@article{clade_veazie_boldt_hicks_davis_jackson_whipker_2025, title={Defining Leaf Tissue Nutrient Standards and Nutrient Disorder Symptomology of Greenhouse-grown Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.)}, volume={60}, DOI={10.21273/HORTSCI18721-25}, abstractNote={Spearmint ( Mentha spicata L.) is a perennial herb popular for its distinct flavor and aroma. While traditionally grown outdoors as a field crop, controlled environment agriculture can provide an alternative method for producing spearmint. The objective of this study was to define foliar mineral nutrient interpretation ranges specific to greenhouse-grown spearmint by inducing and documenting individual nutrient disorders. Plants were cultivated in a hydroponic sand culture system and supplied with a modified Hoagland’s solution, in which individual nutrients were either omitted or supplemented, while maintaining all others at consistent levels. As nutrient disorders became evident, symptoms were photographed and documented. Plant tissue was collected to measure plant dry mass and nutrient concentrations. Additional foliar tissue data were compiled with those from the present study to create a larger data set containing 315 samples. Data were analyzed to define interpretation ranges for 12 essential nutrients using a hybrid meta-analysis sufficiency range approach, which defined ranges for deficient, low, sufficient, high, and excessive tissue concentrations for each nutrient. The most representative distribution for each nutrient was selected based on the lowest Bayesian Information Criterion value. Potassium, calcium, sulfur, boron, and copper were best modeled using a normal distribution, while magnesium was best represented by a gamma distribution. A Weibull distribution provided the best fit for nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. These findings provide previously unavailable resources for diagnosing nutrient disorders and evaluating foliar nutrient analysis of greenhouse-grown spearmint.}, number={10}, journal={HortScience}, author={Clade, Danielle and Veazie, Patrick and Boldt, Jennifer and Hicks, Kristin and Davis, Jeanine and Jackson, Brian and Whipker, Brian}, year={2025}, month={Sep}, pages={1752–1762} }
 @article{clade_veazie_boldt_hicks_currey_walters_flax_owen_whipker_2025, title={Nutrient Disorder Symptomology and Refining Leaf Tissue Nutrient Standards of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)}, volume={60}, DOI={10.21273/HORTSCI18719-25}, abstractNote={Basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.) is a popular annual herb grown for culinary, medicinal, and ornamental purposes. Existing foliar nutrient sufficiency ranges for basil are based on field-grown plants, which can vary from the nutritional requirements of crops grown in controlled environments. This prompts the need for refined nutrient fertilizer concentration recommendations and foliar nutrient interpretation ranges that are specific to greenhouse-grown basil. The objectives of this study were to determine critical leaf tissue concentrations when disorders were observed, to evaluate the effects of varying macronutrient fertilizer concentrations on basil growth and yield, and to develop foliar nutrient interpretation ranges for greenhouse-grown basil. Basil ‘Prospera Compact DMR (PL4)’ plants were grown in an automatic recirculating hydroponic system and supplied with a modified Hoagland’s solution. To evaluate varying macronutrient applications, eight different concentrations (0, 8, 16, 32, 64, 100, 200, and 300%) of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) were applied, with all other elements held constant. Similarly, micronutrient deficiencies were induced by individually omitting one element from the nutrient solution per treatment. Deficiency symptoms were photographed for all treatments except copper, manganese, and molybdenum, which did not develop visual deficiency symptoms after 57 days, when the experiment was terminated. Plant tissue was collected to measure the plant dry mass and leaf tissue nutrient concentrations. The effects of varying macronutrient fertilizer concentrations were evaluated by comparing three regression models (linear, quadratic, and quadratic plateau) to determine the foliar concentration of each element corresponding with optimal growth. To develop foliar mineral nutrient interpretation ranges for greenhouse-grown basil, additional foliar tissue analysis data ( n = 1938) from greenhouse-grown basil were obtained and compiled. By expanding upon the sufficiency range approach, foliar nutrient interpretation ranges for deficient, low, sufficient, high, and excessive values were established for the 12 essential elements. For each element, Normal, Gamma, and Weibull distributions were fitted to the data, and the optimal distribution was chosen according to the lowest Bayesian Information Criterion value. The resulting macronutrient concentration recommendations and foliar interpretation ranges are valuable resources that can aid in troubleshooting nutrient disorders and optimizing growth of greenhouse-grown basil.}, number={11}, journal={HortScience}, author={Clade, Danielle and Veazie, Patrick and Boldt, Jennifer and Hicks, Kristin and Currey, Christopher and Walters, Kellie and Flax, Nicholas and Owen, W. Garrett and Whipker, Brian}, year={2025}, month={Sep}, pages={1860–1874} }