Three new ornamental dogwoods introduced
Cornus kousa cultivars 'Empire', 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet' and 'Red Steeple' are resistant to anthracnose, powdery mildew
2014-11-17
(Press-News.org) KNOXVILLE, TN -- In the nursery and landscape industries, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa), and their hybrids are the most popular and economically significant members of the genus Cornus. The deciduous trees are highly valued for their spring display of pink, red, or white bracts, brilliant red fall foliage, and exfoliating bark. In the United States alone, retail and wholesale sales of dogwoods account for more than $30 million dollars annually.
In the past, flowering dogwoods were severely affected by dogwood anthracnose and powdery mildew. A program initiated more than 20 years ago at the University of Tennessee resulted in the release of 'Appalachian Spring', the first flowering dogwood cultivar with resistance to dogwood anthracnose, and four powdery mildew resistant cultivars. "We have found that Cornus kousa is more tolerant to anthracnose and powdery mildew than Cornus florida," explained Phillip Wadl, lead author of report published in HortScience. "Hybrids between these two species are generally more vigorous than typical plants of either parent species, and have resistance or tolerance to dogwood anthracnose and powdery mildew."
Wadl and colleagues Mark Windham, Richard Evans, and Robert Trigiano evaluated 400 seedlings of C. kousa for disease resistance and traits such as color, degree of overlap, size of bracts, tree form, and bark and leaf characteristics. The scientists selected three cultivars they named 'Empire', 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet' and 'Red Steeple' for development and eventual release. 'Empire' is a brilliant, white-bracted kousa dogwood that has a columnar form and exfoliating bark. 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet' (patent pending) is a kousa dogwood with a spreading form that features a prolific fused bract display. 'Red Steeple' is a kousa dogwood that features a columnar-shaped canopy with red foliage that fades to green with high temperature and white bracts that have a red tint along the margins.
The authors noted that dogwood anthracnose and powdery mildew were not observed on any of these trees. Analyses showed that 'Empire', 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet', and 'Red Steeple' are genetically distinct from the 26 cultivars and unnamed accessions of Cornus kousa that are maintained in the University of Tennessee's kousa dogwood collection.
The program has applied for a plant patent for 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet'. A limited quantity of budwood has been distributed to wholesale nurseries in Tennessee and Japan, and selected nurseries have been identified to propagate the cultivars.
INFORMATION:
The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/49/9/1230.full
Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to advancing all facets of horticultural research, education, and application. More information at ashs.org
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2014-11-17
Cambridge, Mass. - November 17, 2014 - A vast majority of scientists believe that the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate and that human activity is almost certainly the dominant cause. But on the topics of response and mitigation, there is far less consensus.
One of the most controversial propositions for slowing the increase in temperatures here on Earth is to manipulate the atmosphere above. Specifically, some scientists believe it should be possible to offset the warming effect of greenhouses gases by reflecting more of the sun's energy back into space.
The ...
2014-11-17
This news release is available in German. The Malt1 protein carries out a variety of tasks in immune cells, known as lymphocytes. Among other things, it acts as an enzyme - specifically, a protease - that breaks down messenger substances and thus controls their quantity. Until now it was not known what role the specific protease function plays in the development of immune cells. Several years ago Prof. Jürgen Ruland and his team at TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar turned their attention to this question.
Blockade as a therapeutic approach
The scientists were ...
2014-11-17
COLUMBIA, MO -- Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) is native to much of the eastern United States and is highly valued for its nuts and timber. Black walnut fruit generally reach most of their size by mid-August and mature by late September or early October. The fruit are then harvested, hulled, and dried in-shell before cracking for commercial markets. Walnut growers use the term "ambers" to describe poorly filled, shriveled eastern black walnut kernels. These "ambered kernels" are not marketable, resulting in economic loss to commercial growers. Although researchers have ...
2014-11-17
University of Adelaide research has for the first time shown how much of a critical role the natural antioxidant selenium plays at the earliest stages of a woman's fertility.
The discovery has been made in joint research involving the University's School of Chemistry and Physics and the Robinson Research Institute.
For her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Adelaide, Melanie Ceko investigated the role and location of selenium in the ovary, and a specific protein that includes selenium. The results of her study show how important selenium is to the development of ...
2014-11-17
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Good news for savvy businesses: Customers who walk through your doors unhappy with another firm's service can be won back with simple gestures of goodwill.
Consider a dissatisfied airline passenger. A hotel can score loyalty points by providing the traveler a room upgrade or perhaps even a simple apology for the airline's failure, said Clay Voorhees, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University.
In a study published online in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Voorhees and fellow researchers refute past findings ...
2014-11-17
For nearly three decades, researchers have pondered the Hispanic Mortality Paradox -- why Hispanics in the U.S. tend to outlive non-Hispanic whites by several years, despite having, in general, lower income and educational attainment levels that are associated with shorter lives.
New research suggests that the Hispanic Mortality Paradox may be related to illness survival and recovery advantages. A study by researchers from the University of North Texas and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that Hispanics were hospitalized significantly fewer total ...
2014-11-17
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An international team of researchers including Jon Klein, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Merchant, Ph.D., of the University of Louisville has identified a protein that turns a person's immune system against itself in a form of kidney disease called membranous nephropathy (MN). The findings are published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
This is the second protein associated with MN and the development of an autoimmune response.
Through the identification of this second protein, a new blood test can be developed to diagnose this common form of ...
2014-11-17
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Most parents agree that all children in daycare centers should be vaccinated, and that daycare providers should be checking vaccine records every year, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
All states require vaccines for children who attend daycare, but those requirements may not include every vaccine from birth to age 5 years. As a result, some children still don't receive all recommended vaccines--leaving daycare providers and parents to decide how to handle the situation of a child ...
2014-11-17
Minneapolis, MN - November 16, 2014 - Researchers from Allina Health and the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation have presented on the results and implications of The Heart of New Ulm Project on heart disease risk factors at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Ill.
The Heart of New Ulm is a 10-year community intervention aimed at reducing the rate of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors in a rural community through interventions delivered through clinical, worksite, and broader community settings with goals of improving lifestyle ...
2014-11-17
A study by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) researchers finds that body mass index (BMI) plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients' ability to achieve a sustained remission. Looking at patients who had received an RA diagnosis within the past 12 months, investigators found that those who were significantly underweight or overweight/obese were the least likely to remain in remission.
The study, titled, "Very Low or High Body Mass Index Negatively Affects Patients' Ability to Achieve Sustained Remission in Early RA in a Multicenter Canadian Cohort," was presented ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Three new ornamental dogwoods introduced
Cornus kousa cultivars 'Empire', 'Pam's Mountain Bouquet' and 'Red Steeple' are resistant to anthracnose, powdery mildew
