Agricultural Science Commons^™

Intsormil And Iiam Collaborate To Promote Sorghum Production In Mozambique, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Sorghum is a major cereal grain in Mozambique with a cultivated area of 2.7 million hectares. It is considered as a food security crop in most of the provinces in the country, especially in regions where rainfall is a limiting factor for maize and rice production. However, due to a lack of seed and poor distribution of improved sorghums farmers continue to use their local varieties which have low productivity potential (0.2 - 0.6 ton/ha). To increase productivity and provide food security there is an urgent need for (1) the development of varieties with higher yield potential, (2) improved crop …

Intsormil Scientists Develop Insect Resistant Sorghum And Pearl Millet For Africa And The Usa, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

The aphids Melanaphis sacchari (sugarcane aphid) in Africa and Schizaphis graminum (greenbug, see above) in the United States; panicle bugs; sorghum midge, Stenodiplosis sorghicola; stalk borers and termites infest and reduce yields of sorghum. The millet head miner, Heliocheilus albipunctella, reduces grain yield and quality of pearl millet.

INTSORMIL entomologist Bonnie Pendleton, West Texas A&M University, collaborates with African scientists to develop management strategies for sorghum and millet insects. Emphasis is on developing plants resistant to pests. Hundreds of sorghum and pearl millet genotypes have been evaluated by INTSORMIL scientists for grain yield and quality and resistance to …

‘Sureño,’ Dual Purpose Grain And Forage Sorghum For Central America, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Sureño sorghum- the white grain makes great tortillas and the forage and grain are a preferred livestock feed. Whereas most sorghum cultivars are gown for either silage or grain, Sureño sorghum is used for both. Because of its dual purpose qualities as a good grain for livestock and human consumption and as a forage for cattle, Sureño is popular with cattle producers and the bakery industry and is spreading throughout Central America.

The sweet ensilage of Sureño sorghum is preferred by the Central American cattle producers because of its high nutritious value, high energy value and high production of 71 …

High Wheat Prices: The Case For Sorghum Flour In The El Salvador Baking Industry, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

The INTSORMIL supported CENTA Food Technology program has been developing sorghum based bakery recipes and testing them at small and medium sized bakeries in El Salvador for several years. Now, with imported wheat prices at US$ 57 per 100 lb., El Salvador bakers are showing increased interest in using sorghum, at US$ 32 per 100 lb., as a partial replacement for wheat flour in their bakery products. CENTA food technologists have recently been promoting sorghum flour via TV and newspapers and, as a result, bakers and food processors have requested training (large photo below) in the milling of sorghum and …

Pasteurellosis Transmission Risks Between Domestic And Wild Sheep, Michael W. Miller, Donald P. Knowles, Marie S. Bulgin, Billy R. Clay, Walter E. Cook, Subramaniam Srikumaran, A. David Scarfe, Dale Layfield

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

Disease has contributed significantly to the decline of bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis) populations throughout much of western North America, decreasing many native herds to less than 10% of their historical size and imperiling some populations and subspecies (Valdez and Krausman 1999). According to historical accounts (e.g., Grinnell 1928; Honess and Frost 1942; Shillinger 1937; Warren 1910), epidemics in some locations coincided with the advent of domestic livestock grazing in bighorn ranges, suggesting that novel pathogens may have been introduced into some bighorn populations beginning in the 1800s.
Native North American wild sheep species—bighorn sheep and thinhorn (Dall’s and …

Intsormil Scientist On Voa Reports A New Approach To Combat Witchweed, A Killer Of Sorghum Crops In Africa, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

In a May 19, 2008 interview on the Voice of America INTSORMIL scientist Mitch Tuinstra, a Purdue University sorghum breeder, reported on sorghum seed that he and his colleagues have produced that can protect sorghum crops from a weed called Striga. Although their target weed has a pleasant looking purple flower it’s action is far from pleasant. Striga causes six or seven billion dollars in crop damage every year to African grain sorghum.

Striga, called ‘witchweed’ in Africa, is parasitic on sorghum, stealing water and nutrients from sorghum roots. Witchweed has an unusual quality, it requires chemical signals …

Intsormil And Care Join Hands To Promote Sorghum Production And Utilization In El Salvador, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

An agreement between CARE International and INTSORMIL was signed in San Salvador on May 27, 2008. The 24 month agreement signed by Ms Ligia Elizabeth Alvarenga, CARE El Salvador and René Clara Valencia, INTSORMIL Regional Coordinator for Central America, promotes collaboration in the Pilot Phase of PRONORTE, an initiative oriented toward the development of improved dairy production technologies in the Northern Region of El Salvador. Under this memorandum CARE and INTSORMIL agree to:

1st- Join efforts to benefi t small and medium sized dairy producers in the Department of Morazan, El Salvador.

2nd- CARE and INTSORMIL will provide inputs to …

Sorghum Technology And Marketing Strategies Increase Farm Income In West Africa, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

The INTSORMIL Production-Marketing Project with support from the USAID Africa’s regional program collaborated with national programs, local NGOs and farmers’ organizations to introduce new technology and marketing strategies for sorghum farmers in Mali, Niger and Senegal. The project involved 300 ha of sorghum and worked with approximately 400 sorghum producers in the three countries. The three component program consisted of (1) a technology component aimed at increasing output through the use of improved technologies (the combination an improved variety, inorganic fertilizers, water harvesting techniques and other agronomic improvements), (2) a marketing component aimed at getting a price premium for grain …

Sorghum Yields Doubled In Farmers’ Fields In Three West African Countries, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

To increase sorghum and millet production, improved technologies must be introduced to farmers and new markets developed to avoid price collapses from increasing output levels. To promote this productivity increase INTSORMIL conducted on-farm demonstrations of existing technology in collaboration with the national extension agencies and agricultural research programs in Senegal (ISRA), Mali (IER) and Niger (INRAN). Improved seed, inorganic fertilizer and improved agronomic practices, often including tied ridges for water harvesting, were introduced on one ha farmer plots in the three countries. Farmers following agronomic recommendations consistently doubled yields with the best farmers obtaining 2 to 2.5 tons of sorghum/ha …

Intsormil/Centa Sorghum Breeder Wins Pccmca Award, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

INTSORMIL/CENTA El Salvador scientist Salvador Zeledon (left with Rene Clara and Vilma Calderon) won fi rst place for his paper presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the PCCMCA (El Programa Cooperativo Centroamericano para el Mejoramiento de Cultivos y Animales) held in San José, Costa Rica April 14-18, 2008. The theme of the meeting was “Global Changes, Tendencies, Effects and Perspectives for Agriculture in Mesoamérica and the Caribbean Towards 2020.” The meeting was attended by scientists from Asia, Africa, South and North America with most participants coming from the Caribbean Basin, i.e., Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa …

Intsormil/Centa Food Technologist Awarded Prize At Pccmca, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

INTSORMIL/CENTA El Salvador scientist, Vilma Calderon (right), won third place for her paper presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the PCCMCA (El Programa Cooperativo Centroamericano para el Mejoramiento de Cultivos y Animales) held in San José, Costa Rica April 14-18, 2008. Vilma’s paper entitled “Nutritional Quality of Whole Sorghum in Different Food Applications” demonstrated how people from different cultures utilize sorghum as a human food and how sorghum is a nutritional alternative for inclusion in the diet of people in developing countries. With INTSORMIL support Vilma has been conducting research on the utilization of sorghum for human consumption at …

The Potential For Crop-To-Wild Gene Flow In Sorghum In Ethiopia And Niger: A Geographic Survey, Tesfaye Tesso, Issoufou Kapran, Cecile Grenier, Allison Snow, Patricia Sweeney, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, David B. Marx, Gurling Bothma, Gebisa Ejeta

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

Information about the potential for crop–wild hybridization is needed to understand how crop genes, including transgenes, affect the population genetics and ecology of sexually compatible relatives. Transgenic sorghum is under development for use by traditional farmers in Africa, the center of origin for sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], but systematic surveys of the current extent of contact with wild and weedy relatives are lacking. We studied wild and weedy sorghums that are interfertile with the crop and constitute a crop–wild–weed complex. The survey was conducted in 2005 in areas of traditional sorghum cultivation in three regions of Ethiopia and …

Heterosis In Switchgrass: Spaced Plants, Juan M. Martinez-Reyna, Kenneth P. Vogel

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

Population and specific hybrids were made between populations and genotypes of switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., and their progeny were evaluated for heterosis in space-transplanted fi eld trials in eastern Nebraska for a 3-yr period. ‘Kanlow’ (lowland tetraploid) x ‘Summer’ (upland tetraploid) hybrids exhibit midparent heterosis for second- and third-year biomass yields for both population and individual plant hybrids. These data and previously reported molecular marker data indicate that lowland-tetraploid and upland-tetraploid switchgrasses represent different heterotic groups that can potentially be used to produce F₁ hybrid cultivars. Hybrids produced from cultivars and experimental strains developed from upland-octaploid germplasm originating from …

Soil Carbon Levels In Irrigated Western Corn Belt Rotations, Gary E. Varvel, Wallace Wilhelm

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

Proposals promoting the use of massive amounts of crop residues and other lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production have increased the need for evaluation of the sustainability of cropping practices and their eff ect on environment quality. Our objective was to evaluate the eff ects of crop rotation and N fertilizer management and their stover production characteristics on soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in a long-term high-yielding irrigated study in the western Corn Belt. An irrigated monoculture corn (Zea mays L.), monoculture soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and soybean–corn cropping systems study was initiated in 1991 on a uniform …

Promoting Market Driven Sorghum Production In Zambia, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

In the southern Africa region there is significant interest in using sorghum in the manufacture of value added food products. However, for sorghum to be commercially successful, quality grain at an affordable price must be available. Zambian food processing companies cannot consistently acquire sufficient quantities of high quality sorghum for processing. Market channels need to be improved so that sorghum varieties with the required quality to meet commercial consumer requirements are produced and supplied consistently. A strong need exists for strengthening the system of production, post–harvest handling and storage, marketing, and processing for human food and livestock feed. To meet …

Intsormil Promotes Sorghum Production In Nicaragua, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

The INTSORMIL Central America Regional Program supports the efforts of national research programs to develop dynamic research programs that contribute to productivity, economic growth, natural resource conservation and improved diets. INTSORMIL supports a ‘network’ approach and promotes sorghum production in the region through the PCCMCA (Central Cooperative Program for Improving Crops and Animals) and other national and international organizations. PCCMCA serves as a forum for the international testing program for sorghum in Central America (CA). Rene Clara, INTSORMIL CA Regional Coordinator based at CENTA in El Salvador, coordinates the regional grain sorghum yield trials conducted on belhalf of the PCCMCA. …

Intsormil Promotes Sorghum Production In Nicaragua, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

The INTSORMIL Central America Regional Program supports the efforts of national research programs to develop dynamic research programs that contribute to productivity, economic growth, natural resource conservation and improved diets. INTSORMIL supports a ‘network’ approach and promotes sorghum production in the region through the PCCMCA (Central Cooperative Program for Improving Crops and Animals) and other national and international organizations. PCCMCA serves as a forum for the international testing program for sorghum in Central America (CA). Rene Clara, INTSORMIL CA Regional Coordinator based at CENTA in El Salvador, coordinates the regional grain sorghum yield trials conducted on belhalf of the PCCMCA. …

Quantitative Trait Loci For Resistance To Pre-Harvest Sprouting In Us Hard White Winter Wheat Rio Blanco, Shubing Liu, Shibin Cai, Robert A. Graybosch, Cuixia Chen, Guihua Bai

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

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) of wheat is a major problem that severely limits the end-use quality of flour in many wheat-growing areas worldwide. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for PHS resistance, a population of 171 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed from the cross between PHS-resistant white wheat cultivar Rio Blanco and PHS-susceptible white wheat breeding line NW97S186. The population was evaluated for PHS in three greenhouse experiments and one Weld experiment. After 1,430 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were screened between the two parents and two bulks, 112 polymorphic markers between two bulks were used to screen …

Capacitan A Personas Intersadas Y Panaderos Sobre La Utilización De Harina De Sorgo: Más De 25 Personas Interesadas Entre Ellos Panaderos Son Capacitados Sobre El Uso De Harina De Sorgo, Roxana Ortiz, Eduardo Funes

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

El Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) a través del Centro Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria y Forestal (CENTA), capacitan a un grupo de personas interesadas y panaderos sobre la utilización de harina de sorgo para la producción de pan y otros productos.

La ingeniera Margarita Alvarado, Coordinadora del Laboratorio de Tecnología de Alimentos del CENTA, expresó que se ha investigado el cultivo de sorgo a través del Programa de Granos Básicos, y también las bondades que el grano tiene para el uso de harina.

Conducting Landscape Assessments For Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup, Mike Dosskey, Gary Wells

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

Landscape assessments describe existing resource conditions and trends within a larger planning area and identify opportunities to produce environmental benefits with strategically placed management activities, including agroforestry practices. In this Agroforestry Note, we:

• Explain why assessing the landscape is important for agroforestry
• Describe a basic landscape assessment process
• Discuss ways to use landscape assessments for agroforestry

No-Till Corn After Bromegrass: Effect On Soil Carbon And Soil Aggregates, Ronald F. Follett, Gary E. Varvel, John M. Kimble, Kenneth P. Vogel

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

Grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the USA may be converted to grain crops for bioenergy. The effect of no-till conversion of a smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss) grassland to no-till corn (Zea mays L.) production on soil organic carbon (SOC) in the western Corn Belt was monitored for over 6 yr. A different ¹³C/¹²C isotope signature is imparted to SOC by C4 plants including corn versus C3 plants such as bromegrass. Changes in C isotope ratios in SOC in three soil depths (0- to 5-, 5–10, and 10–30 cm) by particle size …

Testing A Simple Field Method For Assessing Nitrate Removal In Riparian Zones, Philippe Vidon, Michael G. Dosskey

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

Being able to identify riparian sites that function better for nitrate removal from groundwater is critical to using efficiently the riparian zones for water quality management. For this purpose, managers need a method that is quick, inexpensive, and accurate enough to enable effective management decisions. This study assesses the precision and accuracy of a simple method using three ground water wells and one measurement date for determining nitrate removal characteristics of riparian buffer zones. The method is a scaled-down version of a complex field research method that consists of a large network of wells and piezometers monitored monthly for over …

Adding Value To Swine Manure Through Accurate Prediction Of Organic Nitrogen Availability, Charles S. Wortman, Charles Shapiro, Aaron Nygren

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Animal manure contains organic and inorganic nitrogen. The inorganic N, which is mostly ammonium-N but nitrate-N can be significant in composted manure, is typically considered to be 100% plant available if there are not significant losses, especially due to volatilization of ammonia-N. The availability of organic N, which is mostly from undigested and partially digested plant material needs to be mineralized to become plant available, is less predictable. Field research was conducted in eastern Nebraska to improve the basis for estimating organic N availability from injected or incorporated swine manure and from surface applied composted and stockpiled FM. The factors …

El Sorgo O Llamado Comúnmente “Maicillo” Es Cultivado En Todo El Territorio Nacional Y Utilizado Para El Consumo Humano Y Animal (El Sorgo Es Alternativa De Harina Para Pan), Roxana Ortiz

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

A fi n de buscar nuevas alternativas para la industria panifi cadora, el Centro Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria y Forestal (CENTA) del Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (MAG) ve la posibilidad de industrializar el sorgo para convertirlo en harina y darle un valor agregado al cultivo.

Vilma Calderón de Zacatares, técnica del laboratorio de Tecnología de Alimentos del CENTA, manifestó que la institución realiza investigaciones donde afi rma que la harina de trigo puede ser sustituida por la de sorgo.

“Actualmente, el costo de la harina de trigo varía de $30 a $36 por quintal, precio muy alto en comparación …

Apuesta Por Sorgo Para Hacer Pan: Mezclar Harina De Trigo Con Sorgo Podría Reducir Hasta 50% Los Costos De Producción De Pan Francés Y Dulce, Pero El Proyecto Necesita Más Equipo, Lourdes Quintanilla

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Los salpores y el pan francés esperan su turno frente al horno en la panadería de Iván Calderón. El empresario, que fabrica y distribuye pan en Antiguo Cuscatlán, ya probó una mezcla inusual para la masa: harina de sorgo (maicillo) combinada con harina de trigo.

Calderón probó el nuevo ingrediente hace año y medio, cuando el Centro Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria y Forestal (CENTA) llegó a dejarle una arroba de harina de sorgo. Usó un 10% de sorgo para el pan francés y otro 20% para el pan dulce. “No hay que ponerle más, porque si no el pan no …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies Affected By Plague, David J. Augustine, Marc R. Matchett, Theodore P. Toombs, Jack F. Cully, Tommy L. Johnson, J. G. Sidle

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

Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are a key component of the disturbance regime in semi-arid grasslands of central North America. Many studies have compared community and ecosystem characteristics on prairie dog colonies to grasslands without prairie dogs, but little is known about landscape-scale patterns of disturbance that prairie dog colony complexes may impose on grasslands over long time periods. We examined spatiotemporal dynamics in two prairie dog colony complexes in southeastern Colorado (Comanche) and northcentral Montana (Phillips County) that have been strongly influenced by plague, and compared them to a complex unaffected by plague in northwestern Nebraska (Oglala). …

Proceedings Of The 35th Annual Meeting, Southern Soybean Disease Workers (March 12-13, 2008, Pensacola, Florida), Allen Wrather, Daniel H. Poston, Clayton A. Hollier, Jason Bond, Steve R. Koenning

Southern Soybean Disease Workers: Conference Proceedings

Contents

Southern United States Soybean Disease Loss Estimate for 2007. Compiled by SR Koenning

Contributed papers (Clayton Hollier, moderator)

Effects of Row Spacing and Leaf Wetness on the Temporal and Spatial Spread of Soybean Rust within Soybean Canopies. DF Narváez, JJ Marois, DL Wright, and S Isard

Effects of Potassium, Chloride, and Minor Elements Nutrition on Asian Soybean Rust. RW Schneider, EP Mumma, CL Clark, and CG Giles

The Impact of Selected Fungicide Treatments on Disease Progress of Asian Soybean Rust and Other Diseases of Soybean. GB Padgett, MA Purvis, A Hogan, and S Martin

Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Variety …

Effect Of Irrigation Amounts Applied With Subsurface Drip Irrigation On Corn Evapotranspiration, Yield, Water Use Efficiency, And Dry Matter Production In A Semiarid Climate, Jose O. Payero, David D. Tarkalson, Suat Irmak, Don Davison, James L. Petersen

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

Quantifying the local crop response to irrigation is important for establishing adequate irrigation management strategies. This study evaluated the effect of irrigation applied with subsurface drip irrigation on field corn (Zea mays L.) evapotranspiration (ETc), yield, water use efficiencies (WUE = yield/ETc, and IWUE = yield/irrigation), and dry matter production in the semiarid climate of west central Nebraska. Eight treatments were imposed with irrigation amounts ranging from 53 to 356 mmin 2005 and from 22 to 226mmin 2006. A soil water balance approach (based on FAO-56) was used to estimate daily soil water and ETc. Treatments resulted in seasonal …

Geochemistry In The Modern Soil Survey Program, M. A. Wilson, R. Burt, J. M. Scheyer, A. B. Jenkins, J. V. Chiaretti, M. G. Ulmer

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

Elemental analysis has played an important role in the characterization of soils since inception of the soil survey in the US. Recent efforts in analysis of trace and major elements (geochemistry) have provided necessary data to soil survey users in a variety of areas. The first part of this paper provides a brief overview of elemental sources, forms, mobility, and bioavailability; critical aspects important to users of soil survey geochemical data for appropriate use and interpretations. Examples are provided based on data gathered as part of the US soil survey program. The second part addresses the organization of sample collection …

High-Throughput Genotyping With The Goldengate Assay In The Complex Genome Of Soybean, David L. Hyten, Qijian Song, Ik-Young Choi, Mun-Sup Yoon, James E. Specht, Lakshimi Matukumalli, Randall L. Nelson, Randy C. Shoemaker, Nevin D. Young, Perry B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Large numbers of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers are now available for a number of crop species. However, the high-throughput methods for multiplexing SNP assays are untested in complex genomes, such as soybean, that have a high proportion of paralogous genes. The Illumina GoldenGate assay is capable of multiplexing from 96 to 1,536 SNPs in a single reaction over a 3-day period. We tested the GoldenGate assay in soybean to determine the success rate of converting verified SNPs into working assays. A custom 384-SNP GoldenGate assay was designed using SNPs that had been discovered through the resequencing of five diverse …