Re: [AGA-mcm] Potential AGAF staff

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

What do you envisage to be AGA's role re expermentats?

sh

--- Paul Krombholz <pkrombholz@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Phil,
> I would like to be involved in an experimentation forum,
> and I think 
> the APC people are not particularly interested in that. 
> I would be 
> happy to work in that area.  I still think that AGA ought
> to think 
> carefully about the time and expense of going down the
> road towards a 
> be-all-for-everybody forum.  I know AGA doesn't have a
> convention 
> coming up next November, but does everybody have to be up
> to their 
> ears and beyond in responsibilities all the time?
> 
> Experimentation is a difficult thing to support, and AGA
> has tried it 
> in the past.  We had a research committee, and I sort of
> recall we 
> finally got an article out of it by Matthew Mason after
> endless 
> person-hours of wrangling.  I can't remember the details,
> but we 
> almost had a total falling out with Diana Walstad, among
> other 
> things.  What I am thinking of is something much more
> casual---a 
> forum where people who are interested in doing
> experiments talk.  I 
> have some experience doing experiments with aquatic
> plants, and a 
> pretty good feel for the good old 'scienterrific method':
> 
> question---hypothesis---experiment development process. 
> These 
> experiments should not be big deals where the
> experimenter wants to 
> get funding from AGA for equipment or anything like that.
>  Funding 
> should be strictly on your own!  If AGA sets up a fund
> for supporting 
> experiments, all kinds of people will come out of the
> woodwork mainly 
> wanting to get their hands on tanks and equipment.
> 
> It is surprisingly difficult to find people actually
> willing to do an 
> experiment.  I can think of a bunch of experiments that
> ought to be 
> done in the area of improving survival of plants during
> and just 
> after shipping.  I mentioned some things to try on APC,
> but nobody 
> was interested in doing any experiments.  For example: I
> have had a 
> lot of freshly cut and shipped stem plants die on me,
> such as 
> Ludwigia inclinata var. Pantanal.  I have an hypothesis
> that the 
> stems would ship a lot better if they were floated for a
> week or so 
> before shipping.  This would give the stem time to seal
> over the cut 
> end and start some roots.  It would be a simple
> experiment to do. 
> Bag up and box some stems that have floated for a week
> and some 
> freshly cut stems and see which comes out in better
> shape.  But, I 
> couldn't get anybody interested in doing the experiment,
> just a 
> statement that fresh cut stems would surely be the best
> way to ship.
> 
> Just think of the number of experiments that could be
> done to answer 
> the following questions (and that is not all the
> questions that could 
> be asked):
> 
> What affects the survival of plants during shipping
> (excluding 
> temperatures during shipping)?
> a.  The health and state of nutrition of the plant?
> b.  Emersed versus submersed plants?
> c.  Freshly cut stems versus stems that have been allowed
> to float and heal?
> d.  Amount of mechanical agitation of plant during
> shipping?
> e.  Amount of water with the plant?
> f.  Amount of air (ventilation)?
> g.  Treatment with plant hormones?
> 
> 
> >Paul,
> >
> >One of the foci I feel is important to stress for
> moderators on a 
> >potential AGA forum is that they're not around to keep
> discussion 
> >going or to have a certain number of posts per unit
> time.  They're 
> >around to keep things polite and that's about it. 
> You've got a 
> >level head and a lot of experience that many people in
> the hobby can 
> >gain from.  Just because we've made large technological
> strides 
> >doesn't mean we totally understand what we can do with
> them and how 
> >they affect our plants.  Experimentation is a good thing
> and I think 
> >is something the AGA would like to support.
> >
> >
> >Regards,
> >Phil
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >AGA-mcm mailing list
> >AGA-mcm@thekrib.com
> >http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/aga-mcm
> 
> 
> -- 
> Paul Krombholz in sunny central Mississippi
> _______________________________________________
> AGA-mcm mailing list
> AGA-mcm@thekrib.com
> http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/aga-mcm
> 

_______________________________________________
AGA-mcm mailing list
AGA-mcm@thekrib.com
http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/aga-mcm