Managing Seedling Emergence of Cuphea in Iowa

Cuphea, a western hemisphere genus of some 260 species, has been proposed as a domestic source of medium-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids are used primarily in soap and detergent manufacture and are presently extracted from imported tropical oils or from petroleum. Considerable difficulty in obtaining consistent plant stands with direct seeding has been experienced at two Iowa locations. Trials were initiated in 1987 and continued through 1994 to test various treatments upon seedling emergence of C. laminuligera Koehne, C lanceolata Ait., and hybrid C. viscosissima Jacq. X C. lanceolata. These treatments included planting depths from 1.3 to 6.4 cm, seeing rates of 1.5 to 10 kg ha-1, and soil packing or not. Emerged seedlings from pure live seed planted remained less than 60% with all treatments. Increased seeding depth decreased seedling emergence from 29% to 0. Increased seeding-rate increased the number of emerged seedlings, but significant increases were dependent upon the year. Soil packing significantly increased the number of emerged seedlings in 1994 by 14%. Heavy rainfall immediately after planting caused severe stand-losses in 1989, 1991, and 1993. Additional research on seedling emergence under differing conditions would be necessary prior to commercial planting of Cuphea in Iowa

‘Starfire’ Cuphea Hybrid

‘Starfire’ is a sterile hybrid of Cuphea ignea A. DC. xC. angustifolia Jacq. ex Koehne and is intended as a pot plant for greenhouse or home (Fig. 1). ‘Starfire’ is the first reported hybrid between these two species (Thompson et al., 1989) and has unique flower and foliage characteristics

Cool Season Grass Variety Comparisons in Harding County

The purpose of the plant nursery trial in northwestern South Dakota was to (1) proivde information for landowners on planting a special use pasture for grazing or hay production; (2) assimilate long term comparative yield and longevity data to support seeding recommendations; and (3) provide a visual comparison of sufficient size plantings for area residents, agency technicians, and others to observe growth and survival characteristics of various grasses

Germplasm Resources at the North Central Plant Introduction Station

History The introduction of potentially useful plant species into the United States dates back to the early 19th century when embassies were asked to collect and import these materials.A more organized effort was established when the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction was formed in 1898 within the USDA. No provisions were made, however, to store these materials adequately and much was lost (Wilson et al. 1985)