My Project

Benjamin K. Hoover

Ph.D. Horticulture Candidate

Projects

Here are brief descriptions of my current projects:

Preliminary Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Challenge (April 2006-November 2006):

In April branches of Eastern hemlock were collected from infested trees in Centre County. These branches were used to challenge non-infested Eastern hemlocks and Chinese hemlocks growing in Centre, Berks, and Lackawanna County.

Collecting inoculum in April. At this point I am counting the ovisacs on each branch cutting.

Inoculated test plants in the field (June).

Collecting data in October. I'm looking for little adelgid crawlers with a hand lens. The test plants at this site were small.

This experiment provided us with a working challenge procedure. We learned that using mesh sleeves to protect the inoculum improved infestation levels substantially, and we also determined that after 15 ovisacs per inoculum branch higher numbers meant little change in infestation. The timing of the challenge was also confirmed, with April serving as a good start time and late October as a closing date. In addition to this, we also observed complete resistance to HWA by Chinese hemlock. I presented this research at the International Society of Arboriculture conference in Honolulu in August of 2007. An article for the ISA publication Arboriculture & Urban Forestry is currently going through the editing process.

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Nordmann Fir Production (May 2006-August 2007):

I used six different growing procedures with Nordmann Firs to see how they affected the finished product.

Preliminary measurement of samples of the roots on the transplants used. I also collected fresh and dry weights.

The experiment site soon after it was set up in May.

The root systems showed some interesting variation based upon treatment.

Differences existed between treatments. The significance of most of these differences is difficult to assess without further experimentation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthropod Challenge (April 2007-November 2007): Seven species of hemlock and five of fir were challenged at the same experiment location that the Nordmann fir experiment was conducted. The hemlocks faced hemlock woolly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale, while the firs were just being challenged with the elongate hemlock scale. Harvest took place in early November.
Collecting inoculum.	All set up.
Chinese hemlock showed resistance to HWA. All plants were susceptible to EHS. This experiment indicates that the challenge procedure used for HWA is also effective with EHS. A journal article may follow. . . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Screening true firs for Phytophthora resistance (January 2008 - ?): This will be the topic of my PhD research. I am in the process of developing what experiments will be involved in this project.