Digital Evaluator – An App for Trial Gardens

By Dr. Tim Rhodus, Professor and Elaine Eberlin, Systems Specialist
Department of Horticulture & Crop Science, The Ohio State University
Rhodus.1@osu.edu and Eberlin.3@osu.edu
Online at: webgarden.osu.edu/buckeye2015.pdf

The following article was first published in the June 2015 issue of the Buckeye Bulletin, ONLA.

This article describes the Ohio State University Cultivar Trials and how an app was created to assist in organizing and managing the evaluation and communication program for the garden. Initially conceived by Dr. Claudio Pasian in 2002, the Ohio State University Cultivar Trials are conducted each year in order to evaluate ornamental bedding and container plants. The objective of these trials is to observe the performance of new and recently introduced cultivated plant varieties under environmental conditions typical of central Ohio.

The OSU Cultivar Trials contain four categories of plants: field (ground beds), containers in the sun, containers in the shade, and hanging baskets. During the growing season, all plants are evaluated four times by Master Gardener and Chadwick Arboretum volunteers. These consumer evaluators are asked to rate each plant from 1 – 5 on how well they “like” the plant. Additionally…….

To read the article go to:  http://webgarden.osu.edu/buckeye2015.pdf

Results and photos of the 2014 trials can be found at: http://hvp.osu.edu/trials