PB1742 Tennessee Cotton Variety Test Results 2011

Version 5.

Res Rep 12-01 Wheat and Oat Variety Performance Tests in Tennessee 2011

Version 2.

Influence of Pyrolysis Temperature and Production Conditions on Switchgrass Biochar for Use as a Soil Amendment

Biochars form recalcitrant carbon and increase water and nutrient retention in soils; however, the magnitude is contingent upon production conditions and thermo-chemical conversion processes. Herein we aim at (i) characterizing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)-biochar morphology, (ii) estimating water-holding capacity under increasing ratios of char: soil; and, (iii) determining nutrient profile variation as a function of pyrolysis conversion methodologies (i.e. continuous, auger pyrolysis system versus batch pyrolysis systems) for terminal use as a soil amendment. Auger system chars produced at 600 °C had the greatest lignin portion by weight among the biochars produced from the continuous system. On the other hand, a batch pyrolysis system (400 °C – 3h) yielded biochar with 73.10% lignin (12 fold increases), indicating higher recalcitrance, whereas lower production temperatures (400 °C) yielded greater hemicellulose (i.e. greater mineralization promoting substrate). Under both pyrolysis methods, increasing biochar soil application rates resulted in linear decreases in bulk density (g cm-3). Increases in auger-char (400 °C) applications increased soil water-holding capacities; however, application rates of \u3e2 Mt ha-1 are required. Pyrolysis batch chars did not influence water-holding abilities (P\u3e0.05). Biochar macro and micronutrients increased, as the pyrolysis temperature increased in the auger system from 400 to 600 °C, and the residence time increased in the batch pyrolysis system from 1 to 3 h. Conversely, nitrogen levels tended to decrease under the two previously mentioned conditions. Consequently, not all chars are inherently equal, in that varying operation systems, residence times, and production conditions greatly affect uses as a soil amendment and overall rate of efficacy

Convergent Evolution of Chromosomal Sex-Determining Regions in the Animal and Fungal Kingdoms

Sexual identity is governed by sex chromosomes in plants and animals, and by mating type (MAT) loci in fungi. Comparative analysis of the MAT locus from a species cluster of the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus revealed sequential evolutionary events that fashioned this large, highly unusual region. We hypothesize that MAT evolved via four main steps, beginning with acquisition of genes into two unlinked sex-determining regions, forming independent gene clusters that then fused via chromosomal translocation. A transitional tripolar intermediate state then converted to a bipolar system via gene conversion or recombination between the linked and unlinked sex-determining regions. MAT was subsequently subjected to intra- and interallelic gene conversion and inversions that suppress recombination. These events resemble those that shaped mammalian sex chromosomes, illustrating convergent evolution in sex-determining structures in the animal and fungal kingdoms

Soil quality indices based on long-term conservation cropping systems management

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) may provide insight into how conservation practices affect soil quality (SQ) regionally. Therefore, we aimed to quantify SQ in a long-term (15-yr) crop rotation and bio-covers experiment under notillage using SMAF. Main effects were cropping rotations of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], corn (Zea mays L.), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Split-block biocover treatments consisted of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum L. sativum var. arvense), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), poultry litter, and fallow (control). Seven SQ indicators—soil pH, total organic carbon (TOC), bulk density (BD), soil extractable P and K, electrical conductivity (EC), and sodium adsorption ration (SAR)—were scored using SMAF algorithms, and investigated individually and as an overall soil quality index (SQI). Simple linear regressions were performed between SQI and crop yields. Differences (

Planning ahead in Missouri's dairy industry

Text of caption on page 6 is cut off due to tight binding."Dairying originated as a way men could turn supplies of forage into profitable human food by applying their skill and labor to the management of herds of milking animals. This objective still applies-but how the means have changed! Methods of getting milk out of a cow, to and through the market, and into the kitchens of consumers have gone from hand style to "untouched by human hand" marvels of mechanization. Even the cow, the factory that does the conversion, has been modified into a manufacturing machine that grows more efficient and productive each year. Average production per cow has climbed from 4,218 to 8,513 pounds per year in the past 40 years. Missouri cows haven't produced as well, but have climbed from 3,300 to 7,400 pounds in the same period. That's one of the problems we need to correct in the next few years to stay in competition. Progress has been slow in increasing forage yields but that's coming in for attention now. This publication reviews where Missouri's dairy industry stands now, where we're headed if present trends continue., and what needs to be done to improve the position of dairying. Ten and 20 years from now we want to be in the forefront."--Page 1.Prepared by O.E. Allen, Edward J. Constien, J.E. Edmondson, Alfred Lane, W.J. Murphy, Leroy Peters, Alva L. Preston, Jr., Edward R. Wiggins, Fred H. Meinershagen (Chairman