scholarly journals Yield, Quality, and Performance of Organic Sweetpotato Slips Grown in High Tunnel Compared with Open Field

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary N. Hoppenstedt ◽  
Jason J. Griffin ◽  
Eleni D. Pliakoni ◽  
Cary L. Rivard

Sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are nutritious, easily stored, and well adapted to a variety of organic farming operations. This widely consumed root crop is propagated through the use of cuttings, known as slips. Slips are commercially grown primarily in the southeastern United States, and growers in the central United States still have limited access to sweetpotato planting material. Production of organic slips in high tunnels (HTs) could be a profitable enterprise for growers in the central United States given the season extension afforded by controlled-environment agriculture, which could allow growers to diversify their operations and facilitate crop rotation. In trials conducted in 2016 and 2017 at two research stations in northeast and south central Kansas, a systems comparison was used to evaluate the yield and performance of organic sweetpotato slips grown in HT as compared with the open field (OF), with four to six replications at each location. Propagation beds planted with ‘Beauregard’ seed roots in 2016 and ‘Orleans’ in 2017 were established in HT and OF under similar cultural methods and planting schedules. Slips were harvested from both treatment groups and transplanted to field plots to investigate the impact of production system on transplant establishment and storage root production. Slip yield from HT was greater than OF at both locations in 2016 (P ≤ 0.001), but this trend was inconsistent in 2017. Slips grown in HT were on average 12% less compact (slip dry weight per centimeter length) with fewer nodes than their OF counterparts in 2016. Nonetheless, mean comparisons for vine length, stem diameter, and total marketable storage root yield were not significant between HT and OF treatments (1.7 and 2.1 lb/plant, respectively). Similarly, the number of marketable storage roots for HT and OF groups was comparable (3.4 and 3.8 storage roots/plant, respectively). Although more research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of slips grown in HT and to determine recommendations for seed root planting densities, results from this study suggest that HT organic sweetpotato slip production could be a viable alternative to OF production as it relates to slip performance. According to this study, HT production could be a useful mechanism for growing sweetpotato slips, which could provide regional growers more control over planting material. Furthermore, HT slip production could promote the adoption of an underused vegetable crop that can be grown throughout many parts of the United States.

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 947-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Angel ◽  
Michael A. Palecki ◽  
Steven E. Hollinger

Abstract Soil erosion is a major global challenge. An increased understanding of the mechanisms driving soil erosion, especially the storms that produce it, is vital to reducing the impact on agriculture and the environment. The objective of this work was to study the spatial distribution and time trends of the soil erosion characteristics of storms, including the maximum 30-min precipitation intensity (I30), storm kinetic energy of the falling precipitation (KE), and the storm erosivity index (EI) using a long-term 15-min precipitation database. This is the first time that such an extensive climatology of soil erosion characteristics of storms has been produced. The highest mean I30, KE, and EI values occurred in all seasons in the southeastern United States, while the lowest occurred predominantly in the interior west. The lowest mean I30, KE, and EI values typically occurred in winter, and the highest occurred in summer. The exception to this was along the West Coast where winter storms exhibited the largest mean KE and EI values. Linear regression was used to identify trends in mean storm erosion characteristics for nine U.S. zones over the 31-yr study period. The south-central United States showed increases for all three storm characteristics for all four seasons. On the other hand, higher elevations along the West Coast showed strong decreases in all three storm characteristics across all seasons. The primary agricultural region in the central United States showed significant increases in fall and winter mean EI when there is less vegetative cover. These results underscore the need to update the storm climatology that is related to soil erosion on a regular basis to reflect changes over time.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 516
Author(s):  
Alexandra C. Weaver ◽  
Daniel M. Weaver ◽  
Nicholas Adams ◽  
Alexandros Yiannikouris

Mycotoxins contaminate crops worldwide and play a role in animal health and performance. Multiple mycotoxins may co-occur which may increase the impact on the animal. To assess the multiple mycotoxin profile of corn (Zea mays), we conducted a 7-year survey of new crop corn grain and silage in the United States. A total of 711 grain and 1117 silage samples were collected between 2013 and 2019 and analyzed for the simultaneous presence of 35 mycotoxins using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The measured mean number of mycotoxins per sample were 4.8 (grain) and 5.2 (silage), ranging from 0 to 13. Fusaric acid (FA) was most frequently detected in 78.1 and 93.8% of grains and silages, respectively, followed by deoxynivalenol (DON) in 75.7 and 88.2% of samples. Fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 and 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15ADON) followed. The greatest (p < 0.05) co-occurrence was between FA and DON in 59.1% of grains and 82.7% of silages, followed by FA with FB1, DON with 15ADON, and FA with 15ADON. Although many samples had lower mycotoxin concentrations, 1.6% (grain) and 7.9% (silage) of tested samples had DON ≥ 5000 µg/kg. Fumonisins were detected ≥ 10,000 µg/kg in 9.6 and 3.9% of grain and silage samples, respectively. Concentrations in grain varied by year for eight mycotoxin groups (p < 0.05), while all 10 groups showed yearly variations in silage. Our survey suggest that multiple mycotoxins frequently co-occur in corn grain and silage in the Unites States, and some of the more prevalent mycotoxins are those that may not be routinely analyzed (i.e., FA and 15ADON). Assessment of multiple mycotoxins should be considered when developing management programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 718-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Zlesak ◽  
Randy Nelson ◽  
Derald Harp ◽  
Barbara Villarreal ◽  
Nick Howell ◽  
...  

Landscape roses (Rosa sp.) are popular flowering shrubs. Consumers are less willing or able to maintain landscape beds than in years past and require plants that are not only attractive, but well-adapted to regional climatic conditions, soil types, and disease and pest pressures. Marketing and distribution of rose cultivars occurs on a national level; therefore, it is difficult for U.S. consumers in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 5 to identify well-adapted, cold-hardy cultivars. Identifying suitable cultivars that have strong genetic resistance to pests and disease and that will tolerate temperature extremes without winter protection in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 5 is of tremendous value to consumers and retailers in northern states. Twenty landscape rose cultivars, primarily developed in north-central North America, were evaluated at five locations in the United States (three in the north-central United States, one in the central United States, and one in the south-central United States) using the low-input, multiyear Earth-Kind® methodology. Six roses had ≥75% plant survival at the end of the study and were in the top 50% of performers for overall mean horticultural rating at each of the three north-central U.S. sites: ‘Lena’, ‘Frontenac’, ‘Ole’, ‘Polar Joy’, ‘Sunrise Sunset’, and ‘Sven’. Five of these six roses met the same criteria at the central United States (exception ‘Lena’) and the south-central United States (exception ‘Polar Joy’) sites. Cultivar, rating time, and their interaction were highly significant, and block effects were not significant for horticultural rating for all single-site analyses of variance. Significant positive correlations were found between sites for flower number, flower diameter, and overall horticultural rating. Significant negative correlations were found between flower number and diameter within each site and also between black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) lesion size from a previous study and overall horticultural rating for three of the five sites. Cane survival ratings were not significantly correlated with overall horticultural rating, suggesting some cultivars can experience severe winter cane dieback, yet recover and perform well. Data from this study benefit multiple stakeholders, including nurseries, landscapers, and consumers, with evidence-based regional cultivar recommendations and breeders desiring to identify regionally adapted parents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1678-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey G Holleman ◽  
Grant A Robison ◽  
Ian J Bellovich ◽  
Warren Booth

Abstract Despite awareness of the mutations conferring insecticide resistance in the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), within the United States few studies address the distribution and frequency of these. Within the United States, studies have focused on collections made along the East Coast and Midwest, documenting the occurrence of two mutations (V419L and L925I) within the voltage-gated sodium channel α-subunit gene shown to be associated with knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroids. Here, the distribution and frequency of the V419L and L925I site variants is reported from infestations sampled within Oklahoma and its immediately adjacent states. Additionally, the presence of a mutation previously undocumented in the United States (I935F) is noted. While novel in the United States, this mutation has previously been reported in Australian and Old World populations. No infestations were found to harbor wild-type individuals, and hence susceptible, at each of the three sites. Instead, ~21% were found to possess the resistant mutation at the L925I site (haplotype B), ~77% had mutations at both the V419L and L925I sites (haplotype C), and 2% possessed the mutation at the L936F site (haplotype Ab). The high frequency of haplotype C corresponds to previous studies in the United States, and contrasts dramatically with those of the Old World and Australia. The data presented here provide insight into the contemporary occurrence of kdr-associated insecticide resistance in the South Central United States, a region for which data have previously been absent. These data suggest that New World and Old World/Australian infestations are likely to have originated from different origins.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1477-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry H. Cook ◽  
Edward K. Vizy

Abstract The easterly Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ) is a prominent climate feature over the Intra-America Seas, and it is associated with much of the water vapor transport from the tropical Atlantic into the Caribbean Basin. In this study, the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) is analyzed to improve the understanding of the dynamics of the CLLJ and its relationship to regional rainfall variations. Horizontal momentum balances are examined to understand how jet variations on both diurnal and seasonal time scales are controlled. The jet is geostrophic to the first order. Its previously documented semidiurnal cycle (with minima at about 0400 and 1600 LT) is caused by semidiurnal cycling of the meridional geopotential height gradient in association with changes in the westward extension of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH). A diurnal cycle is superimposed, associated with a meridional land–sea breeze (solenoidal circulation) onto the north coast of South America, so that the weakest jet velocities occur at 1600 LT. The CLLJ is present throughout the year, and it is known to vary in strength semiannually. Peak magnitudes in July are related to the seasonal cycle of the NASH, and a second maximum in February is caused by heating over northern South America. From May through September, zonal geopotential gradients associated with summer heating over Central America and Mexico induce meridional flow. The CLLJ splits into two branches, including a southerly branch that connects with the Great Plains low-level jet (GPLLJ) bringing moisture into the central United States. During the rest of the year, the flow remains essentially zonal across the Caribbean Basin and into the Pacific. A strong (weak) CLLJ is associated with reduced (enhanced) rainfall over the Caribbean Sea throughout the year in the NARR. The relationship with precipitation over land depends on the season. Despite the fact that the southerly branch of the CLLJ feeds into the meridional GPLLJ in May through September, variations in the CLLJ strength during these months do not impact U.S. precipitation, because the CLLJ strength is varying in response to regional-scale forcing and not to changes in the large-scale circulation. During the cool season, there are statistically significant correlations between the CLLJ index and rainfall over the United States. When the CLLJ is strong, there is anomalous northward moisture transport across the Gulf of Mexico into the central United States and pronounced rainfall increases over Louisiana and Texas. A weak jet is associated with anomalous westerly flow across the southern Caribbean region and significantly reduced rainfall over the south-central United States. No connection between the intensity of the CLLJ and drought over the central United States is found. There are only three drought summers in the NARR period (1980, 1988, and 2006), and the CLLJ was extremely weak in 1988 but not in 1980 or 2006.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuba R. Kandel ◽  
Daren S. Mueller ◽  
Chad E. Hart ◽  
Nathan R. C. Bestor ◽  
Carl A. Bradley ◽  
...  

Foliar disease and insect management on soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) in the North Central region of the United States has been increasingly accomplished through foliar fungicide and insecticide application. Data from research trials conducted in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska were compiled from 2008 to 2014 to determine the impact of fungicide, insecticide, and fungicide + insecticide applications on soybean yield and profitability. In each state, field experiments occurred each year in two to seven locations. All treatments were applied at the R3 growth stage. Disease and insect pressure were very low in all states and years. A foliar application of fungicide, insecticide, or the combination, increased yield in seven out of 14 total site-years (P < 0.10). Economic analysis using an average soybean price of $0.42 per kilogram and average application cost of $62 per hectare indicated that fungicide applications were only profitable in 14% of the trial site-years. Insecticide alone and fungicide + insecticide was profitable in 39% and 45% of site-years, respectively. Effect of fungicide class on yield was inconsistent. Our results indicate that although yield increases can occur with foliar fungicide and/or insecticide treatments, current market prices and application costs may limit profitability when disease and/or insect pressure is low. Accepted for publication 22 September 2016.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-321
Author(s):  
Elise Berman ◽  
Vicki Collet

COVID-19 closed school buildings across the United States, forcing a shift to remote education. How families navigated remote schooling likely varied across class, racial, and ethnic differences, raising questions about how the pandemic might deepen educational inequities. We talked to Marshallese migrant families in a town in the South Central United States about their experiences with remote schooling in Spring 2020. Findings suggest families engaged in school activities at home and were invested in their children’s schooling. They reported numerous inequities tied to technology access and “time-collisions” between familial and educational schedules. They also reveal culturally specific patterns of home-school interactions we call “distributed involvement.” These issues are relevant during in-person as well as remote schooling. Families’ reports suggest problems with normative models of “parental involvement,” revealing ways to make home-school connections more culturally sustaining. A better understanding of reported COVID-19 experiences can inform educational policies and practices in post-pandemic futures.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Quinn

The licensing of soccer coaches to coach at the teenage and adult levels have been in existence since the early 1970’s through the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Coaching Schools. However, it has only been since 1995 that US Youth Soccer, an affiliate of the USSF created a child-centered curriculum to address the needs of children 12 and younger and the individuals who coach them, namely the parent-coach. To date over 5000 coaches have attended this five-day course. However, no such analysis has occurred to determine the impact and influence of this program on coaching efficacy. Coaching efficacy as defined by Feltz, Chase, Moritz, & Sullivan, (1999) “is the extent which coaches believe that they have the capacity to affect the learning and performance of their athletes.” The Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES) developed by Feltz, et al was used as the primary date survey instrument.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Z. Bashar ◽  
Mostafa A. Elseifi ◽  
Momen R. Mousa ◽  
Zhongjie Zhang ◽  
Kevin Gaspard

Louisiana’s $6.3 million microsurfacing program is amongst the largest microsurfacing programs in the United States. As microsurfacing seals the road surface, the effectiveness of this treatment in such a setting has been a concern in recent years by linking it to moisture damage caused by the trapped moisture underneath the pavement especially in areas with shallow groundwater table. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness and optimal timing of microsurfacing applications are also not well established for the south-central United States. The objective of this study was to assess the short-term and long-term effects of microsurfacing treatments and to evaluate whether microsurfacing is a major contributor to moisture damage. Field performance of 27 sections where microsurfacing treatments were applied between 2003 and 2008 was monitored for at least eight years. Results indicated that microsurfacing is most effective in addressing rutting damage as compared with the other performance indicators. Microsurfacing extended the service life of the pavements by 4.9–8.8 years. The effectiveness of microsurfacing was found to be optimum when applied to pavements with pre-treatment conditions ranging from 80 to 85. Results of this study also showed that microsurfacing-treated sections exhibited higher percentage of moisture damage as compared with the untreated sections in all the districts. Therefore, an in-depth assessment of the effects of microsurfacing on moisture damage in asphalt pavements is recommended.


2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
pp. 1086-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradford S. Barrett ◽  
Brittany N. Henley

Abstract Climatologies have been developed to highlight variability of the frequency and intensity of hail in the United States. However, the intraseasonal variability of hail, including why one week might be active while the following inactive despite both having similar climatological probabilities, has not yet been explored. This paper presents relationships between spring-season (April–June) hail days and the leading mode of atmospheric intraseasonal variability, the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). It extends recent work on intraseasonal tornado variability to smaller spatial scales. In April, May, and June, statistically significant variability in hail days was found for different Real-time Multivariate MJO (RMM) phases of the MJO. For April, the strongest correlations between hail-day anomalies and anomalies of the product of convective available potential energy (CAPE) and 0–6-km vertical wind shear were found in RMM phase 5, with above-normal likelihood of a hail day found in the south-central United States. For May, the strongest correlations were found in RMM phase 3, with below-normal likelihood of a hail day located over the north-central United States. For June, the strongest correlations were found in phase 8, with above-normal likelihood of hail in west Texas and below-normal likelihood of hail over much of the middle of the United States. In all phases, 300-hPa height anomalies in the United States formed part of a global wave train similar to MJO patterns in both modeling and observational studies.


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