Effect of plant nutrition, time and method of harvesting on seed yield and quality of wrinkled and smooth-seeded pea (Pisum sativum L.) varieties : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Plant Science (Seed Technology) at Massey University

Effects of nitrogen(N), phosphorus(P) and time and method of harvesting on seed yield and quality were examined for smooth(Maple) and wrinkled(Pania)-seeded pea cultivars. These cultivars were grown under field conditions, and at different rates of N(0, 100 and 200 kg N/ha) and P(0 and 250 kg superphosphate/ha). Seed was harvested at 3 different times(35%, 25% and 15%SMC), and shelled either by hand or by a combine-harvester(at 1,350rpm). For hand-shelling, 120 plants were sampled from each plot of which 40 plants were used to determine the number of pods/plant, seeds/pod and 1000-seed weight, and subsequently used to determine seed quality i.e. Standard Germination, Accelerated Aging, Conductivity and incidence of Hollow Heart. The remaining 80 plants from each plot were used for separation into bottom, middle and top pods and subsequently used to determine 1000-seed weight, seed germination, conductivity and the incidence of hollow heart. For machine-threshing, 120 plants were sampled from each plot, threshed by combine-harvester and seed subsequently used to determine seed quality by 1000-seed weight, Standard Germination Test, Accelerated Aging, Conductivity Test and incidence of Hollow Heart. Samples from each plot, following machine-threshing, were also used to determine seed damage by visual observation and by the Ferric Chloride Test. Pea cv. Pania produced higher seed yield than cv. Maple in both hand-shelling and machine-threshing due to a much higher numbers of seeds/pod(5.76 and 3.57 seeds/pod, respectively) and much lower mechanical damage(10.32% and 27.98%, respectively), but had a much lower capacity to produce seed of high vigour than cv. Maple. Application of nitrogen increased seed yield of both hand-shelled and machine-threshed seeds due to increased numbers of pods/plant, whereas yield was not directly affected by phosphorus addition. However, interaction between 100kg N/ha and 250 kg superphosphate/ha decreased seed weight. Application of nitrogen also increased seed vigour as expressed by increased seed germination percentage after accelerated aging, decreased hollow heart incidence and decreased conductivity value, particularly in cv.Pania. Application of phosphorus had only a small effect on seed vigour compared with that of nitrogen. Neither seed germination percentage nor mechanical damage was affected by application of nitrogen or phosphorus. Hand-shelling at different seed moisture contents did not affect seed germination percentage or conductivity value of either cultivar, but delaying the harvest(at the lower seed moisture content) decreased seed vigour in cv. Pania, as expressed by decreased seed germination percentage after accelerated ageing and increased hollow heart incidence. Machine-threshing at different seed moisture contents resulted in different degrees of seed damage, and decreased seed vigour in both cultivars. The most severe damage in cv. Maple occurred when machine-threshed at 15%SMC, whereas in cv. Pania it occurred at 35%SMC. Least damage occurred at 35% and 25%SMC in cv. Maple and cv. Pania, respectively. Unlike hand-shelling, machine-threshing at lower seed moisture content resulted in higher seed vigour in both cultivars, suggesting that bruising which occurs mainly at the high seed moisture content is more harmful than splitting which mainly occurs at the low seed moisture content threshing, in terms of decreasing seed vigour. The top pods on pea plants produced seeds with lower seed weight in both cultivars, with higher hollow heart incidence in cv. Pania and with higher conductivity value in cv. Maple, than middle and bottom pods. Application of 200 kg N/ha and 250 kg superphosphate/ha improved vigour of seed from different pod positions to a similar and high level

Regional variation in the annual feeding cycle of juvenile walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in the western Gulf of Alaska

Juvenile fish in temperate coastal oceans exhibit an annual cycle of feeding, and within this cycle, poor wintertime feeding can reduce body growth, condition, and perhaps survival, especially in food-poor areas. We examined the stomach contents of juvenile walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) to explain previously observed seasonal and regional variation in juvenile body condition. Juvenile walleye pollock (1732 fish, 37–250 mm standard length) of the 2000 year class were collected from three regions in the Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak, Semidi, and Shumagin) representing an area of the continental shelf of ca. 100,000 km2 during four seasons (August 2000 to September 2001). Mean stomach content weight (SCW, 0.72% somatic body weight) decreased with fish body length except from winter to summer 2001. Euphausiids composed 61% of SCW and were the main determinant of seasonal change in the diets of fish in the Kodiak and Semidi regions. Before and during winter, SCW and the euphausiid dietary component were highest in the Kodiak region. Bioenergetics modeling indicated a relatively high growth rate for Kodiak juveniles during winter (0.33 mm standard length/d). After winter, Shumagin juveniles had relatively high SCW and, unlike the Kodiak and Semidi juveniles, exhibited no reduction in the euphausiid dietary component. These patterns explain previous seasonal and regional differences in body condition. We hypothesize that high-quality feeding locations (and perhaps nursery areas) shift seasonally in response to the availability of euphausii

UNDERSTANDING LOCAL PRODUCE SOURCING BY RESTAURATEURS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

As of 2017, Americans are spending more per year on eating out at restaurants and bars than on grocery shopping (Baer, 2016). While restaurateurs have a substantial amount of influence over what foods are served and ultimately consumed by their patrons, they have received little attention as target populations for understanding or changing behavior. Health interventions taking place in restaurants have focused on changing restaurant patron behavior rather than changing the behavior of the restaurateur, the individual who owns and or operates the restaurant. Industrialization of food has been associated with a loss of biodiversity, environmental pollution, erosion, and over-use of fossil fuels. Conversely, local food systems are geographically localized, with consequently shorter distances between food production (i.e,. a farm or ranch) and consumption (i.e., restaurant food). Geographic localization has been associated with reduced nutrient degradation between harvesting and consumption, a lower environmental impact of both growing and transporting goods, and last but not least the potential to vitalize local economies through transactional exchanges with producers, such as local farmers (Christensen & O\u27Sulivan, 2015). In 2007, the term locavore first appeared in the Oxford dictionary to describe one who consumes locally sourced goods such as those provided by local farmers (Shin, 2005). This dissertation was intended to add to literature on the role of locavores in addressing national and global food concerns , in particular, by examining locavore restaurateurs as agents of change in the movement of locally produced goods across a community. Increasingly more restaurants advertise supporting farmers and their communities as primary goals. This dissertation was guided by the assumption that this sub-culture of locavore chefs and restaurateurs is playing a critical role in addressing the individual and social concerns associated with a global industrialized food system. This dissertation comprised three manuscripts, each contributing to the overall goal of this project to understand the determinants and features of restaurateur sourcing of local produce. In the first manuscript, we identified differences in sociodemographics, beliefs, and behaviors between restaurateurs who sourced produce directly from farmers (termed short food supply chain users) compared to those who did not have direct relationships with local farmers (termed long food supply chain users) in order to detect whether a specific set of characteristics, or restaurateur profile, was associated with sourcing directly from farmers. Importantly, we also evaluated the effectiveness of direct sourcing from local farmers by examining how it ultimately predicted overall level of local produce sourcing by restaurateurs. In the second manuscript, we utilized constructs from Social Network Theory to explore how competition and collaboration among restaurateurs were associated with local produce sourcing. Specifically, we compared indices of restaurateur influence based on collaboration and competition (measured by the social network constructs of prominence and position) and then assessed their joint and separate effects on local produce sourcing using ordinal logistic regression to gain insights into how restaurateurs interact with one another in ways that can hinder or promote local sourcing. The last manuscript examined the role of local food distributors or middlepersons in brokering the relationships between farmers and restaurateurs. Specifically, we looked at how having relationships with distributors influenced the interconnectedness of farm and restaurant network members. In the last study, we recognized the likely role that group cohesion played in the flow of goods from farmer to restaurateur and explored whether distributors reinforced or compromised group cohesion. The specific research questions addressed were: How do short food supply chain users compare to those who only use long food supply chains? (Manuscript 1). What are the individual and network-level determinants of local sourcing? (Manuscripts 1 and 2). Lastly, how does participating in brokered relationships influence group cohesion and collective action of the network (Manuscript 3)? The locavore movement was the focus of this dissertation, but is just one example of how restaurateurs can act as proponents, even leaders, for missions embraced by the communities in which they are situated. This dissertation aimed to understand determinants and features of local produce sourcing among “locavore” restaurateurs in Houston, Texas

Trying to keep nature the same is a fool’s errand – we should embrace change

First paragraph: When it comes to deciding which plants and animals to protect and which to remove, our approach might make even the most forthright nationalist blush if it were ever applied to people. The central question in the UK and many other countries is whether a particular species is native or non-native

Approaching trans debates as fascistic sites of engagement.

For the past decade, trans rights issues have been a legal topic of discussion and are still discussed publicly in 2021. This thesis researched how arguments surrounding anti-trans issues were successful in the United States. The arguments surrounding these issues are important to study to see how they pass within society and if traditional rules of argumentation are changing. This thesis proposes that traditional dialectical argument is no longer occurring and has taken a post-dialectical turn. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the kinds of arguments used in these issues and build the case that they are evidence of an emergent problematics for argumentation and rhetorical studies: fascistic argumentation. This thesis argues that specific ‘masks’ are used to facilitate fascistic argumentation in the public sphere undetecte