Phenology/Style Persistence Protocol 2016

The data you enter in your Visor depends on the head's stage of development. Start with question 1 and follow the instructions to determine the head's stage and what data you should enter in the form. Also, you can use the shortcuts to see what information is required for each stage.

Shortcuts

• Bud
• Rays up 1 cm
• Rays spreading
• First day of flowering
• Second day of flowering
• Third day of flowering/mid-flowering
• Mid-flowering
• End-flowering
• Last day of males flowering
• Males done flowering
• Done flowering
• Common issues

1. Are there any immature florets?
   1. Yes (go to question 2)
   2. No (go to question 7)
2. Are there more than 11 immature florets?
   1. Yes (go to question 3)
   2. No (go to H: end flowering)
3. Are there any male florets?
   1. Yes (go to question 4)
   2. No (go to question 6)
4. Are there any female florets?
   1. Yes (go to question 5)
   2. No (go to D: first day of flowering)
5. Is there more than one row of female florets?
   1. Yes, there are two rows (go to F: third day/mid-flowering )
   2. Yes, there are more than two rows(go to G: mid-flowering)
   3. No (go to E: second day of flowering)
6. Are the ray florets at least 1 cm long?
   1. No (go to A: bud )
   2. Yes, but they're not spreading (go to B: rays up 1 cm )
   3. Yes, and they're spreading (go to C: rays spreading)
7. Are there any male florets?
   1. No (go to question 8)
   2. Yes (go to I: last day of male flowering)
8. Are there any female florets?
   1. Yes (go to J: males done flowering )
   2. No (go to K: done flowering)

1. Bud: ray florets less than 1 cm
   1. budStatus: bud
2. Rays up 1 cm
   1. budStatus: rays up 1 cm
3. Rays spreading
   1. budStatus: rays spreading
4. First day of flowering: anthers but no styles
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. firstDay: current date
   3. mFl: count of male florets
5. Second day of flowering : anthers, no more than one row of styles
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. firstDay: current date - 1
   3. mFl: count of male florets
   4. fFl: count of female florets
6. Third day of flowering/mid-flowering: anthers, styles, > 11 imm fl
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. firstDay: current date - 2
   3. midFlowering: current date
   4. (only in remnants) mRow: number of the row that has anthers (= flwDay)
   5. (only in remnants) fRow1: count of the lowest row of persistent styles
   6. (only in remnants) fRow2: count of the highest row of persistent styles (= flwDay - 1)
7. Mid-flowering: anthers, styles, > 11 imm fl
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. firstDay: if blank, fill in with your best estimation
   3. midFlowering: current date
   4. (only in remnants) mRow: number of the row that has anthers (= flwDay)
   5. (only in remnants) fRow1: count of the lowest row of persistent styles
   6. (only in remnants) fRow2: count of the highest row of persistent styles (= flwDay - 1)
8. End-flowering : anthers, styles, < 11 imm fl
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. endFlowering: current date
   3. (only in remnants) mRow: number of the row that has anthers (= flwDay)
   4. (only in remnants) fRow1: count of the lowest row of persistent styles
   5. (only in remnants) fRow2: count of the highest row of persistent styles (= flwDay - 1)
   6. imm: count immature florets
   7. mFl: count male florets
9. Last day of male flowering : anther(s), styles, 0 imm fl
   1. budStatus: flowering
   2. lastDayMfl: current date
   3. (only in remnants) mRow: number of the row that has anthers (= flwDay)
   4. (only in remnants) fRow1: count of the lowest row of persistent styles
   5. (only in remnants) fRow2: count of the highest row of persistent styles (= flwDay - 1)
   6. imm: 0
   7. mFl: count male florets
10. Males done flowering : styles, 0 anthers, 0 imm fl
    1. First observation of males done flowering: budStatus: flowering
    2. Otherwise: budStatus: done flowering
    3. mFlDoneFlowering: current date
    4. imm: 0
    5. mFl: 0
    6. fFl: count female florets
11. Done flowering : no florets
    1. budStatus: done flowering
    2. mFlDoneFlowering: current date - 1, if blank
    3. fFlDoneFlowering: current date
    4. imm: 0
    5. mFl: 0
    6. fFl: 0

Common issues

"This is a lot of florets to count"

• If any floret count (immature, male, or female) is greater than 11, just enter 11.

"There's a mistake in the record on my Visor"

• Make a note about the error in the format “Delete record. X should be Y INITIALS and DATE” (i.e. “Delete record. Site should be Landfill East DH 7/4/2015”) in hdNote (use the Graffiti shortcut '@dts' to enter the date/timestamp).
• Make a new record with the correct info
• Tell Gretel

"The head that's supposed to be here isn't here"

• If a head has disappeared and you know you’re looking in the right place (if it was mowed, eaten, stolen, etc.), update budStatus to gone and write the putative cause of disappearance (if you don’t know, write ‘unknown’) in hdNote and include your initials and the date.

"This head is puny and definitely not going to flower"

• If you are 100% sure a head is not going to flower, update budStatus to dud.

"This head looks weird"

• Record head abnormalities in the deformities form. If an abnormality is not listed there, describe it in the hdNote.

"I can't tell if this row is persistent or not"

• When counting rows of female florets (fRow1/fRow2), rows with 50% or more persistent styles should be counted as a row with persistent styles.

"I don't know if this head is on its 2nd or 3rd day of flowering"

• When you visit a plant that was visited two days before you're there, then you will know the first day with certainty. If you visit a plant that was last visited three (or more) days before you're there, then you will not be able to definitively state if the head is on its second or third day of flowering. Use all clues and make your best judgement.