Controlled Environment Plant Physiology and Technology Lab - Kubota Lab

Here is our most recent paper published in HortScience. Work was done by Dan Gillespie and Gio Papio.

Acidic nutrient solution used in hydroponic systems can be a low cost way to inhibit waterborne disease but results in decreased nutrient uptake in spinach. Researchers at Ohio State are working to optimize the nutrient content of the formula.

In HortScience http://ow.ly/J9oM50F5L4X

TEST YOUR FLOWER ANATOMY SKILLS

A: PETAL. Most flowers of most varieties have 5 or 6 petals per flower. Together the petals form the COROLLA. The petals help to attract pollinators.
B: STAMEN. This is the male part of the flower comprised of he ANTHER and FILAMENT (see C and D).
C: ANTHER. Pollen is produced and shed here and travels a short distance to the PISTIL.
D: FILAMENT. The stalk which bears the anther.
E: RECEPTACLE. This will become the “fruit” we eat. It’s covered with PISTILS which look like tiny fingers.
F: PISTIL. This is the female part of the flower comprised of the STIGMA, STYLE and O***Y. It receives the pollen which germinates at the tip/STIGMA and sends a germ tube down the STYLE to fertilize the O***Y at the base of the pistil. The o***y becomes one of the seeds/achenes which pock the surface of the “fruit.”

Strawberry flowers are "perfect" or "self-fertile" and just a little vibration is all that is needed to move the pollen from the anthers to the stigma; no bees are necessary in outdoor environments.