Use of Seed Coating and Fungicide Seed Treatment in Establishing Alfalfa

Establishing a good stand is an important step in the efficient and profitable production of alfalfa. Site selection, seedbed preparation, seeding method, depth of seeding, and other agronomic factors can affect stand establishment. In some cases, seed and seedling diseases can be a significant problem in alfalfa. Damping-off (caused by Pythium spp. And Phytophthora megasperma) generally is recognized as the primary disease problem affecting alfalfa establishment. Problems due to damping-off can be significant, particularly when alfalfa is planted into poorly drained soils. In addition to site selection, fungicide seed treatment is one way to minimize losses from damping-off. For maximum plant vigor and N-fixing capability, inoculation of alfalfa seed with the appropriate rhizobia bacteria prior to planting is essential. Seed coating is a relatively new development in the alfalfa seed industry. Lime is used as the seed coating base to which rhizobia and possibly fungicide seed treatments are added. Seed coating is intended to increase stand density compared to noncoated seed, but results have been variable

Alfalfa Weevil Control in South Dakota

Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postico (Gyllenhal), is a significant pest of alfalfa in some areas of South Dakota each year. Feeding by larval stages results in reductions in yield and quality of the harvested forage. Although it generally is a problem of first-cutting alfalfa in South Dakota, regrowth of the second crop is occasionally hindered by alfalfa weevil as well

Potato Leafhopper Control in South Dakota Alfalfa

Potato leafhoppers migrate into South Dakota each year and are capable of causing extensive damage to first-year and established alfalfa stands. This pest is difficult to detect, and it often damages alfalfa before producers are aware of its presence. Potato leafhoppers can be especially damaging to newly seeded alfalfa stands

Variable-delay Polarization Modulators for Cryogenic Millimeter-wave Applications

We describe the design, construction, and initial validation of the variable-delay polarization modulator (VPM) designed for the PIPER cosmic microwave background polarimeter. The VPM modulates between linear and circular polarization by introducing a variable phase delay between orthogonal linear polarizations. Each VPM has a diameter of 39 cm and is engineered to operate in a cryogenic environment (1.5 K). We describe the mechanical design and performance of the kinematic double-blade flexure and drive mechanism along with the construction of the high precision wire grid polarizers.Comment: 8 pages, 10 Figures, Submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument

Our Peculiar Motion Away from the Local Void

The peculiar velocity of the Local Group of galaxies manifested in the Cosmic Microwave Background dipole is found to decompose into three dominant components. The three components are clearly separated because they arise on distinct spatial scales and are fortuitously almost orthogonal in their influences. The nearest, which is distinguished by a velocity discontinuity at ~7 Mpc, arises from the evacuation of the Local Void. We lie in the Local Sheet that bounds the void. Random motions within the Local Sheet are small. Our Galaxy participates in the bulk motion of the Local Sheet away from the Local Void. The component of our motion on an intermediate scale is attributed to the Virgo Cluster and its surroundings, 17 Mpc away. The third and largest component is an attraction on scales larger than 3000 km/s and centered near the direction of the Centaurus Cluster. The amplitudes of the three components are 259, 185, and 455 km/s, respectively, adding collectively to 631 km/s in the reference frame of the Local Sheet. Taking the nearby influences into account causes the residual attributed to large scales to align with observed concentrations of distant galaxies and reduces somewhat the amplitude of motion attributed to their pull. On small scales, in addition to the motion of our Local Sheet away from the Local Void, the nearest adjacent filament, the Leo Spur, is seen to be moving in a direction that will lead to convergence with our filament. Finally, a good distance to an isolated galaxy within the Local Void reveals that this dwarf system has a motion of at least 230 km/s away from the void center. Given the velocities expected from gravitational instability theory in the standard cosmological paradigm, the distance to the center of the Local Void must be at least 23 Mpc from our position. The Local Void is large!Comment: Tentatively scheduled for Astrophysical Journal, 676 (March 20), 2008. 18 figures, 3 tables including web link for 2 tables, web links to 2 video

Supramolecular Explorations: Exhibiting the Extent of Extended Cationic Cyclophanes

Acting as hosts, cationic cyclophanes, consisting of π-electron-poor bipyridinium units, are capable of entering into strong donor–acceptor interactions to form host–guest complexes with various guests when the size and electronic constitution are appropriately matched. A synthetic protocol has been developed that utilizes catalytic quantities of tetrabutylammonium iodide to make a wide variety of cationic pyridinium-based cyclophanes in a quick and easy manner. Members of this class of cationic cyclophanes with  box like geometries, dubbed  Ex n Box m 4+ for short, have been prepared by altering a number of variables: (i)  n , the number of “horizontal”  p -phenylene spacers between adjoining pyridinium units, to modulate the “length” of the cavity; (ii)  m , the number of “vertical”  p -phenylene spacers, to modulate the “width” of the cavity; and (iii) the aromatic linkers, namely, 1,4-di- and 1,3,5-trisubstituted units for the construction of macrocycles ( ExBoxes ) and macrobicycles ( ExCages ), respectively. This Account serves as an exploration of the properties that emerge from these structural modifications of the pyridinium-based hosts, coupled with a call for further investigation into the wealth of properties inherent in this class of compounds. By variation of only the aforementioned components, the role of these cationic receptors covers ground that spans (i) synthetic methodology, (ii) extraction and sequestration, (iii) catalysis, (iv) molecular electronics, (v) physical organic chemistry, and (vi) supramolecular chemistry.  Ex 1 Box 4+ (or simply  ExBox 4+ ) has been shown to be a multipurpose receptor capable of binding a wide range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), while also being a suitable component in switchable mechanically interlocked molecules. Additionally, the electronic properties of some host–guest complexes allow the development of artificial photosystems.  Ex 2 Box 4+ boasts the ability to bind both π-electron-rich and -poor aromatic guests in different binding sites located within the same cavity.  ExBox 2 4+ forms complexes with C 60 in which discrete arrays of aligned fullerenes result in single cocrystals, leading to improved material conductivities. When the substitution pattern of the  Ex n Box 4+ series is changed to 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzenoid cores, the hexacationic  cage like compound, termed  ExCage 6+ , exhibits different kinetics of complexation with guests of varying sizes—a veritable playground for physical organic chemists. The organization of functionality with respect to structure becomes valuable as the number of analogues continues to grow. With each of these minor structural modifications, a wealth of properties emerge, begging the question as to what discoveries await and what properties will be realized with the continued exploration of this area of supramolecular chemistry based on a unique class of receptor molecules

Relative contractile motion of the rings in a switchable palindromic [3]rotaxane in aqueous solution driven by radical-pairing interactions

Artificial muscles are an essential component for the development of next-generation prosthetic devices, minimally invasive surgical tools, and robotics. This communication describes the design, synthesis, and characterisation of a mechanically interlocked molecule (MIM), capable of switchable and reversible linear molecular motion in aqueous solution that mimics muscular contraction and extension. Compatibility with aqueous solution was achieved in the doubly bistable palindromic [3]rotaxane design by using radical-based molecular recognition as the driving force to induce switching.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Award F32GM105403)American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowshi

The Northeast Pacific GLOBEC Program: Coastal Gulf of Alaska

(First Paragraph) The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) continental shelf encompasses approximately 370,000 km2, or about 13% of the U.S. continental shell and supports a rich and diverse marine ecosystem including some of the largest commercial fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Of particular economic importance is the salmon fishery, which was worth on the order of $170 million (landed value) in 2000 accrued from a catch of over 100 million fish. However, there is considerable variability on both interannual and longer time scales in harvest and recruitment success to this and other GOA fisheries. Of recent interest are compelling indications that abundances of salmon, other fish species, and zooplankton vary on decadal scales in association with North Pacific basin-scale climate changes (Beamish, 1995; Mantua et al., 1997; Roemmich and McGowan, 1995; Brodeur et al., 1996; Francis et al., 1998; Anderson and Piatt, 1999; Hollowed et al., 2001)

Risk Analysis and Decision Making FY 2013 Milestone Report

Risk analysis and decision making is one of the critical objectives of CCSI, which seeks to use information from science-based models with quantified uncertainty to inform decision makers who are making large capital investments. The goal of this task is to develop tools and capabilities to facilitate the development of risk models tailored for carbon capture technologies, quantify the uncertainty of model predictions, and estimate the technical and financial risks associated with the system. This effort aims to reduce costs by identifying smarter demonstrations, which could accelerate development and deployment of the technology by several years