Weekly News 2006

Nov. 29, 2006 ARS Scientist to Present Research on the Management of Curly Top in Sugarbeets: On Dec 4, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, will present research on the management of curly top in sugarbeets at the Nyssa/Nampa Beet Growers Meeting in Nampa, ID. Strausbaugh will present data on the use of host resistance and environmentally friendly insecticide seed treatments for the management of curly top in sugarbeets. The meeting will bring together scientists, growers, and industry personnel to discuss current management options for the control of curly top in sugarbeets. Strausbaugh works in the sugarbeet program at the Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID.

On August 17, Soil Scientist, Dale Westermann, located at the Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, was contacted by newspaper Natural Resource Feature Reporter Michelle Dunlop of The Times-News, Twin Falls, ID, about the processes used for estimating nutrient (phosphorus) loadings from dairy wastes and subsequent soil availabilities after waste applications. This information is currently being used to develop and utilize comprehensive nutrient management plans for all dairies in Idaho and other large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

On July 29 - August 2, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, gave a presentation on the influence of host resistance and insecticide seed treatments on the control of curly top in sugar beets.? The meeting brought together scientists, growers, and industry personnel for an update on the control of plant disease problems.??

Kimberly, ID, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory soil scientist, Bob Sojka, attended the International Conference on The Future of Agriculture: Science, Stewardship and Sustainability in Sacramento, CA, from August 7-9. He presented the paper "Polyacrylamide (PAM) for irrigation runoff management."? The conference was attended by some 250 agricultural and environmental scientists and focused on production and regulatory issues likely to affect the future of agriculture.??

On August 16, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, gave an invited presentation to Western Sugar Co. at a meeting held in Twin Falls, ID.? Strausbaugh gave a presentation on the influence of rhizomania and curly top on the storability and quality of sugar beets.? The meeting brought together scientists and industry personnel to discuss aspects of sugar beet storage including the management of disease problems.??

On August 17, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, gave separate presentations to Syngenta and Sesvanderhave at meetings held in Kimberly, ID.? Strausbaugh gave presentations on the influence of rhizomania and curly top on the storability and quality of sugar beets.? The meeting brought together scientists and industry personnel to discuss aspects of sugar beet storage including the management of disease problems.?

On August 29-30, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, will give invited presentations on a Variety Trial Tour throughout locations in the Intermountain West.? Strausbaugh will give presentations on current research related to the control of curly top, rhizoctonia, and rhizomania in sugar beets.? The tour will bring together scientists, growers, and industry personnel for an update on various aspects of sugar beet production including the control of plant disease problems and screening of germplasm for disease resistance.??

On July 6th the Kimberly ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL) will conduct a joint field day with the University of Idaho Kimberly Experiment Station. The annual evening event, billed as the "Twilight Tour," attracts over two hundred attendees from the local farming and environmental community. ARS presenters will include Drs. Dale Westermann, Gary Lehrsch, Anne Gillen, Hank Mayland and Bob Sojka. They will present aspects of research covering the Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP), Infiltration, Sugarbeet Breeding, Forage Quality, and general information about the NWISRL and ARS national research and career opportunities.

On June 4-8, Hank Mayland, soil scientist, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Lab, Kimberly, ID, will participate in the 10th Billings Land Reclamation Symposium held in Billings, MT. Dr. Mayland will present results of a study on mineral concentrations in soil extracts, forages, and blood sera of cattle grazing on reclaimed uranium mined land in Southeastern Wyoming.

The Interagency Plant Materials Group will meet at the Great Basin Junior College in Elko, NV, on May 4-5. Soil Scientist Hank Mayland, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, will participate and share his research results on "Diurnal rhythms in forage quality and relationship to cultivar and animal species." Dr. Mayland will also provide an update on "Mineral solubility in soils, plant uptake, and grazing animal absorption of some minerals."

On April 19-21, ARS scientists Dave Bjorneberg and Dale Westermann, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Lab, Kimberly, ID, and Richard Pfeiffer, National Soil Tilth Lab, Ames, IA, visited the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in Logan, UT, along with Peter Griffiths and Limin Shao, Chemistry Department, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. SDL is part of Utah State University's Research Foundation and develops state-of-the-art sensors and satellite systems. SDL has developed Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrumentation for measuring particulate plumes from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The purpose of the visit was to discuss equipment modifications needed to include an open-path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) instrument for measuring ammonia and other emissions from CAFOs.

On March 21, Carl Strausbaugh, research plant pathologist, ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, will give an invited presentation at the Amalgamated Sugar Co. Seminar Series to be held in Boise, ID. Strausbaugh will give a presentation on the influence of rhizomania and curly top on the storability and quality of sugarbeets. The meeting will bring together scientists and industry personnel to discuss aspects of sugarbeet storage including the management of disease problems.

On February 2, Lydia Mothershead,a Junior from Kimberly High School, job-shadowed several of the biological science technicans at the Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory, Kimberly, ID, as part of her "Individualized Occupational Training" class. Lydia observed and assisted technicians with sample analysis, recording of weather data, calculating Evapotranspiration, and care of greenhouse plants. Lydia reported that the experience was very rewarding and helped provide a new perspective about pursuing a career in science.

Kimberly ARS soil scientist Bob Sojka was an invited speaker at the January 10 Far West Agribussiness Association's 33rd annual Winter Conference. Sojka's paper "Polyacrylamide (PAM):an update" gave an overview of the PAM technology used for erosion control and infiltration management on 2 million acres of U.S. irrigated land, and highlighted new research quantifying microorganism and weed seed removal from return flows, development of biopolymers surrogates for PAM and environmental safety of even massive amounts of PAM added to soils. The audience was 200 agricultural managers, ag-chemical and fertilizer dealers, consultants, fieldmen and farmers.

On January 12, Kimberly, ID, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory soil scientist Gary Lehrsch, discussed soil and crop management practices effective in minimizing soil erosion and protecting water quality under furrow and sprinkler irrigation at the Sustainable Agriculture Workshop, Yakama Nation Indian Reservation, Toppenish, WA. About 40 Native Americans, Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel, University extension agents, and agricultural producers attended the workshop.

On January 13, Kimberly, ID, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory research plant pathologist Carl Strausbaugh gave an invited presentation at the Snake River Sugarbeet Conference held in Nampa, ID. The presentation highlighted research related to the management of curly top on sugarbeets. The meeting brought together scientists, growers, and industry personnel and discussed all aspects of sugarbeet production, including the management of disease problems.