Agricultural Science Commons^™

Effect Of Leaf Phosphorus And Potassium Concentration On Chlorophyll Meter Reading In Rice, Shaobing Peng, Arnel L. Sanico, Felipe V. Garcia, Rebecca C. Laza, Romeo M. Visperas, Josue P. Descalsota, Kenneth G. Cassman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Chlorophyll meter (SPAD) is a convenient tool to estimate leaf nitrogen (N) concentration of rice plants. There is no information on the effects of leaf phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) concentration on SP AD readings and on the relationship between SPAD values and leaf N concentration in the literature. In 1996 dry season, cv IR72 was grown at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) under various N, P and K fertilizer combinations. SPAD measurements were made on the topmost fully expanded leaves at mid-tillering and panicle initiation. The leaves were then detached, dried …

Loci Controlling Resistance To High Plains Virus And Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus In A B73 × Mo17 Population Of Maize, A. Marçon, S. M. Kaeppler, S. G. Jensen, L. Senior, C. Stuber

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

High Plains disease has the potential to cause significant yield loss in susceptible corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes, especially in the central and western USA. The primary causal agent, High Plains virus (HPV), is vectored by wheat curl mite (WCM; Aceria tossicheila Keifer), which is also the vector of wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV). In general, the two diseases occur together as a mixed infection in the field. The objective of this research was to characterize the inheritance of HPV and WSMV resistance using B73 (resistant to HPV and WSMV) × Mo17 (moderately …

Improving Feed Grains, Bruce P. Mullan

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Clearly, to encourage grain growers to focus their production systems towards feed grains, it is important to first identify the reasons for variation in the nutritional value of grains and then to develop rapid, cheap, and accurate methods of measuring these factors. The analytical methods should ideally be suitable for application either at the site of grain delivery from the farm or within the place of stockfeed manufacture. This will mean the nutritional value of the grain can be known before it is used. The rational marketing of feed grains could then be achieved, with the benefits from more efficient …

The Use Of Bauxite Residue As A Soil Amendment In The Peel -Harvey Coastal Plain Catchment - Environmental Monitoring Report August 1999, Mark Rivers

Natural resources published reports

The Peel-Harvey Coastal Plain Catchment is located immediately south of Perth in Western Australia and covers approximately 190,000 ha. It extends from Forrestdale in the north to Harvey in the south, and west from the Darling Scarp to Mandurah on the coast. The boundary of the catchment, as illustrated in Figure 1, represents the area which has been approved by the DEP for the broadscale application of Alkaloam as a soil amendment. (This figure also indicates features and regions of importance in this project).

The region experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters with most …

Bulletin 4397 - Stone Fruit From Western Australia - At A Glance, Glynn Ward, Geraldine Pasqual, Eleanor Melvin-Carter

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australia produces a range of horticultural commodities including fruit, vegetables, flowers, nursery products and wine as part of its fast growing $400 million horticultural industry. Natural advantages such as climate and clean environment, soils and water make Western Australia an ideal place to supply a variety of high quality produce to domestic and international markets.

The stone fruit industry in Western Australia is booming with large production increases predicted. Production from well established plum, peach and nectarine orchards in 1996/97 is estimated at $17 million and exports have doubled in the past five years to $10 million in 1998/99. …

Bulletin 4384 - New Asian Vegetables From Western Australia - At A Glance, Vynka Mcveigh, Soon Chye Tan Dr, Geraldine Pasqual

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australia produces a range of horticultural commodities including fruit, vegetables, flowers, nursery products and wine as part of its fast growing $400 million horticultural industry. Natural advantages such as climate and clean environment, soils and water make Western Australia an ideal place to supply a variety of high quality produce to domestic and international markets.

Western Australia is Australia's largest exporter of fresh vegetables, sending a range of products to over 20 countries. A strong export trade has developed with South East Asia and growing opportunities exist in other markets in Asia and in the Northern Hemisphere. Western Australia …

Isolation Of Sperm Storage Tubules From The Uterovaginal Junction Mucosa Of The Turkey, L. M. King, J. P. Brillard, M. R. Bakst, A. M. Donoghue

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

This study was performed to determine whether intact sperm storage tubules (SST) could be successfully isolated from the uterovaginal junction (UVJ) mucosa of the turkey. Large White BUTA hens were inseminated and euthanatized 24 to 48 h later. Oviducts were excised, UVJ tissue removed, and SST were procured by enzymatic digestion. Recovered SST were intact and contained motile sperm. The sperm were oriented with their acrosomes pointed towards the distal end of the SST, and their long axes in parallel with the long axis of the tubule’s lumen. This method for the isolation of intact SST can be readily applied …

Cytogenetic Assignment Of 53 Microsatellites From The Usda-Marc Porcine Genetic Map, N. L. Lopez-Corrales, C. W. Beattie, G. A. Rohrer

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

This study provides 53 new fluorescent in situ hybridization cytogenetic assignments for microsatellite markers linked to the swine genetic map. Forty microsatellites are physically assigned for the first time. The chromosomal locations of eight markers were either confirmed or refined, while five loci were assigned to locations different from those given in previous reports. Markers were selected to provide physical anchors based on their presumed proximity to centromeres or telomeres and at approximately 30 cM invervals across the genetic map. The number of physical anchors for pig (SSC) chromosomes 8, 15, and 18 linkage groups was significantly improved. Centromeric regions …

Economic And Environmental Benefits Of Soil/Water Nitrogen Testing: The Case Of Central Nebraska, C. S. Kim, Harold Taylor, Carmen Sandretto

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

This research presents a competitive dynamic model to evaluate the economic and groundwater quality benefits resulting from the adoption of soil/water nitrogen testing. The model is applied to an irrigated corn production county in the Nebraska Mid-State area where the groundwater contamination level from nitrates is reported to be, on average 18.7 parts per million (ppm). Adoption of nutrient management practices would result in increased economic benefits to farmers and reduced nitrate stocks in groundwater.

Effect Of Airflow On House Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Distribution In Poultry Houses, Christopher Geden, Jerome Hogsette, Roger Jacobs

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

Numbers of fecal and vomit spots deposited by house flies, Musca domestica L., on spot cards were about twice as high on cards placed on the downwind sides as on the upwind sides of building support posts in caged-layer poultry houses with tunnel ventilation in Brooksville, FL. This trend was stronger at the ends of the houses where airflow is faster than in the relatively still-air center of the houses. A similar evaluation conducted in a pullet house (Zephyrhills, FL) with an evaporative cooling ventilation system revealed significantly higher fly counts on spot cards and sticky cards in downwind compared …

Effects On Commercial Broiler Chicks Of Constant Exposure To Ultraviolet Light From Insect Traps, Jerome Hogsette, Henry Wilson

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

Constant exposure of newly hatched Avian x Avian broilers to ultraviolet light from insect traps for 42 d resulted in no significant differences in mortality, weight gain, feed consumption, or feed conversion. Birds were exposed to greater intensities of ultraviolet light for longer periods than could be expected under commercial conditions. Although house flies are rarely a problem in broiler houses, our results indicate that insect traps with ultraviolet light as an attractant would not be detrimental to production of broilers. The need for additional testing of light traps for nuisance fly control in commercial broiler houses is discussed.

The Reproductive Biology And Effective Pollinators Of The Endangered Beardtongue Penstemon Penlandii (Scrophulariaceae), Vincent J. Tepedino, Sedonia D. Sipes, Terry L. Griswold

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

Penland's beardtongue, a rare endemic plant of the Colorado Plateau, displays a mixed breeding system. Plants are partially self-compatible but set more fruits when cross-pollinated than when self-pollinated. Fruit production is significantly increased by pollinators. However, in two years of study there was no indication that fruit set was being limited by inadequate pollinator visitation. Pollinator effectiveness was judged by correlating bee behavior at the flowers with analysis of the pollen carried on bee bodies. The most important pollinators were native megachilid bees, particularly in the genus Osmia. The bees that pollinate Penland's beardtongue are essential to its reproduction …

Report Of The Brassica Crops Working Group, Chris Neeser

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

The Brassicaceae family comprises about 3000 species, the majority of which are found in the Northern Hemisphere. Many common agricultural weeds, such as Brassica nigra (L.) Koch, Brassica rapa L., Cardaria draba (L.) Desv., Raphanus raphanistrum L., and Sinapis arvensis L., belong to this family. The most important crop species from this family are the oilseed Brassicas; Brassica napus L., B rapa L., and B juncea Coss., which are generally referred to as rapeseed, oilseed rape, or canola. Other widely cultivated species in this family are: B. oleracea L. (cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli), B. chinensis L. …

Report Of The Grains Working Group (Rice, Sorghum And Wheat), Donna Mitten

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

The grains working group identified three crops which have sexually compatible weedy relatives likely to be subject to gene flow in US agricultural systems (Table 1). The ease of cross pollination and the successful production of a fertile hybrid vary with each case. If the selective advantage of an introduced trait is positive, however, introgression of the new trait into an existing weed population is possible. The risk of ecological harm is then dependent upon the habitat of the weed. In the crop-weed complexes considered here, in which the habitat of the weedy relative is limited to agricultural systems, the …

Measurement Of Sorghum Stalk Strength Using The Missouri-Modified Electronic Rind Penetrometer, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, J. J. Toy

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Resistance to lodging is critical in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] grown for grain, yet adequate tools for plant breeders to assess this character at or before anthesis have not been developed. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether an electronic penetrometer previously shown to be an effective tool for measuring stalk strength in maize (Zea mays L.) could be usedd to differentiate among grain sorghum hybrids. Entries in three commercial grain sorghum hybrid trials were evaluated for rind penetrometer resistance (RPR) of the peduncle, the lower stalk anthesis and the lower stalk at maturity. Actual …

A Crna Probe Detects Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Virus In Three Peach Cultivars After Micrografting And In Peach Shoots Following Long-Term Culture At 4°C, K. Heuss, Q. Liu, F.A. Hammerschlag, R.W. Hammond

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

As part of a program to develop transgenic peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) cultivars with resistance to Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), we are testing a system for measuring virus in peach shoot cultures. Micrografting in vitro is used for inoculation and slot-blot hybridization, with a digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled cRNA probe complementary to the 5´ open reading frame (ORF) of PNRSV RNA 3, for detection. In this study, we investigated whether infected shoots maintain virus infection over long periods of culture at 4°C and if PNRSV-infected ‘Suncrest’ shoot cultures can serve as graft bases to transmit virus equally well into …

Comparison Of Precipitation Catch Between Nine Measuring Systems, Clayton L. Hanson, Gregory L. Johnson, Albert Rango

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

A site was established by the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service on the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho in the fall of 1987 and operated through the spring of 1994, to compare precipitation catch between nine precipitation-measuring systems. This site was established as a part of the World Meteorological Organization’s program to compare current national methods of measuring solid precipitation (snow), so the primary emphasis of this study was the measurement of snowfall. Over seven seasons, four of the systems measured snowfall and total catch, which included snow, mixed snow and rain, and rain events, within …

The Concept Of Familiarity And Pest Resistant Plants, Karen Hokanson, David Heron, Subhash Gupta, Susan Koehler, Craig Roseland, Shanthu Shantharam, John Turner, James White, Michael Schechtman, Sally Mccammon, Rebecca Bech

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

Meetings such as this workshop provide an all too rare opportunity for scientists from different disciplines to share their perspectives on a topic of common interest. In this case we examine the use of pest resistant plants in managed ecosystems. USDA-APHIS has a clear interest in this subject because it is involved in regulating transgenic plants, many of which have been engineered with some sort of pest resistance, within its broad authority to protect plants under the Federal Plant Pest Act and the Plant Quarantine Act. Since 1992, when APHIS received its first request to determine non-regulated status for a …

Report Of The Cucurbit Working Group, James D. Mccreight, Jack Staub

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

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) originated in India, melon (C. melo L.) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in Africa, and squash, pumpkin, and gourd (Cucurbita spp.) in the Americas. Thus, cucumber, melon, and watermelon (including citron) are relatively recent introductions to the New World. Most domesticated species of Cucurbita were introduced from Mexico, Central America, and South America with the migration of native Americans centuries earlier. Wax gourd (Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Logr.) is from Southeast Asia. Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Stand.) is of African origin. South Asia is the probable center of …

Physical Mapping Of The Bovine, Caprine And Ovine Homologues Of The Paired Box Gene Pax8, N. L. Lòpez-Corrales, T. S. Sonstegard, T. P. L. Smith

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

The PAX8 gene, a member of the human paired box gene family, was mapped by FISH to chromosome 11 in cattle and goat and to the short arm of chromosome 3 in sheep. The cytogenetic position of PAX8 on BTA 11 and on its homologue OAR 3p lies in the region where the interleukin beta (IL1B) gene has been previously located, (BTA 11q22.1→q22.3 and OAR 3p25→q26 respectively; Lòpez-Corrales et al., 1998). The results indicated that PAX8 as well as interleukin beta and interleukin alpha (IL1B and IL1A) genes detected on the human chromosome segment HSA 2q13→q21 maintain a similar …

Analysis Of Human Skin Emanations By Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. 1. Thermal Desorption Of Attractants For The Yellow Fever Mosquito (Aedes Aegypti) From Handled Glass Beads, Ulrich R. Bernier, Matthew M. Booth, Richard A. Yost

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

Handled glass has the ability to collect and concentrate nonaqueous human skin emanations while minimizing the collection of aqueous perspiration. Compounds originating from the skin and collected on glass have previously been found to attract the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito. Therefore, glass beads were used as the medium to collect skin emanations from humans for subsequent chemical analysis. This process consisted of a 5-15-min collection of sample on glass beads, followed by loading the beads into a gas chromatograph (GC) injector insert for subsequent desorption of the collected compounds onto the GC column. After cryofocusing by liquid nitrogen at …

Midseason Stalk Breakage In Corn As Affected By Crop Rotation, Hybrid, And Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate, Wallace Wilhelm, Mark A. Liebig, Gary E. Varvel, Tracy M. Blackmer

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

In July of 1993 and 1994, southern Nebraska experienced devastating windstorms, with winds estimated to exceed 45 m s^-1. These storms resulted in severe brittle-snap of corn (Zea mays L.), with stalks breaking near the primary ear node in the basal portion of an elongating internode. In the storm path were several experiments established on a Hord silt loam (Cumulic Haplustolls) to determine the effect of selected management practices (crop rotation, hybrid selection, planting date, and N fertilization) on nitrate leaching to ground water from irrigated cropland. After the storms, the number of broken plants was determined …

Report Of The Berry Working Group (Strawberry, Raspberry/Blackberry, Blueberry), Erin Rosskopf

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

Strawberries are a relatively recently domesticated crop. The most commonly cultivated strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa, is a hybrid of the North American F. virginiana and the South American F. chiloensis (Maas 1998). These parental species are still grown in some areas and F. virginiana is the primary wild, sexually compatible relative to the cultivated strawberry. In addition to F. virginiana, F. vesca and its subspecies are also present in the United States. Fragaria x ananassa and F. virginiana readily cross. Introgression of pest resistance traits into the wild strawberry population is likely, as substantial amounts of crop-weed introgression …

Report Of The Turfgrasses Working Group, Hector Quemada

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

Over 30 species of grasses are utilized for turf (Huff 1998), while others are important in agriculture as forage crops. The commercial value of this group of plants makes them attractive for improvement through modern genetic engineering techniques (Johnson and Riordan, in press). Because of the diversity of species and the consequent differences in biology among them, broad generalizations regarding the ecological effects of pest resistance genes introduced into these crops cannot be made. Rather, questions regarding the potential for pest resistance genes must be directed toward specific cases in which the species and the particular introduced gene are known. …

Paternity Efficiency In Turkeys Differes Extensively After Hererospermic Insemination, Ann M. Donoghue, Murray R. Bakst, Paul Drummond, Shakura Haqque, Edward J. Smith, Daniel J. Donoghue

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

All commercial turkey hens in the U.S. are bred by artificial insemination (AI).  Since semen samples are pooled from 10 or more males (heterospermic inseminations), paternity of the progeny is rarely known.  Whereas it is known that sperm competition exists, the degree to which any male's sperm fertilizes ova relative to other male's remains unknown.  In this work, we determined individual male fecundity relative to that of other males in the study and attempted to establish a relationship between male fecundity and semen characteristics in turkeys.  Fingerprinting of genomic DNA from parents and offspring was used to determine parentage efficiency. …

Genetic Relationships Among Subspecies Of Vigna Unguiculata (L.) Walp. Based On Allozyme Variation, R. S. Pasquet

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a morphologically and genetically variable species composed of wild perennial, wild annual, and cultivated forms that are mainly used for edible seeds and pods. In this study, genetic variation in 199 germplasm accessions of wild and cultivated cowpea was evaluated using an allozyme analysis. The results from this survey showed that wild cowpea exhibits genetic variation perfectly fitted with the existing morphological classification. The cowpea gene-pool is characterized by its unusually large size. It encompasses taxa (ranked as subspecies) that could be considered as different species considering the high genetic distances observed between …

Efficacy Of Neem Seed Derivatives Against Nematodes Affecting Banana, T. Musabyimana, R. C. Saxena

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Soil applications of powdered neem seed or neem cake at 100 g/plant at planting and, subsequently, at 3-month intervals, reduced the populations of Pratylenchus goodeyi Sher and Allen and Meloidogyne spp. on par with Furadan 5G (carbofuran) applied at 40 g/plant at planting and then at 6-month intervals to banana plants grown in 100-l containers with controlled levels of banana nematode infestations. Eight months after planting, banana plants treated with powdered neem cake, seed or kernel or with neem oil had 4 to 95 times fewer parasitic nematodes than the untreated control. However, only neem cake powder or neem seed …

B.R. Wells Rice Research Studies 1997, R. J. Norman, T. H. Johnston

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Scales 2: Computer Program To Convert Among Developmental Stage Scales For Corn And Small Grains, Dorothy M. Harrell, Wallace Wilhelm, Gregory S. Mcmaster

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

Producers and agronomists need crop developmental scales that are easy to use, universally accepted, and accurate. Development of such a scale requires correlation of stages among scales currently in use and correlation of developmental patterns among crops. A computer program for converting among staging systems is a useful tool in developing new staging systems with wider applicability. The BBCH scale (BASF-Bayer-Ciba-Geigy-Hoechst) has been proposed as a prototype of a universal scale. We have added the BBCH scale to our scale conversion program for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and developed a similar conversion program for corn (Zea mays L.), …

Comparisons Of Soil Physical Characteristics In Long-Term Tillage Winter Wheat-Fallow Tillage Experiments, L. N. Mielke, Wallace Wilhelm

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

Soil physical characteristics resulting from tillage of fallow-wheat (Triticurn aestivurn L.) cropping systems were compared for two soils in western Nebraska. The soil physical environment influences the amount of water entering soil and the microenvironment that influences soil biological processes important to plant response. Effects of tillage on physical properties varied with soil type and depth of soil tillage. Generally, the 0-76 mm surface layer has the largest number of physical properties that differ as a result of tillage; however, only a few properties differed at greater depths. The Alliance silt loam (fine silty, mixed, mesic, Aridic Arguistoll) soil …