On-farm evaluation of planter downforce in varying soil textures within grower fields

Precision Agriculture - Maintaining adequate planter downforce is critical for achieving timely and uniform crop emergence across the field. On-farm research studies were conducted in different...     

Toxicant-disease-environment interactions associated with suppression of immune system, growth, and reproduction

The effects of marginal malnourishment , infections, and environmental chemicals on growth and reproductive success in Swiss-Webster white mice and wild deer mice were studied with fractional factorial designs. Interaction effects were discovered. For example, malnourished mice were more sensitive to virus exposure and environmental chemicals (a plant growth regulator or polychlorinated biphenyls). Since several commercial plant growth regulators also appear to suppress the immune system, these results cast doubt on the adequacy of current toxicity testing procedures in which factors are studied individually and not in combination.     

Lizard reflectivity change and its effect on light transmission through body wall

Light transmission through the body wall of living, color-labile desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) was measured by spectrophotometry. In the dark phase, the body wall's absorption of ultraviolet light and visible light was approximately twice that of the body wall in the light phase. The shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet could penetrate the body wall in the light phase but not in the dark phase. The intensity and wavelengths of light which could penetrate the body wall without pigments are potentially mutagenic when judged by bacterial standards.     

Hurricane Allen's Impact on Jamaican Coral Reefs

Coral reefs of north Jamaica, normally sheltered, were severely damaged by Hurricane Allen, the strongest Caribbean hurricane of this century. Immediate studies were made at Discovery Bay, where reef populations were already known in some detail. Data are presented to show how damage varied with the position and orientation of the substraturn and with the shape, size, and mechanical properties of exposed organisms. Data collected over succeeding weeks showed striking differences in the ability of organisms to heal and survive.