Life Sciences Commons^™

Nebline, September 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Community Gardens are Growing: UNL Extension in Involved With Several in Lincoln

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 27, 2013, Anthony Artusa

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 27, 2013 (8/27/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 20, 2013, Michael J. Brewer

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 20, 2013 (8/20/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 13, 2013, Michael J. Brewer

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 13, 2013 (8/13/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, August 6, 2013, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for August 6, 2013 (8/6/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Back Matter Agricultural Research Magazine August 2013

Agricultural Research Magazine

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Magazine

5601 Sunnyside Ave.

Beltsville, MD 20705-5128

Prescription For Curing Citrus Greening, Dennis O’Brien, Yongping Duan

Agricultural Research Magazine

Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, is the most serious threat to the Florida citrus industry in its history and is costing millions of dollars each year. Working with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Yongping Duan and his Agricultural Research Service colleagues in Fort Pierce, Florida, have found a formula for curbing HLB, offering the industry a glimmer of hope.

Duan has published details of work showing that heating potted citrus seedlings in greenhouses kills off the HLB bacterium and can rid the seedlings of citrus greening symptoms. Monitoring efforts show that the benefit can last for …

Early Weaning: A Good Bet For Beef Producers In Drought-Stricken Areas, R.C. Waterman, Sandra Avant

Agricultural Research Magazine

At the beginning of 2013, cattle-ranchers in the Northern Plains were among U.S. agricultural producers still feeling the lingering effects of the sweltering 2012 drought, the worst in half a century.

Beef cow numbers were at the lowest in 50 years as U.S. beef producers—severely affected by extended drought—tried to recover from some of the driest months on record.

Across the Northern and Southern Plains, beef producers hit the hardest by drought are threatened by limited forage resources for cows, which restricts calf growth, resulting in lighter calf weaning weights. In addition, drought can decrease cow body weight and condition …

Scientific Works Of Art Reveal A Hidden World, Gary Bauchan, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and at the Agricultural Research Service’s Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit (ECMU) in Beltsville, Maryland, this adage couldn’t be more true. Led by unit director Gary Bauchan, the ECMU is tasked with producing highresolution images that provide a window to the extraordinary world of the unseen.

“We have observed viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, mites, and parasites that threaten global food security, and we’ve contributed to the discovery of how pathogens spread by helping elucidate their relationship to the environment, hosts, and vectors,” says Bauchan. “We’ve also described …

Novel Ways To Combat Plant Pathogens, Deborah Fravel, Gail C. Wisler

Agricultural Research Magazine

Plant diseases must be managed to successfully and reliably produce crops to meet humanity’s growing food, fiber, feed, and fuel needs. Plant disease management relies on many different types of tools—from disease-resistant plant varieties and pesticides to cultural and biological strategies. Agricultural Research Service scientists are seeking new methods of managing plant diseases, more efficient means of using older methods, and combinations of these methods. Two of the oldest ways of reducing plant diseases are crop rotation and organic amendments to soil.

In Orono, Maine, for example, ARS scientists are evaluating a holistic approach to suppressing soilborne pathogens of potato, …

Possible Links Between Soil Microbial Communities And Stroke Risk, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

“A big part of our Agricultural Research Service culture is cross-talking with outside researchers,” says ARS soil and water scientist Patrick Hunt. “Partnerships are what we do.”

So one day in 2011, Hunt called Medical University of South Carolina professor Daniel Lackland to discuss a paper Lackland had published about stroke risk in the state. South Carolina is part of the U.S. “Stroke Belt,” where residents have a significantly higher incidence of stroke than the rest of the U.S. population. South Carolina counties with the highest rates of stroke—between 89 and 115 cases per 100,000 residents—are found within the Southern …

Fungal Foam Tested Against Avocado Threat, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Avocados aren’t just nutritional powerhouses; they’re also the chief ingredient in such party favorites as guacamole dip.

More than 99 percent of the nation’s $322 million avocado crop is grown in south Florida and southern California (less than 1 percent is produced in Hawaii), which makes recent infestations of groves there by invasive, wood-boring ambrosia beetles so alarming. A host of counter strategies are in the works, including a biobased foam originally developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists for use against Formosan subterranean termites.

In Miami-Dade County, Florida, avocado growers are contending with Xyleborus glabratus, the redbay ambrosia beetle. …

Fire Ant Venom Compounds May Be Useful As A Fungicide, Jan Suszkiw, Jian Chen, Xixuan Jin

Agricultural Research Magazine

Red imported fire ants are named for the firelike burn of their sting. Now, the same venom that packs such a painful wallop may actually do some good for a change.

Studies by scientists at the Agricultural Research Service’s Biological Control of Pests Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi, have shown that certain alkaloid compounds in the venom—namely, piperideines and piperidines—can hinder growth of Pythium ultimum, a top crop pathogen worldwide.

Chemical controls, delayed plantings, and crop rotation are among methods now used against P. ultimum, which causes damping-off diseases that decay the seed or seedlings of vegetable, horticultural, …

August 2013- Locations Featured In This Magazine Issue

Agricultural Research Magazine

Albany, California

9 research units ■ 241 employees

San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, California

3 research units ■ 125 employees

Northwest Watershed Research Center, Boise, Idaho

1 research unit ■ 18 employees

Tucson, Arizona

2 research units ■ 54 employees

U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Dubois, Idaho

1 research unit ■ 10 employees

Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, Montana

1 research unit ■ 25 employees

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska

6 research units ■ 117 employees

Grazinglands Research Laboratory, El Reno, Oklahoma

2 research units ■ 43 employees

National …

Ars Validates Soil Moisture Data Collected Via Satellite, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

The European Space Agency’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission includes the latest advance in using Earth-orbiting satellites for estimating soil moisture across the globe. The SMOS satellite was launched in 2009 and was designed to estimate soil moisture levels to within 4 percent, which is like measuring a teaspoon of water in a handful of dry soil.

To capture this data, SMOS uses a new sensor technology that is the first passive L-band system—measuring microwave radiation emitted around the frequency of 1.4 gigahertz—in routine operation. But the accuracy of the information collected by this new technology still needs …

New Strategies To Thwart Pecan Scab, Sharon Durham

Agricultural Research Magazine

Pecans are great for eating out of the shell or in a myriad of recipes. But abundant pickings of high-quality nuts are only possible if the tree escapes the devastating disease called “pecan scab.” Caused by the fungus Fusicladium effusum, it is the most destructive disease of pecan in the southeastern United States. When scab is severe, most often when rainfall is above average, nut size is reduced, and total crop loss might occur.

Scientists at the Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Georgia, are working to help pecan growers mitigate the effect of pecan scab. …

Screening Fresh Oranges With Uv Study Pinpoints New Value Of Detection Tactic, David M. Obenland, Joseph L. Smilanick, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Fresh, deliciously sweet navel oranges, on display at your local supermarket, may have been quickly inspected with ultraviolet (UV) light when they were still at the packinghouse. Usually, the purpose of this special sorting and screening is to see if circular spots—which glow a bright, fluorescent yellow and may be about the size of a quarter or larger—show up on the fruit’s peel.

More often than not, these spots, which scientists refer to as “lesions,” are telltale indicators of the presence of microbes that cause decay, namely Penicillium italicum, responsible for blue mold, or P. digitatum, the culprit …

Agricultural Research Magazine August 2013

Agricultural Research Magazine

Table of Contents

4 Prescription for Curing Citrus Greening: Apply Heat and Wait

7 Screening Fresh Oranges With UV: Study Pinpoints New Value of Detection Tactic

8 Breed Matters: Selecting Rams for Rangeland Production

10 Scientific Works of Art Reveal a Hidden World

13 ARS Validates Soil Moisture Data Collected Via Satellite

14 New Strategies To Thwart Pecan Scab

15 Fire Ant Venom Compounds May Be Useful as a Fungicide

16 Possible Links Between Soil Microbial Communities and Stroke Risk

18 Early Weaning: A Good Bet for Beef Producers in Drought-Stricken Areas

20 Fungal Foam Tested Against Avocado Threat

21 …

Frequency And Distribution Of Extended Diapause In Nebraska Populations Of Diabrotica Barberi (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Ryan W. Geisert, Lance J. Meinke

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The frequency of extended diapause in populations of the northern corn rootworm, Diabrotica barberi Smith & Lawrence (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was measured in eastern Nebraska. Adult collections were made during late summer in 2008 and 2009 from eight sites each year (seven sites were consistent over years). Eggs were obtained from 12 to 20 females per site and were held on moist soil under appropriate temperature profiles to facilitate egg survival, diapause development, and diapause termination. Percentage egg hatch was recorded after the first and second year for the 2008 and 2009 collections. Additional extended diapause expression was estimated for the …

Characteristics Of White-Tailed Deer Visits To Cattle Farms: Implications For Disease Transmission At The Wildlife-Livestock Interface, Are R. Berentsen, Ryan S. Miller, Regina Misiewicz, Jennifer L. Malmberg, Mike R. Dunbar

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is endemic in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in MI, USA. Currently, the rates of farm visitation by deer and co-use of forage resources by cattle and deer are poorly understood. To evaluate the extent deer and livestock may share forage resources, we investigated farm, yard, and cattle-use area visitation by white-tailed deer and compared visitation with common livestock management practices. We fitted 25 female white-tailed deer near the bTB-infected zone in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula with global positioning system collars. Livestock management practices associated with farm visitation included presence of confined feeding pastures, number of …

Nebline, August 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 8 Tips for Better-Tasting Fruits & Vegetables

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

2013 Lancaster County Super Fair Schedule & Map Special Pullout Section

Ammonia And Nitrous Oxide Loss From Sprinkler Applied Beef Feedlot Effluent, Blythe P. Mcafee

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A range of flux chambers are available and have been used to measure fluxes of atmospheric gases, including NH₃, with the addition of acid traps. Previous studies show acid traps can be very effective but there is a need to understand how chambers affect acid trap efficiency so measurements can be adjusted for more accurate results. In this lab study, chamber tightness, pump flow variation, and NH₃ trapping efficiency of a flux chamber system were examined. Chamber leakage varied with time from 1-7%. Pumping rate between pumps was significantly different and when included in the closed chamber …

High Yield Soybean Management: Planting Practices, Nutrient Supply, And Growth Modification, Evan Sonderegger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Growers are constantly seeking ways to improve yield in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. There has been much interest in the use of selected alternative practices to maximize soybean yield. These practices include planting soybean at higher than recommended seeding rates, planting soybean in narrow rows, breaking apical dominance to induce branching, application of strobilurin fungicides prophylactically to minimize disease and extend the seed filling period, the use of N fertilizer both in furrow and foliar applied, and the use of seed treatments to promote early stand establishment and health. Field studies were conducted at the University of Nebraska …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 30, 2013, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 30, 2013 (7/30/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 23, 2013, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 23, 2013 (7/23/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 16, 2013, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 16, 2013 (7/16/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 9, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 9, 2013 (7/9/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 2, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 2, 2013 (7/2/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Automated Conserved Non-Coding Sequence (Cns) Discovery Reveals Differences In Gene Content And Promoter Evolution Among Grasses, Gina Marie Turco, James C. Schnable, Brent S. Pedersen, Michael Freeling

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Conserved non-coding sequences (CNS) are islands of non-coding sequence that, like protein coding exons, show less divergence in sequence between related species than functionless DNA. Several CNSs have been demonstrated experimentally to function as cis-regulatory regions. However, the specific functions of most CNSs remain unknown. Previous searches for CNS in plants have either anchored on exons and only identified nearby sequences or required years of painstaking manual annotation. Here we present an open source tool that can accurately identify CNSs between any two related species with sequenced genomes, including both those immediately adjacent to exons and distal sequences separated by …

Storage Technique Preserves Citrus, Kills Pathogens, Gayle Volk, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Americans consume about 84 pounds of fresh and processed citrus per person each year, with oranges topping the list at 61 pounds annually. The availability of these favored fruits in grocery stores, fresh markets, and other consumer outlets is a testament to growers’ success in managing the ever-present threat of pests and diseases to the nation’s $3.4 billion citrus crop (2011-12), most of which is produced in Florida and California.

A major threat is citrus greening disease, also known as “Huanglongbing.” First detected in Florida in August 2005, citrus greening today is the target of a multifaceted effort by federal, …