(Press-News.org) BATON ROUGE, LA—The ancient fig tree, first imported to the United States during the 16th century, thrives in areas of California and the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas of the U.S. One of the most popular trees grown in Southern backyards, fig is favored for its versatile fruit and low-maintenance production.
Charles E. Johnson, Ed O'Rourke, and James E. Boudreaux, from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge, introduced a new fig they named "Champagne" in a recent issue of HortScience. According to the report, the new fig performed well in grower trials and home orchards. It was selected for public release because of its superior fruiting characteristics. 'Champagne' produces a distinctive fruit when ripe, with a yellow exterior and a unique "gold to caramel" internal color. "This feature should present a marketing opportunity for local outlets", noted the authors.
'Champagne', previously unofficially named and propagated as 'Golden Celeste', was developed by the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station (LAES) to provide a productive, good-quality fruit that ripens during the traditional fig harvesting period (early July in Baton Rouge). The fruit of 'Champagne' is persistent and does not require pollination. 'Champagne' was found to be slightly more resistant to defoliation caused by the fig leaf rust and leaf spot than 'Celeste'.
The authors noted that one limitation is the tendency of the fruit of 'Champagne' to have a partially closed eye at maturity, which, under humid conditions, could increase the amount of fruit spoilage compared with 'Celeste'. "However, field notes did not denote a greater tendency for fruit spoilage than other cultivars. When the fruit is harvested at the proper stage for processing (firm ripe), this should not present a problem", the research concluded.
The LSU AgCenter does not have nursery trees of 'Champagne' available at this time, but limited quantities of dormant cuttings are available for research upon request.
INFORMATION:
The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS HortScience electronic journal web site: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/full/45/2/310
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
Introducing 'Champagne,' new disease-resistant fig
LSU breeding program produces new fig selection for home orchards
2010-09-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Food for thought, er, well ...
2010-09-22
Ever wonder why it's such an effort to forget about work while on vacation or to silence that annoying song that's playing over and over in your head?
Mathematicians at Case Western Reserve University may have part of the answer.
They've found that just as thinking burns energy, stopping a thought burns energy - like stopping a truck on a downhill slope.
"Maybe this explains why it is so tiring to relax and think about nothing," said Daniela Calvetti, professor of mathematics, and one of the authors of a new brain study. Their work is published in an advanced online ...
NASA study shows desert dust cuts Colorado River flow
2010-09-22
Snowmelt in the Colorado River basin is occurring earlier, reducing runoff and the amount of crucial water available downstream. A new study shows this is due to increased dust caused by human activities in the region during the past 150 years.
The study, led by a NASA scientist and funded by the agency and the National Science Foundation, showed peak spring runoff now comes three weeks earlier than before the region was settled and soils were disturbed. Annual runoff is lower by more than five percent on average compared to pre-settlement levels.
The findings have ...
Farm, forest lands being protected -- but not always for farming or forestry
2010-09-22
CORVALLIS, Ore. – More than 35 years after Oregon began one of the nation's most ambitious land use planning programs, a new study suggests it's still difficult to demonstrate that it has accomplished one of its primary goals – protecting agricultural lands and a thriving forest, farm and ranching industry.
There's some evidence that the laws have provided a "measurable degree of protection," scientists say in the report. However, there are also impacts that were little anticipated or considered four decades ago, such as the growth of "hobby farms" in which farming or ...
NASA-funded study shows desert dust cuts Colorado River flow
2010-09-22
Snowmelt in the Colorado River basin is occurring earlier, reducing runoff and the amount of crucial water available downstream. A new study shows this is due to increased dust caused by human activities in the region during the past 150 years.
The study, led by a NASA and UCLA scientist and funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), showed peak spring runoff now comes three weeks earlier than before the region was settled and soils were disturbed. Annual runoff is lower by more than 5 percent on average, compared with pre-settlement levels.
The findings ...
Vitamin D protects against obesity-induced endometrial cancer, GUMC researchers say
2010-09-22
Washington, DC – Findings from an animal study suggest that obese women can reduce their increased risk of endometrial disease if they take vitamin D supplements, say researchers at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The scientists report in Cancer Prevention Research published online today that 25 percent of obese mice fed a vitamin D supplemented diet developed endometrial cancer, while 67 percent of obese mice not treated with the vitamin developed cancer. They also report that vitamin D offered no protective effects for normal weight mice; whether ...
New fluorescence technique opens window to protein complexes in living cells
2010-09-22
Fluorescent microscopy makes use of molecules, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), that emit colored light when illuminated with light of a specific wavelength. Molecules like GFP can be used to label proteins of interest and can reveal information about the relationships of molecules within cells. Fluorescence polarization, also known as anisotropy, is specific parameter of fluorescence that can provide additional information about the properties of individual molecules.
Fluorescence anisotropy has been used to study isolated molecules. Now, a recent study describes ...
The Achilles' heel of tendons
2010-09-22
Tendons are the body's marionette strings, connecting bones to muscles that raise an eyebrow or propel us into a full run.
That is, until an unusually forceful or awkward pull on the strings leaves us with a sprain, strain or tear. Surgeons attempt to repair over 300,000 of these injuries every year, and doctors visits for sore tendons run into the millions.
Using a combination of nanoscience and biomedical and civil engineering to explore tendon structure from atoms on up, researchers have unraveled part of the mystery behind why we have problems with our tendons.
A ...
Stroke gene discovered
2010-09-22
A Dutch-German medical research team led by Harald Schmidt from Maastricht University, Netherlands, and Christoph Kleinschnitz, University of Würzburg, Germany, has discovered that an enzyme is responsible for the death of nerve cells after a stroke. The enzyme NOX4 produces hydrogen peroxide, a caustic molecule also used in bleaching agents. Inhibition of NOX4 by an experimental new drug in mice with stroke dramatically reduces brain damage and preserves brain functions, even when given hours after the stroke. These findings will be published next week in the online, open ...
CRP genetic variants crucial in interpreting inflammatory disease activity
2010-09-22
CRP is commonly used as a serum marker for inflammation or infection, but the genetic effects of CRP variants on acute-phase serum CRP concentrations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis may be large enough to have a clinically relevant impact on the assessment of inflammatory disease activity, which in turn may influence therapeutic decision making. Furthermore, failure to take into account the potential for genetic effects may result in the inappropriate reassurance or under-treatment of patients simply because they carry low-CRP associated genetic variants. These are ...
Community health workers can effectively manage children with malaria and pneumonia
2010-09-22
Community Health Workers can safely and effectively provide integrated management of pneumonia and malaria to communities by dispensing amoxicillin to children with non-severe pneumonia and artemether-lumefantrine to children with malaria (after using rapid diagnostic tests). Furthermore, these activities result in a significant increase in the proportion of appropriately-timed antibiotic treatment for non-severe pneumonia and in a significant decrease in inappropriate use of antimalarials. These are the results from a study by Kojo Yeboah-Antwi from the Boston School ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases
Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)
NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer
Introducing our new cohort of AGA Future Leaders
Sharks are dying at alarming rates, mostly due to fishing. Retention bans may help
Engineering excellence: Engineers with ONR ties elected to renowned scientific academy
New CRISPR-based diagnostic test detects pathogens in blood without amplification
Immunotherapy may boost KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer
Growing solar: Optimizing agrivoltaic systems for crops and clean energy
Scientists discover how to reactivate cancer’s molecular “kill switch”
YouTube influencers: gaming’s best friend or worst enemy?
uOttawa scientists use light to unlock secret of atoms
NJIT mathematician to help map Earth's last frontier with Navy grant
NASA atmospheric wave-studying mission releases data from first 3,000 orbits
‘Microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth
Smoke from wildland-urban interface fires more deadly than remote wildfires
What’s your body really worth? New AI model reveals your true biological age from 5 drops of blood
Protein accidentally lassos itself, helping explain unusual refolding behavior
With bird flu in raw milk, many in U.S. still do not know risks of consuming it
University of Minnesota research team awarded $3.8 million grant to develop cell therapy to combat Alzheimer’s disease
UConn uncovers new clue on what is leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS
Resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest – it’s how quickly it is done, rather than who does it
A closer look at biomolecular ‘silly putty’
Oxytocin system of breastfeeding affected in mothers with postnatal depression
Liquid metal-enabled synergetic cooling and charging: a leap forward for electric vehicles
Defensive firearm use is far less common than exposure to gun violence
Lifetime and past-year defensive gun use
Lifetime health effects and cost-effectiveness of tirzepatide and semaglutide in US adults
New members of the CDKL family of genes linked to neurodevelopmental disorders
Advancements in organ preservation: paving the way for better transplantation outcomes
[Press-News.org] Introducing 'Champagne,' new disease-resistant figLSU breeding program produces new fig selection for home orchards