G95-1132 Estimating Percent Residue Cover

This NebGuide briefly describes the direct observation, line-transect, photo comparison, and calculation methods that are used to estimate the percentage of the soil surface covered with crop residue. Leaving crop residue on the soil surface is the easiest and most cost-effective way to reduce soil erosion caused by water and wind. Residue reduces water erosion by lessening the impact of the raindrops, thus reducing the amount of soil that is detached. It also slows flowing water, reducing the amount of soil that can be transported. Residue helps reduce wind erosion by reducing wind velocity near the soil surface and by trapping soil particles carried by the wind. Many conservation plans that were developed to meet conservation compliance provisions of the 1985 Food Security Act and the 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act (Farm Bills) specify crop residue management as the primary method for erosion control. Four methods direct observation, line-transect, photo-comparison, and calculation are frequently used to estimate percent residue cover

Field-Evolved Resistance: Assessing the Problem and Ways to Move Forward

"Field-evolved resistance” is defined as a "genetically based decrease in susceptibility of a population to a toxin caused by exposure to the toxin in the field.” The key component of "field-evolved” resistance is that it does confer decreased susceptibility to an insecticide in the field. Another key component is that the decrease in susceptibility to the insecticide is because of previous exposure of the target insect to the toxin in the field. Several studies have reported field-evolved resistance to crops engineered to express proteins from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). However, there has not been a consistent standard in the application of the definition of field-evolved resistance for Bt crops. The inconsistency in applying the definition arises from differences in the methods used to detect resistance, the ecology of the interaction between the pest and the Bt crop, and the effective dose the pest encounters while feeding on the Bt crop. Using case studies of reported resistance to Bt crops, it is demonstrated resistance does not come in a single form, and that in most cases, resistance can still be manage

Marine mammal strandings along the Indian coast mapped

The stranding locations of marine mammals namely blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) along the Indian coast were mapped (Fig. 1) using passive method. The data was collected for the period 1874 to 2016

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservation

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservatio

A Close Companion Search Around L Dwarfs Using Aperture Masking Interferometry and Palomar Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics

We present a close companion search around 16 known early L dwarfs using aperture masking interferometry with Palomar laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO). The use of aperture masking allows the detection of close binaries, corresponding to projected physical separations of 0.6-10.0 AU for the targets of our survey. This survey achieved median contrast limits of ΔK ~ 2.3 for separations between 1.2λ/D-4λ/D and ΔK ~ 1.4 at 2/3λ/D. We present four candidate binaries detected with moderate-to-high confidence (90%-98%). Two have projected physical separations less than 1.5 AU. This may indicate that tight-separation binaries contribute more significantly to the binary fraction than currently assumed, consistent with spectroscopic and photometric overluminosity studies. Ten targets of this survey have previously been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope as part of companion searches. We use the increased resolution of aperture masking to search for close or dim companions that would be obscured by full aperture imaging, finding two candidate binaries. This survey is the first application of aperture masking with LGS AO at Palomar. Several new techniques for the analysis of aperture masking data in the low signal-to-noise regime are explored

G88-876 Ridge Plant Systems: Equipment

Ridge plant systems, ridge cleaning equipment, planter stabilizing attachments, cultivation and ridge management are discussed here. Ridge plant systems are methods of planting crops into a ridge formed during cultivation of the previous crop. Such systems combine tillage and herbicides to control weeds. Weed seed and residue lying on the soil surface are pushed from the ridge to the area between the rows by row-cleaning devices on the planter. Crop seed is planted into the old row in a cleanly tilled strip at an elevation slightly higher than the row middles. A band application of herbicide behind the planter typically is used in the row for weed control. Crop cultivation controls weeds between the rows and rebuilds ridges for the following year

Annihilation and Control of Chiral Domain Walls with Magnetic Fields

The control of domain walls is central to nearly all magnetic technologies, particularly for information storage and spintronics. Creative attempts to increase storage density need to overcome volatility due to thermal fluctuations of nanoscopic domains and heating limitations. Topological defects, such as solitons, skyrmions, and merons, may be much less susceptible to fluctuations, owing to topological constraints, while also being controllable with low current densities. Here, we present the first evidence for soliton/soliton and soliton/antisoliton domain walls in the hexagonal chiral magnet Mn1/3NbS2 that respond asymmetrically to magnetic fields and exhibit pair-annihilation. This is important because it suggests the possibility of controlling the occurrence of soliton pairs and the use of small fields or small currents to control nanoscopic magnetic domains. Specifically, our data suggest that either soliton/soliton or soliton/antisoliton pairs can be stabilized by tuning the balance between intrinsic exchange interactions and long-range magnetostatics in restricted geometriesComment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Know The Star, Know the Planet. IV. A Stellar Companion to the Host star of the Eccentric Exoplanet HD 8673b

HD 8673 hosts a massive exoplanet in a highly eccentric orbit (e=0.723). Based on two epochs of speckle interferometry a previous publication identified a candidate stellar companion. We observed HD 8673 multiple times with the 10 m Keck II telescope, the 5 m Hale telescope, the 3.63 m AEOS telescope and the 1.5m Palomar telescope in a variety of filters with the aim of confirming and characterizing the stellar companion. We did not detect the candidate companion, which we now conclude was a false detection, but we did detect a fainter companion. We collected astrometry and photometry of the companion on six epochs in a variety of filters. The measured differential photometry enabled us to determine that the companion is an early M dwarf with a mass estimate of 0.33-0.45 M?. The companion has a projected separation of 10 AU, which is one of the smallest projected separations of an exoplanet host binary system. Based on the limited astrometry collected, we are able to constrain the orbit of the stellar companion to a semi-major axis of 35{60 AU, an eccentricity ? 0.5 and an inclination of 75{85?. The stellar companion has likely strongly in uenced the orbit of the exoplanet and quite possibly explains its high eccentricity.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal, 6 Pages, 5 Figure

Vertical integration and firm boundaries : the evidence

Since Ronald H. Coase's (1937) seminal paper, a rich set of theories has been developed that deal with firm boundaries in vertical or input–output structures. In the last twenty-five years, empirical evidence that can shed light on those theories also has been accumulating. We review the findings of empirical studies that have addressed two main interrelated questions: First, what types of transactions are best brought within the firm and, second, what are the consequences of vertical integration decisions for economic outcomes such as prices, quantities, investment, and profits. Throughout, we highlight areas of potential cross-fertilization and promising areas for future work