MAES News Archive
February 1, 2006
- MAES Researchers Set New Alfalfa Yield World Record
- MAES Researchers and Private Hunting Club Join to Teach Students Conservation and Management
- Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at MSU Starts March 3
- MSU Pest Management Publications Now Available in Spanish
- New CD Offers Information for Field Crop Producers
MAES Researchers Set New Alfalfa Yield World Record
Good breeding, timely rainfall and warm temperatures all helped MAES crop and soil sciences researchers set a new world record for non-irrigated alfalfa yield: more than 10 tons per acre.
The previous world record of 10 tons was set by MSU researcher Milo Tesar in 1980.
"I think it's impressive because we achieved the more-than-10-ton dry matter yields without special fertilizer treatment," said Rich Leep, MAES crop and soil sciences researcher, who oversees the annual alfalfa variety trials. "We used only what our soil test lab called for. I think this record high yield is due in part to better genetics in alfalfa from the seed companies. Without good genetics, we would not have been able to take advantage of the good growing conditions we had this past year."
Three released varieties in the trials all had record-setting yields above 10 tons: Garst 6415, WL 357 HQ and DKA33-16. Other varieties in the trials yielded from 5.3 to 9.5 tons per acre.
"This is a remarkable achievement," said Doug Buhler, associate director of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and former chairperson of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. "A yield of more than 10 tons hasn't been achieved for 20 years. It's all the more notable because the scientists didn't use any special treatments on the crop -- they had rain when they needed it and good growing temperatures."
MAES Researchers and Private Hunting Club Join to Teach Students Conservation and Management
To give undergraduate students hands-on experience in the scientific methods used in inventorying animals, vegetation, fish and songbirds, as well as preparing reports to be used in land management decisions, MAES fisheries and wildlife scientists are partnering with the Mid-Forest Lodge, near Houghton Lake, to offer a field course May 15-26.
The freshman and sophomore students enrolled in the course will learn and then actually put into practice techniques for trapping, counting, marking and releasing reptiles and small mammals on the 18,000-acre site. They will also catalog the types of plants, numbers and sizes of trees, and density of seedlings in the forest understory to understand how forests grow and regenerate after timber harvesting.
"To survey animal species, the students will be constructing pitfall traps to capture frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles or snakes," said Alexandra Felix, a doctoral student working with MAES fisheries and wildlife scientist Rique Campa. "They'll also bait small live traps with oats and peanut butter to trap small mammals and compare the presence of small mammal species in various vegetation types, such as fields and forests. The captured animals will be marked with tags so students can identify individuals and collect data on animal population sizes."
Felix will be teaching the course with Rebecca Christoffel and Nikki Lamp, who are also fisheries and wildlife doctoral students. Lamp works with MAES scientist Kelly Millenbah. The course was developed with funding from a U.S. Department of Agriculture Higher Education Challenge Grant.
To understand how lake characteristics affect fish, the students will measure water depth and amount of light reaching lake bottoms on the property, as well as measuring and recording the sizes and species of fish present in each lake.
"Because the course will be taught at a hunt club, the students will analyze deer data from previous harvests to determine deer population trends on the property -- for example, the age of deer harvested, antler sizes, sex ratios," Felix said. "They'll also determine what songbird species are on the property during the breeding season."
In return for allowing the property to be used for the course, Mark Parkinson, biologist/forester of the Mid-Forest Lodge, will receive a report on forest regeneration, fish and wildlife species inventories, wildlife habitat suitability, wildlife and plant distributions on lodge property, and other topics he selects. The Mid-Forest Lodge will use the report to accomplish its land management goals and identify new areas of study. The lodge's land stewardship goals include managing the natural resources to improve fish and wildlife habitats and encouraging forest regeneration through sustainable timber management.
In addition to Campa and Millenbah, MAES fisheries and wildlife scientist Dan Hayes also is involved with the course.
"This course will provide a great educational foundation and insights for future natural resources professionals," Campa said. "It's an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to gain experience doing scientific research."
Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at MSU Starts March 3
The 91st Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Week at Michigan State University (MSU) will take place March 3-11 on the East Lansing campus.
ANR Week programs focus on topics such as organic growing, livestock, pasteurization, nutrition, horticulture and youth development.
Participants can attend forest stewardship training (March 3), rabbit breeders school (March 3), a heritage livestock exhibition (March 3-4), the Quiet Water Symposium (March 4), an Alaskan wildlife travelogue presentation (March 5), a poultry program (March 7), a horticulture therapy program (March 10) and other workshops throughout the week.
There are also activities available for youth. FFA and 4-H members can compete in the Crop-O-Rama contest March 8 and attend the 78th Michigan FFA Annual Convention March 8-10.
The Michigan Animal Damage Control Association, the Michigan State Rabbit Breeders Association, the Wildflower Association of Michigan, the American Fisheries Society, the Michigan Audubon Society, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture, the Great Lakes Council, the Michigan Herb Associates, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and the Michigan Recreation and Park Association are among the organizations holding conferences, annual meetings and workshops during ANR Week.
For more information about ANR Week events, visit the Web site or contact program coordinator Sandi Bauer at 517-353-3175, ext. 217.
Free ANR Week program guides providing dates, times, locations, costs and descriptions of the events are also available on the ANR Week Web site, from any county MSU Extension office or from the MSU Bulletin Office at 517-353-6740.
The MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources sponsors ANR Week.
MSU Pest Management Publications Now Available in Spanish
Spanish speakers who work in Michigan’s fruit industry can get help identifying apple and stone fruit insects and diseases in two Michigan State University integrated pest management (IPM) publications now available in Spanish.
“A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Michigan Apples” (E-2720SP) and “A Pocket Guide for IPM Scouting in Stone Fruits” (E-2840SP) include pictures and descriptions of insect pests and diseases that affect Michigan tree crops. Both guides are laminated and printed in a size (3.25 by 6 inches) that fits into a pocket or glove box.
John Wise, research coordinator at the MAES Trevor Nichols Research Complex and MSU assistant professor of entomology, spearheaded the project to translate IPM bulletins from English to Spanish through a grant from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), the state’s plant industry initiative based at MSU.
“We hope to translate the parallel blueberry and grape scouting guides as well,” Wise said.
The apple guide is available for $13.25; the stone fruit guide is $15.50. Both may be ordered from any county MSU Extension office or from the MSU Bulletin Office by calling 517-353-6740.
For more information about the pocket guides or MSU IPM programs and publications, visit http://www.ipm.msu.edu/.
New CD Offers Information for Field Crop Producers
Growers can learn about preventing and controlling weed, insect and disease problems in field crops, as well as the latest corn and soybean research projects, on a new integrated field crop CD now available from MSU.
Information on field crop variety testing results; insect, disease and weed control recommendations; and soil fertility and nutrient recommendations, and the latest research findings for major field crops are included on the CD. Producers seeking information on corn, soybeans, small grains, dry beans, forages, sugar beets and potatoes will be interested in the CD.
The CD is organized to provide quick, easy access to all of the bulletins, fact sheets and research reports from MSU in one place for growers, agribusiness and industry professionals.
“It’s one-stop-shopping for farmers,” said Dale Mutch, MSU Extension (MSUE) Field Crop Area of Expertise (AoE) team leader, whose research is supported by the MAES. “Using the CD is quicker and more efficient than trying to call someone to get an answer to a crop question.”
The CD costs $25 and will be available at upcoming corn and soybean meetings. It is also available at county MSU Extension offices. Windows 98 or above, Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word are required to use the CD.
The CD was created by the MSU Extension Field Crops AoE team with funding from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), the state’s plant agriculture initiative at MSU. Project GREEEN is a cooperative effort between plant-based commodities and businesses together with the MAES, MSUE and the Michigan Department of Agriculture to advance Michigan’s economy through its plant-based agriculture.
