THE USE OF HERBICIDES IN ALTERNATE HUSBANDRY AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PLOUGHING

Summary. It is practicable to use herbicides as an alternative to ploughing grass swards for the preparation of a seedbed for the sowing of cereals and kale. The yields of spring barley and kale following a glaass/clover sward killed with 10 lb/ac amitrole-T were similar to those obtained following ploughing. Yields of tip to 40 cwt/ac of winter wheat were obtained following grass swards killed with amitrole-T compared with up to 45 cwt/ac after ploughing.
The ideal herbicide must kill all plants in a sward and have no residual toxicity to the subsequent crop. At 10 lb/ac, amitrole-T killed most plants in the sword, but it was considered necessary to delay sowing for at least 3 weeks after spraying to minimize the danger of residual toxicity. Ploughing gave the lowest incidence of grasses persisting from the sward. Paraquat did not control clover and Agropyron repens , while broad-leaved weeds were more common on the ploughed than on the sprayed land.
There were differences in the amount of nitrogen mineralized in ploughed and In undisturbed soil, but these were insufficient to affect crop yields materially. When a lower yield followed herbicidal destruction of the sward, this was not accompanied by a reduced percentage nitrogen content.
L'emploi des déherbants pour la rénovation des prairies     

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF TWO NEW HERBICIDES—IOXYNIL AND BROMOXYNIL

Summary. The preparation of ioxynil, bromoxynil, and their salts is described, and information on solubilities and stability to storage is summarized. Although the toxicology of the herbicides is to be reported in greater detail, a preliminary statement is made here. Evidence of herbicidat activity under glasshouse conditions is indicated briefly, and supports the conclusion that both compounds are effective when applied to the foliage of a wide range of dicotyledon weed species. Seedlings of some weed species resistant to the phenoxy alkanoic acids are controlled under glasshouse conditions at doses as low as 0.125 lb/ac, and ioxynil has a wider range of activity than bromoxynil at these low doses. Graminaceous species tolerate 4–8 lb/ac of both herbicides without injury, and certain leguminous crops tolerate one or other herbicide at doses of 0.5–0.75 lb/ac. The contact action of the herbicides is rapid, there are also slower systemic effects, and seed germination is inhibited. In susceptible species the level of post-emergence activity is shown to be influenced by the growth stage of the weed, the distribution of herbicide on the foliage, and environmental factors of which light intensity appears to be most important.
Propriétés chimiques et biologiques de deux nouveaux herbicides: ioxynil et bromoxynil     

Retention of Selenium in Kidneys,Liver and Striated Muscle After Prolonged Feeding of Therapeutic Amounts of Sodium Selenite to Pigs

Sodium selenite was mixed in a commercial pig food so as to increase the original selenium content (0.126 ppm) by 1.2 ppm. The supplemented food was given to 7 pigs during 78 days. A control group of as many pigs was given the non-supplemented commercial food. The pigs were killed, starting 4 hours after the last selenium-supplemented food had been given and then with intervals during the next 14 days. Small but significant increases of tissue selenium were noticed in liver and striated muscle as compared with the control animals. The kidneys showed no increase.     

Quantitative Determination of Proteolytic,Lipolytic and Haemolytic Activities in Semen of Some Animal Species

1. Methods for quantitative determination of proteolytic, lipolytic and haemolytic activities and egg yolk factors in semen are described.2. Comparative quantitative determinations of these enzyme activities in the semen of goat, ram, bull, boar, dog and horse have been carried out.3. Special interest attaches to the egg yolk turbidity factor which is found in goat semen and, in small concentrations, also in boar semen.4. As each species appears to have its specific enzyme pattern, regular enzymatic control does not seem to have great significance.     

Studies on in Vitro Erythrocyte Uptake of I131-Labelled 1-Triiodothyronine as A Test of Thyroid Function in Dairy Cattle

Uptake of I¹³¹-labelled triiodothyronine by erythrocytes (EU test) as a test of thyroid function has been studied in cattle. The normal EU value for 141 Swedish Red-and-white cows was 6.99 ± 0.95 (range 4.45–10.23) at an incubation time of one hour. Statistically significantly higher values were obtained for newly-calved cows. The EU values for calves are significantly higher but by 12 to 18 months of age decline to the same level as for older cows.The principle of the test is described and the results obtained compared with those for human beings. The EU test is suitable for screening thyroid function for large groups of animals and for studying associations between thyroid activity and different production qualities.     

STUDIES ON WEED SPECIES OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM L.

Summary. Seeds of Polygonam persiaria were collected from seven localities during 1962. In 1963 plants of these seven populations were grown in the field and sampled at regular intervals over the period 21st June to 13th August. At all samplings there were differences between populations in total dry weight, in leaf area index and in total nitrogen content, and populations also differed in the date of flowering. The populations also differed significantly in relative growth rate, leaf area ratio, net assimilation rate and relative nitrogen absorption rate. The variations in net assimilation rate did not appear to be closely associated with variations in leaf area index. Certain growth attributes were correlated with the latitude of origin, and it is tentatively suggested that the populations may represent genetically distinct latitudinal ecotypes.
Études sur des espèces de mauvaises herbes du genre Polygonum L.