Horticultural Study Progresses

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Edward N. Ashworth, Principal Investigator on a research project at Purdue's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, has determined that buds of Forsythia taxa use supercooling as a mechanism of winter survival.

The project is funded by the Horticultural Research Institute and is designed to identify traits linked to winter hardiness. The study indicates that thermal analysis would provide an efficient method of evaluating Forsythia bud hardiness. Ashforth reports, "Presently we are identifying genes that are expressed in extremely freeze-tolerant plants as they harden. We believe that this is an important step in attempts to improve landscape plants through biotechnology."