Use of spectral radiance for correcting nitrogen deficiencies and estimating soil test variability in an established bermudagrass pasture

The use of variable rate technology has become increasingly popular for applying plant nutrient elements. The most widely used method for determining variable fertilizer rates is presently based on soil testing and yield mapping. Three field studies (Bumeyville 1995, Burneyville 1996, and Ardmore 1996) were initiated in established Midland bermudagrass [Cynodon dacrylon (L) Pers.] pastures to determine the relationship between spectral radiance at specific wavelengths with forage nitrogen (N) removal and biomass, and to determine field variability of soil test parameters. Variable N (applied to 1.5 × 2.4 m subplots within 2.4 × 45.7 m main plots), fixed N and check treatments were evaluated at each location. Spectral radiance readings were taken in the red (671±6 nm), green (570±6 nm), and near infrared (NIR) (780±6 nm) wavelengths. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated as NIR‐red/NIR+red. Variable N rates were applied based on NDVI. The highest fixed variable N rate was set at 224, 336, and 672 kg N ha^‐1 for Burneyville, 1995, 1996, and Ardmore, 1996, respectively. At Bumeyville, soil samples were collected in all variable rate plots (1.5 × 2.4 m) and analyzed for various soil test characteristics. NDVI, red, green, and NIR spectral radiance readings were correlated with bermudagrass forage N removal and yield. Correlation of forage yield and N removal with red, NIR, and NDVI were best with maximum forage production, however, when forage production levels were low correlation decreased dramatically for the red wavelength compared with NIR and NDVI. Forage yield and forage N removal in variable rate treatments increased when compared to the check while being equal to the half‐fixed and fixed rates where higher N rates were applied. Also, variability about the mean in variable rate plots was significantly lower than half‐fixed and fixed rates which supports adjusting N rates based on indirect NDVI measurements. Variable N rate plots reduced fertilizer inputs by 60% and produced the same yield as fixed rate plots, while fixed and half‐fixed rates did not increase N content in the forage over that of the variable rate treatment. Soil sample data collected from small consecutive plots (<4 m²) was extremely variable indicating that intense sampling would be needed if variable fertilizer application were to be based on soil test results.     

A comparison of the properties of manufactured soils produced from composting municipal green waste alone or with poultry manure or grease trap/septage waste

Manufactured soil for landscaping purposes was produced by composting for 6 weeks (1) municipal green waste alone, (2) green waste amended with 25% v/v poultry manure, or (3) green waste immersed in, and then removed from, a mixture of liquid grease trap waste/septage. Composting temperatures increased most rapidly and reached highest values (78oC) in the grease trap/septage-amended green waste. In comparison with green waste alone, addition of poultry manure prolonged the period of elevated temperatures and increased the maximum temperature attained from 52oC to 61oC. Following composting, each of the materials was split into (1) 100% compost, (2) 80% compost plus 20% v/v soil, and (3) 70% compost plus 20% soil plus 10% coal fly ash. Addition of poultry manure or grease trap/septage to green waste prior to composting increased bulk density and reduced total porosity of the composted product. Addition of soil, or soil and ash, to composts increased bulk density, reduced total porosity, decreased percentage macropores, and increased percentage mesopores and available water-holding capacity. Bicarbonate-extractable P, exchangeable NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, electrical conductivity (EC), soluble C, soluble C as a percentage of organic C, basal respiration, and metabolic quotient were all markedly greater in the grease trap/septage-amended than poultry manure-amended or green waste alone treatments. Values for extractable P and EC were considered large enough to be damaging to plant growth and germination index (GI) of watercress was less than 60% for all grease trap/septage composts. Extractable P and EC were also high, and GI was <100%, in the green waste alone and poultry manure-amended green waste alone treatments. Addition of soil or soil and ash to these composts resulted in GI values >100%.     

Salinity and sodicity effects on respiration and microbial biomass of soil

An understanding of the effects of salinity and sodicity on soil carbon (C) stocks and fluxes is critical in environmental management, as the areal extents of salinity and sodicity are predicted to increase. The effects of salinity and sodicity on the soil microbial biomass (SMB) and soil respiration were assessed over 12weeks under controlled conditions by subjecting disturbed soil samples from a vegetated soil profile to leaching with one of six salt solutions; a combination of low-salinity (0.5dSm⁻¹), mid-salinity (10dSm⁻¹), or high-salinity (30dSm⁻¹), with either low-sodicity (sodium adsorption ratio, SAR, 1), or high-sodicity (SAR 30) to give six treatments: control (low-salinity low-sodicity); low-salinity high-sodicity; mid-salinity low-sodicity; mid-salinity high-sodicity; high-salinity low-sodicity; and high-salinity high-sodicity. Soil respiration rate was highest (56–80mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the low-salinity treatments and lowest (1–5mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the mid-salinity treatments, while the SMB was highest in the high-salinity treatments (459–565mg kg⁻¹ soil) and lowest in the low-salinity treatments (158–172mg kg⁻¹ soil). This was attributed to increased substrate availability with high salt concentrations through either increased dispersion of soil aggregates or dissolution or hydrolysis of soil organic matter, which may offset some of the stresses placed on the microbial population from high salt concentrations. The apparent disparity in trends in respiration and the SMB may be due to an induced shift in the microbial population, from one dominated by more active microorganisms to one dominated by less active microorganisms.     

The Compostable Plastic Poly(lactic) Acid Causes a Temporal Shift in Fungal Communities in Maturing Compost

The compostable biopolymer, poly(lactic) acid (PLA), is increasingly being used as an alternative to conventional plastics for short shelf-life products, disposable bags and packaging, and in agriculture. Despite the increase in the amount of PLA entering composting systems, few studies have examined the impact of PLA degradation on the compost microbial community. Thermophilic fungi play an import role in the composting process as they secrete hydrolytic enzymes capable of breaking down an array of complex natural polymers. In this study, the impact of PLA hydrolysis on the compost fungal community was examined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and 454 sequencing. At 25°C, the effect of PLA on the surrounding compost community was relatively small and no physical changes were observed to the PLA films. However, when incubated at 50°C, where physical disintegration of PLA was occurring, a clear divergence between the compost populations in the presence and absence of PLA was evident after 2 months but became closer to the population in the absence of PLA after 4 months indicating that, after causing an initial perturbation after 2 months, the population began to return to that seen in the absence of PLA. The only exception was in the population containing 50% (w/w) PLA film, which remained divergent after 4 months and was associated with a marked acidification of the compost. Thus, 454-pyrosequencing revealed that the presence of PLA caused a strong selection for a Thermomyces sp. that was present only at low abundance in the absence of PLA.     

Combining endophytic fungi and bacteria for the biocontrol of Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne and for effects on plant growth

Eight endophytic fungal and bacterial isolates with antagonistic activity against Radopholus similis were evaluated in vivo for their individual and combined effects on biocontrol of R. similis and on the growth of “Grand Naine” cultivar banana plantlets in the greenhouse. Penetration efficiency (PE) of R. similis was between 3 and 21% in 29 biological agents (BAs) treatments, less than the 29% of the nematode-alone control (p ≤ 0.0001); 24 of the BAs treatments did not differ from the PE of 5% for a nematicide control. Twenty nine BAs treatments exhibited antagonistic activity against nematodes which reduced final population levels between 18 and 93%, relative to those on nematode-alone control plants (p ≤ 0.0001), and 14 BAs treatments were statistically similar to the nematicide treatment (88% reduction). Twenty four BAs treatments had increments of plant root biomass ranging from 20 to 58%, greater than the control plants; 37% of the treatments with single and combined BAs inoculations had root length increments ranging from 29 to 54% compared with control and chemical treatment. The nematicide, Terbufos 10GR, did not affect plant growth.     

Implementation of two high through-put techniques in a novel application: detecting point mutations in large EMS mutated plant populations

Background  

The establishment of mutant populations together with the strategies for targeted mutation detection has been applied successfully to a large number of organisms including many species in the plant kingdom. Considerable efforts have been invested into research on tomato as a model for berry-fruit plants. With the progress of the tomato sequencing project, reverse genetics becomes an obvious and achievable goal.     

Growth, Condition, and Size Distribution of Paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, Juveniles Reared in Ponds at Three Densities

Abstract.— A study was conducted to determine the effect of increasing density on growth and size distribution of paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, juveniles reared in ponds. Feed‐trained paddlefish of mean weight (±SE) 25.8 ± 1.1 g were randomly stocked into nine 0.02‐ha ponds at 12,355, 18,533, and 24,710 paddlefish/ha, three replications per treatment. The fish were fed daily in excess of what they would eat for 97 d, beginning with a floating trout diet containing 45% protein and 16% lipid and then transferring to a floating catfish diet containing 32% protein and 4.5% lipid. Survival at harvest was not significantly different (P > 0.05) among treatments and averaged 90%. Mean final weights (±SD) for the low‐, middle‐, and high‐density treatments were 205.2 ± 54.1, 174.8 ± 53.2, and 178.6 ± 51.4 g, respectively. Best‐fit distributions centered on these means were lognormal. The low‐density distribution was significantly different (P < 0.05) from the two higher densities, which were not significantly different from each other (P > 0.05). Paddlefish weight at the minimum target length of 35 cm was estimated to be 100 g by regression analysis. The probability of paddlefish reaching or exceeding 100 g was 90% for the low‐density treatment. For the two higher densities, probabilities were 79 and 78%, respectively. Mean Fulton’s condition factors (FCFs) (±SD) were 250 ± 19, 242 ± 4, and 256 ± 37 for the low‐, middle‐, and high‐density treatments, respectively. The FCF for the middle‐density treatment was significantly lower than for the low‐ and high‐density treatments (P < 0.05), which were not significantly different from each other (P > 0.05). CV, feed conversion ratio, and relative growth were not significantly different (P > 0.05) among treatments and averaged 0.43, 1.50, and 5.45, respectively. Monoculture of paddlefish juveniles in ponds results in a hierarchic size structure when density is at least greater than 12,355 paddlefish/ha. The effect is enhanced with increasing density but becomes asymptotic as density approaches 18,533 paddlefish/ha. Feeding in excess does not ameliorate the effect.     

Genetic analysis of early-maturing maize (Zea Mays L.) inbred lines under stress and nonstress conditions

Early-maturing maize (Zea Mays L.) germplasm developed from diverse sources has the potential for use in developing maize hybrids suitable for increasing maize production in the dry ecologies of eastern Africa. A diallel study was conducted to estimate general combining ability (GCA) of 12 early-maturing maize inbred lines, identify potential single-cross hybrids for use as parents, assess genetic diversity among the inbred lines, and relate genetic distance to specific combining ability (SCA) and hybrid performance. Sixty-six F₁ diallel hybrids were evaluated under optimal and drought stress conditions at four locations in Kenya and Uganda. The parental inbred lines were genotyped using 94 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Additive gene action was more important than nonadditive gene action for inheritance of grain yield (GY) under optimal conditions. However, nonadditive gene effects were more important in the inheritance of GY under drought and across all environments. Inbred lines CKL0722, VL058014, and CZL0724 were among the best with positive GCA effects for GY across both optimal and drought stress conditions. The correlation between SCA and both genetic distance and F₁ GY was significant under both drought stress and across all environments. Inbred lines with desirable GCA effects for GY and other agronomic traits and hybrids with good performance under both optimal and drought stress conditions are potential parents for development of various types of high-yielding, stress-tolerant, and early-maturing hybrids.