Farmshed

Bee Pastures May Help Pollinators Prosper

Beautiful wildflowers might someday be planted in "bee pastures," floral havens created as an efficient, practical, environmentally friendly, and economically sound way to produce successive generations of healthy young bees.

The pesticide-free pastures could be simple to establish, and—at perhaps only a half-acre each—easy to tend, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist James H. Cane. He's based at the Pollinating Insects Biology, Management, and Systematics Research Unit operated by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Logan, Utah. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

Bee pasturing isn't a new idea. But studies by Cane and his collaborators, conducted in a research greenhouse and at outdoor sites in Utah and California, are likely the most extensive to date.

Two bee businesses are already using the findings to propagate more bees.

The research indicates that species of pastured pollinators could include, for example, the blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria. This gentle bee helps with pollination tasks handled primarily by the nation's premier pollinator, the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. Cane estimates that, under good conditions, blue orchard bee populations could increase by as much as four- to fivefold a year in a well-designed, well-managed bee pasture.

Cane and colleagues have studied wildflowers that might be ideal for planting at bee pastures in California. In particular, the team was interested in early-flowering annuals that could help bolster populations of blue orchard bees needed to pollinate California's vast almond orchards.

The research, funded by ARS and the Modesto-based Almond Board of California, resulted in a first-ever list of five top-choice, bee-friendly wildflowers for tomorrow's bee pastures in almond-growing regions. These pasture-perfect native California plants are: Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), California five-spot (Nemophila maculata), baby blue eyes (N. menziesii), lacy or tansy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), and California bluebell (P. campanularia).

Cane has presented results of his research to almond growers at workshops.

Read more about the research in the August 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

This pollinator research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.

Throwing a Citrus Pest off its Scent

A treatment that uses the mating habits of a Florida citrus pest as a way to control the pest is being developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Many insects release pheromones to attract mates, and in some cases scientists have developed synthetic treatments that mimic those pheromones to throw males off the scent of fertile females. Treatments developed to control gypsy moths, codling moths and a number of other pests are considered environmentally friendly because they reduce the need for insecticides and are designed to trigger effects that will be limited to specific pests.

Stephen Lapointe, an entomologist with USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at the agency's U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Fla., along with Lukasz Stelinksi of the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center, have conducted experiments to see if two compounds released by female citrus leafminer moths—a triene and a diene—can be formulated to disrupt the insect's mating cycle. The citrus leafminer forms channels as it feeds inside citrus leaves, making the plant more susceptible to canker disease.

In one set of experiments, the researchers confirmed that a 3-to-1 ratio of triene to diene worked better than either triene or diene alone as an attractant. They also placed experimental treatments around synthetically designed "female-scented" traps at different points inside a citrus grove to determine the optimal formulations for confusing males and preventing them from finding the female-scented traps. They used a waxy substance known as SPLATâ,,¢ that slowly released the experimental treatments over time, and they checked the traps once a week over several months.

Their results, published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, showed that either compound, when used alone, was effective at keeping male leafminers away from the female-scented traps. Greater amounts of diene were required to disrupt the moths, but diene is much cheaper to synthesize, according to Lapointe. He is continuing to work with ISCA Technologies, Inc., of Riverside, Calif., a manufacturer of the SPLAT technology, to use the results to develop a marketable leafminer mating disruption technology.

Read more about this research in the August 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.

New Poultry Litter Applicator Holds Promise for Chesapeake Bay Area

A machine that can inject dry poultry litter and composted cattle manure below the soil surface in pastures and no-till fields is on order from a research coalition across five Chesapeake Bay states: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. There are currently no machines on the market that can do this.

The coalition is led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientist Peter Kleinman. He works at the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit operated by USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in University Park, Pa. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

Kleinman and his research partners at Pennsylvania State University at University Park and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at Blacksburg received a $786,000 grant to test four prototypes of the Poultry Litter Subsurfer.

Soil scientist Dan Pote, at the ARS Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center in Booneville, Ark., invented the Subsurfer, which injects litter with the minimal soil disturbance required by no-till farmers who do not clear their fields of crop residue before planting a new crop.

In tests on Arkansas pastures, Pote found that the Subsurfer lowers nutrient runoff and ammonia emissions by at least 90 percent, while increasing forage yields. Kleinman and colleagues documented lower phosphorus runoff and ammonia loss and greater corn yields in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Jack Meisinger, an ARS soil scientist in Beltsville, Md., also reported lower ammonia losses.

As a collaborative project, Pote led development of the Subsurfer, while agricultural engineer Tom Way's team at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Ala., focused on developing a different prototype with adjustable row spacing for litter application in row-crop systems and pastures.

The two machines have such different delivery systems that Pote and Way sought different patents. Pote's Subsurfer uses a unique auger system that crushes litter and distributes it to soil trenches, allowing precise control, including very low rates not previously feasible. His tractor-drawn Subsurfer carries up to five tons of litter and simultaneously opens eight trenches (two inches wide and three inches deep), with one foot between each trench.

ARS is applying for U.S. and international patents on Pote's Subsurfer. One company has applied for a license to commercialize it. Way's invention has been patented.

Read about this and other research to help protect the Chesapeake Bay in the August 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

Do Soy Isoflavones Boost Bone Health?

Scientists already know much about the more than 200 bones that make up your body. But mysteries remain regarding the exact role that many natural compounds in foods might play in strengthening our skeletons. Those compounds include estrogen-like substances known as soybean isoflavones.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) physiologist Marta D. Van Loan and other researchers learned more about these compounds in a 3-year study—the longest of its kind—reported earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Van Loan is with the ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California-Davis.

Because of its potential as a possible substitute for conventional steroid hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, soy has been the subject of more than two dozen studies conducted here and abroad during the past decade. According to Van Loan, some of those investigations suggest that soy enhances bone health.

Van Loan teamed up with Iowa State University researcher D. Lee Alekel and others for the 3-year investigation to determine whether isoflavones extracted from soy protein would protect postmenopausal volunteers against bone loss. Participants in the study took either a placebo tablet or a tablet containing one of two moderate amounts of the isoflavones—80 milligrams (mg) or 120 mg—for the duration of the investigation.

Overall, the isoflavones had no significant positive effect on preventing bone loss. However, the 120-mg treatment showed a modest benefit when evaluated in conjunction with lifestyle factors.

The researchers suggest that the body's response to isoflavones extracted from soy proteins may be different from responses to isoflavones in their natural matrix of soy protein or soy foods, or in a soy-protein supplement. Or, some soy-protein compound other than the extracted isoflavones may have been responsible for the bone-protecting effects seen in some previous studies. Finally, the isoflavone doses used in the 2010 study may not have been high enough to produce a bone-sparing effect.

Read more about this and other bone-health research in the July 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Researchers Study Benefits of White Button Mushrooms

Mushrooms are among the many foods thought to play an important role in keeping the immune system healthy. Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have conducted an animal-model and cell-culture study showing that white button mushrooms enhanced the activity of critical cells in the body's immune system. In the United States, white button mushrooms represent 90 percent of the total mushrooms consumed.

The study was conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University by center director Simin Meydani, colleague Dayong Wu, and others. The results suggest that white button mushrooms may promote immune function by increasing production of antiviral and other proteins that are released by cells while seeking to protect and repair tissue.

Wu and co-investigators are with the HNRCA Nutritional Immunology Laboratory in Boston, Mass. The study's cell-culture phase showed that white button mushrooms enhanced the maturity of immune system cells called "dendritic cells," from bone marrow. Dendritic cells can make T cells-important white blood cells that can recognize and eventually deactivate or destroy antigens on invading microbes.

When immune system cells are exposed to disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, the body begins to increase the number and function of immune system cells, according to Meydani. People need an adequate supply of nutrients to produce an adequate defense against the pathogen. The key is to prevent deficiencies that can compromise the immune system.

The study appears in a 2008 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

Read more about this and other research related to improving health through nutrition in the July 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul10/immunity0710.htm.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

New Issue of Healthy Animals Now Online

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) today posted a new issue of Healthy Animals. This quarterly online newsletter compiles ARS news and expert resources on the health and well-being of agricultural livestock, poultry and fish.

Each quarter, one article in Healthy Animals focuses on a particular element of ARS animal research. The current issue discusses ARS research on ways to help cattle producers protect their animals against heat stress.

Research highlighted in this issue includes:

● ARS findings that coat color, wind speed, access to shade and breed could influence the animal's physical response to heat.

● A model that predicts when environmental conditions are ripe for heat stress in livestock, and presents the information in an easy-to-read, color-coded map.

● Findings that solar-radiation-blocking polyethylene cloths are an effective way to reduce stress-related losses.

Professionals interested in animal health issues might want to bookmark the site as a resource for locating animal health experts. An index lists ARS research locations covering 70 animal health topics. These range from specific diseases, such as Lyme disease to broad subjects such as nutrition or parasites.

The site also provides complete contact information for the 25 ARS research groups that conduct studies aimed at protecting and improving farm animal health.

To receive an email alert about each issue's online posting, contact Chris Guy, ARS Information Staff, or sign up on line.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

USDA's Agricultural Research Service Enters Partnership with Kansas Bioscience Authority to Expand Economic Growth in Region

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) signed an agreement on Monday with the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) to help commercialize ARS-developed technologies and foster research-based opportunities to expand economic growth in Kansas and adjacent states.

The five-year Partnership Intermediary Agreement was signed by ARS Administrator Edward B. Knipling and KBA Chairman John Carlin during a ceremony at the organization's annual meeting in Overland Park, Kan.

"Today's agreement will build on a groundswell of bioscience innovation by partnering members of Kansas' entrepreneurial community and higher-education institutions with ARS scientists conducting world-class research at more than 100 locations nationwide," said Knipling. "Partnerships with economic development organizations like KBA are critical to extending both the reach and impact of ARS technology transfer programs, including benefits ultimately enjoyed by consumers."

"We are highly focused on addressing national bioscience challenges, and this exciting partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be yet another way for us to advance that goal by ensuring research innovations get into the marketplace," said KBA President Thomas V. Thornton said. "We commend USDA for its leadership in bioscience commercialization, which will help lead our nation's economic recovery."

Under the terms of the agreement, ARS and KBA will work together to increase awareness among Kansas businesses about opportunities for collaborative research, licensing and commercialization of technologies developed in ARS laboratories.

The partnership will include showcasing ARS technologies and research capabilities relevant to five key areas of importance to the KBA and its affiliates: animal health, human health, plant biology, bioenergy and biomaterials.

Established in 2004, the KBA is a $581 million initiative that works to accelerate the growth of bioscience research and industry with financial investments and hands-on business assistance. The KBA is one of 10 economic development partners nationwide chosen to enter into a technology transfer partnership with ARS as part of the Agricultural Technology Innovation Partnership program network.

ARS has similar agreements with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, the Mississippi Technology Alliance, the Wisconsin Security Research Consortium, the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds, the Georgia Research Alliance, the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority in Pennsylvania, and the Center for Innovation at Arlington, Texas.

The agreement with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation has enabled CrispTek, a Columbia, Md.-based company, to begin commercializaing a gluten-free, rice-flour-based batter developed by ARS that reduces the oil uptake of fried foods. CrispTek was developed to commercialize this technology, which they licensed from ARS in the spring of 2008.

Agreements are pending with the California Association for Local Economic Development and the Center for Innovative Food Technology at Toledo, Ohio.

ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The partnership with the Kansas Bioscience Authority was developed under the auspices of ARS's Office of Technology Transfer.

ARS is a leader in the federal government in transferring and marketing new technologies developed from its research, and has formed numerous partnerships using cooperative agreements. More information about opportunities for licensing ARS technologies is available on the ARS-OTT website.

A New Tool for Improving Switchgrass

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have developed a new tool for deciphering the genetics of a native prairie grass being widely studied for its potential as a biofuel. The genetic map of switchgrass, published by Christian Tobias, a molecular biologist at the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., and his colleagues, is expected to speed up the search for genes that will make the perennial plant a more viable source of bioenergy.

Switchgrass is now grown as a cattle feed and to restore depleted soils. But interest in using it as a biofuel has intensified in recent years because it can be burned to produce electricity and, like corn stalks, can be converted to ethanol. It also grows on marginal lands, is adaptable to different regions, and—as a perennial—does not need to be replanted each year, which means lower energy costs and less runoff.

To assemble the genetic map, the team crossed a commercial variety of switchgrass known as Kanlow with an ARS-developed variety known as Alamo to produce 238 plants. They extracted DNA from that population and assembled a map based on more than 1,000 genetic markers that could each be attributed to one parent or the other.

The map divides the switchgrass genome into 18 distinct groups of genes linked together on the same strand of DNA. The results were recently published in the journal Genetics.

The work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as part of the joint USDA-DOE Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy Program.

Understanding the genetic composition of switchgrass could produce big rewards. To make switchgrass more commercially viable as a biofuel, scientists are searching for ways to increase yields and make it easier to break down the plant cell walls, an essential step in producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass.

The genetic map could lead to genes associated with cell wall composition, crop yields and other useful traits. Scientists will be able to use the genetic map to compare the genetic profile of switchgrass to that of rice, sorghum and other plants with better understood genomes and find analogues to genes linked to specific traits in those crops.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of USDA. The work supports the USDA priority of developing new sources of bioenergy.