A study of cultivation and sowing systems for cereals.

End of Project ReportDue to the pressure on cereal margins growers are seeking ways of reducing their costs of production. Reduced cultivation may provide cheaper and faster crop establishment, but in the past has been subject to problems with (poor crop establishment) weeds and soil compaction. With modern cultivation and sowing technology and methodology it may be possible to overcome these difficulties. In addition reduced cultivation is considered to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the conventional plough-based system. With these considerations in mind it was decided to start an experiment in autumn 2000 to compare the conventional system (PL) with reduced cultivation (RC) for crop establishment, and to examine the effect of incorporating the straw into then soil or baling and removing it. The treatments were assessed on winter wheat, and winter and spring barley. The parameters assessed included – crop establishment, yield and quality effects on disease levels, invertebrate pests and beneficials (aphids, slugs, earthworms, beetles), and soil conditions. The work reported here was conducted on four trial sites at Oak Park, Carlow and Knockbeg, Co. Laois from 2000 to 2003. the objectives were to establish the efficacy of RC compared with PL and to its effects on the parameters outlined above. Plant establishment was lower after RC in most of the experiments. Winter wheat yields were good irrespective of the number of plants established and there were no significant differences between cultivation or straw disposal method. The relative yields of the PL and RC treatments in winter barley varied over the three years; in 2001 there was no difference, in 2002 PL yielded 1 t/ha more than RC, while in 2003 the PL area produced 2 t/ha extra. Spring barley yields were similar on the PL and RC treatments. Broadleaved weeds were not a problem on the PL or RC treatments but there were more annual grass weeds on the RC plots. This was particularly serious in the winter barley experiments where sterile brome (Bromus sterilis) had a big effect on yield by 2003. annual meadow grass (Poa annua) was a problem in both PL and RC areas if not controlled by timely herbicide application; this was particularly so on the headland areas in the spring barley field. Disease assessment on the winter wheat trail showed no significant differences in Take-all or Eyespot levels between cultivation or straw disposal methods, although Take-all levels tended to be lower on the RC plots. Soil strength as measured by cone penetrometer and shear vane was higher on the RC treatments. In the winter wheat there was no difference in slug numbers between any of the treatments. Leaf damage by slugs increased in RC relative to PL but not significantly, in 2003. No below ground slug damage was found. Earthworm numbers in the winter barley increased significantly on the RC treatment relative to the PL as the study progressed. Straw incorporation increased earthworm numbers on both PL and RC treatments. Allolobophora chlorotia was the most common species in 2004. In the winter wheat the RC and straw incorporation increased earthworm numbers. Cultivation method had a greater effect on ground beetle numbers than method of straw disposal. Large species (e.g. Pterostichies malanarius) were favoured by RC while smaller species (e.g. Bembidon species) were more numerous in the PL plots. Molecular studies on virus diseases, vectors and vector-predators are underway in progress. In the invertebrate pests and beneficials investigations the RC winter barley had 11% fewer aphids and 27% less BYDV than the PL. Incorporating straw reduced aphid numbers and virus incidence by 36% and 32% respectively; the comparable values for the PL + straw treatment were 15% and 15%. In the winter wheat there was less BYDV in the RC plots than the PL + less were the straw was incorporated than where the straw was removed. Aphid infestation of wheat ears was low in the three years of the experiment. The insecticide seed treatment imidacloprid significantly reduced aphid numbers and virus incidence in winter barley but was less effective than a single insecticide spray in controlling the disease. The seed treatment was more effective in controlling BYDV in RC than in the PL plots. Estimations of slug numbers in the winter barley showed that the dominant species was the grey field slug (Deroceras reticulatum). Slug numbers increased significantly on all treatments between 2001 and 2004. In November 2004, slugs were significantly more numerous in the RC treatments than in the PL areas. Leaf damage was proportional to slug populations, but the slugs did not damage the barely seed or reduce plant populations in continuous winter barley under RC. Root and stem diseases (Take-all and Eyespot) were not nay worse under RC than after PL. In fact there was a tendency towards lower disease levels on the RC areas and there was significantly less sharp eyespot on the RC treatment

HIF-1α is required for hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and 4-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors enhance mobilization by stabilizing HIF-1α

Many patients with hematological neoplasms fail to mobilize sufficient numbers of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) precluding subsequent autologous HSC transplantation. Plerixafor, a specific antagonist of the chemokine receptor CXCR4, can rescue some but not all patients who failed to mobilize with G-CSF alone. These refractory poor mobilizers cannot currently benefit from autologous transplantation. To discover alternative targetable pathways to enhance HSC mobilization, we studied the role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the effect of HIF-1α pharmacological stabilization on HSC mobilization in mice. We demonstrate in mice with HSC-specific conditional deletion of the Hif1a gene that the oxygen-labile transcription factor HIF-1α is essential for HSC mobilization in response to G-CSF and Plerixafor. Conversely, pharmacological stabilization of HIF-1α with the 4-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor FG-4497 synergizes with G-CSF and Plerixafor increasing mobilization of reconstituting HSCs 20-fold compared with G-CSF plus Plerixafor, currently the most potent mobilizing combination used in the clinic

Beef production from feedstuffs conserved using new technologies to reduce negative environmental impacts

End of project reportMost (ca. 86%) Irish farms make some silage. Besides directly providing feed for livestock, the provision of grass silage within integrated grassland systems makes an important positive contribution to effective grazing management and improved forage utilisation by grazing animals, and to effective feed budgeting by farmers. It can also contribute to maintaining the content of desirable species in pastures, and to livestock not succumbing to parasites at sensitive times of the year. Furthermore, the optimal recycling of nutrients collected from housed livestock can often be best achieved by spreading the manures on the land used for producing the conserved feed. On most Irish farms, grass silage will remain the main conserved forage for feeding to livestock during winter for the foreseeable future. However, on some farms high yields of whole-crop (i.e. grain + straw) cereals such as wheat, barley and triticale, and of forage maize, will be an alternative option provided that losses during harvesting, storage and feedout are minimised and that input costs are restrained. These alternative forages have the potential to reliably support high levels of animal performance while avoiding the production of effluent. Their production and use however will need to advantageously integrate into ruminant production systems. A range of technologies can be employed for crop production and conservation, and for beef production, and the optimal options need to be identified. Beef cattle being finished indoors are offered concentrate feedstuffs at rates that range from modest inputs through to ad libitum access. Such concentrates frequently contain high levels of cereals such as barley or wheat. These cereals are generally between 14% to 18% moisture content and tend to be rolled shortly before being included in coarse rations or are more finely processed prior to pelleting. Farmers thinking of using ‘high-moisture grain’ techniques for preserving and processing cereal grains destined for feeding to beef cattle need to know how the yield, conservation efficiency and feeding value of such grains compares with grains conserved using more conventional techniques. European Union policy strongly encourages a sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. Therefore, in addition to providing European consumers with quality food produced within approved systems, agriculture must also contribute positively to the conservation of natural resources and the upkeep of the rural landscape. Plastics are widely used in agriculture and their post-use fate on farms must not harm the environment - they must be managed to support the enduring sustainability of farming systems. There is an absence of information on the efficacy of some new options for covering and sealing silage with plastic sheeting and tyres, and an absence of an inventory of the use, re-use and post-use fate of plastic film on farms. Irish cattle farmers operate a large number of beef production systems, half of which use dairy bred calves. In the current, continuously changing production and market conditions, new beef systems must be considered. A computer package is required that will allow the rapid, repeatable simulation and assessment of alternate beef production systems using appropriate, standardised procedures. There is thus a need to construct, evaluate and utilise computer models of components of beef production systems and to develop mathematical relationships to link system components into a network that would support their integration into an optimal system model. This will provide a framework to integrate physical and financial on-farm conditions with models for estimating feed supply and animal growth patterns. Cash flow and profit/loss results will be developed. This will help identify optimal systems, indicate the cause of failure of imperfect systems and identify areas where applied research data are currently lacking, or more basic research is required

EIP-AGRI Focus Group : Precision farming

Final report201

Efficient derivation of NPCs, spinal motor neurons and midbrain dopaminergic neurons from hESCs at 3% oxygen

This protocol has been designed to generate neural precursor cells (NPCs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using a physiological oxygen (O(2)) level of 3% and chemically defined conditions. The first stage involves suspension culture of hESC colonies at 3% O(2), where they acquire a neuroepithelial identity over two weeks. This timescale is comparable to that at 20% O(2), but survival is enhanced. Sequential application of retinoic acid (RA) and purmorphamine (PM), from day 14 to 28, directs differentiation towards spinal motor neurons. Alternatively, addition of FGF-8 and PM generates midbrain dopaminergic neurons. OLIG2 induction in motor neuron precursors is 2-fold greater than at 20% O(2), whereas EN1 is 5-fold enhanced. 3% NPCs can be differentiated into all three neural lineages, and such cultures can be maintained long-term in the absence of neurotrophins. The ability to generate defined cell types at 3% O(2) should represent a significant advance for in vitro disease modelling and potentially cell-based therapies

Prostate Cancer Cell Lines under Hypoxia Exhibit Greater Stem-Like Properties

Hypoxia is an important environmental change in many cancers. Hypoxic niches can be occupied by cancer stem/progenitor-like cells that are associated with tumor progression and resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, it has not yet been fully elucidated how hypoxia influences the stem-like properties of prostate cancer cells. In this report, we investigated the effects of hypoxia on human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and DU145. In comparison to normoxia (20% O2), 7% O2 induced higher expressions of HIF-1α and HIF-2α, which were associated with upregulation of Oct3/4 and Nanog; 1% O2 induced even greater levels of these factors. The upregulated NANOG mRNA expression in hypoxia was confirmed to be predominantly retrogene NANOGP8. Similar growth rates were observed for cells cultivated under hypoxic and normoxic conditions for 48 hours; however, the colony formation assay revealed that 48 hours of hypoxic pretreatment resulted in the formation of more colonies. Treatment with 1% O2 also extended the G0/G1 stage, resulting in more side population cells, and induced CD44 and ABCG2 expressions. Hypoxia also increased the number of cells positive for ABCG2 expression, which were predominantly found to be CD44bright cells. Correspondingly, the sorted CD44bright cells expressed higher levels of ABCG2, Oct3/4, and Nanog than CD44dim cells, and hypoxic pretreatment significantly increased the expressions of these factors. CD44bright cells under normoxia formed significantly more colonies and spheres compared with the CD44dim cells, and hypoxic pretreatment even increased this effect. Our data indicate that prostate cancer cells under hypoxia possess greater stem-like properties