2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) Relate effects of hydrothermal time and management to early growth of important weeds and crops, model relationships, and include in decision aids (WeedCast, WeedEm) for timely management of traditional and transgenic crops. Develop planting strategies, such as temperature-sensitive seed coatings, and winter cropping options, which help managers and crops compensate for cold and wet seedbeds during spring. Identify physiological and agronomic limitations of traditional, alternative, and new crops (e.g., cuphea) to better ascertain their probabilities for sustainable production in regions with short growing seasons. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Three complimentary approaches will be pursued. First, phenological models will be devised for a wide array of crops and weeds. These will be inserted into existing and proposed management-oriented software. Clients have requested these models, which aid managers in planning early-season operations. Second, planting strategies will be developed that help crops and farmers compensate for cold and wet soil conditions in spring. These developments will extend fieldwork days for managers. Third, the characteristics needed for sustainable production in short growing seasons will be determined through physiological and agronomic investigations of new (e.g., cuphea), alternative, and traditional crops. These results will enable better blueprinting of crops whose phenologies must fit within the timeframes of northern regions. Combined, the three approaches will provide clients with integrated information and resources that increase timeliness and reduce risk for crops grown in short-season environments. 4.Accomplishments Cuphea rotations, fertilizers, and harvesting techniques. Problem: Cuphea is a potential new oilseed crop in initial stages of domestication and, consequently, much research still is required to understand best management practices for its growth and production. Accomplishment: Research on crop rotation, fertilizers, and harvesting techniques for cuphea allowed several improved management recommendations to be made to farmers and crops advisors for a North Carolina company, which contracts with farmers to grow cuphea. Impact: The research facilitated a doubling of acreage of this new oilseed in MN, SD, and ND during 2006, and allowed expansion of the crop into Canada and the UK in 2007. Oil from cuphea seeds now is being sold to an Arizona company for making personal care products, in which the oil was found to impart exceptionally high quality. Additionally, because cuphea oil was found to be a potential feedstock for JP-8 jet fuel, North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and others solicited the assistance of the ARS cuphea team to participate on a successfully funded grant proposal with the Department of Defense. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production - Integrated Cropping Systems. Coated soybean seeds for early planting. Problem: Early soybean planting saves time for farmers and may increase yield, but it sometimes leads to significant crop injury. Accomplishment: Soybean seeds coated with temperature-activated polymers were protected from damage by cold and wet soils, which allowed for earlier-than-normal planting in no-till fields. Moreover, early planting of polymer-coated seeds also permitted the use of fuller-season varieties, which have greater yield potential. Impact: Early-planted polymer-coated seed technology, whose development was aided by ARS research, was used on approximately 500,000 acres of corn across the Corn Belt region during 2006. Industry leaders and educators solicited presentation of the research results at management "schools" for farmers, crop advisors, and extension agents, which facilitated the transfer of this information to a large network of producers. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production - Integrated Cropping Systems. Environmental fate of corn and cuphea herbicide. Problem: Isoxaflutole (pronounced, “eye-socks-a-flew-toll”) is the active ingredient in the new herbicide, Balance, and is of agronomic interest because: (a) it is a highly effective pre-emergence supplement or alternative to glyphosate in Roundup-Ready corn, which can help limit the development of weed resistance to glyphosate; and (b) it is one of the few herbicides tolerated well by the new oilseed crop, cuphea. Because isoxaflutole (and its breakdown product, DKN) has been detected in ground and surface waters, its use is restricted and, therefore, more information is needed about its fate in soil. Accomplishment: Experiments in three soils demonstrated that no transport of isoxaflutole+DKN occurred beyond 3 feet, half of the applied material disappeared within 18 days, and it was undetectable by 100 days. Impact: Results aid regulatory agencies and manufacturers for establishing objective pesticide label requirements. Relevant to NP 202 Soil Resource Management - Managing Pesticides in Soils, NP 304 Crop Protection and Quarantine – Chemical Control of Weeds, and NP 305 Crop Production – Agroengineering, Agrochemical, and Related Technologies. Timing of fall fertilizer applications. Problem: This topic continues to be a critical issue in Midwestern agriculture because large amounts of nitrogen are lost when fertilizer is applied too early; that is, whenever soil temperature is above 50 degrees F. Accomplishment: More reliable rules-of-thumb for when to apply fertilizer were developed for a large agricultural region spanning from southern Missouri to northern Minnesota. Impact: Growers, agricultural cooperatives, and custom applicators now have easy-to-understand guidelines for timing fertilizer applications in fall based on the latitude of the field to be treated. Following these guidelines should reduce losses of fertilizer through microbial conversion to gaseous nitrogen, save money, and increase farming efficiencies. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production – Integrated Production Systems. SeedChaser software predicts distributions of soil materials. Problem: Understanding how tillage affects the movement and final distribution (depth and density) of materials that previously resided on or in the soil is very important both agronomically and environmentally, regardless of whether these materials are weed seeds, insect eggs, nematode cysts, fertilizer granules, crop residues, etc. Moreover, differing tillage implements affect the distributions of these materials differently, but consistently within an implement class. Accomplishment: An easy-to-use software application was developed that predicts distributions of soil materials after 1 to 20 passes of any sequence of 16 different agricultural implements that disturb soil when used (drills, hoes, planters, plows, etc.). Impact: The SeedChaser software now is freely available on the Internet. Expected users include researchers, extension educators, classroom instructors, agrichemical industry personnel, and implement dealers, all of whom can use the software to understand and instruct others on how implements affect distributions of important agricultural materials. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production – Integrated Production Systems. Software for predicting soil microclimate. Problem: Because the environment at or immediately under the soil surface is multifaceted and of critical importance to agriculture, many agricultural professionals desire simple tools that permit predictions of several environmental variables. Accomplishment: SolarCalc, SolarCalc-Q, and SHW2 are three progressively more complex Internet-based software applications developed by our team that allow users to estimate hourly or daily values of solar radiation, light quality, and soil temperature and moisture from simple inputs of daily air temperature, rainfall, soil type, and geographical coordinates. Impact: Development of these models were sought quickly by users, including Percival Scientific., Inc. the University of Chicago (Ecology and Evolution Department), and the North American Strawberry Growers Association, which led to a CRADA, and two reimbursable agreements, respectively. Current and expected users include researchers, extension educators, agrichemical industry personnel, Percival Scientific, etc. Software is being used in a wide variety of applications by these users, including optimal global placement (location sighting) of solar panels. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production – Integrated Production Systems. Wild oat seedling emergence models. Problem: Wild oat is the premier grass weed of small grain crops in temperate and Mediterranean-type climates. Effective postemergence control of wild oat is hampered by the erratic emergence patterns of its seedlings. Accomplishment: A predictive model of wild oat responses to soil temperature and soil moisture was developed for wheat crops in both Mediterranean (Spain) and temperate (upper Midwest) environments. Impact: Model predictions will facilitate timely control operations for this weed. Expected users of the seedling emergence model include researchers, extension educators, classroom instructors, crop advisors, custom applicators, and agrichemical industry personnel, all of whom can use the model to facilitate timely chemical and mechanical management of this difficult weed. Relevant to NP 305 Crop Production – Integrated Production Systems. 5.Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations Established relationship with the Science Program at Sisseton Wahpeton College, which is a 1994 Land Grant tribal college in South Dakota. Research personnel gave lectures, aided SWC staff with organizing laboratory instruments, and provided information on ARS-sponsored internships for Native American students. 6.Technology Transfer Number of new CRADAs and MTAs 2 Number of web sites managed 1 Number of non-peer reviewed presentations and proceedings 21 Number of newspaper articles and other presentations for non-science audiences 4 Review Publications Jaradat, A.A. 2006. Phenotypic divergence in the meta-population of the Hourani durum wheat landrace. Journal of Food, Agriculture, and the Environment. 4(3&4):186-191. Gesch, R.W., Forcella, F. 2007. Differential sensitivity to temperature of cuphea vegetative and reproductive growth. Industrial Crops and Products. 25:305-309. Spokas, K.A., Forcella, F., Archer, D.W., Reicosky, D.C. 2007. SeedChaser: Vertical soil tillage distribution model. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 57:62-73. Scursoni, J., Forcella, F., Gunsolus, J.L., Owen, M.D., Oliver, R., Smeda, R.J., Vidrine, P.R. 2006. Weed diversity and soybean yield with glyphosate management along a north-south transect in the United States. Weed Science. 54:713-719. Jaradat, A.A. 2006. Multivariate analyses procedures: Applications in plant breeding, genetics and agronomy. In: Acquaah, G., editor. Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding. Williston, VT: Blackwell Publishing. p. 155-160. Scursoni, J.A., Forcella, F., Gunsolus, J. 2007. Weed escapes and delayed weed emergence in glyphosate-resistant soybean. Crop Protection Journal. 26:212-218. Gulya Jr, T.J., Gesch, R.W., Bradley, C.A., del Rio, L.E., Johnson, B.L. 2006. First report of Sclerotinia sclerotiourum infection on Cuphea. Plant Disease Note. 90:1554. Available: http://www.apsnet.org/pd/searchnotes/2006/pd-90-1554a.asp Al-Maskri, A.Y., Shahid, M., Jaradat, A.A. 2006. Multivariate phenotypic structures in the Batini barley landrace from Oman. International Journal of Food, Agriculture, and the Environment. 4(2):208-212. Forcella, F., Spokas, K.A., Gesch, R.W., Isbell, T., Archer, D.W. 2007. Swathing and windrowing as harvest aids for cuphea. Agronomy Journal. 99: 415-418. Forcella, F., Lachnicht Weyers, S.L. 2007. Mid-continent fall temperatures at the 10-cm soil depth. Agronomy Journal. 99:862-866. Gesch, R.W., Forcella, F., Olness, A.E., Archer, D.W., Hebard, A. 2006. Agricultural management of cuphea and potential for commercial production in the Northern Corn Belt. Industrial Crops and Products. 24(3):300-306.