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Manure Matters, Volume 9, Number 4, Richard K. Koelsch

Manure Matters (newsletter)

New EPA Rules Targeting Livestock and Poultry Industry Congress passed the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1972 to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." Among its core provisions, it prohibits the discharge of pollutants from a point source to waters of the United States except as authorized by an NPDES permit. EPA's regulation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under the CWA dates to the 1970s. EPA established effluent guidelines for feedlots in 1974 based on the best available technology that was economically achievable for the industry. CAFO regulations issued in 1976 determined …

The Role Of Natural Calcium Oxalate Crystals In Plant Defense Against Chewing Insects, Sarah J. Doege

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Calcium oxalate is the most abundant insoluble mineral found in plants and it is common among many plant families. Calcium oxalate crystals in plants can appear as irregular rectangles, spiked balls, or needles. The formidable appearance of these crystals has lead to speculation that they might serve as a form of pest control by deterring chewing insects. We utilized mutant plant lines to assess the effects of plant calcium oxalate crystals on the survival and feeding habits of chewing insects. We have taken advantage of calcium oxalate-deficient (cod) mutants of the barrel medic, Medicago truncatula Calcium oxalate crystals accumulate in …

Nebraska Vine Lines, Volume Vi, Number 3, June/July 2003

Nebraska Vine Lines (2003–2006)

FIRST NEBRASKA WINE FESTIVAL A REAL “HAPPENING”

James A. Johnson

A FEW SUMMER REMINDERS

APPLE TWIG BORER UP-DATE

Grape Cane Borer

Grape Cane Borer Biology and Control

FIRST ANNUAL FOUR-STATE FIELD DAY FOR 2003

TELEPHONE NUMBERS NEEDED

The Nebraska State Fair, the NWGGA and the Nebraska Wine and Grape Industry

The NWGGA Board’s Message

From the NWGGA Membership Committee:

Winery updates

2003 Nebraska Entrepreneur Company of the Year

A Successful First Year!

TO OUR NEW FRIENDS:

SWING INTO SUMMER

LOVERS LEAP VINEYARD

Gold has struck us again! A Gold medal at the Tasters Guild for our 2002 Edelweiss and a …

Avoiding The “Fat” Of The Land: Case Studies Of Agricultural Nutrient Balance, David Weaver, Simon Neville

Journal articles

Let’s start with a simple analogy: if a person eats more than they need, they gain weight. That is: if our feed inputs (kilojoules in) are greater than our outputs (exercise — kilojoules out) then we will gain weight (kilojoules in storage).That’s our fat. If, on the other hand, our feed inputs are less than our outputs, then we will lose weight.And if our inputs are the same as our outputs, our weight will remain constant. In general, the further away you are from an ‘ideal’weight, the greater the health risks. And yes, other aspects of your body management — …

Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Feeding And Reproduction As Functions Of Cotton Square Availability, S. M. Greenberg, T. W. Sappington, M. Sétamou

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The influence of food item availability on boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, feeding and reproduction was determined by providing different numbers of cotton squares (flower buds) to individual weevils. Squares were replaced daily after a 5-d feeding and mating conditioning period. The number of lifetime punctures produced by boll weevil females and males increased with square availability. The total number of punctures caused by boll weevil females was 2.7-fold higher than that caused by males. Fecundity was significantly higher in the 10:1, 15:1, and 20:1 (squares:female) treatments than in the 1:1 treatment. The relationship between eggs laid per day …

Description And Analysis Of Two Internet-Based Databases Of Insect Pathogens: Edwip And Vidil, S. M. Braxton, D. W. Onstad, D. E. Docktor, R. Giordano, R. Larsson, R. A. Humber

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In 1996, two searchable databases covering insect pathogens were posted on the World Wide Web: the Ecological Database of the World's Insect Pathogens (EDWIP) and the Viral Diseases of Insects in the Literature database (VIDIL). In this paper, we describe the format and contents of EDWIP and VIDIL on the World Wide Web. EDWIP contains over 9400 pathogen–host association records, 677 negative test result or ‘‘no association’’ records, 4454 host species, 2285 pathogen species records, and 2057 bibliographical references. Species of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are the best represented groups in EDWIP. Lepidopteran species account for the most associations of any …

Above- And Below-Ground Responses Of C3-C4 Species Mixtures To Elevated Co2 And Soil Water Availability, Justin D. Derner, Hyrum B. Johnson, Bruce A. Kimball, Paul J. Pinter Jr., H. Wayne Polley, Charles R. Tischler, Thomas W. Boutton, Robert L. Lamorte, Gerald W. Wall, Neil R. Adam, Steven W. Leavitt, Michael J. Ottman, Allan D. Matthias, Talbot J. Brooks

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

We evaluated the influences of CO₂ and soil water on above- and below-ground responses of C₃ and C₄ plants in monocultures and two density mixtures.

Forage Yield And Economic Losses Associated With The Brown-Midrib Trait In Sudangrass, M. D. Casler, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, D. J. Undersander

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Brown-midrib genes increase digestibility due to reduced lignification in sudangrass, Sorghum bicolor subsp. drummondii (Nees ex Steud.) de Wet & Harlan. Brown-midrib lines are known to be low in forage yield potential, but this reduction in forage yield has not been previously quantified. The objectives of this study were to quantify the increase in forage quality and decrease in forage yield and to provide an economic assessment of this dichotomy. Piper and Greenleaf (normal leaves) were compared with their brown-midrib counterparts and four highly selected brown-midrib (FG) lines at two locations for 2 yr. Brown-midrib lines averaged 9.0% lower in …

Registration Of Rn582 Sorghum Germplasm Line, J. F. Pedersen, J. J. Toy

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

RN582 sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.)Moench] germplasm line (Reg. no. GP-591, PI 628277) was developed jointly by the USDA-ARS and the Agricultural Research Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, and was released in September 2001.

RN582 is an S₆ selection from the cross (RTx430 ms₃ms₃X E 35-1) X E 35-1. RTx430 was developed and released by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (Miller, 1984) and was provided to this project containing the nuclear male sterility gene ms₃ by A.B. Maunder in 1988. E 35-1 is an Ethiopian land race with white …

Diurnal Variation In The Basal Emission Rate Of Isoprene, Jennifer L. Funk, Clive G. Jones, Christine J. Baker, Heather M. Fuller, Christian P. Giardina, Manuel T. Lerdau

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Isoprene is emitted from numerous plant species and profoundly influences tropospheric chemistry. Due to the short lifetime of isoprene in the atmosphere, developing an understanding of emission patterns at small time scales is essential for modeling regional atmospheric chemistry processes. Previous studies suggest that diurnal fluctuations in isoprene emission may be substantial, leading to inaccuracies in emission estimates at larger scales. We examined diurnal patterns in the basal emission rate of isoprene in red oak (Quercus rubra), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus saligna) and the influence of light and temperature on the magnitude of these diurnal patterns. Maximum …

On The Rare Endemic Hydrophyllum Brownei Kral & Bates (Browne's Waterleaf): New Population Information And A Recommendation For Change In Status, Travis D. Marsico

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Hydrophyllum brownei Krai & Bates (Browne's waterleaf), newly described in 1991, is endemic to the Ouachita Mountain Natural Division of Arkansas. For the purpose of better understanding population parameters within which H. brownei grows, ranges of shade values, population extents, and population distance relationships to streams were measured. Hydrophyllum brownei grows in extremely high shade, in populations of widely varying sizes, and always in association with a stream system. In order to list species associated with H. brownei, vouchers of species assemblages were collected at the H. brownei sites visited. The species is designated as critically imperiled globally because of …

Are Chlorella Viruses A Rich Source Of Ion Channel Genes?, Ming Kang, Anna Moroni, Sabrina Gazzarrini, James L. Van Etten

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Plaque-forming dsDNA (>330 kb) viruses that infect certain unicellular, eukaryotic chlorella-like green algae contain ~375 protein-encoding genes. These proteins include a 94 amino acid K+ channel protein, called Kcv, as well as two putative ligand-gated ion channels. The viruses also encode other proteins that could be involved in the assembly and/ or function of ion channels, including protein kinases and a phosphatase, polyamine biosynthetic enzymes and histamine decarboxylase.

Fungal Biology And Agriculture: Revisiting The Field, O. Yarden, D. J. Ebbole, S. Freeman, R. J. Rodriguez, M. B. Dickman

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Plant pathology has made significant progress over the years, a process that involved overcoming a variety of conceptual and technological hurdles. Descriptive mycology and the advent of chemical plant-disease management have been followed by biochemical and physiological studies of fungi and their hosts. The later establishment of biochemical genetics along with the introduction of DNA-mediated transformation have set the stage for dissection of gene function and advances in our understanding of fungal cell biology and plant–fungus interactions. Currently, with the advent of high-throughput technologies, we have the capacity to acquire vast data sets that have direct relevance to the numerous …

Gene Family Encoding Hordeum Vulgare Translation Elongation Factor 1 Alpha (Ef-1a): Assignment Based On Bioinformatic Analysis Of Cdna Sequences, Jackson Moeller

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Search of international DNA database, Genbank, produced eight barley cDNA EFlα sequences with unique accession numbers. The length of these sequences varied from an incomplete 502 bp to a full length 1646 bp encoding a 447 amino acid protein. The knowledge that there are four EF-lα gene family members in barley led us to query whether all four genes were represented in the group of eight database submitted sequences. Also of great importance was the correct assignment of gene family member to its mRNA and protein expression profiles. Before we could begin to address the expression studies, we undertook the …

Good Intentions May Doom Aspen Groves, James R. Fazio

Aspen Bibliography

If there were a Guiness Book of World Records for trees, quaking aspen would be in it - not once but probably several times.

The Black Dump Fly: A Larval Predator Of House Flies, J.A. Hogsette, R.D. Jacobs

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The black dump fly ( Figure 1 ) is a shiny, black fly similar in size and appearance to the house fly. It is currently regaining popularity as a biological control agent for controlling house flies on poultry farms without the use of pesticides. The fly is native to the U.S., and Central and South America. The current scientific name of the fly is Hydrotaea aenescens, however it is sometimes referred to by its former name, Ophyra aenescens. The purpose of this document is to provide some general information about this fly, its biology and behavior, and how …

Increasing Co2 From Subambient To Superambient Concentrations Alters Species Composition And Increases Above-Ground Biomass In A C3/C4 Grassland, H. W. Polley, Hyrum B. Johnson, Justin D. Derner

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The glacial-to-present increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration is likely to have stimulated plant production, but experimental tests in natural ecosystems are lacking.

Potential Relationships Between Physical Traits And Male Broiler Breeder Fertility, S. Mcgary, I. Estevez, M. R. Bakst

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Genetic selection in primary broiler breeders may modify skeletal structure, possibly impeding semen transfer, and could alter the size and degree of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of bilateral traits associated with fertility. Hence, we hypothesized specific morphometric traits could predict differential fertility. Sixty primary broiler breeder males from Strains A and B (n = 30/strain) were individually housed with an average of 10 females per male. Male fertility and sperm penetration (SP) through the perivitelline layer were estimated on fresh eggs. At 50 wk, BW, keel length (KL), posterior pelvic width and length (PPW, PPL), dorsal pelvic width and length (DPW, …

To Be Or Not To Be A Locust? A Comparative Analysis Of Behavioral Phase Change In Nymphs Of Schistocerca Americana And S. Gregaria, Gregory A. Sword

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Phenotypic plasticity in behavior induced by high rearing density is often part of a migratory syndrome in insects called phase polyphenism. Among locust species, swarming and the expression of phase polyphenism are highly correlated. The american grasshopper, Schistocerca americana, rarely swarms even though it is closely related to the swarming Old World desert locust, S. gregaria, as well as two swarming New World locusts. Anecdotal field observations of locust-like behavior in S. americana indicate that it may express behavioral phase polyphenism, but empirical investigations are lacking. In this study, I tested the hypothesis that S. americana expresses locust-like …

Identification Of Common Aspergillus Species, Ahmet Asan

Turkish Journal of Botany

No abstract provided.

Transcription Strategy In A Closterovirus: A Novel 5'-Proximal Controller Element Of Citrus Tristeza Virus Produces 5'- And 3'-Terminal Subgenomic Rnas And Differs From 3' Open Reading Frame Controller Elements, Siddarame Gowda, Maria A. Ayllon, Satyanarayana Tatineni, Moshe Bar-Joseph, William O. Dawson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) produces more than thirty 3'- or 5'-terminal subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) that accumulate to various extents during replication in protoplasts and plants. Among the most unusual species are two abundant populations of small 5'-terminal sgRNAs of approximately 800 nucleotides (nt) termed low-molecular-weight tristeza (LMT1 and LMT2) RNAs. Remarkably, CTV replicons with all 10 3' genes deleted produce only the larger LMT1 RNAs. These 5'-terminal positive-sense sgRNAs do not have corresponding negative strands and were hypothesized to be produced by premature termination during plus-strand genomic RNA synthesis. We characterized a cis-acting element that controls the production …

Nebline, January 2003

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Family Leadership Key to Community Leadership
Gardening Resolutions
Garden Guide
Humidity and Plants in the Home Environment
Horticulture Information Center
What Do Birds Like to Eat?
Dealing with Roosting Birds
Chicken Feathers Can Now be Used in Air Purifying Filters
Creepy-Crawlies in your Cereal
Put Farm Leases in Writing for Legal Protection
Private Pesticide Applicator Training Jan. 25, 29 & Feb 10
Check and Aerate Stored Grain
Computerized Financial Record Keeping Workshop March 18
Add Lime Now for Next Spring’s Alfalfa
Protecting Water from Freezing
Fire Safety in the Home
Latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map
Sizing Up Food Portion Sizes …

Expression Of Susceptibility To Fusarium Head Blight And Grain Mold In A1 And A2 Cytoplasms Of Sorghum Bicolor, James P. Stack, Jeffrey F. Pedersen

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Panicle diseases are among the major constraints to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) production in the northern Great Plains; host plant resistance is the primary management option. However, essentially all commercial sorghum hybrids contain A₁ cytoplasm, which raises the concern about increased disease risk as a result of cytoplasmic genetic uniformity. To determine the influence of cytoplasmic background on the expression of susceptibility to panicle diseases, F₁ hybrids with four nuclear genotypes in each of two cytoplasms (A₁ and A₂) were planted in three environmentally diverse geographic locations in Nebraska. Fusarium head blight ranged in …

Biology And Ecology Of Leptographium Species And Their Vectos As Components Of Loblolly Pine Decline, Lori G. Eckhardt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) decline (LPD) has been present in upland sites of central Alabama since the 1960s. Symptoms of LPD (fine root deterioration, short chlorotic needles, sparse crowns, reduced radial growth) begin in the 30-40 yr age class, resulting in premature death at ages 35-50. Previously, declining loblolly was diagnosed as littleleaf disease (LLD); however, site conditions associated with LPD are different from LLD sites. Littleleaf disease only occurs on eroded, heavy clay soils and is secondarily associated with the fungus, Phytophthora cinnamomi. In contrast, LPD occurs on sandy, well-drained soils and is associated with Leptographium spp., as …

Engineering For Expression Of The Cold Regulated Barley Protein Hvcr21 In E. Coli, Kathleen Graupman

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

HVCR21 is a barley protein known to be cold regulated at the mRNA level. However, its function as well as the affect of low temperature on its translation are unknown. The purpose of this project was to engineer E. coli to express recombinant HVCR21. PGR primers were designed for the 5' and 3' ends of the HVCR21 coding region. The primers were also designed with a 5' SacI restriction site and a 3' Pst I restriction site. After ligation of the PCR product into the pCR4-TOPO vector, bacteria were transformed and plated and the successful transformant verified by PCR. The …

Chitosanase May Enhance Anti-Fungal Defense Responses In Transgenic Tobacco, Bill L. Hendrix, James Mcd. Stewart

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Chitosanase is an enzyme, similar to chitinase, capable of hydrolyzing the β-1,4-linkages between N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine residues in partially acetylated chitosan polymers found in fungal cell walls. When attacked by pathogenic fungi, many plants exploit this hydrolytic action as a component of a larger post-attack defense response, but these enzymes may also play a role in the initial plant-pathogen interaction via the generation of elicitors resulting from the hydrolysis of fungal cell walls. To gain insight into these mechanisms, a Paenbacillus chitosanase was cloned, sequenced, and modified for plant expression. The modified gene was delivered to tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. …

Sugarcane Seed Response To 2,4-D And Alternative Herbicides For Red Morningglory (Ipomoea Coccinea L.) Control, Jonathan Daniel Siebert

LSU Master's Theses

Field studies conducted over two growing seasons evaluated the effect of 2,4-D applied at 1.6 kg ai/ha to LCP 85-384 sugarcane (Saccharum interspecific hybrid) 7, 5, 3, and 1 wk before planting (WBP). Sugarcane was planted in mid-September using both whole stalk and billet (45 cm) seed pieces. When 2,4-D was applied 5 wk or closer to planting, sugarcane shoot emergence and population averaged across planting methods was reduced 5, 7, and 28 wk after planting (WAP) when compared to the nontreated control. Sugarcane height in one of two years was reduced when 2,4-D was applied 5 wk or closer …

A Comparison Of Microbial Communities In Soil With And Without A Sugarcane Cropping, Carolyn Faye Savario

LSU Master's Theses

Sugarcane (inter-specific hybrids of Saccharum) is grown largely under long-term monoculture production in Louisiana. This can lead to a complex problem termed "yield decline" that results in poor root health and reduced productive capacity of sugarcane. This problem has been documented to be a limiting factor for sugarcane production in diverse regions, including Louisiana, Hawaii, Jamaica, and Australia. Previous work showed that biological factors affect root health and contribute to yield decline. The objectives of this study were to increase our understanding of microbial communities in sugarcane soils, to determine if there are differences in microbial communities associated with sugarcane …

Patterns Of Water Uptake And Rhizosphere Salinity In Casuarina Obesa Miq. During A Drying Period At Lake Toolibin, Western Australia, Patrick J. Mitchell

Theses : Honours

Lake Toolibin is one of a few remaining freshwater lakes in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia. Since monitoring began at Lake Toolibin in the early 1970's groundwater levels have risen to within 1-2 m of the lakebed with an accompanying migration of salt. The site-specific nature of water uptake in Casuarina obesa Miq. (the dominant lakebed tree species) and rhizosphere salinity were explored spatially through analyses of soil properties (groundwater depth and salinity, particle size and components of soil water potential ψ₁). Plant water sources (using δ²H signatures) and water availability (based on ψ_{leaf …}

Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms In Soybean, Y. L. Zhu, Q. J. Song, D. L. Hyten, C. P. Van Tassel, L. K. Matukumalli, D. R. Grimm, S. M. Hyatt, E. W. Fickus, N. D. Young, P. B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) provide an abundant source of DNA polymorphisms in a number of eukaryotic species. Information on the frequency, nature, and distribution of SNPs in plant genomes is limited. Thus, our objectives were (1) to determine SNP frequency in coding and noncoding soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) DNA sequence amplified from genomic DNA using PCR primers designed to complete genes, cDNAs, and random genomic sequence; (2) to characterize haplotype variation in these sequences; and (3) to provide initial estimates of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in soybean. Approximately 28.7 kbp of coding sequence, 37.9 kbp of noncoding perigenic DNA, and …