The Outlying Experimental Farms: Roots of Research

Iowa State University\u27s Agricultural Experiment Station may be compared to a tree production fruit. Just as the tree producing fruit. Just as the tree spreads its roots into the surrounding soil to gather nutrients and moisture, the Experiment Station spreads its roots to all parts of Iowa through the Outlying Experimental Farm system to gather research information

Sudan Provides Extra Forage for Beef

If demand for beef continues at the current rate and with projected population increases, Iowa farmers may want to cash in on this expanding market. Use of sudan grass or sudan-sorghum crosses can provide the extra feed insurance often needed for a cow herd in this state

Association of nematodes and dogwood cankers

Dogwood canker is a serious production problem of unknown cause. From May 1985 through April 1989, cankers from 290 flowering dogwood trees in fifteen separate nurseries were sampled for nematodes. Seventy—three percent (213) of the cankers were found to contain nematodes. Panagrolaimus rigidus and Aphelenchoides spp. were reared in the laboratory on antibiotic media with Glomerella cingulata as a food source, and panagrplajimus riaidus was reared on water agar with bacteria as a food source. Repeated attempts to culture Aphelenchoides sp. on dogwood callus tissue were unsuccessful. When dogwood trees were inoculated with one or a mixture of Aphelenchoides spp. or P. rigidus, inoculation in wounds was completely callused after 60 days with no indication of canker development. Very low levels of nematodes were recovered from the inoculated trees, but P. ridigus and one Aphelenchoides sp. showed a high degree of dispersibility by occurring in treatments other than those in which they were inoculated

Orphan SelD proteins and selenium-dependent molybdenum hydroxylases

Bacterial and Archaeal cells use selenium structurally in selenouridine-modified tRNAs, in proteins translated with selenocysteine, and in the selenium-dependent molybdenum hydroxylases (SDMH). The first two uses both require the selenophosphate synthetase gene, selD. Examining over 500 complete prokaryotic genomes finds selD in exactly two species lacking both the selenocysteine and selenouridine systems, Enterococcus faecalis and Haloarcula marismortui. Surrounding these orphan selD genes, forming bidirectional best hits between species, and detectable by Partial Phylogenetic Profiling vs. selD, are several candidate molybdenum hydroxylase subunits and accessory proteins. We propose that certain accessory proteins, and orphan selD itself, are markers through which new selenium-dependent molybdenum hydroxylases can be found

The Soil Conversation Experimental Farm

In its 35-year life, the Soil Conservation Experimental Farm in Page County has provided information on water runoff, soil loss, erosion control, and watershed management and production problems of beef cow herds

The Albia Research Farm

Born in the Great Depression, it first provided labor for unemployed workers. Since then, it has spearheaded southern Iowa research efforts in pasture improvement and brush control, birdsfoot trefoil, and beef cattle breeding