Scientists seek protections for cherries TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University scientists have received $300,000 in grants to research protections for the state’s cherries from an invasive fruit fly.
The funding will support efforts to fight spotted wing drosophila, which industry surveys say ruined 21 percent of Michigan’s cherry crop in 2016. Half the money is coming from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a nonprofit established under the 2014 federal farm bill. MSU, the Michigan Cherry Committee and the Michigan State Horticulture Society are matching the foundation’s grant.
Michigan produces two-thirds of the nation’s supply of tart cherries, or more than 200 million pounds.
Growers are taking costly measures to protect their crops from the pest. Scientists will study pesticide application techniques, develop maps for sharing data on outbreaks and step up outreach to farmers.
Sensors replacing soil sampling at crop site URBANA, Ill. (AP) — Researchers at the University of Illinois are trying something new on the country’s oldest experimental crop field.
The (Champaign) News-Gazette reported workers are measuring the soil at the university’s Morrow Plots with sensors instead of using soil probes. Agronomist Bob Dunker manages the three plots. He said soil probes removed a considerable amount of dirt from the ground over the years.
The university used an OpticMapper to measure soil electroconductivity, pH and organic matter before planting recently. The OpticMapper is pulled behind a tractor and uses a dual-wavelength optical sensor about 2 inches below the surface to take measurements. A high-resolution GPS records the location.
The OpticMapper will be run again after harvest this fall. Dunker said it will allow them to compare results to previous years’ samples.
New way to detect Palmer in seedlots
URBANA, Ill. — Last summer, farmers in the Midwest got an unwelcome surprise after planting native seed on Conservation Reserve Program acres. Palmer amaranth, the aggressive and hard-to-kill weed, had established in droves. As a possible solution, some states declared Palmer a noxious weed, which prohibits its sale and transport.
Pat Tranel, molecular weed scientist in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois, and graduate student Brent Murphy developed a way around these issues. Their low-cost method can identify Palmer amaranth DNA from within a mixed sample without having to grow the plants. The assay, which uses a method known as quantitative PCR, can detect genetic variations unique to Palmer even when flooded with samples from closely related species, including waterhemp.
Once Tranel and Murphy developed this assay, they worked with U of I extension’s Plant Clinic to optimize the test for mixed seed samples. Diagnostic outreach extension specialist Diane Plewa and Plant Clinic technician Elizabeth Phillippi began trying different methods to extract DNA from seed.
The assay is sensitive, but if DNA is not correctly extracted from a lone Palmer amaranth seed in a mixed sample, it won’t be detected. “The trick,” Plewa said, “is to make sure every seed is ground up during the extraction process.”
The Plant Clinic has optimized a protocol for commercial testing of seed lots. “We have a test that we feel very confident in,” Plewa said. “We are offering the service now, for $50 per sample.” For more information, call 217-649-3941 or visit the Plant Clinic website at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/plantclinic |
