National Agricultural Library

Abstract ‘CP 13‐4513’ (Reg. no. CV‐221, PI 705649) sugarcane, developed through cooperative research conducted by the USDA‐ARS, the University of Florida, and the Florida Sugar Cane League, Inc., was released to growers for mineral soils in Florida in June 2021. The expansion potential of sugarcane acreage on mineral soils in Florida increases the importance of new cultivar development for this soil type. CP 13‐4513 offers a good disease package with its resistance to leaf scald (caused by Xanthomonas albilineans Ashby, Dowson), orange rust (caused by Puccinia kuehnii E.J. Butler), ratoon stunt disease (caused by Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli Evtushenko et al.), Sugarcane mosaic virus (strain E), and moderate resistance to smut [caused by Sporisorium scitamineum (Syd.) M. Piepenbring et al.]. CP 13‐4513 is susceptible to brown rust (caused by Puccinia melanocephala H. & P. Sydow), but this disease can be efficiently controlled with fungicides. The 3‐year sandy‐soil production summary (i.e., plant cane, first ratoon, and second ratoon) demonstrated commercially recoverable sucrose (CRS), cane yields, and sugar yields comparable to the commercial sand check ‘CL 88‐4730’. Compared to the other reference check, ‘CP 96‐1252’, CP 13‐4513 produced more CRS and less cane yield. The economic index of CP 13‐4513 was not significantly different from that of CL 88‐4730 or CP 96‐1252. CP 13‐4513 displayed excellent germination on sand, and greater cane height, tillering capability, and canopy shading than ‘CL 88‐4730’ in plant cane. CP 13‐4513 exhibits heavy flowering that starts in early December.

Dominant species play a key role in plant communities, influencing the abundance and richness of subordinate species through competitive and facilitative interactions. However, generalizations about the effects of dominant plant species in grasslands can be difficult due to the many differences among communities, such as abiotic conditions and regional species pools. To overcome this issue, we conducted a dominant species removal experiment in two semiarid grassland communities at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico. These communities had different dominant species but similar abiotic conditions and regional species pools. We studied the effects of removing dominant species on community composition, diversity, and aboveground net primary production (ANPP) over a 23-year period. Our results showed that dominant grasses suppressed both richness and abundance of subordinate species. In the Chihuahuan Desert grassland, the loss of Bouteloua eriopoda was only partially compensated for by subordinate species, while in the Great Plains grassland, the loss of Bouteloua gracilis was fully compensated for after 16 years. Despite increased species richness, removing dominant species reduced ANPP and resulted in a negative relationship between species richness and ANPP in both grasslands. These results have important implications for ecosystem management and conservation, highlighting the potential impact of losing dominant species on subordinate species and community dynamics.

Abstract Dollar spot disease, caused by the fungal pathogen Clarireedia jacksonii, is one of the most destructive and economically significant diseases affecting bentgrass species. Occurring throughout the growing season, its management often involves biweekly fungicide applications from May to October, with 54% of golf course managers relying on this intensive strategy. To reduce the overuse of fungicides, improving the selection of disease‐resistant germplasm is crucial. In this study, we employed digital image processing techniques to quantify the area under the disease progress curve for seasonal dollar spot outbreaks across 19 bentgrass cultivars. Based on their disease progression patterns, the cultivars were grouped into five distinct clusters, reflecting varying levels of susceptibility and tolerance. This method offers a rapid and accurate approach to assess genetic performance, providing valuable insights for breeding programs and sustainable disease management strategies.

Felix Hoppe-Seyler (1825-1895) was a pioneer of biochemistry, remembered not only for his discovery of hemoglobin and his contributions to the chemical characterization of many other biological compounds and processes but also for having been the mentor of Friedrich Miescher and Albrecht Kossel. In his preface to the first issue of Zeitschrift für Physiologische Chemie, Felix Hoppe-Seyler coined the term Bio chemistry ('Biochemie') for the then newly emerging discipline.

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Achieving global food security requires better use of natural, genetic, and importantly, human resources—knowledge. Technology must be created, and existing and new technology and knowledge deployed, and adopted by farmers and others engaged in agriculture. This requires collaboration amongst many professional communities world-wide including farmers, agribusinesses, policymakers, and multi-disciplinary scientific groups. Each community having its own knowledge-associated terminology, techniques, and types of data, collectively forms a barrier to collaboration. Knowledge management (KM) approaches are being implemented to capture knowledge from all communities and make it interoperable and accessible as a “group memory” to create a multi-professional, multidisciplinary knowledge economy. As an example, we present KM efforts at the US Department of Agriculture. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is being developed to capture tacit and explicit knowledge assets including Big Data and transform it into curated knowledge products available, with permissions, to the agricultural community. Communities of Practice (CoP) of scientists, farmers, and others are being developed at USDA and elsewhere to foster knowledge exchange. Marrying CoPs to ICT-leveraged aspects of KM will speed development and adoption of needed agricultural solutions. Ultimately needed is a network of KM networks so that knowledge stored anywhere can be used globally in real time.

Manureshed management guides the sustainable use of manure resources by matching areas of crop demand (nutrient sinks) with areas generating livestock manure (nutrient sources). A better understanding of the impacts of manureshed management on water quality within sensitive watersheds is needed. We quantified the potential water quality benefits of manureshed-oriented management through scenario-based analyses in the Susquehanna River Basin (SRB) using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool. Five manureshed management scenarios were developed and compared with a baseline "business-as-usual" scenario. The baseline assumes manure is less transportable, which means some locations have manure application in excess of crop demand. The "watershed nutrient balance" scenarios assume excess manure from surplus locations is transportable and that manure is applied around the SRB based on crop nutrient demand. The "watershed nutrient balance avoiding runoff prone areas" scenarios assume manure is transportable but not applied in vulnerable landscapes of the SRB. Each scenario was evaluated under two application rates considering crop nitrogen demand (N-based) and phosphorus demand (P-based). Phosphorus-based manureshed management was more effective in water quality improvements than N-based management. Phosphorus-based nutrient balance scenarios simulated 3 and 25% reduction in total N (TN) and total P (TP), respectively, from the baseline scenario at the watershed outlet. The N- and P-based scenarios avoiding runoff prone areas simulated 3 and 6% reduction in TN loss and 4 and 25.2% reduction in TP loss, respectively, from the baseline. Overall, the manureshed management scenarios were more effective in improving the quality of local streams in livestock-intensive regions than at the watershed outlet.

Abstract ‘CP 14‐1934’ (Reg. no. CV‐210, PI 700310) sugarcane cultivar, a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp., was developed through cooperative research of the USDA‐ARS, the University of Florida, and the Florida Sugarcane League. The Florida Sugarcane Variety Committee released CP 14‐1934 in June 2021 for commercial cultivation on organic (muck) soil. CP 14‐1934 originates from a cross CPX11‐1041 between CP 07‐2460 (female parent) and CP 06‐2335 (male parent). CP 14‐1934 was released due to its high cane yield; high sucrose yields; acceptable commercial recoverable sucrose; and resistance to brown rust (tested positive to Bru 1 marker), orange rust, sugarcane mosaic virus strain E (mosaic), and ratoon stunting disease. CP 14‐1934 was found moderately resistant to leaf scald and to have intermediate freeze tolerance. Based on results of three harvests cycles over five locations in final‐stage replicated yield trials (Stage 4) on muck soils, CP 14‐1934 cane and sucrose yields were 17.8 and 19.8% greater than the mean of reference cultivars, respectively. CP 14‐1934 rarely flowers in Florida's climate. The new released cultivar CP 14‐1934 is expected to increase the profitability and the efficiency in the use of resources of Florida sugarcane growers.