Give Iowa Trees Due Credit

Iowa is too often thought of by persons Outside the State only as a flat open prairie. Even the Iowa citizens have rarely stopped to sum up the large value of Iowa trees. The attitude that all forest land is worthless can be understood for the man who alone cleared his first small fields from virgin hardwood timber, or assisted his neighbors in log rolling bees to rid the land in what ever manner they might of trees. Today however it is different, and Iowa trees are not to be discredited

Evaluating Responses of Sugar Beet Cultivars to Fusarium Species in Greenhouse and Field Conditions

Fusarium yellows of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is becoming an important disease in Minnesota and North Dakota in the United States. One of the best ways to manage Fusarium yellows is to develop and use resistant cultivars. Responses of eight sugar beet cultivars to three Fusarium species were determined in the greenhouse and compared to the responses of the same eight cultivars grown in a field already infected by Fusarium yellows. There were significant and appreciable relationships between greenhouse and field studies for responses of eight sugar beet cultivars on Fusarium yellows. The estimated correlation coefficient for area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) between observations in fields and those in greenhouses was 0.987 (p<0.01). The mean AUDPC were significantly different among cultivars (p<0.01) in the greenhouse and in the field studies. Of the cultivars, Van der Have 46177 was the most susceptible, but Crystal R434 the most resistant. Crystal 820, Van der Have 66561, and Beta 4797R were resistant, and Beta 4818R, Seedex Magnum, and Hilleshog 2463Rz were moderately resistant. There was a strong negative relationship between the AUDPC and recoverable sucrose yield in the field experiments and the estimated coefficient of determination was 0.939 (p<0.01). It was concluded that greenhouse screening can act as a useful and reliable means to evaluate and select beet germplasms and/or accessions for resistance to Fusarium yellows.Peer reviewe

A Business Case Analysis Of The Snowboarding Industry

This manuscript presents a business case analysis of the snowboarding industry. The demographic trends for both skiers and snowboarders are presented to illustrate the significant differences between the two. In addition, the historical growth of the industry is compared to that of the ski industry. Finally teaching notes offer suggestions as to how this case can be used in class to illustrate certain marketing and business principles

Integrating Organic Soybean Production on Land Formerly in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Objectives of this research and education program included an examination of tillage and weed management operations for organic farming on CRP land. In 1999, an experiment was initiated at the ISU McNay Research and Demonstration Farm at Chariton, Iowa, to evaluate the effect of four tillage methods for organic soybean production on land formerly in CRP. After demonstrating the success of organic soybeans on CRP land in 1999 (average yield–49.3 bushels/acre), an expansion of this experiment was initiated in 2000 as a longer term study to examine crop rotations and weed management in organic systems on CRP land

Barriers and Facilitators of Adolescent Health in Rural Kenya

The purpose of this research was to identify perceived barriers and facilitators of health from the perspective of rural Kenyan adolescents and to characterize the cultural context that shapes these barriers and facilitators. Design: Following a semistructured interview guide, qualitative focus group interviews were conducted at day schools with 64 upper-primary and secondary students in rural central Kenya. Participants provided written parental consent and individual assent for study participation. Results: Findings were organized into seven categories (individual, family, peer, school, community, institutional, and cultural) according to a social–ecological framework to highlight the multiple social and environmental contexts that shape health the experiences rural Kenyan youth. Conclusions: The prevalence and complexity of factors that shape the health experiences of young people in rural Kenya displayed in these findings adds context to the importance of utilizing multipronged approaches to improving adolescent health by focusing on the social contextual determinants of health behaviors and outcomes

Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Energy Transfer in an Organic/Inorganic Composite of Zinc Oxide and Graphite Oxide

The energy transfers and nature of defect levels of an organic/inorganic composite of Zinc Oxide and Graphite are studied with multidimensional spectroscopy. The edge and surface states of each composite are uncovered using excitation emission experiments showing which defect states are mediating the energy transfer from the metal oxide to the graphite oxide. Multidimensional time resolved spectroscopy further describes the effect of the carbon phase on the energy transfer pathways in the material

Evaluation of Tillage and Crop-Rotation Effects in Certified Organic Production--McNay Trial, 2002

Organic farming has increased to an $8 billion industry in the U.S. and continues to expand approximately 20% annually. In Iowa alone, organic acreage has increased from 13,000 acres in 1995 to 150,000 acres in 2000. Across the North Central region, there has been a great interest in planting organic soybeans on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land, where up to a 300% premium can be obtained compared with conventionally raised soybeans. Regulation of soil organic matter through additions of plant residues and proper crop rotations will determine the long-term sustainability of the system. The objectives of this research and educational program included the following: (1) establish plots dedicated to organic farming research on CRP land, (2) implement production and management regimes for opening CRP land and for weed control in organic systems on CRP land, (3) evaluate the biological and economic outcomes of the different systems, and (4) promulgate technology transfer through demonstrations/field days and publications for area farmers and agricultural professionals

Spatial and temporal dynamics of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) recruitment in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, is an abundant, schooling pelagic fish that is widely distributed in the coastal Northwest Atlantic. It supports the largest single-species fishery by volume on the east coast of the United States. However, relatively little is known about factors that control recruitment, and its stock- recruitment relationship is poorly defined. Atlantic menhaden is managed as a single unit stock, but fisheries and environmental variables likely act regionally on recruitments. To better understand spatial and temporal variability in recruitment, fishery-independent time-series (1959-2013) of young-of-year (YOY) abundance indices from the Mid-Atlantic to Southern New England (SNE) were analysed using dynamic factor analysis and generalized additive models. Recruitment time-series demonstrated low-frequency variability and the analyses identified two broad geographical groupings, the Chesapeake Bay (CB) and SNE. Each of these two regions exhibited changes in YOY abundance and different periods of relatively high YOY abundance that were inversely related to each other; CB indices were highest from ca. 1971 to 1991, whereas SNE indices were high from ca. 1995 to 2005. Wetested for effects of climatic, environmental, biological, and fishing-related variables that have been documented or hypothesized to influence stock productivity. Abroad-scale indicator of climate, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, was the best single predictor of coast-wide recruitment patterns, and had opposing effects on the CB and SNE regions. Underlying mechanisms of spatial and interannual variability in recruitment likely derive from interactions among climatology, larval transport, adult menhaden distribution, and habitat suitability. The identified regional patterns and climatic effects have implications for the stock assessment of Atlantic menhaden, particularly given the geographically constrained nature of the existing fishery and the climatic oscillations characteristic of the coastal ocean