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The inclusion of a smother crop used as a cash crop in an intercropping system may be an effective cultural control strategy for the management of weeds in organic production systems. In addition, a multilayered canopy created when intercropping species with different growth forms may limit germination cues for weed seeds and can allow for a more efficient utilization of resources that reduce competition to target crops from weeds. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) was evaluated for its ability to reduce weeds in a low-input organic system in Texas when planted alone or in various intercropping combinations that also included peanut (Arachis hypogaea), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and hot pepper (Capsicum annuum). Watermelon significantly reduced total weed biomass when planted in monoculture and in all intercropping combinations compared with peanut, okra, cowpea, and pepper monocultures in year 1 of the 2-year study. Total weed biomass was reduced by 81%, 83%, 88%, and 92% in treatments containing watermelon on average as compared with pepper, peanut, okra, and cowpea grown in monoculture, respectively. Less effective weed suppression was obtained with watermelon in year 2. Pepper grown in monoculture had significantly higher weed biomass than all other treatments in year 2. Broadleaf weeds were effectively suppressed across all intercropping treatments in year 1, but nutsedges (Cyperus sp.) were consistently reduced both years, particularly when compared with monocrops with small leaf area such as pepper. The three and four species intercropping combinations consistently had high leaf area index (LAI) values, whereas pepper monoculture had significantly lower LAI values than all other treatments except for cowpea monoculture. There was a significant negative relationship between LAI and total weed biomass 33 d after last planting (r = −0.51, P < 0.01). There was a significant negative relationship between total weed biomass and total fruit yield in year 1 (r = −0.64, P < 0.01) but no significant relationship in year 2. Although findings were inconsistent in year 2 because of changes in precipitation amounts and in relative planting dates, these findings suggest that incorporating a multifunctional intercropping system that includes a low-growing vining crop such as watermelon or at least an architecturally complex mixture can optimize canopy density to reduce weed pressure from resilient perennial weeds such as nutsedge. This may offer organic producers another management tool for the control of perennial weeds.

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of water stress on leaf water potential, plant growth, and photosynthesis in purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). Twenty 4-L pots with two plants in each pot were arranged in a completely randomized design. Ten pots received a daily irrigation dose of 100% evapotranspiration (ET) throughout the 43-day experiment (control). The other 10 pots were subjected to a reduced irrigation (RI) treatment, which was implemented stepwise to achieve a gradual increase in stress, by irrigating them with 50% ET first, then with 25% ET and, finally, with 10% ET. The last stress phase was followed by a recovery phase in which all treatments received the same amount of water (100% ET). A lower water potential was obtained at 10% ET compared with control plants (−2.51 and −0.98 MPa, respectively). Plants in both 25% and 10% ET irrigation treatments had reduced net CO2 assimilation rates (4.25 and 3.50 μmol·m−2·s−1, respectively) than plants watered with 100% ET (8.53 and 6.77 μmol·m−2·s−1, respectively). Values of maximum carboxylation rate allowed by rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase), calculated 31 days after treatment (DAT) application (when RI plants were irrigated with 10% ET) decreased by ≈60%, whereas rate of photosynthetic electron transport and triose phosphate use (TPU) were reduced by ≈30% and ≈45% in the stress treatment compared with the control during the 10% ET irrigation period, respectively. Values of water potential and net CO2 assimilation rates in previously stressed plants were not different from the control treatment in the recovery phase, suggesting that P. incarnata plants could adapt well to landscaping situations where periods of extreme drought can be expected.

After an outbreak of blotch leafminer (Cameraria caryaefoliella) on field-grown pecan (Carya illinoinensis) trees in 2010, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the consequences of the injury on carbon assimilation and photosynthetic efficiency, and, in particular, to assess if low-to-moderate injury induces a compensatory increase in photosynthesis. Gas exchange and light-adapted fluorescence were measured on non-injured portions of the leaflet lamina adjacent to the injured area as well as on portions of leaflets that included leafminer injury. Results indicate that damage of the photosynthetic apparatus did not extend beyond the injured areas by leafminers. Furthermore, although a strong relationship between the proportion of leafminer injury and area-based net CO2 assimilation rate of injured leaflet tissue was found, there was no evidence that pecan leaves were able to compensate for leafminer injury by upregulating CO2 assimilation in leaflet tissue that was unaffected.

Planting depth during container production may influence plant growth, establishment, and subsequent landscape value. A lack of knowledge about the effects of common transplanting practices may lead to suboptimal performance of planted landscape trees. Planting depth, i.e., location of the root collar relative to soil grade, is of particular concern for posttransplant tree growth both when transplanted to larger containers during production and after transplanting into the landscape. It is unknown whether negative effects of poor planting practices are compounded during the production phases and affect subsequent landscape establishment. This study investigated effects of planting depth during two successive phases of container production (10.8 L and 36.6 L) and eventual landscape establishment using lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia Jacq.). Tree growth was greater when planted at grade during the initial container (10.8 L) production phase and was reduced when planted 5 cm below grade. In the second container production phase (36.6 L), trees planted above grade had reduced growth compared with trees planted at grade or below grade. For landscape establishment, transplanting at grade to slightly below or above grade produced trees with greater height on average when compared with planting below grade or substantially above grade, whereas there was no effect on trunk diameter. Correlations between initial growth and final growth in the field suggested that substantial deviations of the original root to shoot transition from at-grade planting was more of a factor in initial establishment of lacebark elm than the up-canning practices associated with planting depth during container production.