Soybean Aphid Management Update: What to Select from a Variety of Pest Management Tools?

Soybean aphid experience in Iowa: Like most of the Midwest, Iowa soybean growers were introduced to a new pest when the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Homoptera: Aphididae), arrived in 2000. And like many other states, Iowa has experienced large populations of aphids (\u3e2,000/plant) in two of the past five years that the aphid has been in the state (Lang 2003, M. O\u27Neal unpublished). Although not well understood, there is an apparent oscillation in aphid populations between years with large populations occurring in 2001 and 2003, and low populations (\u3c500 aphids per plant) occurring in 2002 and 2004

How Well Do Current Recommendations Manage Soybean Aphids

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Homoptera: Aphididae) is a relatively new pest to Iowa soybean fields. Since being discovered in 2000, Iowa has experienced large populations (\u3e1,000/plant) in three of the six years this pest has been in the state (Lang 2003, M. O\u27Neal unpublished data). In 2005, Iowa once again experienced damaging populations of soybean aphids. Yield reductions in excess of ten bushels per acre were experienced in university test plots across Iowa. This reduction in yield occurred in spite of lower populations than experienced in past years with large populations (Lang 2003, M. O\u27Neal unpublished). The 2005 growing season has illustrated the need for continued research on soybean aphid management in Iowa

Research update on host plant resistance for soybean aphid

The availability of host plant resistance to soybean aphid could be an attractive tool to soybean producers throughout the North Central Region (Hodgson et al. 2009). The implementation of host plant resistance in a soybean IPM (integrated pest management) program would be an ideal step forward in reducing insecticide usage. However, we still need to gather “real world” data in how these resistant varieties perform throughout Iowa. Fundamental plant properties such as pod number, seed number, seed size and ultimate yield potential are all being evaluated by agronomists, but to what degree resistant plants will respond to soybean aphid still needs to be demonstrated in Iowa. Foliar insecticides have proven to be the most cost-effective method of soybean aphid control (Johnson et al. 2009), and therefore product comparisons are of interest to growers, extension personnel and members of industry

Can conservation complement agriculture?

Agriculture will need to produce at least 70% more food by 2050 to ensure global food security (FAO 2009). However, increased productivity has historically come with on-farm and societal costs such as increased soil erosion and nutrient run-off. While conservation is often considered separate from the needs of agriculture, recent research at ISU suggests that targeted conservation practices can positively impact management of farm land, especially for preventing soil erosion and nutrient run-off

Body Image Dissatisfaction: Responses Between Male and Female Exercisers and Non-Exercisers

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 249-257, 2016.Body image dissatisfaction (BID) is defined as the difference between actual and desired image. Body image or BID is subject to high levels of societal pressure and discrepancies are frequent between actual and desired image. This study examined BID among male exercisers (ME), female exercisers (FE), male non-exercisers (MNE) and female non-exercisers (FNE). Further, the potential relationship of personal BID on individual’s beliefs regarding what their peers’ perceptions would be was examined. College-aged men (n = 169) and women (n = 246) used the Stunkard scale to self-assess body image. Participants labeled a) which silhouette they felt accurately represents their body, b) which silhouette they would like to be, c) which silhouette reflects other women’s perception of them and d) which silhouette reflects other men’s perception of them. ANOVA detected a significant difference among groups. Follow up tests revealed less dissatisfaction (score closer to zero) (p \u3c 0.05) for ME (-0.09 + 1.15) than MNE (0.61 + 1.36), FE (0.87 + 0.92) and FNE (1.13 + 1.09) and, less BID for MNE vs. FNE. Specific correlations for anticipated perceptions of male and female peers ranged from 0.05 to 0.27. Current results confirm ME desires to be larger (i.e. muscular) while MNE and females regardless of exercise status desire to be smaller. Although limited by a narrow range of dissatisfaction score, the current study suggests personal body image perceptions are not meaningfully related to what individuals anticipate their peers will think of them

Landscape summary of aphid suction trapping network since 2005

The invasion of soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, into the North Central Region has changed soybean, Glycine max (L.), production practices. In addition, growers are noticing persisting aphid populations in corn, Zea mays L., too. A combination of aphid species are likely to develop on corn, including corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch), and bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.). Developing accurate management recommendations for aphids is difficult because of the complicated life cycle

A new chemistry for managing soybean aphid

Since the arrival of soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, to North America, entomologists have generated considerable research to effectively protect yield in soybean, Glycine max (L.). Population dynamics of this relatively new pest have been erratic between fields and among years, and timely insecticide applications must be used to prevent severe economic loss

Effects of Caffeine on Repeated Upper/Lower Body Wingates and Handgrip Performance

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(3): 243-255, 2015. Caffeine enhances aerobic performance, but research is equivocal regarding anaerobic performance. This study examined effects of caffeine (7 mg/kg) on anaerobic performance in anaerobically active males (n = 10). Participants completed counterbalanced, double blind caffeine (Caf) and placebo (Pl) trials including a) 6 x 15 s upper body Wingates (UWant), b) 6 x 15 s lower body Wingates (LWant) and c) 6 x15 s maximal effort static hand grip test (HG) with 3 min recovery between bouts, 30 min between exercises. Peak power (Ppeak), mean power (Pmean), and heart rate (HR) as well as perceptual measures included ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), muscle pain perception (MPP), and perceived recovery status (PRS) were recorded per bout. Session RPE (S-RPE) (15 min post) for each exercise mode and trial RPE (T-RPE) [10 min post relative to testing period for each treatment (Caf vs. Pl)]. A series of 2 (trial) x 6 (bout) ANOVA’s assessed differences and Tukey’s LSD post hoc test were used when necessary. Results showed increased performance (main effect) (UWant) for Ppeak (Caf: 6.72 + 1.2 W/kg vs. Pl: 6.41 + 1.0 W/kg); and Pmean (Caf: 5.39 + 0.8 W/kg vs. Pl: 5.18 + 0.8 W/kg); however no significant main effect for LWant or HG was observed. No significant differences were observed for perceptual measures. Caf improved anaerobic performance in repeated UWant (bouts 1-4) but not LWant or HG. Further studies are warranted to examine Caf ergogenic properties in repeated exercises dominated by anaerobic metabolic pathways given the equivocal results