Peanut Performance and Weed Management in a High-residue Cover Crop System

Previous research has indicated that conservation tillage is a viable option for successful peanut production; however, interactions between cover crop residues and peanut growth are not fully understood. Additional information is needed about the effects of varying levels of cover crop biomass on peanut growth and development. Level of cover crop residue may also affect the preemergence herbicide activity through interception and efficacy of weed suppression. The objectives of this peanut research were to determine if varying amounts of cover crop biomass would affect peanut growth, herbicide interception, or weed control. This research also aimed to determine if cover crop management practices (rolling or standing cover) would affect herbicide interception rates. The study consisted of a rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop planted at three different dates as well as a fallow treatment at two locations: Dawson, GA, and Headland, AL. Pendimethalin was applied PRE at 1 kg ai/ha across the entire area just prior to planting of the Georgia 03-L peanut variety. Soil samples were collected at three different dates after planting for high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis to determine pendimethalin levels. Peanut yields differed only between location regardless of cover crop residue level with the Headland, Alabama, site averaging 4,272 kg/ha and the Dawson, Georgia, site averaging 2,247 kg/ha. Pendimethalin extraction from soil samples indicated no difference in herbicide recovery between winter fallow systems compared to treatments with cover crops. Weed control ratings taken at 21 and 45 days after planting (DAP) showed greater weed suppression for cover crop systems for an extended period of time when higher levels of cover crop biomass are present. Results of this experiment indicate the inclusion of cover crops in a conservation-tilled peanut system can be a successful alternative to winter fallow systems without reducing peanut yield or herbicide efficacy

Primed acclimation of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) through the use of deficit irrigation timed to crop developmental periods

Water-deficits and high temperatures are the predominant factors limiting peanut production across the U.S., either because of regional aridity or untimely rainfall events during crucial crop developmental periods. In the southern High Plains of west Texas and eastern New Mexico, low average annual rainfall (450. mm) and high evaporative demand necessitates the use of significant irrigation in production systems. In this west Texas study, the primary objective was to develop irrigation schemes that maximized peanut yield and grade while reducing overall water consumption. Therefore, a large-scale field experiment was established in 2005 and 2006 that utilized 15 treatment combinations of differing rates of irrigation (50, 75, and 100% of grower applied irrigation) applied at different periods of peanut development (early, middle, and late season). Precipitation patterns and ambient temperatures showed greater stress levels in 2006 which likely reduced yields across all treatments in comparison to 2005. Yields were reduced 26 (2005) and 10% (2006) in the lowest irrigation treatment (50% full season) compared with full irrigation (100% full season); but early-season water deficit (50 and 75% in the first 45. days after planting) followed by 100% irrigation in the mid- and late-seasons were successful at sustaining yield and/or crop value. Root growth was significantly enhanced at 50% irrigation compared with 100% irrigation, through greater root length, diameter, surface area, and depth, suggesting greater access to water during mid- and late-season periods. These results suggest that early to mid-season deficit irrigation has the potential to maintain peanut yield without altering quality, and to substantially reduce water use in this semi-arid environment

A review of the systematic biology of fossil and living bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha (Actinopterygii: Teleostei)

The bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha, have been the focus of a great deal of morphological, systematic, and evolutionary study, due in part to their basal position among extant teleostean fishes. This group includes the mooneyes (Hiodontidae), knifefishes (Notopteridae), the abu (Gymnarchidae), elephantfishes (Mormyridae), arawanas and pirarucu (Osteoglossidae), and the African butterfly fish (Pantodontidae). This morphologically heterogeneous group also has a long and diverse fossil record, including taxa from all continents and both freshwater and marine deposits. The phylogenetic relationships among most extant osteoglossomorph families are widely agreed upon. However, there is still much to discover about the systematic biology of these fishes, particularly with regard to the phylogenetic affinities of several fossil taxa, within Mormyridae, and the position of Pantodon. In this paper we review the state of knowledge for osteoglossomorph fishes. We first provide an overview of the diversity of Osteoglossomorpha, and then discuss studies of the phylogeny of Osteoglossomorpha from both morphological and molecular perspectives, as well as biogeographic analyses of the group. Finally, we offer our perspectives on future needs for research on the systematic biology of Osteoglossomorpha

Primed acclimation of cultivated peanut (\u3ci\u3eArachis hypogaea\u3c/i\u3e L.) through the use of deficit irrigation timed to crop developmental periods

Water-deficits and high temperatures are the predominant factors limiting peanut production across the U.S., either because of regional aridity or untimely rainfall events during crucial crop developmental periods. In the southern High Plains of west Texas and eastern New Mexico, low average annual rainfall (450 mm) and high evaporative demand necessitates the use of significant irrigation in production systems. In this west Texas study, the primary objective was to develop irrigation schemes that maximized peanut yield and grade while reducing overall water consumption. Therefore, a large-scale field experiment was established in 2005 and 2006 that utilized 15 treatment combinations of differing rates of irrigation (50, 75, and 100% of grower applied irrigation) applied at different periods of peanut development (early, middle, and late season). Precipitation patterns and ambient temperatures showed greater stress levels in 2006 which likely reduced yields across all treatments in comparison to 2005. Yields were reduced 26 (2005) and 10% (2006) in the lowest irrigation treatment (50% full season) compared with full irrigation (100% full season); but early-season water deficit (50 and 75% in the first 45 days after planting) followed by 100% irrigation in the mid- and late-seasons were successful at sustaining yield and/or crop value. Root growth was significantly enhanced at 50% irrigation compared with 100% irrigation, through greater root length, diameter, surface area, and depth, suggesting greater access to water during midand late-season periods. These results suggest that early to mid-season deficit irrigation has the potential to maintain peanut yield without altering quality, and to substantially reduce water use in this semi-arid environment

Primed acclimation of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) through the use of deficit irrigation timed to crop developmental periods

Water-deficits and high temperatures are the predominant factors limiting peanut production across the U.S., either because of regional aridity or untimely rainfall events during crucial crop developmental periods. In the southern High Plains of west Texas and eastern New Mexico, low average annual rainfall (450. mm) and high evaporative demand necessitates the use of significant irrigation in production systems. In this west Texas study, the primary objective was to develop irrigation schemes that maximized peanut yield and grade while reducing overall water consumption. Therefore, a large-scale field experiment was established in 2005 and 2006 that utilized 15 treatment combinations of differing rates of irrigation (50, 75, and 100% of grower applied irrigation) applied at different periods of peanut development (early, middle, and late season). Precipitation patterns and ambient temperatures showed greater stress levels in 2006 which likely reduced yields across all treatments in comparison to 2005. Yields were reduced 26 (2005) and 10% (2006) in the lowest irrigation treatment (50% full season) compared with full irrigation (100% full season); but early-season water deficit (50 and 75% in the first 45. days after planting) followed by 100% irrigation in the mid- and late-seasons were successful at sustaining yield and/or crop value. Root growth was significantly enhanced at 50% irrigation compared with 100% irrigation, through greater root length, diameter, surface area, and depth, suggesting greater access to water during mid- and late-season periods. These results suggest that early to mid-season deficit irrigation has the potential to maintain peanut yield without altering quality, and to substantially reduce water use in this semi-arid environment

Cancer as biographical disruption: constructions of living with cancer

Purpose: From a cancer survivor perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore what has changed in their lives that they attribute to the disease. The rationale for the study is that evidence of the extent to which cancer disrupts people's lives in the longer term is contradictory. Methods: Written accounts from 40 cancer survivors were analysed using interpretative methods. The researchers drew on the concept of biographical disruption as a framework for analysis. Results: Cancer survivors construct cancer as a biographically disruptive event with ongoing physical and psychosocial impacts. Cancer is constructed as a permanent threat to life which is responsible for increasing their awareness of their own mortality and invoking positive changes to self. These formulations of living with cancer were found across a range of participants, including those who defined themselves as currently free of cancer, those who had recurrence, those who had been diagnosed 5 years ago and those who had been free of cancer for a long time. Conclusions: This study adds to the body of literature exploring how to enhance supportive care for cancer survivors by reflecting on biographical disruption and continuity, and the complexities within individual constructions of changes in life that they attribute to cancer. Cancer survivors should be given opportunities to articulate the impact of cancer, thus giving legitimate space to talk about cancer's ongoing resonance on life so that problems and difficulties are not dismissed or trivialised