with a discussion of the findings and the implications for other academics wishing to undertake studies in retail stores.

Water Use and Treatment in Container-Grown Specialty Crop Production: A Review

While governments and individuals strive to maintain the availability of high-quality water resources, many factors can “change the landscape” of water availability and quality, including drought, climate change, saltwater intrusion, aquifer depletion, population increases, and policy changes. Specialty crop producers, including nursery and greenhouse container operations, rely heavily on available high-quality water from surface and groundwater sources for crop production. Ideally, these growers should focus on increasing water application efficiency through proper construction and maintenance of irrigation systems, and timing of irrigation to minimize water and sediment runoff, which serve as the transport mechanism for agrichemical inputs and pathogens. Rainfall and irrigation runoff from specialty crop operations can contribute to impairment of groundwater and surface water resources both on-farm and into the surrounding environment. This review focuses on multiple facets of water use, reuse, and runoff in nursery and greenhouse production including current and future regulations, typical water contaminants in production runoff and available remediation technologies, and minimizing water loss and runoff (both on-site and off-site). Water filtration and treatment for the removal of sediment, pathogens, and agrichemicals are discussed, highlighting not only existing understanding but also knowledge gaps. Container-grown crop producers can either adopt research-based best management practices proactively to minimize the economic and environmental risk of limited access to high-quality water, be required to change by external factors such as regulations and fines, or adapt production practices over time as a result of changing climate conditions.

Influence of pine bark and gravel on degradation of isoxaben in retention basins

Abstract Herbicides applied to container plants in nurseries are transported in runoff water to on- and off-site ponds and retention basins. This study was conducted to determine biotic and abiotic effects on isoxaben dissipation in model flow-through retention basins to maximize aqueous isoxaben degradation. Field studies were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to evaluate the effects of gravel and pine bark amendments and water retention times on isoxaben persistence in holding basins. In 1999, total isoxaben discharge into flow-through gravel-filled basins was greater than isoxaben losses from gravel and nongravel basins in which water was retained. Photodegradation appeared to be greater in basins without gravel, indicating that gravel protected isoxaben from photolysis. Further studies determined the effect of water retention time and the presence of aged pine bark amendment on isoxaben discharge from basins. Isoxaben discharge level was reduced when water retention time was increased from 3 to 5 d. In the 3-d retention time treatment, added pine bark reduced peak isoxaben discharge by 45% and total isoxaben by 53% at 14 d after treatment. In treatments containing pine bark within the retention basins, isoxaben was released over a longer period of time. No differences were observed in 5-d water retention time treatments with and without pine bark. Analysis of gravel from isoxaben-treated retention basins indicated the presence of several genera of bacteria including Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, and Cellulomonas. Some isolates of Pseudomonas, Rahnella, Methobacterium, and Paenibacillus from the basins grew on M9 medium with isoxaben as the sole carbon and energy source, indicating their ability to metabolize isoxaben. Results indicate that retention basins are helpful in reducing isoxaben levels before release or reuse of runoff water from a container nursery, and that retention time of runoff water in basins is the most important factor in reducing isoxaben discharge. Nomenclature: Isoxaben.

Consumer Perceptions of Landscape Plant Production Water Sources and Uses in the Landscape during Perceived and Real Drought

Water is becoming scarcer as world population increases and will be allocated among competing uses. Some of that water will go toward sustaining human life, but some will be needed to install and support landscape plants. Thus, future water resource availability may literally change the American landscape. Recent research suggests that consumers’ attitudes and behavior toward potable water supplies have changed in other countries because of greater social awareness and increasingly widespread exposure to drought conditions. We conducted an online survey of 1543 U.S. consumers to assess their perceptions about landscape plants, the water source used to produce them, and plant water needs to become established in the landscape. Using two separate conjoint designs, we assessed their perceptions of both herbaceous and woody perennials. Consumers placed greater relative importance on water source in production over water use in the landscape for both herbaceous and woody perennials included in this study. They preferred (had a higher utility score for) fresh water over recycled water and least preferred a blend of fresh with recycled water for perennials and recycled water used for woody perennial production. In addition, the group that did not perceive a drought but experienced one placed a higher value (higher utility score) on nursery plants grown with fresh water compared with those which were actually not in drought and did not perceive one. Educational and promotional efforts may improve the perception of recycled water to increase the utility of that resource. Promoting the benefits of low water use plants in the landscape may also facilitate plant sales in times of adequate and low water periods.

Consumer perceptions, attitudes, and purchase behavior with landscape plants during real and perceived drought periods

In the coming decades, no natural resource may prove to be more critical to human health and well-being than water. There is abundant evidence that the condition of water resources in many parts of the United States is deteriorating. In some regions of the country, the availability of sufficient water to meet growing domestic uses, and the future sufficiency of water to support the use of landscape plants where we live, work, and play is in doubt. Conservation throughwater efficiencymeasures and watermanagement practices may be the best way to help resolve water problems. Yet, consumer perceptions and attitudes and behavior toward water conservation may differ widely, particularly in the presence of drought. This study sought to add to the current horticulture and water conservation literature by exploring consumer attitudes and behavior during real and perceived drought situations, especially in terms of their landscape purchases and gardening/landscaping activities. Study findings could better inform educational programs and marketing strategies, helping to ensure the future demand of Green Industry products and services. With a national sample of 1543 subjects, an online survey tool was used to classify respondents into categories based on whether they accurately perceived if the region in which they lived was experiencing drought. We hypothesized that consumers were heterogeneous in their attitudes and behavior regarding plants and water conservation, depending on their real and perceived drought situations, and that their attitudes affected their behavior regarding plant purchases. Results confirmed this hypothesis. Attitudes and behaviors for those who correctly perceived they were in drought were different from those who correctly perceived they were not in drought, as well as those who incorrectly did not perceive they were in an actual drought. Water is essential for all life, including plants, and 40% to 70% of U.S. water is used in urban areas (Spinti et al., 2004; St. Hilaire et al., 2008). Springer (2011) reported that the average U.S. household used 69 gallons of water per capita daily in 2006. Globally, nearly 40% of food resources come from irrigated land (Somerville and Briscoe, 2001). Water resources will become scarcer as the world population increases (Springer, 2011), which will have an impact on how and where we use water. If consumer attitudes and behaviors severely reduce or eliminate landscapewater use, it will have awidespread and detrimental effect on the Green Industry. The current climate is ideal to discover the role of consumer attitudes and perceptions of water use and source with regard to landscape plants. These discoveries can be used to better inform educational and marketing efforts to help sustain the green industry during drought periods. Household water usage in the United States is greatly affected by water shortages. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates domestic water usage every 5 years. In 2010 (last survey administered), the total freshwater withdrawals were estimated to be 355 billion gallons per day, which represented 86% of total withdrawals (Maupin et al., 2014). More than 42,000 million gallons of water per day is drawn for public water usage for 286 million people. Public water is any water drawn for domestic, commercial, and industrial needs. Of public water, domestic water usage represents 57% and is classified as all water used for nonagricultural or industrial purposes excluding all water not used in households. Sixty-three percentage of the water drawn for public supply was from surface sources, such as rivers and lakes, whereas 37% was from groundwater. The Columbia Water Project (Alfredo, 2016) brings to light much of the groundwater deficit the United States is experiencing. In the states of Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and parts of Texas, Michigan, and Wisconsin, there is a Normalized Deficit Cumulated (NDC) > 5. NDC is the maximum cumulative water deficit between supply and demand as a ratio to its average annual precipitation (Alfredo, 2016). The NDC is important because it shows the level of replenishment of groundwater resources vs. annual withdrawal. Groundwater removal is increasing in states that have high multiyear drought such as Arizona, California, and Texas. In those areas, groundwater levels are falling. Recent work indicates that attitudes and behavior toward potable water supplies have changed somewhat because of greater social awareness and increasingly widespread exposure to drought conditions (Beal et al., 2013). Education about and adoption of sustainable water use practices will ensure an adequate supply of quality landscape water while conserving water sources for human and ecosystem services (Beal et al., 2013). It is important to analyze consumer perceptions of water scarcity vs. actual water scarcity because past literature has shown that there is a deficit in homeowner knowledge concerning their actual water usage. Perceptions may, and often do, differ from reality and should be analyzed separately. By stepping into the dialogue with more evidence of behavioral differences among those who perceive to be in drought, and those who do not, we can contribute valuable insight to educators and marketers to reach consumers before, and during, drought. Reaching Received for publication 7 Sept. 2017. Accepted for publication 13 Nov. 2017. Funding for this study was provided by USDA SCRI Clean WateR—Reduce, Remediate, Recycle Grant Number 2014-51181-22372; USDA NIFA Hatch Projects MICL 02085, MICL 1011569, and TEX0-1-7051; Michigan State University AgBioResearch, and MSU Project GREEN and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Doctoral Student. Professor. Professor and Ellison Chair. Corresponding author. E-mail: behe@msu.edu. HORTSCIENCE VOL. 53(1) JANUARY 2018 49 MARKETING AND ECONOMICS

Can You Read the Sign? Consumers’ Utilization of Water Use Information and Price as Sign Cues

The purpose of our study was to employ a retail garden center context and the use of eye-tracking technology to analyze the relationship between attention to signage information cues and likelihood to buy (LTB) garden center products. We examined the influence of conservation effort and location (drought vs. non-drought) on this relationship. We hypothesized that consumers who exert more effort to conserve water on their lawn and outdoor landscape plants will (a) be more likely to purchase plants grown under water-saving practices, (b) attend to water-saving information faster, (c) look more often at, (d) have a longer first look and (e) spend more time viewing the information about water-saving practices on a point-of-purchase sign than consumers who exert less effort to conserve water. Participants from drought-prone regions (FL, TX) will (a) be more likely to purchase plants grown under water-saving practices, (b) attend to water-saving information faster, (c) look more often at (higher fixation counts), (d) have a longer first look and (e) spend more time viewing the information about water-saving practices on a point-of-purchase sign than consumers from less drought-prone areas.