Alfalfa Rotation Strategy and Soil Type Influence Soil Characteristics and Replanted Alfalfa Yield in the Irrigated Semiarid, Subtropical Southwestern USA

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) establishment failure is often attributed to autotoxicity when alfalfa is reseeded shortly after termination of the previous alfalfa stand, but renovation/rotation strategies for irrigated semiarid, subtropical environments have not been studied. Two identical studies were initiated at the New Mexico State University Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center at Tucumcari, NM, USA to compare continuous alfalfa (ALF), a single year of rotation to sorghum-sudangrass (SS1; Sorghum bicolor × S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf), two years of rotation with sorghum-sudangrass (SS2), and winter wheat forage (Triticum aestivum L.) followed by a single season of sorghum-sudangrass (WW/SS). Soil type and renovation/rotation strategy may influence soil fertility prior to replanting alfalfa, but soil fertility did not appear to influence alfalfa re-establishment or first production year yields. With a Test x Rotation interaction due to differences between tests for WW/SS for first production year yield after September alfalfa replanting, the main effect of Rotation was significant for yield (6.43AB, 5.3B0, 6.92A, and 3.54C Mg ha−1 for ALF, SS1, SS2, and WW/SS, respectively; 5% LSD = 1.22). Alfalfa stand destruction and replanting with no intervening crop rotation may be feasible in sandy soils with irrigation in the semiarid, subtropical southwestern USA and similar environments.

Effect of Different Landscapes on Heat Load to Buildings

Strategies to conserve water have been implemented by many municipalities in the US Southwest to minimize quantities of water used for irrigating urban landscapes. Some of them encourage and even enforce homeowners to remove the turfgrass to reduce the irrigation water demands. This strategy not only ignores the numerous benefits derived from the turfgrasses but also fails to recognize the energy savings for the buildings surrounded by green landscapes. Quantitative analysis of the effect and importance of different types of landscapes on urban heat load and the subsequent energy consumption inside those buildings is of great practical need. Field experiments were conducted at New Mexico State University to assess the effect of different landscapes on heat transfer and ambient air and surface temperatures from June 2017 to October 2018. Two standard wood frame walls covered with stucco and surrounded by either Kentucky bluegrass or by hardscape were set up and equipped with sensors, measuring wall and air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and the solar and far infrared radiation balance. Our results show that overall heat load from the xeric landscape is noticeably higher than the one from the grass landscape. Based on these data, we assessed the potential for energy savings by utilizing turfgrass landscaping.

Teaching in an Undergraduate Dietetics Program and Internship During COVID-19

During the spring semester of 2020, COVID-19 disrupted teaching at universities across the United States ("Coronavirus Hits Campus," 2020). Transitioning courses online presented many difficulties for instructors (Gannon, 2020; McMurtrie, 2020b; Schmalz, 2020), and educators in family and consumer sciences (FCS)–and dietetics in particular–worked to engage students, administer exams, address confusion with content, and identify alternatives for supervised practice within a very short timeframe. This paper discusses the challenges faced and solutions discovered by undergraduate and graduate dietetics program faculty at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in transitioning face-to-face courses to online. It also discusses how changes in teaching practices during this time will affect the future of dietetics education. Both programs are accredited by The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), which requires programs (undergraduate, graduate, and dietetic internships) to meet specific learning competencies and supervised practice hours and provide documentation that requirements are met (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2020b). Although accreditation is not unique to dietetics programs, the specific requirements, varied practice sites, and range of possible solutions merit attention.

Reference evapotranspiration estimation using equations with limited data in arid zones

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo), is the most important parameter to estimate water consumption. Nowadays the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method is the most used in the world to estimate Eto, and recommended as the standard method. The main limitation to use this method is the availability of the requiere weather data. There are step by step calculations to estimate ETo when there is a lack of climate data; with the purpose to estimate the crop water consumption in arid regions, it was evaluated the presicion and aplicability of three equations to estimate this parameter when there is limited climate data. Estimates of Eto were performed for five sites, New Mexico State University main campus and its research centers Leyendecker, Artesia and Fabian Garcia, in new Mexico, USA; as well as the Agriculture and Range Science School of the Juarez University of Durango State in Mexico. The estimates of ETo were done with all required wheater data and with lack of solar radiation and relative humidity data. The presicion of the equations was evaluated by using the relative error and the index of agreement, consiedring as reference the FAO-56 with full weather data.

Early Performance of Jujube Drying and Multipurpose Cultivars in the Southwestern United States

Jujube cultivars have been imported into the United States for more than 100 years, but cultivar trials have been limited. To accurately recommend cultivars for each region, trials have to be conducted. We have set up jujube cultivar trials at the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Alcalde (2015, USDA hardiness zone 6a), Los Lunas (2015, 7a), and Leyendecker (2017, 8a) Centers with over 35 cultivars at each site with two replicates and a complete random block design. We reported the early performance of fresh-eating cultivars in 2019. Here we report the performance of 19 drying and multipurpose jujube cultivars. Between 40% and 100% of jujube trees produced a few fruit to more than 100 fruit in the planting year, depending on cultivar and location. Trees were more upright at Los Lunas than at Alcalde. ‘Kongfucui’ (KFC) was the most productive cultivar at Alcalde with 13.3 kg/tree in 2019, followed by ‘Chaoyang’, ‘Jinkuiwang’ (JKW), ‘Pitless’, and ‘Lang’. The yield at Los Lunas was lower than Alcalde for the first 3 years after planting; however, ‘Jinsi 2’, ‘Jinsi 4’, ‘Jixin’, ‘Sherwood’, ‘Sihong’, and ‘Xiangzao’ produced higher yields at Los Lunas than Alcalde in 2019. All cultivars produced higher yields and contained higher soluble solids at Leyendecker than Alcalde and Los Lunas at similar ages. ‘JKW’ was the most vigorous and productive cultivar at Leyendecker. ‘JKW’, ‘Xiangzao’, and ‘Lang’ produced more than 3.0 kg/tree in their second year after planting. ‘JKW’ yielded 12.3 kg/tree in its third year after planting. Among the three locations, drying cultivars are not recommended for commercial production at Alcalde. However, home gardeners can plant multipurpose and early-drying cultivars at Alcalde. Leyendecker produced the best dry fruit with larger fruit size, rich color, and meaty fruit; dry fruit quality was acceptable in most years at Los Lunas except 2019. We preliminarily recommend some drying and multipurpose cultivars for each location. As trees mature and produce more fruit, we will fine-tune the cultivar recommendations. We also discuss the jujube cultivar zoning information in New Mexico and fruit uses.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Food Research, Vol. 9 No. 2

Journal of Food Research wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal are greatly appreciated. Journal of Food Research is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please contact us for the application form at: [email protected] Reviewers for Volume 9, Number 2   Ammar Eltayeb Ali Hassan, University of Tromsø, Norway Ana Silva, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, Portugal Ancuta Elena Prisacaru, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania Bernardo Pace, Institute of Science of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Italy Bruno Alejandro Irigaray, Facultad de Química, Uruguay Coman Gigi, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania Diego A. Moreno-Fernández, CEBAS-CSIC, Spain Djilani Abdelouaheb, Badji Mokhtar University, Algeria Elke Rauscher-Gabernig, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Austria Elsa M Goncalves, Instituto Nacional de Investigacao Agrária (INIA), Portugal Essence Jeanne Picones Logan, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines Greta Faccio, Empa-Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Sciences and Technology, Switzerland J. Basilio Heredia, Research Center for Food and Development, Mexico Jintana Wiboonsirikul, Phetchaburi Rajabhat University, Thailand Jose Maria Zubeldia, Gestión Sanitaria de Canarias – Gobierno de Canarias, Spain Luis Patarata, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal Ma Lourdes Vazquez-Odériz, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain Marco Iammarino, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Italy Mariana de Lourdes Almeida Vieira, Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Brazil Massimiliano Renna, CNR-National Research Council of Italy, Italy Paolo Polidori, University of Camerino, Italy Richard Nyanzi, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa Shao Quan Liu, National University of Singapore, Singapore Stuart Munson-McGee, New Mexico State University, United States Tzortzis Nomikos, Harokopio University, Greece Xinyin Jiang, Brooklyn College, United States

Pensamiento evolutivo de Milton Gallardo: destacado biólogo chileno

Milton Gallardo Narcici, Ph.D. es un destacado biólogo chileno que ha visitado el Ecuador en varias ocasiones; la primera fue durante su participación en el Programa Prometeo Viejos Sabios, que mantuvo por varios años la SENESCYT. Estudió Ciencias Biológicas en la Universidad Austral de Valdivia, obtuvo su doctorado en la New Mexico State University, USA, en 1984. Su especialización es la Genética evolutiva de micromamíferos y la biología evolutiva. En este campo ha publicado 90 artículos revistas científicas especializadas como: Nature, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Evolution, Journal of Mammology, Genomics, Biochemical Systematics, International Journal of Mammalian Biology, Genome Research, etc. Es autor del libro: “EVOLUCIÓN: El Curso de la Vida”, publicado el año 2011 en Buenos Aires, por la Editorial Médica Panamericana. Este magnífico tratado de evolución biológica, escrito por un científico latinoamericano, aborda el apasionante tema de la evolución desde la perspectiva actual de genética y la genómica.