Project Number: 5358-21000-042-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Mar 01, 2011
End Date: May 31, 2014

Objective:
Objective 1: Determine nutrient requirements to enhance product quality in woody perennial crops such as grapevine and rhododendron. Objective 2: Characterize the role of mycorrhizal taxonomic diversity and identify important root-mycorrhizal interactions in cropping systems. Objective 3: Enhance product quality by optimizing crop management practices that promote overall root function to satisfy nutrient requirements in woody perennial crops. Objective 4: Integrate new and existing small fruit cultivars into efficient, environmentally accepatble production systems.

Approach:
Determine the relationships between nutrient uptake, plant performance, and fruit quality of Pinor noir grapevines. Characterize the interactions between N use efficiency and plant quality and performance in container-grown nursery plants. Characterize the role of taxonomic and functional diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in grapevine cropping systems. Determine the interactions between plant resource allocation patterns, plant development, and production quality of geophyte nursery crops as affected by mycorrhizal fungi. Determine optimal methods for water application to improve efficiency of nutrient use and plant performance of grapevines and container-grown ericaceous plants. Characterize the influence of management practices on mycorrhizal fungi wthin winegrape and nursery crop production systems. Replacing 5358-12210-002-00D (02/2006). Replacing 5358-12210-003-00D (2/2011).