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Concerns over tillage intensity and soil erosion in organic cropping systems have prompted the development of reduced tillage organic systems that use cover crops rather than soil disturbance as the primary weed control tool. However, planting into high residue cover crop mulches may inhibit crop establishment due to poor seed placement. Adaptation of agricultural equipment to high residue planting conditions could reduce variability in crop stands, thereby improving grain yield. Field trials at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Agricultural Research Station, Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, and three on‐farm locations representing seven site‐years of data from 2019 to 2020 comprised a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment comparing (1) a low (457,135 seeds ha−1) versus high (555,986 seeds ha−1) soybean [Glycine max(L.) Merr.] seeding rate, (2) a 13 fluted‐wavy coulter versus no coulter attachment, (3) low (667 N) versus high (1334 N) row unit down force, and (4) spiked versus rubber closing wheels on soybean stand establishment and grain yield in an organic cover crop–based reduced tillage system. Combined across site‐years, high row unit down force and coulters increased soybean stand establishment by 2.3% and 2.4%, respectively; however, the magnitude and direction of effects varied within each site‐year. Winter rye (Secale cerealeL.) biomass accumulation negatively correlated to soybean stand establishment and demonstrated trends toward increasing soybean yield. Significant correlations between soybean stand establishment and yield were noted under high rye biomass conditions, indicating potential improvements to soybean yields by increasing plant stands. Rye biomass mulch accumulation reduces soybean stand establishment.Row unit down force of 1334 N and a coulter most consistently increased soybean stand establishment.Improvements in soybean plant stands translated to higher grain yields under elevated rye biomass conditions.

Cleaning yield monitor observations to remove erroneous points can improve the accuracy of yield estimates used for farm record keeping or on‐farm research data collection, but current practices are time‐intensive and cumbersome. cleanRfield is an open‐source R package to improve the efficiency of processing spatial agricultural data such as yield maps. Compared with current standard yield monitor data cleaning solutions, cleanRfield can read and interpret a broader range of input data formats. Other key features of cleanRfield include automatic field boundary delineation and batch processing of data from multiple fields. In this Scientific Note, we overview functions within the cleanRfield package and introduce an integrative pipeline to evaluate and visualize yield monitor data. The package is being distributed under the GNU General Public License 2, and a more detailed tutorial including downloading instructions is available at https://github.com/filipematias23/cleanRfield. cleanRfield is an open‐source tool for cleaning and filtering yield maps using R language.cleanRfield easily builds vector polygon files and rasters of field boundaries from yield maps.cleanRfield reads and interprets shapefiles, CSVs, or text files.cleanRfield provides an integrative pipeline to evaluate and visualize yield monitor data.

Cranberry fruitworm (Acrobasis vacciniiRiley (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)) and blackheaded fireworm (Rhopobota naevanaHubner (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)) threaten cranberry production annually by causing significant fruit damage. Up to four pesticide applications are made each year to control these insects, which are costly to producers and elevate pesticide residues in fruit. Pheromone-based mating disruption technology can provide control of these pests in cranberry production, with the potential to minimize, or eliminate, pesticide applications. In 2016, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was investigated to apply a thick paraffin emulsion containing insect sex pheromones. Traditional agricultural equipment is not capable of applying the paraffin emulsion to cranberry beds due to the product’s viscous, paste-like consistency. The first objective of this study was to retrofit an UAV (octocopter) with a novel extrusion device that had been engineered to deliver the pheromone-loaded paraffin at regular intervals during flight. The second objective was to confirm adequate distribution of the pheromones by measuring the mating disruption efficacy by monitoring male moth trap catches. The UAV was able to fly autonomously along a prescribed itinerary, deploying the paraffin product uniformly; however, the increased mass of the retrofitted UAV limited flight times to ~12 min. The number of male cranberry fruitworm and blackheaded fireworm moths caught in lure-baited traps were reduced in the paraffin-treated beds compared with untreated beds, indicating adequate distribution of the pheromones. The UAV-applied pheromones concept could be developed into a production scale application method in the future, although issues of battery life and lifting capacity will need to be resolved.

Adopting no‐till planting can have many soil health benefits and cost savings but may present challenges with respect to planter performance. Aftermarket attachments such as hydraulic row unit down force and closing wheels have been hypothesized to overcome the challenges of uneven planting depth and poor furrow closure due to residue within the field. In addition, starter fertilizer could improve early season growth in cooler soil conditions. This study evaluated the effect of closing wheel type, row unit down force, and starter fertilizer on corn (Zea maysL.) emergence and yield across soil types and micro‐climates within Wisconsin. Aftermarket closing wheels were compared to a standard (rubber) factory provided one, within two down force settings (Low at 333 N and High at 667 N) and liquid starter fertilizer (0 and 47 L ha–1of 7–21–7). The standard rubber closing wheel with high down force resulted in lower emergence compared to the low setting (p= .013). No effect of starter fertilizer was observed on either emergence or yield. Aftermarket wheels resulted in greater emergence regardless of down force setting, which might appear to be an advantage from an operator point of view, but greater corn emergence did not result in greater yield. These and other factors should be considered when selecting closing wheels for a particular set of seeding conditions. Row unit down force had no effect on emergence when using aftermarket wheels.Greater emergence values did not translate to greater corn grain yield.Starter fertilizer had no impact on corn emergence or yield.

Agricultural production is on the cusp of an exciting new era. Autonomous machines are at the forefront of research and development. The introduction of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), also [...]

Corn silage processing score (CSPS) is a well-known and often-used indicator of starch availability in whole-plant corn silage. However, obtaining results from a laboratory can take days or more. The objective of this work was to test an image-analysis method as a tool for quantitative assessment of corn kernel particle size and feed quality during harvest.

Hey guys, ever had anyone write you from an '87 Dodge truck while sitting on 3 feet of frozen lake in northern Wisconsin, ice fishin' with his riding partner, a […]

To determine the in vivo effects of chronic ANG II type 1 (AT1)-receptor blockade by losartan (Los) on enhanced unidirectional bicarbonate reabsorption (JHCO3) of surviving distal tubules, nephrectomized rats drank either water or a solution of Los, 7 days before microperfusion. JHCO3was suppressed by 50% after Los without further reduction by 5 nM concanamycin A (Conc), suggesting that Los suppresses all Conc-sensitive H+-ATPase pumping. Indeed, ultrastructural analysis of A-type intercalated cells revealed a 50% reduction of H+-ATPase immunogold labeling of the apical plasma membrane, whereas Western blotting showed that H+-ATPase protein levels were also reduced by one-half by Los treatment. To identify other transporters sustaining JHCO3, we perfused three inhibitors simultaneously [5-(N,N-dimethyl) amiloride hydrochloride, Conc, Schering 28080] with or without prior Los treatment: JHCO3was unchanged despite marked reduction of water reabsorption. We conclude enhanced distal tubuleJHCO3of surviving nephrons is largely mediated by AT1receptor-dependent synthesis and insertion of apical H+-ATPase pumps in A-type intercalated cells.

To evaluate whether K depletion enhances in vivo bicarbonate reabsorption (JtCO2)in surviving distal tubules (DT), we compared DTJtCO2in five-sixths nephrectomized rats (Nx) with and without dietary K depletion (Nx-K). Furthermore, to identify possible mechanisms of increasedJtCO2, we perfused inhibitors of proton secretion in both Nx and Nx-K rats.JtCO2(102 ± 8 pmol ⋅ min−1⋅ mm−1) was significantly increased in Nx-K vs. Nx rats (65 ± 7 pmol ⋅ min−1⋅ mm−1,P< 0.05) but unaffected by 10−6M losartan perfusion (94 ± 6 pmol ⋅ min−1⋅ mm−1,P= not significant). Although 10−5M Sch-28080 also had no significant effect, 5 × 10−9M concanamycin A perfusion significantly decreasedJtCO2in Nx-K rats to 65 ± 8 pmol ⋅ min−1⋅ mm−1(P< 0.05). Morphometric evaluation and H+-ATPase immunogold labeling of Nx-K A-type intercalated cells revealed cellular hypertrophy, elaborated apical microplicae, and enhanced H+-ATPase apical polarization. Accordingly, these combined studies confirm that K depletion enhancesJtCO2in surviving DT by stimulating H+-ATPase activity, independent of the AT1receptor.