Lilacs are a group of ornamental trees and shrubs in the Oleaceae family consisting of 22 to 30 species. There are six series within genus Syringa: Pubescentes, Villosae, Ligustrae, Ligustrina, Pinnatifoliae, and Syringa. Fertility and cross-compatibility among cultivars, species, and series have yet to be formally investigated. Over three years,...
Native populations of forest trees are specifically adapted to the climates they inhabit. The farther trees are moved from their local climates (i.e., as the climatic transfer distance increases), the more growth and survival tend to decrease. The transfer limit is the climatic transfer distance beyond which plantation performance is...
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a widely distributed, ecologically important, and commercially valuable tree species in North America. However, climate change is expected to adversely impact Douglas-fir trees, and assisted migration may become necessary to lessen the effects of climate change. Because drought stress is one of the projected effects of...
Understanding complex traits is a fundamental challenge in plant genetics and a prerequisite for molecular breeding. Tools for trait dissection are markers, maps, and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is an application that integrates these tools. In this thesis research, a new sequence-based marker was evaluated, maps...
Estimates of nitrogen (N) available from long-term application of organic
amendments are required to balance N inputs with crop N requirements. Two studies
were conducted to (1) determine N mineralized from organic amendments (manures
and composts) during year 2 after application, and (2) compare plant-available N
(PAN) determined via in...
The purpose of this research was to develop tools and germplasm for the production of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) with high fruit phenolics without the use of genetic engineering. A candidate gene analysis was undertaken to identify genes regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in tomato fruit (Aft, Abg, atv, and Purple Smudge)....
Phytophthora ramorum is the causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD), which is an economically and environmentally important disease causing up to 80% mortality of tanoaks in Pacific Northwest coastal forests (LeBoldus et al., 2022). There are currently four clonal lineages in the United States and Europe, named North America...
Gaseous transport through soil in the presence of soil
microorganisms has been investigated. More recently, modeling of
gaseous transport in the unsaturated zone has been investigated.
However, the problem of mathematical model of oxygen and carbon
dioxide transport through soil, as affected by the climatic
conditions, the transport of soil...
Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba) is an oilseed crop with unique chemical characteristics. The ability to identify physiological maturity (PM) and harvest maturity HM of the crop would permit timely harvest of high quality seeds. However, changes of oil contents, fatty acid profile and glucosinolate contents, as well as seed quality during...