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ASABE Publishes
LED Standard for
Horticultural Lighting
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
(ASABE) has published the first in a three-part series of
standards relating to LED radiation measurements for plant
growth and development. Standard ANSI/ASABE S640,
titled “Quantities and Units of Electromagnetic Radiation for
Plants (Photosynthetic Organisms),” contains definitions and
descriptions of metrics for plant growth and development. The
subsequent standards will focus on measurement and testing
of LED products for plant growth and performance criteria
for LED systems used in horticulture. Members of the ASABE
with standards access and those with site-license privileges
can download the full standard on the ASABE online Technical
Library, while others can obtain a copy for a fee directly from
the library or by contacting ASABE headquarters.
- asabe.org
Gene Responsible for Big,
Juicy Tomatoes Identified
Thanks to thousands of years of selective breeding,
tomatoes are significantly bigger and juicier than their
wild ancestors. It wasn’t until this year, however,
that scientists figured out what is genetically
responsible for making modern tomatoes
so large and plump. They found that
domesticated tomatoes carry a
mutation in the cell size regulator
(CSR) gene, which increases
the size of the individual cells
in the fleshy part of the fruit.
The mutation shortens the
resulting protein in tomato
cells, likely affecting
its role in regulating
cell differentiation and
fruit/vascular tissue
maturation. “The
knowledge of the
gene will now open up
avenues of research
into how fruit size can
be increased further
without negatively
impacting other
important qualities such
as disease resistance
and flavor,” says
researcher Dr. Esther
van der Knaap.
- sciencedaily.com
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