plants. The resultant plants, called protoclones, have been evaluated for superior horticultural, agronomic and disease resistance characters by a combination of laboratory and field tests. This is a cooperative project between the agricultural experiment stations of Kansas and North Dakota. Results of these studies have shown that all clones are not identical as expected but that a wide range of variability exists. Variation in vine morphology, tuber yield and composition, maturity, flowering and disease resistance have been observed. The results suggest that, for potatoes, cloning techniques offer a new means for generating variability for crop improvement. Increased yields and local adaptability are potential examples. Because the major problem in potato production is the control of several major diseases, identification and development of disease resistance in commercial varieties would not only reduce the necessity for chemical control, but reduce losses due to diseases, which are approximately 22% annually. Selective Herbicide Applicators Developed. Research on selective applicators for applying herbicides to tall growing weed escapes in low growing crops were initiated in Nebraska in 1974 and introduced to Nebraska farmers in 1979 by weed scientists. These applicators are now being used on 1/3 of the soybean acreage in Nebraska. The applicators provide economical control of these weed escapes by applying the herbicide only to the weed. This results in a savings of 80 to 90% of the herbicide and provides a more economical, effective treatment than hand removal of weeds. Because of the use of selective applicators, several problem weeds such as shattercane and volunteer corn, which previously required expensive controls or dictated less profitable cropping sequences, can now be controlled effectively and economically in growing soybeans. This new weed control method is being researched for future use in sorghum, sugarbeets, field beans and other low growing crops. Reducing Insect Pests on Soybeans. Entomologists at the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station conducted tests with "trap" crops to draw insect pests away from primary crops. They have been highly successful in using snap beans as the "trap" crop for the Mexican bean beetle in Delaware soybean fields. The bean beetle apparently prefers snap beans to soybeans and concentrates its feeding as well as egg-laying on the snap beans when this plant is raised adjacent to soybeans. The amount of "trap" crop to achieve control is only about 1 percent of the primary crop, when it is planted in pure strips in rows either adjacent to or within the soybean field. In a commercial demonstration of the effectiveness of the snap bean being used as a "trap" crop, only 2 percent of the "trap" crop fields had to be sprayed for Mexican bean beetle, while 28 percent of the "untrapped" commercial fields were sprayed. Unusually Sweet Sweetcorn Discovered at Illinois. Sweetness, tenderness, good texture (high water-soluable poly-saccrides-WSP) and low starch content are four earmarks of a high quality sweet corn. The two mutants most frequently used commercially for hybrid breeding are sugary (su) and shrunken-2 (sn2). The sh2 mutant is high in sugar content but low in WSP, resulting in a watery texture unsuitable for canning. The su mutant possesses appreciable amounts of WS but lacks the high sugar levels of sh2 that many consumers desire in fresh market sweet corn. Recently scientists at the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station discovered an inbred line of sweet corn, IL677a, that has a sugar content comparable to that of sh2 and a WSP content equal to the su genotype. The kernels of IL677a also appear to be much slower to dry in the field and have a distinctively lighter colored kernel. The gene responsible is from the su mutant and it has been tentatively named sugary enhancer, se. This modifier gene should be extremely useful in developing new sweet corn hybrids for fresh market and processing. Seeding Rangeland. An experimental rangeland seeder developed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists offers a method of seeding rangeland where sparse to moderate brush debris is present following root plowing and 4. low cost smoothing for seedbed preparation. Moreover, the minimal land clearing required by this seeder increases the potential for improving brush infested rangeland by root plowing and reseeding with improved grasses. Practical Planned Grazing Systems. Agronomists at the University of Nebraska have developed practical planned grazing systems for 4 million of the approximately 24 million acres of rangeland in Nebraska. The increased livestock production from these 4 million acres is valued at nearly $12 million annually. In addition to increased returns, these planned grazing systems have improved the overall condition of the rangeland resource. The same researchers also have developed cultural and management practices for the integrated use of complementary forage crops (irrigated pasture, alfalfa, corn stalks, etc.) with rangeland. These alternatives, within the forage/livestock system, have given increased flexibility to the livestock producer in managing rangelar.ds. Identification of the Cause of Grass Tetany Disease in Cattle. At Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station, agronomists have discovered that the often fatal disease of cattle known as grass tetany, or hypomagnesemia, is related to high levels of aluminum in forages. They have found that while many grasses and forages typically have from 10 to 50 parts per million (ppm) of aluminum in them, when various fertilizers are applied the level of aluminum of some forage and grass species may be raised to 2,000 to 4,000 ppm. Laboratory tests have shown that aluminum reduces the amount of magnesium and calcium in artificial cow's rumen. Since grass tetany is typified by low levels of magnesium and calcium in the blood, these findings should lead to new methods of combating this ailment. ANIMAL RESOURCES Current activities: 28 percent of total Hatch funds for research. Included under this research program grouping are protection, production and management aspects of beef and dairy cattle, swine, sheep, other animals, poultry, and aquaculture. It also includes quality improvement, product development, and related commodity aspects of marketing. Selected examples of recent progress: Riboflavin Deficiency and Reproductive Failure in Swine. A deficiency of the B-vitamin riboflavin in adult, female swine results in total disruption of the normal estrus cycle. This appears to result from an impairment of sex steriod metabolism in the deficient animals. These University of Illinois findings may have relevance to reproductive problems in other meat producing animals and in humans. To extend this new information to swine in a production environment, plans are underway to determine if estrus failure, often reported in swine under confinement, is related to the riboflavir status of the female. The vitamin will be measured by a new blood assay recently validated for swine by the Illinois scientists. Improving Dairy Cattle Reproduction. Scientists at the University of Missouri have shown the effectiveness of growth hormone releasing factor (GnRH) in maintaining proper function of the ovaries in dairy cattle thus preventing the formation of cystic ovaries. This has served as a basis for Food and Drug Administration approval of the use of this compound by dairy cattle producers. This approval will have widespread economic impact upon the diary cattle industry allowing greater breeding efficiency, thus increasing mil production. Extra Genes Control Immunity in Chickens. Cornell University scientists have identified and bred chickens which have extra genes that control the important immune response mechanism. While ordinary chickens have two genes at each location on a pair of chromosomes, these chickens have three or more genes which are stable in the reproduction process. This permits selection for chickens that have outstanding ability to resist diseases. Studies are planned to determine the diseases for which this protective mechanism is most effective. If this genetic means of controlling a variety of diseases proves useful, poultry producers will be spared the enormous costs involved in current disease control procedures using drugs. Chicken and Turkey Semen Preservation. Artificial insemination is a standard practice in the reproduction of turkeys, and the practice has several applications in the chicken industry as well. While the preservation of semen from mammals has been well developed for years the storing of semen from birds has proven to be most difficult. University of California scientists have recently developed a process of freezing and storing chicken and turkey semen that allows reasonable fertility after storage of up to perhaps ten years. This process involves the use of glycerol as a protective agent and carefully controlled temperature especially between 5 and -40C. Use of this technique will allow turkey producers to house turkey toms on central stud farms isolated from hens and to collect semen at convenient times and ship it when and where needed. Presently toms must be located near the hens to permit use of the semen within a few minutes after collection. Beef Cattle Selection. Scientists at Nebraska have continued to develop information on improvement of beef cattle through selection. Sire selection accounts for 80-90% of the selection differential seen in traits such as weaning weight, yearling weight and muscling (body shape and maturity). Such work serves as the basis for developing records of performance for beef improvement. Changes are small but when multiplied across the population of beef cattle become very significant. Colostrum and Waste Milk to Dairy Calves. Several state agricultural experiment stations (including Pennsylvania and South Dakota) have shown that colostrum and/or milk from cows treated with antibiotics is satisfactory for feeding calves being grown for herd replacement. These products are unsatisfactory for use for human food and have been discarded as waste. calves, replacing milk and milk replacers, this represents a considerable As feed for saving in feed cost for each calf. In addition, the Pennsylvania workers have shown improved health of the digestive tract when colostrum was fed when compared to feeding milk replacers. All calves were given the usual dams colostrum during the first day of life. This work was done cooperatively on a Hatch Regional Project NC-119, Improving Large Dairy Herd Management Practices. Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) of Chickens - Effective Vaccine Evaluated. Scientists at Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station have evaluated the effectiveness of an inactivated infectious bursal disease (IBD) vaccine for meattype and egg-type chicken breeders. The vaccine induces a high level of immunity over a prolonged period of the laying cycle. This immunity is passed on to the progeny. The young chicken is protected against IBD during the first few weeks of life and its immune competence is not compromised against a number of highly infectious diseases such as Newcastle disease and Marek's disease. The use of the inactivated IBD vaccine has had a positive effect on improved livability, more efficient weight gains and lowered condemnation rates. This improved efficiency of production is valued at $30 million annually. Selenium is Required for Laying Hens. Ohio State University researchers nave demonstrated that the trace element selenium is required in the diet of laying hens that produce table eggs, just as it is for young chickens and hens that lay eggs for hatching purposes. Feedstuffs produced in much of the United States are low or borderline in selenium and FDA approval has been granted for feeds for young chicks and poults but not for layers. Generally soils in the Eastern United States are low in this element. The Ohio study has shown that the hen transforms much of the added inorganic selenite form of selenium into a bound form as a part of the protein of the egg. Egg production is increased by 10 to 15% by the addition of selenium to the crdinary corn-soybean diet 5. produced in Ohio. This would increase income to egg producers in Ohio alone by $9 to 15 million. The amount of increase will vary depending upon the amount contained in the feed ingredients which varies with the selenium content of soil. PEOPLE, COMMUNITIES, AND INSTITUTIONS Current activities: Equal to 12 percent of total Hatch funds for research. Included under this research program grouping are food and nutrition, food safety, rural development, and families and consumers. Selected examples of recent progress: Folic Acid Rich Diets Needed by Pregnant Women: Forty percent of a group of 269 pregnant low-income women were anemic at their first prenatal clinic visit and forty percent had low blood levels of folic acid (a B vitamin). Researchers at the University of Florida found that these same women had normal blood iron levels. Iron deficiency has generally been accepted as the most common cause of anemia in pregnant women. But these data indicate that folic acid deficiency may be more prevalent than iron deficiency in low-income pregnant women. Iron Supplements given by physicians or iron-rich foods supplied in feeding programs will not solve the problem of anemia in these women. Rather, the need is for diets containing foods rich in folic acid. Watching the Nutrients in Weight-Reduction Diets. Do the calorie-restricted diets of men and women who want to lose weight typically meet the needs for all other nutrients? Researchers at Iowa State University's Human Nutrition unit found that overweight women offered a planned low calorie diet, which met requirements for all the major nutrients, consumed less of two important (but infrequently determined) materials--zinc and potassium. Subjects, at the same time, were losing both zinc and potassium from their bodies, along with excess weight. Potassium is found in every cell, but its level in heart muscle appears critical. This research suggests that to avoid potential heart problems with low calorie diets, diet designers need to include low calorie foods rich in potassium. Weed Hemicellulose Fiber Increases the "Good" Cholesterol. Continuing their Mineral Dietary Fiber Interaction. Minerals in the diet have the potential Naturally Occurring Toxicants and "Toxicant Inhibitors" In Foods. Diets seems to be related to mixed function-oxidase inducers in these vegetables. Station scientists at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, have found a consistent dimunition in the occurrence of carcinomas in the livers of rats fed the powerful carcinogenic substance, aflatoxin, a mycotoxin developed by mold in certain food products. The cancer inhibiting diets contained 20% of either cauliflower or cabbage on a dry weight basis. Glycoalkaloids Occurring in Potato Tubers. The glycoalkaloids naturally Occurring in potato tubers have been associated with bitter taste, objectionable off-flavor, inhibition of cholinesterase, and poisoning in humans and animals. Since hollow heart and blackheart are very common spoilage disorders of potatoes grown anywhere in the world, food scientists at Utah State University initiated studies to determine if potato tubers having the nonparasite disorders of hollow heart and blackheart contained significantly more glycoalkaloids in the cortical region than normal tubers. Potato tubers with the disorders contained significantly more glycoalkaloids than normal tubers and the glycoalkaloid content of the tuber tissue was found to be related to severity of the disorders. Quality Maintenance In Marketing and Storage of Vegetables. Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station researchers have developed a new energysaving method of packaging fresh vegetables. The method has been named GASPAK and preserves the fresh-like quality and taste of foods for several months without the use of refrigeration. To preserve the food, gases, such as carbon dioxide, are pumped into food-filled pastic packages, creating a miniature controlled environment which retards spoilage. Preservation is accomplished using about one-fourth the energy costs required for canning and freezing. Ultrastructure of Foods and Food Ingredients. Soy proteins have not been used to manufacture imitation mozzarella cheese due to their stretching properties. Through careful study of the ultrastructure of the soy proteins and skillful use of appropriate ingredients, food scientists at the University of Illinois have been able to develop food types with the desired stretching and stringing characteristics. These basic studies have led to a breakthrough in degree of control over the rheological properties of cheese foods and represents a major step forward in cheese technology and soybean utilization. Discovery of a New Muscle Protein. A new protein component (desmin) of the muscle cell cytoskeleton has been identified by Iowa State University scientists. Desmin, a 55,000 - dalton protein component of the intermediate cellular filaments, has been purified from both swine striated and poultry smooth muscles. Antibodies to the new protein have been used in immunoflourescence and immunoelectron microscope localization studies and have demonstrated that desmin is located at the periphery of skeletal muscle z-lines. This protein apparently plays an important role in tying together all the long protein strands inside of muscle cells which are responsible for muscle contraction in the living animal and for many of the desirable nutritious and palatability characteristics of meat. Degradation of desmin after death is associated with a loss of cellular integrity which has a profound effect on meat tenderness (important in fresh meats), on waterholding capacity of muscle (important in both fresh and processed meats), and on the emulsification and binding properties of muscle components (important in processed meats). Microwave cooking maintains vitamin content of foods. A commercial oven manufacturer claims to be "changing the way America cooks" by introducing microwave oven convenience. Nutrition-conscious consumers, who are attracted to the convenience will be reassured by research conducted at the University of Illinois Experiment Station which shows that cooking meat and fresh or frozen vegetables in microwave ovens results in the same levels of important B vitamins, folacin and thiamin, as well as vitamin C, as compared to the |