Vol.7 No.4 Fall 2003
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Volume 7, Number 4, Page 1 Fall 2003 Department of Environmental Horticulture • University of California, Davis GROWING Points Tony Kofranek To Be Inducted Into the California Floriculture Hall of Fame by Heiner Lieth, Chair, Dept. of Environmental Horticulture http://envhort.ucdavis.edu It is my pleasure to announce that Professor Emeritus Tony Kofranek, research information that is still in use today. He worked on photoperiodic con- one of our department’s founding members, is being inducted into the trol of a number of the ornamental crops California Floriculture Hall of Fame. As you may be aware, Tony has done including chrysanthemum and Majestic an immense amount for the floriculture industry and this is obviously a just daisies and pioneered the use of cyclical lighting which is used widely to reduce the reward for his many years of service. energy costs of photoperiodic lighting. The California Floriculture Hall of He also explored the effect of salinity on Fame is administered by the Kee Kitayama ornamental crops. He did pioneering work Research Foundation and its education on fertilization and plant nutrition of a committee, the California Ornamental number of ornamental crops, an area that is Research Federation. This award was es- becoming particularly relevant again as tablished in 1986 to honor those individu- growers are finding it more important to als who have made outstanding and perma- recirculate irrigation water. The resulting nent contributions to the floriculture in- information on deficiency levels in chry- dustry in the areas of production, market- santhemum, rose, and azalea is still in use ing, transportation, research and legisla- today in diagnosing tissue samples for nu- tive activity. Recipients are honored at trient deficiencies. Prior to moving from each of the California floral markets where UCLA to UC Davis he also worked on drip their names appear engraved on permanent irrigation technology and fertilizer injec- plaques located at the San Francisco Flower tion. Market, the Los Angeles Flower Market In the mid 1960s, Professor Kofranek and the San Diego International Floral Trade was part of the group of UCLA faculty that Center. moved to the (then new) UC Davis campus were mentored or advised by him can be to form what is today the Environmental Contributions to the California found throughout the industry. His com- Horticulture Department. The founding floral industry mitment to students was always a major faculty was responsible for developing re- Dr Kofranek’s contributions to the Cali- element of his work. One example of this search, extension and teaching programs fornia floral industry span half a century, was the spearheading of a chapter of the with statewide focus and were instrumental starting in the early 1940s and including 18 national horticulture honor society (Pi Al- in achieving an international reputation for years at UCLA and 17 years at UC Davis; pha Xi) and taking undergraduate students the new department. since 1987 he has been Professor Emeritus. to flower judging competitions throughout Professor Kofranek’s focus at UC Davis During his career he made innumerable the United States. included continued work on production of contributions to teaching, research, and Professor Kofranek’s dedication to the ornamental crops such as chrysanthemum, extension in the industry. Students who floral industry has resulted in a legacy of Continued on page 8 In This Issue... UCD Students Tour Germany-page 2 • Tree Root Damage Compendium-page 2 • Everything I Learned in Germany-page 3 • Living Landscapes: Linking Ethnobiology and Restoration Ecology- page 4 • Notes from the Chair-page 6 • Michael Barbour Sabbatical-page 6 • Plant Science Facilities-page 7 The University of California prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related or genetic characteristics), ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran (special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran or any other veteran who served on active duty during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized). University Policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws. Inquiries regarding the University’s nondiscrimination policies may be directed to the Affirmative Action/Staff Personnel Services Director, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 1111 Franklin, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200 (510) 987-0096. Volume 7, Number 4, Page 2 Fall 2003 UC Davis Students Tour Horticultural Research Facilities and Universities in Germany by Heiner Lieth Last year I had the idea of taking a group we were approached of students to Germany to learn about about developing on- European horticulture, and especially Ger- going academic rela- man horticulture. My friend at the Univer- tionships. Most of sity of Applied Sciences in Dresden, Ger- the students in the many offered to help me with this idea and group had had some offered to help me apply for funding from research experience the Deutsche Akademischer at UC Davis and were Austauschdienst (DAAD). Earlier in the amazed that much of year we heard that they decided to fund our what they had been proposal (to fund all the local costs in exposed to in the past Germany) and we immediately set out to was very relevant to assemble the group and to make our travel the German scien- EH travel group sponsored by the German Academic plans. The students were assigned to vari- tists. At the same Exchange. Dr. Fritz Schröder is second from left. ous planning tasks and they really as- time, we learned a lot sembled the entire trip according to their about the various facets of horticulture what initiated the various wars and how horticultural interests. including breeding of horticultural crops, these came about and how little the Ger- We started the tour on August 12 in hydroponic production including oxygen man people were able to stop these forces, Dresden, Germany, and over the next two and fertility management and suitability of and how similar these forces are to what we weeks toured horticultural and cultural sites perennial plants. see in the world around us today. The throughout Germany. We visited various In addition to the incredible horticul- devastating effects from the last World government research stations (Dresden, tural experiences that the students (and War and the cold war were still present Erfurt, and Grossbeeren) focusing on orna- non-students) had, we also had a lot of everywhere in the former eastern states. It mental horticulture, pomology, and veg- opportunity for historical and cultural was very sobering. etable crops where researchers made pre- learning as well as connections with Ger- As part of this project, students on the sentations on the research that was going man students. In fact, one of the conditions trip were given the opportunity to write on at their facilities. We also visited univer- of the DAAD program was that it had to articles related to their experience on this sities (HTW Dresden, TU Munich, TU include cultural factors. We learned a lot trip. In fact, we are encouraging our stu- Geisenheim, and U Hannover) where it be- about how young Germany is as a republic dents to write articles for Growing Points came clear that the professors were very and how turbulent its history has been. It to give you a sense of how they see the happy to connect with us and in some cases was very sobering for everyone to learn horticultural world. GP Compendium of Strategies to Reduce Tree Root Damage is Now Available Reducing Infrastructure Damage by Tree Dr. Larry Costello and Katherine Jones Roots: A Compendium of Strategies is avail- have compiled information that will serve as able to help you with your tree root problems. a quick and complete reference for all The Compendium offers solutions in three dif- professionals interested in reducing ferent categories: tree, infrastructure, and root infrastructure damage. Literature citations zone. are included and field photos are used The Compendium identifies and describes to illustrate techniques whenever possible. key strategies used to prevent or mitigate dam- You can obtain a copy from the Western age to sidewalks, curbs, and gutters by tree roots. Chapter of the International Society of Strategies include the use of root barriers, struc- Arboriculture (WCISA) by calling 530-892- tural soil, species selection, alternative design, 1118 or faxing 530-892-1006. Cost is soil management techniques, and many others. $15.00 per compendium plus $8.00 for Each strategy is described in terms of shipping and handling in the U.S. objective(s), methods, materials, and limita- --Jim Geiger, Center for Urban Forest tions. Research (http://cufr.ucdavis.edu) Volume 7, Number 4, Page 3 Fall 2003 Neuschwanstein, Hofbräuhaus and Radeberger, or Everything I Learned in Germany: A Satire By Robby Flannery, Horticulture Graduate Group Growing up as a relatively over-protected ity, top-notch flavor in all of its hoppy good- American child of the 80s, my perception of ness. Another realization that Fritz was able to Germany and its culture was derived from convey about German culture is that Germans movies and television of the day including the are infatuated with horticulture. You can’t walk Indiana Jones trilogy, Bugs Bunny and Daffy for more than ten minutes in Germany without Duck. As I grew older, I came to realize that finding yourself knee-deep in the flowers of Germany has provided the world with many somebody’s garden. fantastic cultural additions including Black This horticultural trip included many stops, Forest Ham, German Chocolate Cake, the VW where we were able to peruse their green- Beetle, schnitzel, lederhosen, sauerkraut (or houses, every one of which was in tiptop shape.