Bloat among ruminants is not new to farmers or scientists. One learns from a Roman author's description of this ailment written in 60 A. D. that the symptoms have changed little since that time. Literature also records that the treatments used today for the prevention and relief of bloat are similar to those prescribed by the early Romans.

A field experiment was conducted in the Rockpile appellation of Sonoma County during 2007 and 2008. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with five replicates. Zinfandel vines were subjected to three levels of cluster thinning during the lag phase of berry growth: vines were thinned to 2 clusters per shoot with shoulders retained if present (2CS), 1 cluster per shoot with shoulders retained if present (1CS), or 2 clusters per shoot with shoulders removed if present (2CNS). Cluster thinning Zinfandel grapevines during lag phase led to reductions in yield and crop load and increased °Brix of the fruit. In both years, wines that were made from vines with the lowest crop load had consistently higher amounts of small and large polymeric pigments, tannins and total iron-reactive phenolics. Cluster thinning vines to 2CNS at lag phase consistently decreased the number of berries per cluster and cluster weight. Thinning vines to 1CS resulted in fewer clusters per vine in 2008. Botrytis bunch rot tends to develop between the shoulder or wing and the main cluster in certain varieties. Shoulder removal in areas with a high risk of Botrytis should conclusively determine if this thinning method helps to decrease disease incidence. Additional research is also recommended with other varieties to assess possible differences between shoulder thinning and removing entire clusters on berry composition, yield, subsequent wine composition and crop load.

The Triticeae tribe DUMORTER in the grass family (Poaceae) includes the most important cereal crops such as wheat, barley, and rye. They are also economically important forage grasses. Elymus is the largest and most complex genus with approximately 150 species occurring worldwide. Asia is an important centre for the origin and diversity of perennial species in the Triticeae tribe, and more than half of the Elymus are known to occur in the Asia. Cytologically, Elymus species have a genomic formula of StH, StP, StY, StStY, StHY, StPY, and StWY. About 40% of Elymus species are still unknown for the genomic constitution and some have questionable genomic combination. However, the origin of the Y genome is unknown. In order to identify the origin of the Y genome, 212 accessions of Elymus, Pseudoroegneria, and Hordeum species were tested using a Y genome specific Sequence Tagged Site (STS) marker. We obtained evidence supporting the hypothesis that the Y genome in some Elymus species shared a progenitor genome with the St genome. Our study suggested that Pseudoroegneria spicata (PI 232134), P. ferganensis (T 219), and P. libanotica (PI401326) are the donors of the Y genome in the Elymus species. The DNA sequences of the Y-genome marker in these three Pseudoroegneria species are more similar to those obtained from Elymus species having the Y genome than those from Hordeum marinum and H. murinum, making the Xa and Xu genomes less likely the donors of Y genome.

The purpose of this paper is to set forth the purpose of wheat hybridization. To do this properly it is necessary to know the history of hybridization of plants. Also to know some of the workers in this field and the hybrids produced by them. In the work at the Experiment Stations the various experimenters have discovered many interesting facts which it is necessary to know and understand. To thoroughly comprehend the work it is also necessary to do the actual processes of the work and to carry the hybrid through several generations and eventualy to the goal for which purpose the cross was made to attain.

No-till acreage is increasing in the United States as producers begin to recognize the environmental and economic benefits of this management system. Although the potential to receive carbon credits or payments for maintaining or initiating no-till may encourage producers to employ these practices, crop yields will be a factor in management decisions. Our objective was to examine the effects of combinations of cropping sequences and winter biocovers upon glyphosate-tolerant corn, cotton, and soybean yields under long-term no-tillage at two locations in Tennessee. Research was conducted during the first four-year phase (2002-2005) of a two-phase agronomic systems study (2002-2009) at the Research and Education Center at Milan (RECM) in Milan, Tennessee, and the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center (MTREC) in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with split block treatments, with the main plots consisting of 13 different cropping sequences of corn, cotton, and soybean at RECM and eight different cropping sequences of corn and soybean at MTREC. The subplots consisted of hairy vetch, wheat, poultry litter and fallow biocovers applied perpendicular to the sequences. Rotated corn and soybean yields were comparable to or higher than their respective monoculture sequences at both locations. At RECM, cotton yields took longer to respond to rotation as rotated cotton yields only outperformed continuous cotton in the final year. At both sites, corn and soybean yields were highest under fallow and poultry litter biocovers, respectively. Cotton yields were highest under poultry litter at RECM. Interaction effects of cropping sequence x biocovers were inconsistent as interaction effects were only observed on corn yields at MTREC in 2004 and 2005. Hairy vetch, wheat, and poultry increased yields when changing from continuous corn to rotated corn. The presence of some cropping sequence x biocover interaction effects is encouraging and perhaps suggests a longer time period may be needed for the combined effects of crop sequence and biocovers upon crop yields to become apparent. Results from the next four years of the experiment will provide more information on the long-term effects of crop sequence and biocovers on corn, soybean, and cotton yields.

There are several advantages of using conservation tillage management practices for burley tobacco production. These include reduced soil erosion, soil water conservation, and lower input costs. Inconsistent yields in past research and trials have made tobacco producers hesitant in adopting conservation tillage. This research was conducted near Springfield, Tennessee and Greeneville, Tennessee to investigate no-till and strip-till practices with different ground cover management techniques during winter and spring months in an effort to identify appropriate technologies. The first study evaluated cover management in established sod. Conventional tillage tobacco was compared to tobacco transplanted either no-till or strip-till into the following sod treatments: (a) spring killed sod, (b) fall killed sod without a winter cover crop, (c) fall killed, wheat cover, and (d) fall killed, rye cover. The objectives of the second study were to explore the possibility of using cover crops for winter forage or straw production, harvested prior to the late-spring transplanting of the tobacco crop. In this study, conventional tillage tobacco was compared to tobacco transplanted either no-till or strip-till into the following ground cover treatments: (a) wheat cover, (b) wheat grazed, (c) rye cover, (d) rye grazed, (e) rye straw, and (f) soybean residue. Conventional tillage produced higher tobacco yields than conservation tillage in three out of four tests. Conservation tillage yields in the sod test at Highland Rim were equal to conventional tillage. Treatments implementing strip tillage with low residue cover generally produced the highest tobacco yields of the conservation tillage treatments. This was probably a result of higher soil temperature due to lower residue cover and the tilled strip. Soil temperatures in these treatments were comparable to conventional tillage. Soil penetration resistance was also less in strip-till (ST) than in notill (NT), indicating a less consolidated rooting zone; this may have been another reason that ST yield was higher than NT.

Our objectives in this study were to evaluate the state recommendations for nitrogen, determine the effects of nitrogen on tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA), yield and quality, determine efficient nitrogen rates and evaluate the pre sidedress nitrate test (PSNT) as an indicator of nitrogen needs in burley tobacco. This study had nine nitrogen rates, in a split plot design with four replications. Main plots consisted of preplant nitrogen: 89.6, 179.2 and 268.8 kg/ha. Sub plots consisted of sidedress nitrogen: 0, 52 and 112 kg/ha. Soil nitrate-N was determined using the PSNT, with samples taken to a depth of 0.15 m three weeks after transplanting. There were two locations in 2004, at Greeneville, TN (GR) and Glade Spring, VA (GL). Two more locations were added in 2005 and 2006, Springfield, TN (HR) and Lexington, KY (LE) along with a tobacco after tobacco (TAT) rotational study at GR and HR also in 2006. Nitrogen rates within the state recommendations gave yields statistically equal to the maximum. In several cases, yield was maximized by lower than recommended rates. The study showed an increase in yield with an increase in nitrogen above the lowest treatment. All yields, except for HR 2005, exceeded the long term, Tennessee state burley yield average. A positive yield response to sidedress nitrogen fertilizer was observed at the 89.6 kg/ha treatment, with 56 and 112 kg/ha sidedressed and the 179.2 kg/ha treatment with 56 kg/ha sidedressed. There was only one instance with 268.8 kg/ha pre plant nitrogen where there was a positive yield response, likely due to variability within the study. Total TSNA content was also increased with higher nitrogen rates. TSNA content was lower in the dryer 2005 curing season. Although not an objective of this study, and not proven, it is likely that the locations of the curing structures had some effect on TSNA content. PSNT values increased as nitrogen rates increased. From this study the PSNT does not seem to be a precise enough indicator of nitrogen needs in burley tobacco to be used in making N application decisions.

No-till acreage is increasing in the United States as producers begin to recognize the environmental and economic benefits of this management system. Although the potential to receive carbon credits or payments for maintaining or initiating no-till may encourage producers to employ these practices, crop yields will be a factor in management decisions. Our objective was to examine the effects of combinations of cropping sequences and winter biocovers upon glyphosate-tolerant corn, cotton, and soybean yields under long-term no-tillage at two locations in Tennessee. Research was conducted during the first four-year phase (2002-2005) of a two-phase agronomic systems study (2002-2009) at the Research and Education Center at Milan (RECM) in Milan, Tennessee, and the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center (MTREC) in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with split block treatments, with the main plots consisting of 13 different cropping sequences of corn, cotton, and soybean at RECM and eight different cropping sequences of corn and soybean at MTREC. The subplots consisted of hairy vetch, wheat, poultry litter and fallow biocovers applied perpendicular to the sequences. Rotated corn and soybean yields were comparable to or higher than their respective monoculture sequences at both locations. At RECM, cotton yields took longer to respond to rotation as rotated cotton yields only outperformed continuous cotton in the final year. At both sites, corn and soybean yields were highest under fallow and poultry litter biocovers, respectively. Cotton yields were highest under poultry litter at RECM. Interaction effects of cropping sequence x biocovers were inconsistent as interaction effects were only observed on corn yields at MTREC in 2004 and 2005. Hairy vetch, wheat, and poultry increased yields when changing from continuous corn to rotated corn. The presence of some cropping sequence x biocover interaction effects is encouraging and perhaps suggests a longer time period may be needed for the combined effects of crop sequence and biocovers upon crop yields to become apparent. Results from the next four years of the experiment will provide more information on the long-term effects of crop sequence and biocovers on corn, soybean, and cotton yields.

Organically certified farms using compost to improve or maintain fertility rarely consider compost carryover and its impact on the determination of economically optimal application rates. Compost carryover is comprised of nutrient and non-nutrient elements. Both affect crop growth, yet carryover is typically described primarily in terms of nitrogen (N)-carryover only. This study tested a new method for estimating compost carryover on organically certified land and expressed carryover in units that capture both the nutrient and non-nutrient components. Compost carryover for five treatment rates was estimated over four years in an organically certified field trial in a corn and squash rotation. Nitrate (NO3-), phosphorus (P), soil organic matter (SOM) were investigated to determine the residual effect of a one-time compost application. Implications for fertility management and farm profitability were considered. The new method successfully modeled carryover, determining that compost had a persistent and positive effect on crop yields, evident even three years after an initial one-time application. No NO3- carryover was observed in any year, suggesting that yield responses were due primarily to non-N carryover. Compositional changes in SOM corresponding to compost input three years earlier suggested that compost was able to influence non-nutritive soil properties many years after incorporation. High value cash-crops are necessary in organic rotations to offset the high input cost of compost use. In organic fertility management, compost is an important and economical source of non-N fertility, which benefits crop yield many years after incorporation. When used with a dedicated N-fixing cover crop in a rotation that includes a high value cash-crop, complete fertility goals could be met in a sustainable manner. (153 pages)

The task of obtaining and selecting plants which may not only survive under salty conditions, but grow and produce satisfactory yields is varied and complex. It is becoming necessary to select and breed crops for salt tolerance. Plants can be grown in artificially constructed salt basins to test their individual salt tolerance, but this takes time, at least one year. It would be desirable to develop a rapid test to determine the salt tolerance of a given plant. The use of a dye in conjunction with a series of salt solutions has been suggested for determining the salt tolerance of plants.