SUMMARY The frequency of penetration from appressoria of Puccinia graminis avenae and P. coronata avenae varied among Avena species and between oat cultivars, although both rusts produced susceptible infection type pustules on the cultivars tested. Penetration on cv. Garry was significantly less than that on the Avena species (A. barbata, A.fatua and A. sterilis) studied and penetration of these Avena species was significantly less than on the cvs Algerian and Fulmark. When the rusts were allowed to develop into pustules on seedlings which had been inoculated with fixed amounts of inoculum, there was a direct relationship between number of pustules produced and penetration frequency. The effects of temperature, light and dew period on penetration from appressoria of ‘single race’ and ‘mixed race’ inocula was also studied on these cultivars and species. Penetration by P. graminis avenae was greatest at 30–35 °C and at light intensities of 5625 lux and above, whereas that by P. coronata avenae was greatest at 20 °C and was unaffected by artificial light intensities up to n 250 lux. Maximal penetration by P. graminis avenae and P. coronata avenae was observed after inoculated plants had been exposed to dew periods of 16 and 12 h respectively. Some penetration was observed after a dew period of 8 h. The time taken for each rust to attain maximum penetration varied from 36 to 52 h after inoculation, depending on the environment, and was usually less for P. coronata avenae than for P. graminis avenae.
Abstract Global-change investigations have been hindered by deficiencies in the availability and quality of land-cover data. The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have collaborated on the development of a new approach to land-cover characterization that attempts to address requirements of the global-change research community and others interested in regional patterns of land cover. An experimental 1 -kilometer-resolution database of land-cover characteristics for the coterminous U.S. has been prepared to test and evaluate the approach. Using multidate Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite data complemented by elevation, climate, ecoregions, and other digital spatial datasets, the authors define 152, seasonal land-cover regions. The regionalization is based on a taxonomy of areas with respect to data on land cover, seasonality or phenology, and relative levels of primary production. The resulting database consists of descriptions of the vegetation, land cover, and seasonal, spectral, and site characteristics for each region. These data are used in the construction of an illustrative 1:7,500,000-scaIe map of the seasonal land-cover regions as well as of smaller-scale maps portraying general land cover and seasonality. The seasonal land-cover characteristics database can also be tailored to provide a broad range of other landscape parameters useful in national and global-scale environmental modeling and assessment.
Abstract Soil insecticide trials at planting time and first cultivation were conducted at Mead, Neb., for corn rootworm control. The test plots were in trap crop during 1984 (no insecticide) and had been used periodically for multiclass insecticide trials for at least 10 yr prior to 1983. The soil type was a silty clay loam. The experimental design for each test was a randomized complete block with 4 replications. Each replication consisted of single-row treatments that were 35 ft long and 30 inches apart. Planting-time application equipment consisted of modified V-belt seeders mounted on a model 80 John Deere—flex planter. Preweighed amounts of insecticide granules were placed on the V-belts and directed into seed furrow or banded over the row in front of the press wheel. Noble—granular insecticide metering units mounted on a hand-powered bicycle ipplicator were used to apply soil insecticides at first cultivation. Granules were banded directly over the plant whorl and then immediately incorporated by ihe cultivator. Corn was planted 6 May, and first-cultivation treatments were applied 6 Jun. Soil moisture conditions were excellent when insecticides were lpplied. Initial corn rootworm egg hatch was detected 24 May. Stand counts were taken on 30 May and 15 Oct in all plots. Plant evaluations were made on SO May in planting-time tests to determine whether any insecticide treatments adversely affected corn development. Plants were considered abnormal if :hey were stunted or exhibited deformed growth patterns (i.e., buggy whipping). Feeding damage was evaluated (8 to 11 Jul) by digging 5 roots from each ireatment row and rating the damage by means of the Iowa 1-6 scale (1, no feeding, to 6, 3 or more nodes of roots completely destroyed). Lodging counts vere taken in October. A plant was recorded as lodged if the angle between the soil surface and the plant stem was ≤67.5 degrees. Data were subjected to in analysis of variance, and an LSD test was used for mean separation where statistical differences occurred
Abstract High interannual variability of forage production in semiarid grasslands leads to uncertainties when livestock producers make decisions, such as buying additional feed, relocating animals, or using flexible stocking. Within‐season predictions of annual forage production (i.e., yearly production) can provide specific boundaries for producers to make these decisions with more information and possibly with higher confidence. In this study, we use a recently developed forage production model, ForageAhead, that uses environmental and seasonal climate variables to estimate the annual forage production as approximated by remotely sensed vegetation data. Because, among other variables, this model uses observed summer climate data, the model output cannot be produced early enough in the year (e.g., spring months) to inform within‐season management decisions. To address this issue, we developed summer climate scenarios (e.g., extremely warm and dry and moderately cool and wet) that serve as an input in the model in combination with observed winter and spring climate data from a particular year. The summer climate scenarios used historical summer precipitation and temperature data (1950–2018) categorized into three, five, and seven percentile categories. These percentile values were then combined to represent summer climate scenarios, which were further used as the ForageAhead model input. We tested the optimal number of percentile categories to be used as the model input to obtain accurate prediction of forage production while also minimizing the number of possible temperature and precipitation combinations, which increases with the number of percentile categories. For the 19‐year period analysis (2000–2018), we also determined the most and least common scenarios that occurred in the western United States. When using five percentile categories for summer precipitation and temperature, we were able to capture the interannual variability in the spatial extent of abnormally low and high biomass production. The ForageAhead predictions captured similar spatial patterns of forage anomalies as another similar model (Grass‐Cast). This method can be made available in a user‐friendly automated system that can be used by livestock producers and rangeland managers to inform within‐season management decisions. This method can be especially valuable for flexible stocking as it provides a range of possible annual forage production scenarios by the end of May.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy produced a 1 km resolution global land cover characteristics database for use in a wide range of continental-to global-scale environmental studies. This database provides a unique view of the broad patterns of the biogeographical and ecoclimatic diversity of the global land surface, and presents a detailed interpretation of the extent of human development. The project was carried out as an International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, Data and Information Systems (IGBP-DIS) initiative. The IGBP DISCover global land cover product is an integral component of the global land cover database. DISCover includes 17 general land cover classes defined to meet the needs of IGBP core science projects. A formal accuracy assessment of the DISCover data layer will be completed in 1998. The 1 km global land cover database was developed through a continent-by-continent unsupervised classification of 1 km monthly Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites covering 1992-1993. Extensive post-classification stratification was necessary to resolve spectral/temporal confusion between disparate land cover types. The complete global database consists of 961 seasonal land cover regions that capture patterns of land cover, seasonality and relative primary productivity. The seasonal land cover regions were aggregated to produce seven separate land cover data sets used for global environmental modelling and assessment. The data sets include IGBP DISCover, U.S. Geological Survey Anderson System, Simple Biosphere Model, Simple Biosphere Model 2, Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme, Olson Ecosystems and Running Global Remote Sensing Land Cover. The database also includes all digital sources that were used in the classification. The complete database can be sourced from the website: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac/glcc/glcc.html.
SUMMARY The frequency with which intact leaves and epidermal leaf strips of wheat seedlings were penetrated by Puccinia graminis tritici , strain 21 Anz 2, was observed following exposure of inoculated material to various regimes of illumination/darkness and temperature. Epidermal strips, at 24°C, were penetrated most frequently when continuous light (540 ft‐c) was commenced at either 4 or 8,20 or 24, or 36 or 40 h after inoculation or when a 4 h period of light was applied at these times. With both treatments, the curve obtained when the length of the dark period preceding illumination was plotted against the frequency of penetration showed a series of alternate peaks and troughs and the periodicity of the curves was significant at the 1 % probability level. In the former curve the best form of regression was linear modified by a cosine function, while in the latter the linear term proved to be non‐significant. When dark periods of different lengths were applied, penetration was more variable on intact leaves than on epidermal strips. Penetration of intact leaves was influenced by the light intensity to which the seedlings were exposed after the dark treatment. The time of day when intact leaves were inoculated influenced penetration when they were grown under controlled conditions. Greatest penetration of the variety Little Club occurred when leaves were inoculated at 1.30 a.m. The time of day when epidermal strips were inoculated did not influence penetration. The inhibitory effect of continuous light on penetration of epidermal strips was overcome by changing the temperature from 18·5 to 24°C. Greatest penetration was obtained when the change was made 24 or 28 h after inoculation.
Vegetation green-up signals the timing of available nutritious plants and shrubs providing high-quality forage for ungulates. In this study, we characterized spatial and temporal patterns of spring phenology and explored how they were related to preceding temperature and moisture conditions. We tested correlations between late winter weather and indicators of the onset and the length of the spring growing period with 250-m resolution time-series satellite data (2001 – 2013) for Wyoming, USA. In western Wyoming mountains, drier and warmer conditions during late winter were associated with earlier spring green-up onset of growth in forests, shrubs, and grasses. In the northeast mountains, onset of spring correlated positively with preceding warmer temperatures, but not with precipitation. In most basin and plains shrublands and grasslands, spring onset was not correlated with temperature, although earlier onset of spring was correlated with drier conditions in 25% of shrub/scrub areas. Results about the length of spring were less definitive, with warmer temperatures related to longer green-up time for 12–30% of the land cover in western mountains but to shorter green-up time periods for 10–20% of the grasses and shrubs in basins and plains. Complex phenological patterns are likely to affect ungulate foraging behaviour on a local scale.
