Alfalfa Disease Management

Diseases represent one important constraint to efficient and profitable alfalfa production. Stand establishment, annual yield, forage quality, and stand longevity can all be seriously affected by diseases. Management of diseases is, therefore, a necessary part of an integrated system for maximum production of high quality alfalfa

Wheat Scab

Scab, also known as head blight, head scab or pink mold, is a fungal disease which can attack spring and winter wheat as well as other small grains. It is generally most serious under wet or humid weather conditions, such as that experienced in South Dakota and the upper Great Plains in 1993. Scab was observed in some winter wheat fields and was particularly severe in spring wheat and some barley fields

Turf Disease Control

Lawn and turf areas can be seriously affected by disease problems. In South Dakota, fungi are the primary pathogens involved in lawn and turf diseases, although other pathogens (eg. nematodes) can cause extensive damage in some situations. Good lawn and turf care and cultural management often can prevent disease problems from becoming established or can aid in the recovery of affected areas

Diplodia Shoot Blight of Pines

Diplodia shoot blight, also known. as Diplodia tip blight or canker or Sphaeropsis blight, can be a particularly damaging disease of Austrian, ponderosa, and Scotch pines, as well as other pine and evergreen species. The disease is caused by a fungus, Sphaeropsis sapinea (syn. Diplodia pinea). Extensive damage may occur on trees chronically stressed by being grown outside their natural range. Although pine trees of all ages are susceptible to the disease, damage is most severe in older trees. Severe damage seldom occurs in trees not yet bearing cones. Numerous or repeated infection with Diplodia shoot blight can lead to stunting, deformed growth, and, eventually, death of the tree

Simulating distance sampling to estimate nest abundance on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2020The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently conducts annual surveys to estimate bird nest abundance on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. The current method involves intensive searching on large plots with the goal of finding every nest on the plot. Distance sampling is a well-established transect-based method to estimate density or abundance that accounts for imperfect detection of objects. It relies on estimating the probability of detecting an object given its distance from the transect line, or the detection function. Simulations were done using R to explore whether distance sampling methods on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta could produce reliable estimates of nest abundance. Simulations were executed both with geographic strata based on estimated Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) nest densities and without stratification. Simulations with stratification where more effort was allotted to high density areas tended to be more precise, but lacked the property of pooling robustness and assumed stratum boundaries would not change over time. Simulations without stratification yielded estimates with relatively low bias and variances comparable to current estimation methods. Distance sampling appears to be a viable option for estimating the abundance of nests on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

Use of Seed Coating and Fungicide Seed Treatment in Establishing Alfalfa

Establishing a good stand is an important step in the efficient and profitable production of alfalfa. Site selection, seedbed preparation, seeding method, depth of seeding, and other agronomic factors can affect stand establishment. In some cases, seed and seedling diseases can be a significant problem in alfalfa. Damping-off (caused by Pythium spp. And Phytophthora megasperma) generally is recognized as the primary disease problem affecting alfalfa establishment. Problems due to damping-off can be significant, particularly when alfalfa is planted into poorly drained soils. In addition to site selection, fungicide seed treatment is one way to minimize losses from damping-off. For maximum plant vigor and N-fixing capability, inoculation of alfalfa seed with the appropriate rhizobia bacteria prior to planting is essential. Seed coating is a relatively new development in the alfalfa seed industry. Lime is used as the seed coating base to which rhizobia and possibly fungicide seed treatments are added. Seed coating is intended to increase stand density compared to noncoated seed, but results have been variable

Alfalfa Weevil Control in South Dakota

Alfalfa weevil, Hypera postico (Gyllenhal), is a significant pest of alfalfa in some areas of South Dakota each year. Feeding by larval stages results in reductions in yield and quality of the harvested forage. Although it generally is a problem of first-cutting alfalfa in South Dakota, regrowth of the second crop is occasionally hindered by alfalfa weevil as well

Potato Leafhopper Control in South Dakota Alfalfa

Potato leafhoppers migrate into South Dakota each year and are capable of causing extensive damage to first-year and established alfalfa stands. This pest is difficult to detect, and it often damages alfalfa before producers are aware of its presence. Potato leafhoppers can be especially damaging to newly seeded alfalfa stands

Pregnancy-Associated Breast Disease: Radiologic Features and Diagnostic Dilemmas

In this paper, we evaluate the radiological features of pregnancy-associated breast lesions and discuss the difficulties in diagnosis by imaging. We selected patients who were diagnosed with pregnancy-associated breast lesions during the previous 5 years. All patients complained of palpable lesions in the breast and underwent ultrasonographic (US) examination, the first choice for examination of pregnancy-related breast lesions. Any suspicious lesions found by the US were recommended for a US-guided core biopsy, US-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA), or surgery. Various breast lesions were detected during pregnancy and lactation, including breast cancer, mastitis and abscesses, lactating adenoma, galactoceles, lobular hyperplasia, and fibroadenomas. The imaging features of pregnancy-associated breast lesions did not differ from the features of non-pregnancy-associated breast lesions; however, some pregnancy-associated benign lesions had suspicious sonographic features. A US-guided core biopsy was necessary for differentiating benign from malignant. In patients with breast cancer, the cancer was often advanced at the time of diagnosis. In conclusion, various pregnancy-related breast lesions were detected and the imaging of these lesions had variable findings. Breast ultrasound could be an excellent imaging modality for diagnosis and differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. However, when the imaging results are suspicious, a biopsy should be performed to obtain a pathologic diagnosis

Virus and Viroid Diseases of Potato

NYS IPM Type: Vegetables IPM Fact SheetPotatoes are a vegetatively propagated crop, and many disease organisms including several viruses and a viroid are disseminated in tubers. The important role that tubers play in virus spread is recognized by the strict requirements for foundation or certified seed production. For example, all four classes of New York foundation seed shall not show a total in excess of ½ percent of mosaic, leafroll, or spindle tuber viroid based upon a winter test performed in Florida. Seven viruses and spindle tuber viroid are recognized as important in the state from either a production or a seed certification standpoint. The viruses include potato leaf roll virus, potato viruses Y, X, A, S, M, and alfalfa mosaic virus, with the first three being the most important