From MAILER-DAEMON Wed Feb 27 12:41:41 2002 Date: 27 Feb 2002 12:41:41 -0500 From: Mail System Internal Data Subject: DON'T DELETE THIS MESSAGE -- FOLDER INTERNAL DATA Message-ID: <1014831701@metalab.unc.edu> X-IMAP: 0934832375 0000000263 Status: RO This text is part of the internal format of your mail folder, and is not a real message. It is created automatically by the mail system software. If deleted, important folder data will be lost, and it will be re-created with the data reset to initial values. From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Aug 16 14:47:49 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.8.6/8.8.6/rchk1.19) with ESMTP id OAA20634 for ; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 14:47:48 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id OAA27262; Mon, 16 Aug 1999 14:36:40 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 14:36:40 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199908161836.OAA27262@sun.ars-grin.gov> X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov using -f To: london@metalab.unc.edu From: Majordomo@ars-grin.gov Subject: Welcome to ars-news Reply-To: Majordomo@ars-grin.gov Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 1 -- Welcome to the ars-news mailing list! If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list, you can send mail to "Majordomo@ars-grin.gov" with the following command in the body of your email message: unsubscribe ars-news london@metalab.unc.edu Here's the general information for the list you've subscribed to, in case you don't already have it: The mailing list "ars-news" supplies journalists with story leads and news and feature releases from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. If you have previously received ARS news releases, please tell us who you are. That way, we can avoid sending you duplicate copies of releases-- by removing your name from older fax or mail distribution lists. E-mail addressed to the ars-news list address cannot be posted to it. But we welcome your questions or comments about a specific story or about other ARS research activities. You may send e-mail to the writer of the story or to the ARS News Service, isjd@ars-grin.gov. The ARS Information Staff is on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is. The staff is based at 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville, MD 20705-5128. The Current Information Branch telephone number is (301) 504-1617, fax (301) 504-1641. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Aug 17 12:09:17 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.8.6/8.8.6/rchk1.19) with ESMTP id MAA18763 for ; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:09:15 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA00200 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 17 Aug 1999 10:30:53 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <002201bee8bd$24093a00$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Athletes Need Enough Zinc Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 10:31:04 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 2 STORY LEAD: Athletes Need Enough Zinc ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Judy McBride, (301) 504-1628, jmcbride@asrr.arsusda.gov August 17, 1999 ----------- Peak athletic performance depends on adequate zinc as well as iron and copper, according to a new study from the Agricultural Research Service, USDA's chief scientific agency. While most athletes don't have to worry, those who avoid beef and load up on carbohydrates may fall short in zinc. Beef is the major source of this essential trace element in the U.S. diet. Wrestlers, gymnasts and ballerinas who eat sparingly to maintain a low body weight may also be at risk of not getting enough zinc. With these athletes in mind, ARS physiologist Henry C. Lukaski studied the effects of a low- zinc diet on 12 athletic men in their twenties. Based at the Grand Forks, N. D., Human Nutrition Research Center, Lukaski wanted to fill in the limited data on low-zinc intake. He focused on a zinc-containing enzyme--carbonic anhydrase--in red blood cells. The enzyme helps red blood cells pick up carbon dioxide and drop it off in the lungs to be exhaled. This exchange helps maintain the chemical environment muscle cells need to contract and produce energy. If the exchange is sluggish, the athlete pays the price in performance. For nine weeks each, the men ate a diet containing 18 milligrams of zinc per day--slightly more than the recommended amount--and another containing only 3 mg/day--one fifth of the recommendation. After the low-zinc diet, the men had significant drops in peak oxygen uptake and peak carbon dioxide output as they cycled all-out on an ergometer. Their respiratory exchange ratios also dropped, indicating energy production during peak exercise was not up to snuff. The low-zinc diet also depressed these measurements while the men cycled at 75 percent of peak capacity. The activity of the carbonic anhydrase enzyme also was lower after the low-zinc diet. The recommended 12-15 mg/day is adequate for peak performance. Supplementing with several times that level can cause health risks, researchers caution. ---------- Scientific contact: Henry C. Lukaski, ARS Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D., phone (701) 795-8355, fax (701) 795-8395, hlukaski@gfhnrc.ars.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Aug 23 11:37:28 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA03019 for ; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:37:28 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA11519 for ars-news-outgoing; Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:18:39 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001601beed61$db1bdec0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Improving Cotton's Medical Uses Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:20:07 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 3 STORY LEAD: New Gauze, Coatings Improve Medical Uses of Cotton ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Kathryn Barry Stelljes, (510) 559-6069, stelljes@asrr.arsusda.gov August 23, 1999 ----------- Bedsores and other chronic wounds may heal faster, thanks to new gauze bandages being developed by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service and Virginia Commonwealth University. The team reported on their work yesterday in New Orleans at the 218th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, held Aug. 22 to 26. ARS scientists led by chemist J. Vincent Edwards developed a method to chemically modify cotton gauze so it helps reduce the amount of a natural enzyme, elastase, in the wound area. Edwards works at the ARS Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. Elastase can slow and even prevent healing of some wounds. Normally, the body produces enough natural inhibitors to offset the enzyme. But in chronic skin ulcers common to long- term hospital patients, elastase can build to more than 20 times normal levels. The new bandages appear to deactivate elastase, returning it to normal concentrations at the wound site. At the ACS meeting, other scientists from the ARS research center in New Orleans gave updates on improved cotton products for medical uses including: * Hospital gowns, bedpads and other fabrics coated with polyethylene glycols should soon be commercially available. The coating imparts antimicrobial benefits and improves absorbency. Private companies plan to introduce products within the next few years, based on patented, licensed technology developed by ARS chemist Tyrone L. Vigo. A detailed story on this research is on the web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/1999/990608.htm * Superabsorbent gauze created with a new process developed by ARS chemist D.V. Parikh retains textile properties like stretchability and can be used with burn patients. Parikh is also applying the process to cotton fibers to create the core of incontinence pads that will be thinner, lighter and more absorbent than pads now available. ARS is the lead scientific agency for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ---------- Scientific contacts: J. Vincent Edwards, Tyrone L. Vigo and D.V. Parikh; ARS Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, La.; phone (504) 286-4521; fax (504) 286-4271; vedwards@nola.srrc.usda.gov, parikh@nola.srrc.usda.gov, tvigo@nola.srrc.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Aug 24 10:11:09 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA25715 for ; Tue, 24 Aug 1999 10:11:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id IAA10011 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:42:05 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001101beee25$ea181500$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Scientific Help for Tennessee Valley Soils Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:35:12 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 4 NEWS RELEASE: USDA Researchers Help Farmers Preserve Tennessee Valley Soils ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Tara Weaver-Missick, (301) 504-1619, tweaver@asrr.arsusda.gov August 24, 1999 ----------- Auburn, Ala., Aug. 24--U.S. Department of Agriculture and Auburn University scientists are teaming up on a joint project to help cotton growers correct soil problems in the Tennessee Valley, which includes Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. "Although the land is very fertile, the soils in this area are heavily eroded and heavily compacted, and plant roots don't extend very deep into the soil," said Agricultural Research Service Administrator Floyd P. Horn. "About 60 percent of the soil in the Valley is highly erodible. Years of conventional tillage, coupled with little crop rotation, have severely depleted the soil organic matter, in some areas to less than 1 percent." Conservation agronomist Ben Moore with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service in Troy, Ala., has worked with Valley farmers to help them comply with conservation management alternatives required by the Food Security Act of 1985. Growers who followed these conservation practices in earlier years had reduced yields. "That's mainly because crops previously grown under conservation tillage were not as competitive as those grown under conventional tillage," Moore said. Agronomist D. Wayne Reeves and agricultural engineer Randy L. Raper, with ARS' National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, in Auburn, Ala., were asked to help growers develop soil management systems that would protect the soil from erosion, which also allows them to maintain or improve cotton yields, reduce input costs and improve soil quality. In field studies, Reeves found deep tilling to 17 inches and planting a rye cover crop in fall increases yields and reduces soil compaction. Three-year average yields for this system were about 1,040 pounds of lint per acre. "Our best conservation tillage treatment gave yields that were 14 percent higher than conventional tillage and 18 percent higher than no tillage without using a cover crop, the system Tennessee Valley farmers adopted when they first went to conservation tillage," Reeves said. "At current prices for cotton, fall deep tillage in combination with a rye cover crop paid for itself more than three times over." An in-depth article appears in the August issue of Agricultural Research magazine. The story is also on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug99/tenn0899.htm ---------- Scientific contacts: D. Wayne Reeves and Randy L. Raper, ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, Auburn, Ala., phone (334) 844-4666 [Reeves], (334) 844-4654 [Raper], wreeves@acesag.auburn.edu, rlraper@eng.auburn.edu. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Aug 25 13:57:11 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA26239 for ; Wed, 25 Aug 1999 13:57:11 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id LAA18777 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 25 Aug 1999 11:51:22 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <00a201beef09$85ee8ca0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Organic v. Plastic Mulch on Pesticide Loss Date: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 11:52:50 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 5 STORY LEAD: Vegetative Mulch Cuts Pesticide Losses in Runoff ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Sarah Tarshis, (301) 504-1611, isst@ars-grin.gov August 25, 1999 ----------- Growing vegetables with an organic mulch, hairy vetch--a legume-- instead of plastic mulch cut pesticide losses by as much as 90 percent in experiments in Maryland. The vetch also greatly reduced water runoff and sediment losses. Today, Agricultural Research Service scientists presented the findings--the first showing the tactic's effect on pesticide loss--at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans. ARS is the USDA's chief scientific wing. The Chesapeake Bay and its aquatic organisms have long been threatened by polluted runoff from farms, lawns, golf courses, streets, septic tanks and other sources. And on the Bay's Delmarva peninsula, runoff from vegetable fields may contribute to endangering shellfish such as shrimp, clams and oysters. The new findings point to ways to reduce this threat. Polyethylene mulch is used to conserve soil moisture and control weeds on about 4,600 acres of tomato and floral crops in Northhampton and Accomack counties, Virginia, that make up Virginia's eastern shore. Runoff increases, however, because plastic covers 50 to 75 percent of the fields. Pesticides that aren't absorbed into the soil can be removed easily from the plastic surface by rain. In a three-year collaborative study, ARS chemist Cathleen Hapeman and her co-workers grew tomato plants in both plastic-covered and hairy vetch mulch plots at the agency's Beltsville, Md., Agricultural Research Center. They measured the runoff and its sediment and pesticide concentrations. Compared to the plastic-covered plots, the vetch-mulch plots lost about two to 10 times less water, 10 times less soil and, on average, 10 times less pesticide. Scientists tested some runoff from the plots on clams and other bottom-feeding organisms that serve as indicators of water quality. Preliminary results of the tests, conducted at the University of Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Lab in Solomons, Md., showed that runoff from polyethylene plots can harm the aquatic organisms. The organisms were less affected by runoff from plots mulched with hairy vetch. ---------- Scientific contact: Cathleen Hapeman, ARS Environmental Chemistry Lab, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-6511, fax (301) 504-5048, chapeman@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Aug 26 08:23:09 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA11459 for ; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 08:23:08 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id GAA29950 for ars-news-outgoing; Thu, 26 Aug 1999 06:50:42 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000e01beefa8$af679d20$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Defenses for Soybean Diseases Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 06:27:17 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 6 STORY LEAD: ARS Releases New Soybean Disease Defenses ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Tara Weaver-Missick, (301) 504-1619, tweaver@asrr.arsusda.gov August 26, 1999 ----------- A new soybean variety and a germplasm line that fight off some major crop diseases have been released by Agricultural Research Service scientists. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief research agency. Research geneticist Jeffrey M. Tyler of ARS' Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit in Stoneville, Miss., developed the new variety, called Bolivar, in cooperation with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Mississippi State, Miss. In field studies, Bolivar had high seed yield and good plant height in early season plantings, an environment that normally suppresses plant growth. It is adapted to the clay soils of the lower Mississippi River valley and east Mississippi. Bolivar is also tolerant to Phytophthora rot and resistant to stem canker and soybean cyst nematode race 3. It has moderate resistance to races 2 and 5. ARS research geneticist Thomas C. Kilen, also with the Stoneville unit, developed and released the new high-yielding soybean germplasm line D95-5246. It is resistant to Phytophthora rot and soybean cyst nematodes races 3 and 14. The fungus Phytophthora sojae causes Phytophthora rot, a major soybean disease. Millions of soybean bushels are lost each year to this disease. Soybean cyst nematodes are worm-like pests that eat soybean roots, causing more losses than all other soybean pathogens combined. The nematodes destroyed nearly 16.4 million bushels of soybeans last year. Last year, combined losses from both were estimated at 20 million bushels in 16 southern states. These two new releases should give farmers another defense against major soybean crop- killers. To date, Stoneville scientists have developed 29 high-yielding soybean varieties and 24 new germplasm lines with improved pest resistance. Small amounts of seed are available from the scientists for research purposes only. An in-depth article on soybean research appears in the August issue of Agricultural Research magazine. The story is also on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug99/soy0899.htm ---------- Scientific contacts: Jeffrey M. Tyler and Thomas C. Kilen, ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit, Stoneville, Miss., 38776, (phone) 601-686-5241, (fax) 601-686-5218, jtyler@ag.gov, tkilen@ag.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Aug 27 09:35:34 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA06757 for ; Fri, 27 Aug 1999 09:35:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id HAA05430 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 27 Aug 1999 07:56:43 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <002201bef082$1ce161e0$121b85c7@cs.wsc.ag.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Green Pea Released Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999 07:48:32 -0400 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 7 STORY LEAD: Green Pixie--Not Just Another New Green Pea ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov August 27, 1999 ----------- Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service have released their 12th new southern pea variety, Green Pixie. Green Pixie is the first green-cotyledon variety to yield small, delicate, cream-type green peas. Cotyledons, also known as the leaves of the embryo, account for most of the embryonic tissue inside the seed. Because of the green-cotyledon gene, Green Pixie peas can be harvested dry and still retain their fresh green color. Richard Fery and ARS colleagues in Charleston, S.C., developed Green Pixie for the frozen food industry. But the new variety can be grown and picked fresh by home gardeners in addition to being harvested as near-dry peas for food-processing uses. Seed of Green Pixie have been released to 10 commercial seed growers and food processing companies so they can multiply supplies. The new variety should be available to growers by fall 2000. The scientists developed Green Pixie over a nine-year period by crossbreeding the popular, small, white-colored White Acre peas with the light-olive colored, but larger Bettergreen peas. The scientists say Green Pixie can be used either to replace White Acre or to substitute for Bettergreen when grown to produce a blended pack of Bettergreen and White Acre peas. When harvested as dry peas and stored, Green Pixie makes an attractive dry pack. Dry peas can be restored to their fresh-harvest seed size and green color by soaking them in water for one hour and then blanching them in boiling water for three minutes. Dry pods of Green Pixie produce 16 peas in about 76 days. The dry peas resemble White Acre--100 weigh about 1/2 ounce--but they're much smaller than Bettergreen's. Breeder's seed will be maintained by ARS' U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston. Genetic material for developing new cultivars is available through the National Plant Germplasm System, maintained by ARS, USDA's chief scientific agency. ---------- Scientific contact: Richard L. Fery, ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, S.C., phone (843) 556-0840, fax (843) 763-7013, rfery@awod.com. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Sun Aug 29 19:56:13 1999 -0400 Received: from shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (shasta.ces.ncsu.edu [152.1.45.61]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA21633 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:56:13 -0400 (EDT) Received: by shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA26220 for sanet-mg-outgoing; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:15:13 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: shasta.ces.ncsu.edu: majord set sender to owner-sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu using -f Received: from hevanet.com (root@hevanet.com [198.5.254.1]) by shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA26204 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:15:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from [204.119.60.32] (gl-ppp12.hevanet.com [204.119.60.32]) by hevanet.com (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id QAA20830; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 16:14:15 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <199908292314.QAA20830@hevanet.com> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express for Macintosh - 4.01 (297) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 15:43:40 -0700 Subject: FW: New Green Pea Released From: "Lon J. Rombough" To: SANET , AGRISYNERGY , Organic Gardening Discussion List Mime-version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 8 This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. ---------- From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Green Pea Released Date: Fri, Aug 27, 1999, 4:48 AM STORY LEAD: Green Pixie--Not Just Another New Green Pea ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov August 27, 1999 ----------- Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service have released their 12th new southern pea variety, Green Pixie. Green Pixie is the first green-cotyledon variety to yield small, delicate, cream-type green peas. Cotyledons, also known as the leaves of the embryo, account for most of the embryonic tissue inside the seed. Because of the green-cotyledon gene, Green Pixie peas can be harvested dry and still retain their fresh green color. Richard Fery and ARS colleagues in Charleston, S.C., developed Green Pixie for the frozen food industry. But the new variety can be grown and picked fresh by home gardeners in addition to being harvested as near-dry peas for food-processing uses. Seed of Green Pixie have been released to 10 commercial seed growers and food processing companies so they can multiply supplies. The new variety should be available to growers by fall 2000. The scientists developed Green Pixie over a nine-year period by crossbreeding the popular, small, white-colored White Acre peas with the light-olive colored, but larger Bettergreen peas. The scientists say Green Pixie can be used either to replace White Acre or to substitute for Bettergreen when grown to produce a blended pack of Bettergreen and White Acre peas. When harvested as dry peas and stored, Green Pixie makes an attractive dry pack. Dry peas can be restored to their fresh-harvest seed size and green color by soaking them in water for one hour and then blanching them in boiling water for three minutes. Dry pods of Green Pixie produce 16 peas in about 76 days. The dry peas resemble White Acre--100 weigh about 1/2 ounce--but they're much smaller than Bettergreen's. Breeder's seed will be maintained by ARS' U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston. Genetic material for developing new cultivars is available through the National Plant Germplasm System, maintained by ARS, USDA's chief scientific agency. ---------- Scientific contact: Richard L. Fery, ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, S.C., phone (843) 556-0840, fax (843) 763-7013, rfery@awod.com. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". All messages to sanet-mg are archived at: http://www.sare.org/san/htdocs/hypermail From london@metalab.unc.edu Sun Aug 29 19:56:13 1999 -0400 Received: from shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (shasta.ces.ncsu.edu [152.1.45.61]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA21633 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:56:13 -0400 (EDT) Received: by shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA26220 for sanet-mg-outgoing; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:15:13 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: shasta.ces.ncsu.edu: majord set sender to owner-sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu using -f Received: from hevanet.com (root@hevanet.com [198.5.254.1]) by shasta.ces.ncsu.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA26204 for ; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 19:15:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from [204.119.60.32] (gl-ppp12.hevanet.com [204.119.60.32]) by hevanet.com (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id QAA20830; Sun, 29 Aug 1999 16:14:15 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <199908292314.QAA20830@hevanet.com> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express for Macintosh - 4.01 (297) Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 15:43:40 -0700 Subject: FW: New Green Pea Released From: "Lon J. Rombough" To: SANET , AGRISYNERGY , Organic Gardening Discussion List Mime-version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 9 This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. ---------- From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Green Pea Released Date: Fri, Aug 27, 1999, 4:48 AM STORY LEAD: Green Pixie--Not Just Another New Green Pea ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov August 27, 1999 ----------- Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service have released their 12th new southern pea variety, Green Pixie. Green Pixie is the first green-cotyledon variety to yield small, delicate, cream-type green peas. Cotyledons, also known as the leaves of the embryo, account for most of the embryonic tissue inside the seed. Because of the green-cotyledon gene, Green Pixie peas can be harvested dry and still retain their fresh green color. Richard Fery and ARS colleagues in Charleston, S.C., developed Green Pixie for the frozen food industry. But the new variety can be grown and picked fresh by home gardeners in addition to being harvested as near-dry peas for food-processing uses. Seed of Green Pixie have been released to 10 commercial seed growers and food processing companies so they can multiply supplies. The new variety should be available to growers by fall 2000. The scientists developed Green Pixie over a nine-year period by crossbreeding the popular, small, white-colored White Acre peas with the light-olive colored, but larger Bettergreen peas. The scientists say Green Pixie can be used either to replace White Acre or to substitute for Bettergreen when grown to produce a blended pack of Bettergreen and White Acre peas. When harvested as dry peas and stored, Green Pixie makes an attractive dry pack. Dry peas can be restored to their fresh-harvest seed size and green color by soaking them in water for one hour and then blanching them in boiling water for three minutes. Dry pods of Green Pixie produce 16 peas in about 76 days. The dry peas resemble White Acre--100 weigh about 1/2 ounce--but they're much smaller than Bettergreen's. Breeder's seed will be maintained by ARS' U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston. Genetic material for developing new cultivars is available through the National Plant Germplasm System, maintained by ARS, USDA's chief scientific agency. ---------- Scientific contact: Richard L. Fery, ARS U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, S.C., phone (843) 556-0840, fax (843) 763-7013, rfery@awod.com. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command "unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest". All messages to sanet-mg are archived at: http://www.sare.org/san/htdocs/hypermail From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Aug 30 10:14:34 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA29300 for ; Mon, 30 Aug 1999 10:14:34 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id IAA06060 for ars-news-outgoing; Mon, 30 Aug 1999 08:35:51 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <004301bef2dc$095bf160$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Nematodes Online Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 08:31:33 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 10 STORY LEAD: Online Information to Help Identify and Track $100 Billion Worm Pests ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov August 30, 1999 ----------- An online database of microscopic worms that cause $100 billion in damage worldwide is now available on the World Wide Web. The USDA Nematode Collection, one of the world's largest and most valuable archives of these microscopic worms, contains information on thousands of species of nematodes that infect nearly every agronomic and horticultural plant important to agriculture. In the United States alone, plant parasitic nematodes cause annual economic losses estimated at nearly $10 billion from decreased food, fiber and ornamental production. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service say their new searchable database will make it easier for scientists anywhere to identify and track these destructive pests. The search page can be found at: http://www.nem.barc.usda.gov/database/search.cfm The web site makes the USDA Nematode Collection more accessible to U.S. and foreign scientists and others ranging from quarantine officials to students doing science projects. Established by retired ARS nematologist A. Morgan Golden in 1960, the collection is a valuable asset for furthering scientific knowledge of the tiny worms. It is maintained at the ARS Nematology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. The collection holds more than 34,000 permanent slides and vials and 19,500 species entries. Samples were gathered from 180 countries by some 3,000 collectors. The records in the database represent 555 nematode genera and 1,670 species on 800 plant hosts. In addition, 180 insect hosts are represented by specimens in the collection. Most nematodes feed on bacteria, fungi and other soil organisms. Others are parasitic, obtaining their food from animals (like the dog heartworm), humans (like the pinworm) or plants. The plant parasites cause yield losses by feeding or by transmitting disease-causing viruses, fungi and bacteria. The website offers other resources including hot links to nematology societies and university collection sites. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific agency. ---------- Scientific contacts: Zafar A. Handoo and Donna Ellington, ARS Nematology Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-5660, fax (301) 504-6666, nematax@asrr.arsusda.gov and delling@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504- 1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Aug 31 12:10:07 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA24890 for ; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 12:10:02 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA09293 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 31 Aug 1999 10:14:50 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000501bef3ba$f3ba6be0$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Scientists Adapt DNA Test to Sugarbeet Fungal Pathogens Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 10:13:07 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 11 STORY LEAD: Scientists Adapt DNA Test to Sugarbeet Fungal Pathogens ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Ben Hardin, (309) 681-6597, bhardin@asrr.arsusda.gov August 31, 1999 ----------- Sugarbeet growers may soon get a new tool for identifying fungi poised to damage their crop. With the same basic technology used in diagnosing human disease, Agricultural Research Service scientists developed a way to quickly identify any of six major fungi types that attack U.S. sugarbeets. Each disease can cause multimillion-dollar losses. Developed at ARS' Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, N.D., the diagnostic process can be completed within 8 hours. Researchers designed DNA probes that detect unique DNA segments for each fungal type. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the scientists reproduce millions of copies of unique segments occurring in a plant tissue sample harboring fungi. From the amplified DNA, they can quickly distinguish pathogens by a "DNA fingerprint" generated when DNA is cut into pieces with an enzyme. With PCR, scientists don't have to isolate fungi from diseased roots or leaves and spend days culturing them before they're identified. Rapid identification of offending microbes by their DNA would tip off growers to the need for applying the most appropriate control measures before diseases seriously curtail yields. Further research aims at narrowing the fungi's identification by species as well as genus. The scientists have already developed probes to distinguish Aphanomyces cochlioides, which causes black root disease of sugarbeet, from A. euteiches, which causes root rot in peas and other legumes. Other sugarbeet fungi include Pythium ultimum, Cercospora beticola, Phoma betae, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. Another goal is to use the technology to analyze fungi in field soils as well as plant samples. By knowing soil infestation levels, farmers could better decide when and where to rotate crops. ARS is USDA's chief research agency. ---------- Scientific contact: John J. Weiland, Sugarbeet and Potato Research, ARS Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Fargo, N.D., phone (701) 239-1373; fax (701) 239-1349, weilandj@fargo.ars.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 1 11:16:42 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA01901 for ; Wed, 1 Sep 1999 11:16:40 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA25838 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 1 Sep 1999 09:57:33 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000501bef481$addaaaa0$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Preventing Spread of Mexican Rice Borer Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 09:55:40 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 12 STORY LEAD: Louisiana and Texas Cooperate to Prevent Spread of Mexican Rice Borer ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Jim De Quattro, (301) 504-1626, jdequatt@asrr.arsusda.gov September 1, 1999 ----------- Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service and Louisiana State University Agricultural Center are working with scientists in Texas to prevent Mexican rice borers from spreading to Louisiana. Traps to detect rice borer moths have been placed in the Beaumont, Texas, area and selected Louisiana locations. The rice borer, Eoreuma loftini, is native to Mexico and was first detected in south Texas in 1980. It costs sugarcane growers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas about $10 million to $20 million a year in lost yields. The pest also attacks rice, sorghum, wheat and forage grasses. The borer is now a concern in Louisiana because of a new sugarcane plantation in Beaumont, Texas. Sugarcane from the area will be sent by rail to Louisiana for grinding, but scientists hope to intercept the moths before the cane is shipped. Young rice borer larvae feed on and in leaf sheaths. They also bore into stalks, which sometimes break. As the insect bores through the cane, it becomes packed with feeding debris and excrement. This helps shield the larva from chemical and biological controls. The adult, about the size of a horsefly, escapes to mate. The traps will release a synthetic version of the female rice borer's natural sex attractant, or pheromone. This gaseous compound, developed by ARS scientists, will lure male moths into the traps. If scientists find moths in the traps, they will determine the extent of the invasion. Finding any moths could lead to an automatic suspension of Beaumont sugarcane shipments to Louisiana. Scientists hope cultural controls and natural predators will prevent further expansion of the insect. Michael Way of Texas A&M University and Texas Department of Agriculture officials have placed traps in Jefferson, Chambers and Liberty counties in Texas. William White with ARS' Sugarcane Research Unit in New Orleans and T.E. Regan of Louisiana State University will set traps in Louisiana and supervise the program. ARS is the USDA's chief research agency. ---------- Scientific contact: William White, Sugarcane Research Unit, ARS Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, La., phone (504) 853-3176 ext. 176, fax (504) 868-8369, wwhite@nola.srrc.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Sep 3 12:19:12 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA21302 for ; Fri, 3 Sep 1999 12:19:12 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA01451 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 3 Sep 1999 10:38:09 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <002f01bef619$a43e1560$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Relief from New Barley Disease Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1999 10:35:59 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 13 STORY LEAD: Weather, Research Bring Relief from New Barley Disease ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Don Comis, (301) 504-1625, dcomis@asrr.arsusda.gov September 3, 1999 ----------- A sudden drop in winter temperature coupled with a dry spring brought temporary relief to most barley growers in the Pacific Northwest this year. The weather prevented a buildup of a fungal disease called barley stripe rust. But weather is fickle, so growers can also rely on new, research-based controls they didn't have in 1995, when this disease began plaguing the Northwest's barley crop. Barley stripe rust spreads by powdery, yellow spores that look like rust and form large, yellow stripes between leaf veins. It can quickly cover leaves and barley heads and suck the plant dry. It can wipe out a farmer's entire harvest, but this year the damage was minimal in most fields. In 1995, Northwestern farmers had almost no control options: no resistant barley variety and no adequate registered fungicide. Their options are increasing, thanks to Agricultural Research Service scientists like Roland F. Line and Darrell M. Wesenberg. ARS is the principal research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Line, a plant pathologist at ARS' Wheat Genetics, Quality, Physiology, and Disease Research Unit in Pullman, Wash., helped get emergency approval of the fungicide Folicur from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is helping make two more fungicides available. Wesenberg, an agronomist with ARS' Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit at Aberdeen, Idaho, developed Bancroft, the first rust-resistant barley adapted to the Pacific Northwest. It will be available for commercial production this year. He did this with help from Line and an international research team. Genetic engineering offers the possibility of more strongly resistant varieties in the future. Line and colleagues have identified 26 genes for resistance so far and have spent the past summer evaluating more barley plants. The genes should be easier to find because of a new technique they developed for finding gene markers linked to rust resistance. For more information on barley rust research, see the story on the web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug99/barley0899.htm ---------- Scientific contacts: Roland F. Line, ARS Wheat Genetics, Quality, Physiology and Disease Research Unit, Pullman, Wash., phone (509) 335-3755, fax (509) 335-7674, rline@wsu.edu.; Darrell M. Wesenberg, ARS Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit, Aberdeen, ID, phone (208) 397-4162 (ext. 108), fax (208) 397-4165, dwesenb@uidaho.edu. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Sep 7 11:16:40 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA13279 for ; Tue, 7 Sep 1999 11:16:35 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA09728 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 7 Sep 1999 09:19:07 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <003901bef933$3a35b840$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Fungi Thwart Two Major Insect Pests Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 09:16:32 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 14 STORY LEAD: Fungi Thwart Two Major Insect Pests ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov September 7, 1999 ----------- Natural fungi may help rein in important insect pests of vegetable and cereal crops like broccoli and wheat. Agricultural Research Service entomologist John D. Vandenberg has been focusing on whether two parasitic fungi--Beauveria bassiana and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus--could become biological controls for diamondback moths and Russian wheat aphids. The aphid is a major pest of U.S. winter wheat and barley. Since invading the United States about 1986, the green, 1/16-inch-long pests have cost growers more than $850 million in insecticide treatments, crop yield losses and other costs. The diamondback moth is a worldwide pest of cabbage, broccoli, canola and other crucifers. Each year, farmers worldwide spend more than $1 billion to control it--primarily with chemical insecticides. But in many areas the moth has become resistant to conventional insecticides as well as natural bacterial controls like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Vandenberg has conducted laboratory and field tests that show the moth succumbs to both fungi. But only Beauveria had consistent impact on the aphid in the field. Vandenberg works at the U.S. Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Laboratory operated in Ithaca, N.Y., by ARS, the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Vanderberg and colleagues were the first to field test Mycotrol, a commercial formulation of B. bassiana, against the diamondback moth. Weekly or twice-weekly applications significantly reduced insect populations and damage to seedlings compared to chemical controls. Other scientists have shown that different strains of B. bassiana work against the Russian wheat aphid in the lab. But this is the first report of Mycotrol's effectiveness against this aphid in the field. Mycotrol was first developed to combat silverleaf whiteflies through a cooperative research and development agreement between ARS and Mycotech Corp. of Butte, Mont. For more details, see the story in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine and on the web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/fungi0999.htm ---------- Scientific contact: John D. Vandenberg, ARS U.S. Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Laboratory, Ithaca, N.Y., phone (607) 255-2456, fax (607) 255-1132, jdv3@cornell.edu. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Sep 2 10:41:01 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA25262 for ; Thu, 2 Sep 1999 10:41:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA19312 for ars-news-outgoing; Thu, 2 Sep 1999 09:26:58 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <004b01bef546$8e5c92e0$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Deer Collar Could Help Harness Lyme Ticks Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 09:24:53 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 15 STORY LEAD: Deer Collar Could Help Harness Lyme Ticks ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Linda McGraw, (309) 681-6530, lmcgraw@asrr.arsusda.gov September 2, 1999 ----------- An automatic device that puts a pesticide-impregnated collar around a white-tailed deer's neck may help reduce Lyme disease in the northeast and help control cattle fever ticks along the Texas-Mexico border. Pesticide collars are commonly used for controlling ticks and other parasites on domestic animals. But, until now, collaring wildlife has meant trapping or tranquilizing the deer. The new collaring unit, patented by Agricultural Research Service scientists, lures deer to a specially designed feeder filled with corn. To eat, the animal must place its neck near the collaring mechanism, which releases a self-adjusting, flexible collar, similar to flea collars worn by cats and dogs. ARS researchers based in Kerrville, Texas, have used the collars on captive deer behind fences at the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife's Kerr Wildlife Management Area in Hunt, Texas. They have not seen any ticks attached and successfully feeding on the neck and head of collared deer. Without collars, these deer typically have hundreds to thousands of ticks feeding on them. The collars were impregnated with amitraz, a pesticide approved for livestock that also kills ticks on the deer's hair and skin. The pesticide currently is not approved for use on deer, but--if labeled for this use--would be safe to use during the hunting season from October through December. That's when most adult blacklegged ticks--the culprits behind Lyme disease--feed on deer. Lyme disease is the most prevalent tickborne human disease in the United States. About 90 percent of the cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention occur in Northeastern states. ARS and Wildlife Management Technologies of Noank, Conn., have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement to develop a commercial prototype collaring unit and evaluate its effectiveness in a variety of situations. The scientists have developed an electronic device to prevent double-collaring. And they are working to design the collars to biodegrade or fall off once the insecticide breaks down. ---------- Scientific contact: J. Mathews Pound, ARS U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory, Kerrville, Texas, phone (830) 792-0342, fax (830) 792-0337, jmpound@ktc.com. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Sep 9 13:29:41 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA06210 for ; Thu, 9 Sep 1999 13:29:40 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id LAA07760 for ars-news-outgoing; Thu, 9 Sep 1999 11:41:23 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000301befad9$672e7e20$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Arctic and Arid-Land Plants Have New Homes Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 11:38:39 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 16 STORY LEAD: Arctic and Arid-Land Plants Have New Homes ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Kathryn Barry Stelljes, (510) 559-6069, stelljes@asrr.arsusda.gov September 9, 1999 ----------- Two new sites for conserving and managing plants important to U.S. agriculture are open in Palmer, Alaska, and Parlier, Calif. The new sites join 26 others in the National Plant Germplasm System of the Agricultural Research Service. The National Arctic Germplasm Site will house native Arctic plants useful in environmental restoration, some with potential medicinal value, and some grains, legumes, and vegetables adapted to high latitudes. Examples are northern-adapted grasses like tussock grass and northern berries like bear berries and nagoon berries. Curator David Ianson will also conserve plants with importance to native cultures such as Boreal yarrow, which Northern Indians use for tea, poultices and sleep aids. The genebank is housed at the State of Alaska Plant Materials Center in Palmer. In Parlier, the Arid-Land Plant Germplasm Regeneration and Genetic Resource Unit under curator Maria Jenderek has two roles in the NPGS. The site serves as an alternate location for other genebanks to grow out crops that benefit from a long frost-free season. Also, the Parlier site will house plants that grow in dry regions. Among them are jojoba, used in shampoos; guayule, a desert shrub being developed for its hypoallergenic latex; and lesquerella and meadowfoam, potential new oil crops. ARS' National Plant Germplasm System is a storehouse of more than 434,000 specimens of seeds and other genetic materials of crops and their wild relatives. Researchers use these germplasm materials to identify useful traits, like disease resistance, for breeding into commercial varieties. For long-term germplasm storage, it's crucial to periodically grow the plants to regenerate the seed or other reproductive tissue. Naturally, the plants grow best and produce the most seed in their native areas. The Palmer location offers a growing site for northern grasses and crops that grow in high elevations or above 60 degrees north latitude. In Parlier, plants enjoy hot, dry summers and about 14 inches of rain per year. ARS is the lead scientific agency for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ---------- Scientific contacts: David M. Ianson, ARS National Arctic Germplasm Site, Palmer, Alaska, phone (907) 745-4469; fax (907) 746-1568, david_ianson@dnr.state.ak.us. Maria M. Jenderek, ARS Arid-Land Plant Germplasm Regeneration and Genetic Resource Unit, Parlier, Calif., phone (559) 646-0307, fax (559) 646-0431, jenderekm@aol.com. --------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 8 12:09:40 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA18728 for ; Wed, 8 Sep 1999 12:09:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA07033 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 8 Sep 1999 10:03:03 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001501befa02$83de11c0$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Insect "UFO's" Identified Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 10:00:31 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 17 STORY LEAD: Insect "UFO's" Identified at Marine Corps Air Station ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov September 8, 1999 ----------- An intensive three-year survey found 635 species of Lepidoptera--moths and butterflies--at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego County, Calif., including one rare butterfly, 12 moths new to science, and two moths new to the U.S. Butterflies and moths perform a variety of positive "ecological services" including the pollination of flowering plants and serving as food or prey items for countless other invertebrates as well as larger animals. In contrast, the larvae of many lepidopterans are economically important pests of crops and ornamentals. Entomologist John W. Brown with the Agricultural Research Service conducted and orchestrated the survey of the 23,000-acre air station from October 1995 through September 1998 as part of an environmental assessment. The program was administered through the Biodiversity Center of the Californias at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Brown is a Lepidoptera expert with the ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory in Washington, D.C. ARS is USDA's chief research agency. To capture the six-legged "unidentified flying objects," the scientists' sampling methods included black light trapping for 364 nights, daytime collecting for 148 days, and "baiting" with pheromones, natural compounds that attract insects. Inventories like Brown's document the country's rich biological heritage and contribute to understanding biodiversity and natural resources present in the United States. Among the 635 species found were 12 species of moths previously unknown to science. The survey also uncovered the Hermes copper (Lycaena hermes), a rare butterfly recognized as "sensitive" and declining by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Two moths--Dryadaula terpsichorella and Metapluera potosi--had never before been found in the United States. The air station's lepidopterans are even more diverse than the survey has documented, according to Brown. He estimates that nearly 700 to possibly more than 900 species call the station home. ---------- Scientific contact: John B. Brown, ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory, Washington, DC., phone: (202) 382-1778, fax (202) 786-9422, jbrown@sel.barc.usda.gov ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Sep 10 12:23:14 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA27533 for ; Fri, 10 Sep 1999 12:23:13 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA24214 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:28:31 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000501befb98$5ccb9840$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Edible Soybean Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 10:25:37 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 18 STORY LEAD: BARC-18 Gives Farmers Many Choices for Vegetable Soybeans ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Hank Becker, (301) 504-1624, hbecker@asrr.arsusda.gov September 10, 1999 ----------- Soybean growers have seeds of a new edible soybean, BARC-18, they can tailor to their individual taste, needs and growing conditions. Agricultural Research Service geneticist Thomas Devine bred BARC-18 at the Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center. The new soybean is source material for developing vegetable-type cultivars of superior vigor for a variety of local conditions. Vegetable and soybean growers can use BARC-18 to develop their own, unique lines of vegetable soybean. They would select plants with suitable plant-growth characteristics and preferred eating qualities after growing selections of the plants for three generations. Vegetable soybeans or "jade peas" can be eaten just like green peas, according to Devine. Just boil them for about 3 minutes, pop them out of their pods and season them to taste. Devine has sent 300 seeds of BARC-18 to more than 25 growers, along with detailed instructions on growing and selecting offspring, preparing the soil--and cooking the beans. BARC-18 has genes for exceptional plant height and vigor, large seed size, green seed coat and green embryo. It also has genes for resistance to lodging, or toppling over as a result of wind or rain. Devine developed BARC-18 by crossing the vegetable-type soybean, Verde, with several forage-type soybeans. BARC-18 produces a wide variety of different plant types--tall and short, lodging resistant and viny, large and normal-size seed, early and late maturing, green seeds and yellow or pale cream seeds. ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ---------- Scientific contact: Thomas E. Devine, ARS Weed Science Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-6375, fax (301) 504-6491, tdevine@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705- 5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Sep 10 15:56:26 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA01933 for ; Fri, 10 Sep 1999 15:56:25 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id OAA09270 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 10 Sep 1999 14:12:16 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000601befbb7$9f1cbc00$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Blueberries May Help Fight Effects of Aging Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 14:09:26 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 19 NEWS RELEASE: Blueberries May Restore Some Memory, Coordination and Balance Lost with Age ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Judy McBride, (301) 504-1628, jmcbride@asrr.arsusda.gov September 10, 1999 ----------- WASHINGTON, Sept. 10--A diet rich in blueberry extract reversed some loss of balance and coordination and improved short-term memory in aging rats, according to a USDA study to be published in the Sept. 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. "If this finding holds for humans, it should further encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants to help fight the effects of aging," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Daily for eight weeks, researchers fed extracts of blueberry, strawberry or spinach to 19 month-old rats, age-equivalent to 65 or 70 year-old humans. All three extracts improved short-term memory. Only the blueberry extract improved balance and coordination. This is the first study that shows fruits and vegetables actually reversing dysfunctions in behavior and in nerve cells. Earlier, the same researchers, led by neuroscientist James A. Joseph of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, reported that high-antioxidant fruits and vegetables prevented some loss of function in aging rats. Blueberries, strawberries, and spinach test high in their ability to subdue oxygen free radicals. These oxygen radicals, which can damage cell membranes, DNA and other delicate internal machinery, are blamed for many of the dysfunctions and diseases associated with aging. "Motor behavior is one of the first things to go as you age," said Joseph. "The improvements we saw in coordination and balance are really significant. In other studies, little else has reversed these deficits in motor function." A decline in motor skills starts at about 12 months for rats. By 19 months, the length of time rats can walk a narrow rod before losing balance normally drops from 13 to 5 seconds. After eating blueberry extract, the rats stayed on the rod for 11 seconds, on average. Joseph and psychologist Barbara Shukitt-Hale were joined in the study by Natalia Denisova, Donna Bielinski, Antonio Martin and John McEwen, all at the USDA center in Boston, and Paula Bickford at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Denver. ---------- Scientific contact: James A. Joseph and Barbara Shukitt-Hale, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, phone (617) 556-3178 [Joseph], (617) 556-3118, [Shukitt- Hale], joseph_ne@hnrc.tufts.edu, hale_ne@hnrc.tufts.edu. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Sep 13 12:00:45 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA21315 for ; Mon, 13 Sep 1999 12:00:45 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA11260 for ars-news-outgoing; Mon, 13 Sep 1999 10:11:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001c01befdf1$6fbf3460$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Nut Shells on Tap for Industrial Clean Up Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 10:07:02 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 20 STORY LEAD: Nut Shells on Tap for Industrial Clean Up ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Jan Suszkiw, (301) 504-1630, jsuszkiw@asrr.arsusda.gov September 13, 1999 ----------- Macadamia, pecan and almond shells are of little commercial value other than the nuts' natural packaging--or livestock bedding. But U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists are converting the shells into powerful industrial clean-up tools in the form of granular activated carbons (GACs). GAC uses run the gamut, from fish tank filters and water purifiers, to waste-water treatment, soil remediation and gas chromatographic analysis. In the U.S., such applications consume over 300 million pounds of carbons annually--over half the 600 million pounds used worldwide. What makes them so useful is a highly porous surface that draws heavy metals like lead and organic compounds like toluene and benzene. Both are common ingredients in fuels, dyes and paints. Once they escape into the environment, however, they can become contaminants. Many GAC products are made from coconut shells and coal, though both are costly. Coal also is a nonrenewable resource. Chemists Wayne Marshall and Linda Wartelle are testing discarded nutshells as a more plentiful and inexpensive alternative. Both work at the Agricultural Research Service's Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans, La. ARS is USDA's chief scientific agency. Colleague Chris Toles, formerly ARS, is now at Northeastern University in Boston. Under a microscope, nutshell carbons resemble tiny, pockmarked asteroids. But one gram can have 900 square meters of surface area, a plus in adsorbing metals or chemicals with low molecular weights, like benzene. In comparative studies with six commercial carbons, use of macadamia GACs produced a three to four-fold increase in the ability of a standard EPA air sampling procedure to detect benzene at concentrations of 100 parts per billion. A longer story appears in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine, and on the Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/carb0999.htm ---------- Scientific contact: Wayne Marshall, ARS Commodity Utilization Research Unit, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, phone (504) 286-4356, fax (504) 286-4367, marshall@commserver.srrc.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Sep 14 11:45:11 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA15242 for ; Tue, 14 Sep 1999 11:45:11 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA08566 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 14 Sep 1999 09:58:11 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000801befeb8$c002d040$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Nonfattening Food Additive Made From Sugar Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 09:55:04 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 21 STORY LEAD: Nonfattening Food Additive Made From Sugar ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Ben Hardin, (309) 681-6597, bhardin@asrr.arsusda.gov September 14, 1999 ----------- Sugarbeet and sugarcane industries may someday provide a less-expensive, domestic alternative to gum arabic. U.S. industries now use thousands of tons of the imported gum, a thickener and stabilizer that's added to citrus-based soft drinks and a variety of other products. Agricultural Research Service scientists are harnessing the power of a microbe to assemble sugar molecules into an alternative that has some--and perhaps all--of gum arabic's choice qualities. As an emulsifier, gum arabic helps water and food oils mix and stay mixed. Food processors use it to help icings stick to cake, prevent syrups from crystallizing, and maintain a foamy head on a glass of beer--all without changing flavor. Some gum arabic is used as a bulking agent or filler to provide a desired texture in cosmetics and in industrial products like ink and adhesives. So far, from sugar, scientists at the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Illinois, have made versions of a nonfattening carbohydrate polymer, alternan, that consistently mimics gum arabic's bulking feature. Now, they're trying to develop versions that mimic gum arabic's emulsifying action. ARS, the USDA's chief scientific agency, has patented several alternan-related inventions in the past two years. Using an enzyme produced by the bacterium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, the scientists recently developed ways to produce 100-liter batches for testing as bulking agents in a variety of applications. U.S. companies now buy gum arabic at volatile prices--sometimes higher than $5 per pound. Sudan produces more of the gum than any other country. The cost of making alternan is expected to be similar to that of dextran, which currently wholesales for about $3 per pound. A coproduct would be high fructose syrup. An article about the research appears in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine and online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/sugar0999.htm ---------- Scientific contacts: Gregory L. Cote and Timothy D. Leathers, ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, IL; phone (309) 681-6591, fax number (309) 681-6693, cotegl@mail.ncaur.usda.gov and leathetd@mail.ncaur.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 15 15:16:09 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA13054 for ; Wed, 15 Sep 1999 15:16:08 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id MAA11867 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 15 Sep 1999 12:45:28 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000401beff99$4481f7c0$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Chromium Critical for Glucose Tolerance Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 12:41:30 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 22 STORY LEAD: Chromium Critical for Glucose Tolerance ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Judy McBride, (301) 504-1628, jmcbride@asrr.arsusda.gov September 15, 1999 ----------- Rats raised on a chromium-deficient diet showed the earliest stage of diabetes--high blood insulin levels. That was the outcome of an Agricultural Research Service study published in the August issue of Metabolism. The finding underscores that chromium is necessary for maintaining normal glucose tolerance, the researchers concluded. And it suggests that low-chromium intakes--very common in industrialized nations--may contribute to onset of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, or middle-age diabetes, over the long term. Fortified cereals and whole grain products are good sources of chromium. The study was done at ARS' Nutrient Requirements and Functions Laboratory in Beltsville, Md., by John Striffler, now at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, Calif., and by ARS chemists Richard Anderson and Marilyn Polansky. ARS is USDA's chief scientific agency. The hormone insulin escorts blood glucose into body cells and enables the cells to use that glucose for fuel. Diabetes begins when the cells become less sensitive to insulin. To use a metaphor, the cell's biochemical door doesn't open when insulin comes knocking. Or, if it gets in that first door, a second door stays locked. Chromium is one of the keys to keeping both doors unlocked. As the cells become insensitive to insulin, the body produces more of it. So high blood insulin is an early indicator of potential diabetes. By the time blood glucose is elevated, a person already has the disease. During a glucose tolerance test, rats that got virtually no chromium in their food or water for three months had insulin levels twice as high as a group that got chromium- fortified water or a control group fed a standard chow that contains chromium. Anderson noted that, in animal studies, the effects of chromium deficiency are seldom obvious until the animal is stressed. The glucose tolerance test with its sugar load was the stressor in this study. ---------- Scientific contact: Richard A. Anderson, Nutrient Requirements and Functions Laboratory, ARS Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-8091, fax (301) 504- 9062; anderson@307.bhnrc.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Sep 16 10:40:39 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA01126 for ; Thu, 16 Sep 1999 10:40:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA22695 for ars-news-outgoing; Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:01:56 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001a01bf003b$7ed4a9c0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Appetite Hormone Puts Pigs on Faster Growth Track Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 08:41:29 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 23 STORY LEAD: Appetite Hormone Puts Pigs on Faster Growth Track ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Ben Hardin, (309) 681-6597, bhardin@asrr.arsusda.gov September 16, 1999 ----------- Of every 10 pigs born alive, at least one dies within days and others may grow more slowly than their littermates. Those that thrive, however, generally gain more weight per pound of feed after weaning and have less carcass fat when they go to market. Mindful that getting more pigs off to a good start could improve production efficiency, ARS scientists are researching hormones to find ways to enhance pigs' appetites, manage stress and reduce sickness and deaths. Just shortening by one day the average time from birth to market could lower housing and feeding costs enough to boost annual net income for the nation's swine producers by tens of millions of dollars. In one experiment, researchers at Columbia, Mo., found that a single injection of the hormone orexin-B into 3-week-old pigs increased feed intake 18 percent, though only for a short time. More research is underway to find whether two or more well-timed injections can improve growth rates enough to be worthwhile. Someday farmers may inject pigs, not with orexin-B, but with less expensive synthetic versions of it. Or a gene therapy may be developed to make pigs produce more of their own orexin. Besides affecting appetite, hormones--in complex ways--exert major impacts on swine during stress in production environments. During birth, for example, stress may help pigs prepare for life beyond the womb. Research showed blood and tissue samples of pigs that came into the world by caesarean section had strikingly different hormone levels than pigs born naturally. Two weeks later more similarities and differences appeared, giving insights on lasting effects of birth experiences. ARS is USDA's chief scientific research agency. An article about the research appears in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine and online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/piglet0999.htm --------- Scientific contact: Robert L. Matteri, ARS Animal Physiology Research Unit, Columbia, Mo., phone (573) 882-1047, fax (573) 884-4798, MatteriR@missouri.edu ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Sep 17 09:48:37 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA21979 for ; Fri, 17 Sep 1999 09:48:31 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id HAA29359 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 17 Sep 1999 07:49:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <004d01bf00fa$8a9c8240$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: 3 Named to ARS Hall of Fame Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 07:51:00 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 24 NEWS RELEASE: Three Scientists Introduced into ARS Hall of Fame ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Jim De Quattro, (301) 504-1626, jdequattro@asrr.arsusda.gov September 17, 1999 ----------- BELTSVILLE, Md., Sept. 17--The development of industrial polymers, the pioneering of molecular markers, and research in avian tumor virus have earned three Agricultural Research Service scientists a place in the agency's Science Hall of Fame. ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Charles Stuber, Dr. Richard Witter and the family of Dr. Allene Jeanes will be presented with plaques citing the scientists' achievements. An induction dinner ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 22 at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. "These three scientists have made tremendous contributions to agricultural research during their careers. We welcome them into the Hall of Fame," said ARS Administrator Floyd Horn. Since 1986, the ARS Hall of Fame program has recognized agency researchers for outstanding career achievements in agricultural science. Those inducted are nominated by their peers for making major contributions to agricultural research. The scientists must be retired or eligible to retire to receive the honor. Jeanes, who joined USDA in 1941 at what is now the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill., devoted more than 35 years of service to USDA before retiring from ARS in 1976. During her lifetime, she received four other awards from ARS for her numerous research accomplishments. She was the first woman to be awarded USDA's highest civilian award, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1953. She began her research studying the basic structure of starch, which led to a focus on dextran, a polysaccharide made from sucrose and produced by microbes. Her work resulted in a blood plasma substitute that saved many lives. Jeanes and her team also created one of the most widely used water-soluble thickening agents, xanthan gum, which is still used by the food and pharmaceutical industries. It is also used by heavy-industry companies such as those in oil and gas manufacturing. Jeanes died on Dec. 15, 1995. Stuber, who joined ARS in 1962, served as supervisory research geneticist and research leader for the USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit in Raleigh, N.C. During his nearly 36 years with ARS, Stuber made numerous significant research advances in plant breeding. Stuber has received several awards, including being named the agency's Outstanding Scientist of the Year in 1989. Although Stuber officially retired in January 1998, he still serves as a collaborator on several research projects that were in progress at the time of his retirement. Stuber will be recognized for creating methods for using molecular markers to identify and map the major genes responsible for the expression of economically important traits in plants. Stuber's research led the plant breeding industry to revolutionize crop breeding procedures and influenced animal breeding technology. Witter, a veterinary medical officer at the Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory in East Lansing, Mich., has studied chicken and turkey diseases for nearly 40 years. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including USDA's Distinguished Service Award. His research and leadership, including 23 years as lab director, have made the East Lansing lab one of the most important scientific resources for the poultry industry worldwide. Witter has developed vaccines and other controls against two major chicken viruses, Marek's disease and avian leukosis. One of Witter's most significant accomplishments was the discovery the cause of Marek's disease, a herpesvirus that causes infectious T-cell lymphomas in chickens. This discovery led Witter and his team to develop the first U.S. vaccine against Marek's disease in 1970. This vaccine and subsequent improved vaccines developed by Witter's group and others continue to be used worldwide, saving the poultry industry more than $100 million per year. Permanent copies of the plaques presented to the scientists will be on display at ARS' National Visitor Center in Beltsville, Md. ---------- Contact: Further details on accomplishments of each Hall of Fame inductee can be obtained from the ARS Information Staff, phone (301) 504-1617, or requested via e-mail from Sean Adams at issa@ars- grin.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * To request black-and-white portrait photos of the inductees, media sources can contact ARS Photo Unit at (301) 504-1606 or arsphoto@asrr.arsusda.gov. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Sep 20 12:05:34 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA17047 for ; Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:05:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id JAA12794 for ars-news-outgoing; Mon, 20 Sep 1999 09:57:50 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <005201bf036f$9f3a1420$241b85c7@sbauer.asrrusda.gov> From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Building a Better Berry Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 09:54:12 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 25 STORY LEAD: Building a Better Berry ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Judy McBride, (301) 504-1628, jmcbride@asrr.arsusda.gov September 20, 1999 ----------- Across the United States, experimental plots are sporting the cream of the wild strawberry crop as six scientists set about creating tomorrow's berry from the original parents of today's commercial plants. Their mission: broaden the strawberry's genetic base and build a bigger, better one in the process. Today's commercial strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa, comes from a chance hybridization between a North and a South American species some 250 years ago in a European botanical garden. Agricultural Research Service geneticists Stan C. Hokanson in Beltsville, Md., and Chad E. Finn in Corvallis, Ore., are among the six scientists evaluating 20 to 40 of the finalists from North and South America. James F. Hancock at Michigan State University, East Lansing, heads the project. Horticulturists had already done approximately 10 serious evaluations of wild strawberry species. Hancock's group selected the best and most representative to screen for 18 characteristics that growers and consumers prize most. This is the final cut. Early results are promising. Last April in Hokanson's Beltsville plots, most of the species collection was in flower while the cultivars were just waking up. And last fall, one species from Alabama and another from Mississippi were disease-free while all the cultivars were covered with leaf spot, scorch and powdery mildew. Some of the elite species currently under evaluation come from ARS' National Clonal Germplasm Repository at Corvallis. Others were recently collected in native habitats--from Chile to the Rockies to Ontario, Canada. Most processing strawberries hail from the Pacific Northwest. So Corvallis' Finn will watch for rich color, high acidity or high sugars to fulfill processors' wish list. He expects to find a strong, vigorous root system to cope with methyl bromide loss. Read more about the project in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine on the web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/berry0999.htm ---------- Scientific contact: Stan C. Hokanson, Fruit Laboratory, ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-6768, fax (301) 504-5062, hokanson@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isnv@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Sep 21 12:48:41 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA07669 for ; Tue, 21 Sep 1999 12:48:41 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA06884 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:19:43 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <004e01bf0434$30b8ef60$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Biocontrols May Help Stomp Fire Ants Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:13:50 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 26 STORY LEAD: Red Imported Fire Ants...Still Going ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Tara Weaver-Missick, (301) 504-1619, tweaver@asrr.arsusda.gov September 21, 1999 ----------- Biological control agents could be crucial in preventing the spread of red imported fire ants, which have recently become established in California and New Mexico. Until this recent spread, red imported fire ants occupied more than 300 million acres in 12 southern states and Puerto Rico, Agricultural Research Service scientists report. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief research agency. Researchers at ARS' Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville, Fla., released two biological control agents that appear promising. Brazilian phorid flies (Pseudacteon tricuspis), first released in 1997, are fire ants' mortal enemies. The flies hover over the mound, zoom in on the fire ants, pierce the ant's outer cuticle, and deposit an egg inside the ant. The egg quickly hatches into a fly, according to entomologist Sanford D. Porter. Thelohania solenopsae, a microorganism from South America that infects fire ant colonies, was released in 1998. The workers probably transfer the pathogen to the queen through food exchange. She slowly loses weight and lays fewer and fewer eggs, all infected with the pathogen. Colonies generally die within 9 to 18 months, according to entomologist David F. Williams. Two new biocontrol agents currently under study are a pathogen and phorid fly. Vairimorpha is a pathogen similar to Thelohania, but it kills colonies in two to six weeks. Pseudacteon curvatus is a smaller phorid fly species that attacks smaller-sized fire ants. An in-depth article on fire ant research appears in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine. The story is also on the World Wide Web: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/ant0999.htm ---------- Scientific contacts: David Williams and Sanford Porter, ARS Imported Fire Ants & Household Insects Unit, Gainesville, Fla., phone (352) 374-5903, fax (352) 374-5818, dwilliams@gainesville.usda.ufl.edu, sdp@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu. ---------- Note: Video News Releases are available from Tara Weaver-Missick, ARS Information Staff, phone (301) 504-1619, tweaver@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * For photos, media sources should contact ARS Photo Unit at (301) 504-1606 or arsphoto@asrr.arsusda.gov. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 22 11:55:02 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA26255 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 11:55:02 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA25298 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:02:28 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <005301bf04fa$f2511b40$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Will Pasteurization Make Manure Safer? Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:03:54 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 27 NEWS RELEASE: Research to Pasteurize Manure Featured at Chesapeake Bay Day ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Don Comis, (301) 504-1625, dcomis@asrr.arsusda.gov September 22, 1999 ----------- BELTSVILLE, Md., Sept. 21--Agricultural Research Service administrator Floyd P. Horn announced today the start of an experiment to see if pasteurization is an effective means of killing E. coli, Cryptosporidium parvum and other pathogens possibly lurking in cow manure, to make sure it can be used safely to improve soils. "N-Viro, International, of Toledo, Ohio, has loaned the U.S. Department of Agriculture patented equipment used to pasteurize biosolids--the solids remaining after wastewater treatment," Horn said. "The equipment turns the sludge into 'N-Viro Soil,' a product that meets the strictest federal standards for safe biosolids." Horn said N-Viro moved the equipment--a vertical and horizontal silo with a manure hopper and mixing bins in between--to a composting facility at USDA's Beltsville (Md.) Agricultural Research Center. He said the equipment mixes recycled materials like cement or lime kiln dust, coal ash from electric power plants, and gypsum with manure. A natural chemical reaction occurs when the lime or other high-calcium material hits the manure, creating heat, ammonia and high pH that kill pathogens. The equipment can be seen on a tour of the composting facility as part of the first Beltsville Chesapeake Bay Day activities on Sept. 28 at the research center, operated by ARS, USDA's chief scientific agency. Horn said Patricia D. Millner, research leader of the Soil Microbial Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, has begun experiments to compare pasteurization with composting. Millner said she will assess each system for its ability to kill pathogens and control odor. She will also test a hybrid system that combines quicker composting with the pasteurization technique. Millner said she wants to see if the pasteurization process will also convert phosphorus in manure to a form less likely to leach into streams and rivers. "We will also test the addition of materials such as alum residue from wastewater treatment plants for their ability to stabilize phosphorus in manure," she said. Horn said if the experiment works it could help areas such as the Chesapeake Bay both by preventing the escape of pathogens and phosphorus and by providing a safe outlet for two materials found in excess in Chesapeake Bay coastal areas: high-phosphorus chicken litter and harbor dredging spoils. "We will try pasteurizing chicken manure in a mixture of dredging spoils to convert the spoils into a substitute soil for reclamation of road cuts, strip mines and other degraded soil sites that need topsoil for plant growth," he said. A complete agenda and free online registration for the Beltsville Chesapeake Bay Day is on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/bayday.htm ---------- Scientific contact: Patricia D. Millner, Soil Microbial Systems Laboratory, ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Md., phone (301) 504-8163, fax (301) 504-8370, pmillner@asrr.arsusda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504- 1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 22 12:01:05 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA26351 for ; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 12:01:04 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id KAA25614 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:12:32 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <005f01bf04fc$5a35acc0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Correction in today's ARS News Service story Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:14:02 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 28 Sept. 22 is the correct dateline is for "Research to Pasteurize Manure Featured at Chesapeake Bay Day," today's story from the ARS News Service. My apology for any inconvenience. --Jim De Quattro coordinator, ARS News Service From london@metalab.unc.edu Thu Sep 23 10:52:07 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA02477 for ; Thu, 23 Sep 1999 10:52:07 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id IAA17800 for ars-news-outgoing; Thu, 23 Sep 1999 08:30:03 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <006c01bf05b7$336b7e60$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Measuring Animal Waste on the Run Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 08:28:37 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 29 STORY LEAD: Measuring Waste on the Run ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Don Comis, (301) 504-1625, dcomis@asrr.arsusda.gov September 23, 1999 ----------- When you're trying to capture urine from a playful lamb on the run, baby diapers just won't work. Animal scientist Kenneth E. Turner tried the toddler size. But these often fell off as lambs frolicked in their grassy pasture "playpen." Turner, with the Agricultural Research Service, found a solution to this problem--but why was he even looking for one? The answer centers on the nitrogen and other nutrients present in livestock urine and feces. Scientists need reliable ways to measure this nitrogen. Then they can figure out how thoroughly the animals digest their diet, and how much of the diet's plant protein is actually used in making lean muscle. Excreted protein, in a nitrogen form, can contaminate groundwater--and cost farmers money. Scientists like Turner aim to control the nitrogen losses at the source--the animal's diet. Knowing how much nutrients are in the urine and manure will also help farmers decide whether and how much commercial fertilizer a pasture needs. Or, when to move the animals to another pasture to avoid concentrating wastes. Typically, measurements of waste compounds are made with livestock kept in indoor chambers 1 to 3 days. Using lambs free to roam mini-pastures is more challenging, but the results should be more realistic, according to Turner, at the ARS Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center, Beaver, W.Va. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific arm. Turner solved the sheep-diaper problem by attaching a urinary catheter bag to a canvas fecal collection bag, securely but comfortably strapped to the hindquarters of female lambs. They wear the bags only a few days, with frequent changes for comfort. Beef calves and goats are next to be fitted with collection bags. A story on the research appears in the September Agricultural Research magazine and on the web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/diap0999.htm ---------- Scientific contact: Kenneth E. Turner, ARS Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center, Beaver, W.Va., phone (304) 256-2843, fax (304) 256-2921, kturner@afsrc.ars.usda.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Sep 24 09:39:40 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA21191 for ; Fri, 24 Sep 1999 09:39:38 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id IAA17276 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 24 Sep 1999 08:23:26 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <004b01bf067f$716dd5a0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Hawaiian Bananas Can Target New Markets Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 08:24:23 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 30 STORY LEAD: Hawaii's Banana Growers Can Now Target New Markets ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Marcia Wood, (510) 559-6070, mwood@asrr.arsusda.gov September 24, 1999 ----------- Hawaii's banana growers may have a better chance to capture mainland and overseas markets, thanks to experiments led by scientists at the Agricultural Research Service. The tests demonstrated conditions for safely shipping island-grown bananas without need for treatments to ensure the fruit is free of Mediterranean fruit flies and oriental fruit flies. The research is a boon for growers and consumers alike. That's because the previous disinfestation treatment, which relied on a now-banned chemical--ethylene dibromide--added to costs, and could hasten spoilage of the fruit. Fruit leaving Hawaii for the U.S. mainland must be free of any hitchhiking Mediterranean or oriental fruit flies. Because the pests can attack more than 200 different fruits and vegetables, they are constant threats to mainland agriculture. In laboratory and outdoor experiments, the researchers used thousands of freshly harvested bananas from more than a dozen plantations on the five major Hawaiian islands. ARS entomologist John W. Armstrong and colleagues showed that the bananas won't harbor these fruit flies if the fruit is shipped full size, green skinned and without cuts or punctures. The scientists' efforts led USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in 1998 to approve new, workable regulations for shipping the bananas without disinfestation treatments. Armstrong and co-workers did the research at ARS' U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service and the Hawaii Banana Industry Association. They used three kinds of the familiar Cavendish banana and the specialty "Hawaiian apple banana," which has a sweet, custardlike flavor. An article in the September issue of ARS' Agricultural Research magazine tells more. Read it on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/banana0999.htm In 1998, Hawaii growers produced about 21 million pounds of bananas, worth about $7 million. ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ---------- Scientific contact: John W. Armstrong, ARS U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hilo, Hawaii, phone (808) 959-4336, fax (808) 959-4323, jwa@aloha.net. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Mon Sep 27 08:37:05 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA10348 for ; Mon, 27 Sep 1999 08:37:04 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id GAA04097 for ars-news-outgoing; Mon, 27 Sep 1999 06:58:26 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <000b01bf08cf$10933ac0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Specialist Bee Gets an "A" for Pollinating Sunflowers Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 06:42:43 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 31 STORY LEAD: Pollinating Sunflowers: Big Job Is a Good Fit for the Right Bee ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Marcia Wood, (510) 559-6070, mwood@asrr.arsusda.gov September 27, 1999 ----------- When the job is pollinating crops, it might pay to bring in the specialists--especially those whose superior work habits offset the fact they're outnumbered 10 to one. An entomologist with the Agricultural Research Service has found that the sunflower leafcutting bee often does a better job pollinating sunflowers than the more common domesticated honey bee. In outdoor enclosures, one of the two kinds of sunflowers used in Vincent J. Tepedino's experiments produced larger and heavier seeds when pollinated by sunflower leafcutting bees. According to Tepedino, the sunflower leafcutting bees spread out evenly among the sunflowers rather than visiting just the plants nearest their nesting boxes. Tepedino is based at the ARS Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory in Logan, Utah. The sunflower leafcutting bees, dark-brown to black insects about 3/4-inch to 1-inch long, are native to southern Canada and most of the United States. They are known to scientists as Megachile pugnata. The domesticated honey bee--originally from Europe--is Apis mellifera. For the test, Tepedino used four 100-by-20-foot screened enclosures, owned by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., at Woodland, Calif. Each cage contained approximately 600 sunflower plants. For about 2-1/2 weeks, about 100 sunflower bees in each of two cages performed pollination chores. Meanwhile, a few thousand domestic honey bees--about 10 times more than the sunflower leafcutting bees--performed the same task in two other cages. The test was the first using sunflower leafcutting bees to pollinate hybrid sunflowers in field cages. Earlier work by other ARS researchers at Logan scrutinized the bees in open fields. For details, see the story in the current issue of the ARS magazine, Agricultural Research, and on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/sunf0999.htm ARS is USDA's chief research agency. ---------- Scientific contact: Vincent J. Tepedino, ARS Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory, 5310 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322; phone (435) 797-2559, fax (435) 797-0461, andrena@cc.usu.edu. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Tue Sep 28 10:17:10 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA06431 for ; Tue, 28 Sep 1999 10:17:10 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id HAA10293 for ars-news-outgoing; Tue, 28 Sep 1999 07:59:37 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <005101bf09a0$c7f4f4c0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: Alfalfa in the Afternoon Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 07:54:24 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 32 STORY LEAD: Scientists Sleuth Forage Secrets ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Marcia Wood, (510) 559-6070, mwood@asrr.arsusda.gov September 28, 1999 ----------- How do certain forage plants coax cattle, sheep and goats into coming back for more? Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service are sleuthing the secrets of how to tempt the palates of these ruminants. Knowing more about the culinary cues should mean healthier animals that make better weight gains and bigger profits. Research studies should also help plant breeders develop new forages that appeal to animals, according to ARS soil scientist Henry F. Mayland. He leads the forage-preferences investigations at the agency's Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho. Earlier, Mayland and ARS colleagues Dwight S. Fisher at Watkinsville, Ga., and Joseph C. Burns at Raleigh, N.C., showed that cattle, sheep and goats prefer tall fescue hays harvested in the afternoon to tall fescues cut in the morning. Their study was likely the first to show up to a 50-percent difference in forage preferences based on time of cutting. Now, follow-up studies by ARS scientists and their university colleagues are showing the same trend with alfalfa hay. Animals apparently discriminate on the basis of total nonstructural carbohydrates, that is, easily digestible starches and sugars, in the forage. Other experiments to probe chemical and physical characteristics of forages indicate that cattle prefer tall fescues with high levels of a natural chemical known as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one. Investigations probing the influence of minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium on animals' forage choices are also underway. For details, see the story in the September issue of Agricultural Research magazine on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/buds0999.htm ARS is the chief research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ---------- Scientific contact: Henry F. Mayland, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, Idaho, phone (208) 423-6517, fax (208) 423-6555, mayland@kimberly.ars.pn.usbr.gov. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Wed Sep 29 08:52:30 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA28699 for ; Wed, 29 Sep 1999 08:52:29 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id HAA03430 for ars-news-outgoing; Wed, 29 Sep 1999 07:28:06 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warning: sun.ars-grin.gov: majordom set sender to owner-ars-news using -f Message-ID: <001f01bf0a65$8a6961c0$061b85c7@barc.usda.gov> Reply-To: "ARS News Service" From: "ARS News Service" To: "ARS News List" Subject: New Lure for Fruit Fly Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 07:14:09 -0300 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Sender: owner-ars-news@sun.ars-grin.gov Precedence: bulk Status: O X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 33 STORY LEAD: New Lure May Help Foil Fruit Fly Pest ----------- ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Marcia Wood, (510) 559-6070, mwood@asrr.arsusda.gov September 29, 1999 ----------- A new lure developed at the Agricultural Research Service may help stop the spread of the Malaysian fruit fly, a housefly-size pest of crops like peppers, tomato, eggplant, cucumber and gourds. The lure can be easily applied to wicks like those used in standard insect traps. Traps holding wicks treated with the new blend could be used in detection programs in states such as California. There, pest control workers monitor traps year-round to detect outbreaks of other insect species before they build up. A relative of the infamous Mediterranean fruit fly, the Malaysian fruit fly or Bactrocera latifrons is now established on all major islands in Hawaii. If undetected in contraband produce, it could hitchhike to the continental U.S. and pose a considerable threat to mainland agriculture. The insect is native to southern and southeastern regions of Asia. The new lure was developed by ARS researchers in Hilo, Hawaii, and Albany, Calif. The agency-- the chief research wing of the U.S. Department of Agriculture--is seeking patent protection for the lure. The lure is easy to make and doesn't require solvents or additives. It combines a colorless chemical called alpha-ionol and cade oil. The oil is a dark-brown liquid extracted from prickly juniper, Juniperus oxycedrus. Earlier, ARS scientists in Hawaii and Maryland patented alpha-ionol as a Malaysian fruit fly lure. Now, ARS experiments in Hawaii have shown that cade oil makes the lure more effective. The experiments used more than 1 million laboratory-reared Malaysian fruit flies, according to Grant T. McQuate at the ARS U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo. An article in the September issue of ARS' monthly journal, Agricultural Research, tells more. See it on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/sep99/lure0999.htm ---------- Scientific contact: Grant T. McQuate, ARS U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hilo, Hawaii, phone (808) 959-4300, fax (808) 959-4323, mcquate@aloha.net. ---------- This item is one of the news releases and story leads that ARS Information distributes on weekdays to fax and e-mail subscribers. You can also get the latest ARS news on the World Wide Web at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/thelatest.htm. * For photos, media sources should contact ARS Photo Unit at (301) 504-1606 or arsphoto@asrr.arsusda.gov. * Feedback and questions to ARS News Service via e-mail: isjd@ars-grin.gov. * ARS Information Staff, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128, (301) 504-1617, fax 504-1648. From london@metalab.unc.edu Fri Oct 1 09:35:34 1999 -0400 Received: from sun.ars-grin.gov (sun.ars-grin.gov [192.100.146.9]) by luna.oit.unc.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA18714 for ; Fri, 1 Oct 1999 09:35:33 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by sun.ars-grin.gov (8.8.8+Sun/8.8.8) id HAA11982 for ars-news-outgoing; Fri, 1 Oct 1999 07:49:00 -0400 (EDT) X-Authentication-Warni