Returning to the same grass-invaded field sites in Hawaii volcanoes national park that she used in her 1990-1995 studies D'Antonio
When D'Antonio and Yelenik revisited the study sites they noticed that the invasive exotic perennial grasses (primarily an African invader called Melinis minutiflora) were dying so they decided to repeat measures of nutrient cycling and plant community change.
They found that the grasses'self-reinforcing effects on soil nutrients had disappeared and the percentage of invader coverage had declined.
Data showed that in the past 17 years nitrogen mineralization rates at the sites dominated by the exotic grasses declined by half returning them to pre-invasion levels.
Growth rates and survivorship increased due to reduced competition from the exotic grasses as well as nitrogen additions. This indicates that the changing impacts of the grass over time do not alter the seedlings'ability to grow in the ecosystem.
#Cows chomping on fresh grass, red clover produce omega milkfat is an important ingredient that has a material impact on the nutritional value texture taste shelf-life
Fresh grass increases the share of oleic acidapproximately one half of milk fat is generated in the mammary glands of cows the other half coming from the fats in forage.
The effect of the forage conservation method was examined in two tests using fresh grass hay
The most advantageous effect on lipid metabolism is produced by forage from pasture or fresh cut grass.
Cows fed on fresh grass use more fatty acids originating in adipose tissue to form milk fat than do other cows.
Fresh grass decreases the share of saturated palmitic acid and increases the share of unsaturated oleic acid in milk fat compared to hay feed says Halmemies-Beauchet-Filleau.
Changing to red clover is worth itmilk fatty-acid composition was investigated also by replacing grass silage with red clover silage
Replacing grass silage with red clover accomplished a distinct decrease in the saturation of fatty acids in the rumen
#Algorithm identifies individual grains in planetary regolithinstruments on the Curiosity Mars rover not only measure the chemistry of rocks elemental abundances of soils
Planetary scientists use images to identify the distribution of grain sizes of large-scale (centimeter or larger diameter) rocks and small-scale (less than 1 cm) grains.
The algorithm implemented in Mathematica uses a variety of image processing steps to segment the image first into coarser (foreground) and finer (background) grains.
The image is segmented then further until most grains are outlined. The code processes a single image within 1 to 5 minutes.
Ability to identify most of the grains in images also makes detailed area-weighted sedimentology possible.
and consumption of healthy foods (i e. fruits vegetables whole grains) there was no appreciable improvement in dietary quality among SNAP participants after the initiation of benefits.
but adults who received SNAP benefits increased their consumption of refined grains compared to those not receiving SNAP benefits.
and fat in foods and beverages as well as promote snack foods with more whole grains low-fat dairy fruits and vegetables.
or vending programs boosted their students'overall daily consumption of fruit by 26 percent vegetables by 14 percent and whole grains by 30 percent.
Instead the hardy Norsemen and early inhabitants of Russia and Canada have called microorganisms cyanobacteria to mostly thank for abundant grasses that attracted game to hunt
and fixing it into a form plants can use--partially resolves the scientific debate of how humans harvested grasses there for hundreds of years without fertilizing Deluca said.
maize fields replace meadows and grasslands tropical forests are cleared for pastures steppes become cropland. The reasons are complex the impacts are immense:
#First look at diverse life below rare tallgrass prairiesamerica's once-abundant tallgrass prairies--which have disappeared all but--were home to dozens of species of grasses that could grow to the height of a man hundreds of species of flowers
but rarely considered community that also once called the tallgrass prairie home: the diverse assortment of microbes that thrived in the dark rich soils beneath the grass.
These soils played a huge role in American history because they were so fertile and so incredibly productive said Noah Fierer a fellow at CU-Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental sciences (CIRES)
The remarkable fertility of soils beneath the tallgrass prairie--which once covered more than 150 million U s. acres from Minnesota south to Texas
Today only remnants of the tallgrass prairie remain covering just a few percent of the ecosystem's original range.
To get an idea of how soil microbial diversity might have varied across the tallgrass prairie
But even without a full understanding of the microbes the research could bolster tallgrass prairie restoration efforts in the future.
Currently the dried distiller's grains with solubles (DDGS) generated as a co-product are sold to the cattle-feed market
This can lead to grass tetany or milk fever in livestock but the problems don't stop there.
and recreation) these grasses have seldom been evaluated on extensive green roofs due to their high water demands.
Ntoulas and colleagues compared the growth of Zoysia matrella'Zeon'in two different substrates. They also investigated the impact of increasing either substrate depth or the amount of irrigation on Manilagrass growth and recovery potential during and after moisture deficit periods.
In the latest research Carter and his colleagues showed that in areas near the national park border where local people were permitted to harvest some of the natural resources they needed such as timber and grass the amount of tigers'preferred type of habitat increased.
and building material and rely on local grasses to thatch roofs and feed their livestock. The policies governing the park are top-down with little input from residents Carter said.
That's probably because the grasslands and water attract animals for tigers to prey on the grasses conceal them
and tomato) probably underwent narrower bottleneck events during domestication than the grain food crops (rice maize and soybean).
and building and grasses to thatch roofs and feed their livestock and the policies that govern it are top-down with little input from residents.
while increasing intake of monounsaturated fats such as avocados and olive oil-Lower intake of animal protein and add more vegetable protein to your diet-Add more fiber to your diet by consuming whole grains vegetables
and whole grains-Consume high-fat dairy instead of low-fat dairy-Take a regular women's multivitaminapproximately 40 percent of infertility issues are attributed to men according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
A new study has traced back the evolutionary paths of all the plants that use advanced photosynthesis including maize sugar cane
#Barley crops affected by disease found on common wild grassa major fungal pathogen which affects barley crops is also present on a common wild grass according to a new study by leading agricultural researchers including the University
However our research shows that the fungal pathogen that causes barley leaf blotch can be found on wild ryegrasses which are common both as weeds within cereal crop fields and in the surrounding field margins.
In the study both DNA and plant testing showed that the leaf blotch pathogen that affects barley can be found on the wild grasses
And if this pathogen species can be spread from wild grasses onto barley crops and back again further investigation is needed to identify how widespread this species is and also the role that wild grasses play as sources of disease for other crops such as wheat.
The paper Evolutionary Relationships Between Rhynchosporium lolii sp. nov. and Other Rhynchosporium Species on Grasses is published in PLOS ON.
Co-authors are Kevin King (Rothamsted Research) Jon West (Rothamsted Research) Patrick Brunner ETH ZÃ rich) Paul Dyer (University of Nottingham) and Bruce Fitt (University
and whole grains include helping maintain a healthy weight preventing or relieving constipation and reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Soluble fiber found mainly in whole grains and some fruits is particularly beneficial for diabetics
#Healthier Diets Possible in Low-Income, Rural Communitiesin the United states children don't eat enough fruits vegetables and whole grains.
#¢Ate similar amounts of fruits vegetables whole grains dairy potatoes/potato products saturated fats and sugars as students in control schools#¢Consumed significantly more legumesas a result of the intervention
because prolonged rainfall and high humidity contribute to grains germinating before they are fully mature.
The result is both a lower yield of wheat and grains of inferior quality. This phenomenon known as pre-harvest sprouting or PHS has such important economic repercussions for farmers around the world that scientists have been working on finding a solution to the problem for at least a couple of decades.
The study#oepolymorphic homoeolog of key gene of Rddm pathway ARGONAUTE4 9 class is associated with Pre-harvest Sprouting in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)#was published just in the journal#oeplos ONE#.
A computer simulation of the molecular stucture of a metal alloy showing the boundaries between microcystalline grains (white lines forming hexagons) shows a small crack (dark horizontal bar just right of bottom center) that mends itself as the metal is put under stress.
Simulation courtesy of Guoqiang Xu and Michael Demkowiczmost metals are made of tiny crystalline grains whose sizes and orientations can affect strength and other characteristics.
#Numerically identifying pollen grains improves on conventional ID methodresearchers have developed a new quantitative--rather than qualitative--method of identifying pollen grains that is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Grass pollen classification is a longstanding problem in palynology Mander said. Many researchers have tried to classify these things by eye looking down a standard light microscope
and his colleagues set out to find a less subjective and more numbers-based method of grass-pollen grain classification and identification.
The researchers began by using scanning electron microscopes to capture detailed high-resolution images of 12 different species of grass pollen.
They measured the size and number of some of the pollen grains'morphological features which under the microscope look like little spines according to Mander.
Based on the performance of Bt field corn growers should realize increased profits and there will be less risk to nontarget organisms including natural enemies that help suppress pest densities.
#Grains fumigated ecologicallya substance present in nature turned out to be just as effective as other chemical compounds to eradicate harmful organisms in stored grains without negative effects.
Agro a Mexican enterprise that operates silos and warehouses located in Sinaloa (Northwest Mexico) created a new technology of effective fumigation that solely uses ozone.
when in the middle of a silo or warehouse fill with grains. There they perforate the external layer of the stored products feed freely have good temperature
and ten percent of all the stored grains worldwide mainly corn wheat sorghum rice and beans. Until five years ago the main fumigation technique and pest control inside warehouses
However this can be substituted by an ozone system that ventilates the grains for 48 hours.
and modifying the internal atmosphere of the room using this technique pest free grains are obtained during the whole purchase sale and storage cycle.
New treatment for common allergiesresearchers have tested successfully treatments for people with allergies to grasses and to dust mites.
There are two treatments one for grass allergy which is commonly known as hay fever and the other for dust mite allergy.
They are expected to be helpful for the millions of people who as a reaction to grass pollen
Between 15 and 25 per cent of the population in North america and Europe is sensitive to pollen from different grass species. One in four people is sensitized to house dust mites more than any other common allergen
The 280 patients in the phase two clinical trial for the grass allergy treatment recorded their allergy symptoms
while exposed to grass pollen in a controlled environment both before treatment and at the end of the hay fever season.
This treatment called Grass-SPIRE was tolerated well. During the clinical trial for the dust mite treatment 172 patients who received four doses of the treatment over 12 weeks had improved significantly allergy symptoms a year after the start of treatment compared to patients who received a placebo.
Positive results first with a cat allergy therapy and now with house dust mite and grass allergy treatments suggest that this approach may be used for many common allergies.
Hay fever is a seasonal response to many different grass pollens which are heaviest in the spring and fall.
and Florida gama grass a source of disease resistance and other useful traits in corn that is only found in Florida and Cuba.
These beautifully preserved 240-million-year-old pollen grains are evidence that flowering plants evolved 100 million years earlier than previously thought according to a new study in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant science.
The oldest known fossils from flowering plants are pollen grains. These are small robust and numerous
pollen grains that resemble fossil pollen from the earliest known flowering plants. With Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy they obtained high-resolution images across three dimensions of six different types of pollen.
The theory describes how dust grains in interstellar space like soldiers in lock-drill formation spin
Scientists have known long that starlight becomes polarized as it shines through clouds of neatly aligned rapidly spinning grains of interstellar dust.
But how the grains of dust interact with hydrogen become aligned so that starlight shining through becomes polarized
which describes how irregular grains can be aligned by their interaction with magnetic fields and stellar radiation.
Under the theory grains are spun propeller-like by photons. Their alignment is modified by magnetic fields which orients them with respect to the field telling an observer its direction.
Impurities and defects on the dust grains produce catalytic sites for the formation of hydrogen molecules which are ejected subsequently creating miniature rocket engines also called Purcell thrusters after Nobel laureate Edwin Purcell who studied grain alignment.
not only helps explain how interstellar dust grains align but promises a new ability for astronomers to use polarized visible and near infrared light to reliably probe the strength
The murky piece of the astrophysical puzzle says Lazarian was how the irregular grains of interstellar dust were set in spinning motion.
The observations conducted by Andersson demonstrate that intense molecular hydrogen formation on the surface of the interstellar dust grains is an important contributor to the dust grains spinning.
The two hydrogen atoms therefore use the surfaces of dust grains as a substrate and the force of the reaction energy is enough to set the dust grains in motion.
These were the kinds of questions that started percolating for Marnie Rout (University of North Texas Health Science Center) after she drove by a remnant tallgrass prairie in North Central Texas as a beginning graduate student.
She was struck particularly by the obvious and drastic changes the native prairie was undergoing due to the invasion of an exotic grass.
whether the differences in soil nutrient concentrations found in an invaded prairie could be due to metabolic processes of the bacterial microbiome associated with the invasive grass
whether these microbial agents facilitate the perpetuation and spread of this invasive grass. They published their findings in a Special Section in the American Journal of Botany on Rhizosphere Interactions:
Indeed the alarming rate--almost 0. 5 meters a year--at which the invasive grass Sorghum halepense has invaded the tallgrass prairie formerly dominated by the native little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) over the last 25 years
whether the interactions between the dominant invasive grass and the soil biota could be observed responsible for the changes in the soil nutrient concentrations.
or nitrogen-augmented soils and slurries with different suites of soil microbes Rout and colleagues showed that these microbes enabled the grass to produce 5-fold increases in rhizomes a primary mechanism driving invasions
Current cattle production mostly occurs on cleared pastures with only herbaceous plants such as grasses grown as food for the cows.
Another success has been in Colombia where a mixed planting of the shrub Leucaena with a common pasture grass resulted in a 27%increase in dry matter for food and 64%increase of protein production.
Patrick Brown an assistant professor in plant breeding and genetics said having a complete characterization of the locations (loci) affecting specific traits will speed up the adaptation of sorghum and other related grasses to new production
While much improvement has been done for grain sorghum Brown said little improvement has been done for sweet or bioenergy types.
But now there is a lot of interest in using sorghum for other things such as growing sweet sorghum in areas where they grow sugarcane and growing biomass sorghum for bioenergy through combustion or cellulosic technology.
and bring it into grain sorghum Brown said. We'll be able to start moving forward.
and use the genes that we bred for in grain sorghum over the last hundred years and move them into sweet sorghum and biomass sorghum.
The case I always make is that over here we have grain sorghum where we've done almost all the plant breeding
For that genetic diversity to be useful to grain sorghum we need to know where the genes are for height
while keeping our grain sorghum short and early like we need it he said. On the other hand Brown added that
or biomass sorghum researchers will need to bring in some of the genes from grain sorghum for traits like seed quality or early-season vigor.
Sweet sorghum where you squeeze the sugary juice out like sugarcane may be closer on the horizon.
There is an ethanol plant starting up in southern Illinois that plans to use 25 percent sweet sorghum.
#African caterpillars resistant to GM maizelike many other transgenic crops Bt maize synthesises its own pesticide:
Notwithstanding the success of these strategies IRD scientists and their South african partners have revealed now that a major pest of maize the moth Busseola fusca has developed an unusual defense mechanism against Bt toxin in South africa.
Bt maize and resistance developmentgenetically engineered maize is created by introducing a gene into the plant genome that expresses a toxic protein from a bacterium i e.
Both the leaves and stems of Bt maize produce this toxin which destroys the gut of any moth larvae eating the plant.
Bt maize is not fundamentally different in this regard and in order to delay the evolution of resistance in pest populations the concept of maintaining refuges for Bt susceptible moths was developed.
Non-Bt maize fields are protecting Bt maize fieldsthe refuge strategy consists of planting a small proportion of land with non-Bt maize;
Since the probability of resistant individuals arising in the field is low any resistant insects surviving on Bt maize will mate with one of the many Bt-susceptible individuals originating from the refuge area
and their progeny will not survive in the Bt-maize field. This tactic has been successful especially in North america where the first Bt maize has been planted
since 1995 with resistance yet to develop among lepidopteran pests. The exception to the rulehowever about seven years after Bt maize was introduced to South africa in the late 1990's scientists observed resistant Busseola fusca caterpillars
and more importantly these resistant insects seemed to reproduce and spread rapidly. To explain this phenomenon scientists in South africa together with IRD researchers crossed resistant South african moths with susceptible moths imported from Kenya where Bt maize is commercialized not yet.
The offspring developed perfectly on Bt maize and were as resistant as the South african resistant parents.
Unlike everything known so far this resistance evolved in the field was inherited as a dominant trait.
A likely new resistance mechanismthis result shows for the first time that resistance to Bt maize can be inherited in a dominant rather than recessive way.
Implicationsin South africa most farmers are still cultivating single-toxin Bt maize. In many cases they need to apply at least one pesticide spray which makes planting of Bt varieties less attractive.
In the medium term single-toxin Bt maize is being replaced progressively by a stacked variety producing two different toxins
Storing grains or crops at low oxygen levels would limit the oxygen the insects get
If you are considering adding new trees grasses and plants into your landscape be sure they aren't the worst offenders.
Continue mowing your lawn throughout the fall and keep your grass short. Maintaining your lawn will keep grass from flowering
and producing pollen. If raking and mowing are too bothersome ask a family member to do it for you.
or grains that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter. These materials are of interest to researchers designers
For example materials with nanoscale grains can be harder and stronger than chemically identical materials with larger grains.
But widespread use of nanoscale materials has long been handicapped by the tendency of nanoscale grains to grow
The grains in some nanomaterials can even grow --and lose their desired properties --when exposed to room temperature for an extended period of time.
--or interfaces between grains--and preventing the grains from growing at elevated temperatures. Implementing that concept had been daunting
Those following a healthy diet are less at riska healthy diet characterized by vegetables fruits berries whole-grains poultry fish
Vegetables fruits berries whole-grains meat and liver are the most important dietary sources of folate.
#Climate change to shift Kenyas breadbasketskenyan farmers and agriculture officials need to prepare for a possible geographic shift in maize production as climate change threatens to make some areas of the country much less productive for cultivation
while simultaneously making others more maize-friendly according to a new report prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central africa (ASARECA).
and co-author of the analysis. Climate predictions for Kenya's most important crop for example tell us where maize farmers may need to shift to other crops where they might need to introduce drought-resistant varieties
and even new areas where maize can grow. The assessment of how shifting weather patterns could alter farming
rising temperatures could make maize production impractical in parts of the Rift valley Province and cause yields in Coast Province to fall as much as 25 percent.
It showed growing conditions actually improving throughout the country boosting maize yields everywhere including large areas with a yield increase of more than 25 percent.
which would allow maize to be grown in places that previously have been too dry to support the crop.
which may have been too cold for maize to thrive in the past would be warm enough for maize to grow in the future.
if climate change stunts maize production in parts of Kenya one option would be to help farmers migrate to new maize-friendly areas.
and sweet potatoes to supplement maize and other traditional staples. By supporting the creation of climate-smart villages
grass used for livestock feed has enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Referred to as biological nitrification inhibition
In Brazil alone 11 million hectares of grassland have been converted to maize and soybean production and another 35-40 million could be shifted to crop production in the near future.
Instead of more monocropping developing countries need to integrate Brachiaria grasses into mixed crop-livestock systems on a massive scale to make them more sustainable.
Originally from Sub-saharan africa Brachiaria grasses found their way to South america centuries ago--possibly as bedding on slave ships Improved varieties of the grass are grown widely on pasturelands in Brazil Colombia
Scientists at CIAT then validated the BNI concept in the field demonstrating that Brachiaria grass suppresses nitrification
Other research has shown that deep-rooted productive Brachiaria grasses capture large amounts of atmospheric carbon--on a scale similar to that of tropical forests--a further plus for climate change mitigation.
which proposes to deliver major benefits for the poor and the environment through innovative research on tropical forage grasses and legumes.
Bamboo has been championed by many as friendly to the environment although the Federal trade commission issued a 2009 consumer alert noting that some pollutants are released in production from bamboo stalks.
In the case of bamboo if I have it and you don't there's novelty --and curiosity can make something more appealing Yoo said.
Social considerations--such as whether bamboo reflects social status --and function such as whether bamboo wrinkles easily had the least bearing on
From an environmental standpoint bamboo is touted as a product for the same reasons it is vilified by anyone who has tried to eradicate it from a yard:
From the industry's standpoint bamboo is desirable because it dyes well feels silkier than cotton
which attack stored grains. These and other insect pests reduce global crop yields by 10-14%annually
#In odd-looking mutant, clues about how maize plants control stem cell numberin plants the growth of organs such as roots leaves
This work has powerful implications for efforts to increase the yield of basic food crops like maize
Working backward from an odd-looking maize mutant called COMPACT PLANT2 (CT2) that develops abnormally enlarged ears--a phenomenon called fasciation--Jackson Peter Bommert Ph d
whether this is true not only in maize but generally in plants Jackson says. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Not only do pandas digest a diet of bamboo but have a short digestive tract that requires bacteria with unusually potent enzymes for breaking down lignocellulose.
and grass in a garden compost pile uncertainties exist about the nature and fate of the degradation products released during the breakdown.
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