Comparative Evaluation of Sawdust with Different Casing Materials for the Production of Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach under Natural Bamboo Hut Conditions

Studies were conducted to evaluate leached sawdust as a casing substrate for the cultivation of Agaricus bisporus either alone or in combination with other substrates at College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India during the year 2018–2020. Out of seven casing media evaluated alone, coconut coir pith performed best in terms of all production parameters like time for spawn run (20.3 days) and pinning (15.7 days), sporocarps’ number (55.33), yield (0.679 kg 5 kg-1 compost) and biological efficiency (33.95%). The efficiency of sawdust- leached improved with the addition of other casing substrates. In commercial trial, combination of sawdust - leached with coconut coir pith, spent compost and farmyard manure (1:1v/v) performed better as compared to control (FYM+local soil), but a combination of sawdust- leached+coconut coir pith (1:1v/v) proved to be the best in terms of sporocarps’ number (88.00) and yield (1.271 kg 10 kg-1 compost) despite of the delay in time for spawn run (26 days) and pinning (24.3 days). Casing media also affected the biological efficiency of compost which varied from 10.50% in local soil to 34.05% in sawdust- leached+farmyard manure (1:1v/v) in different experiments. Cap diameter was recorded to be maximum (41.37 mm) in 2 years old spent compost and minimum (34. 27 mm) in sawdust- leached while, stipe length ranged from 14.17 mm in vermicompost-leached to 22.90 mm in sawdust- leached+farmyard manure (1:1v/v). However, fruit bodies harvested from all the casing treatments including standard check were found to be silky smooth and firm to compact.

269 Effects of high phytase supplementation in lactation diets on sow and litter performance

A total of 109 sows (Line 241; DNA, Columbus, NE) were used in a study to evaluate the effect of increasing phytase concentration in lactation diets on sow and litter performance. On d 107 of gestation, sows were blocked by body weight and parity and allotted to 1 of 3 dietary treatments of increasing phytase concentration (0, 1,000, or 3,000 FYT/kg; Ronozyme HiPhos 2700; DSM Nutritional Products, Inc., Parsippany, NJ). The control diet contained no phytase and was formulated to contain 0.50% standardized total tract digestible phosphorus (STTD P; 0.45% available P) and 0.62% STTD calcium (0.90% total Ca). The same STTD P and Ca concentrations were formulated for the phytase diets considering a release of 0.132 STTD P and 0.094 STTD Ca in both diets. Diets were fed from d 107 of gestation until weaning (d 18 ± 2). Litters were cross-fostered within treatment until 48 h post-farrowing to equalize litter size. Linear and quadratic response to phytase concentration was evaluated using the lmer function in R. There was no evidence for difference in sow body weight change, farrowing performance, wean-to-estrus interval, or litter size among dietary treatments. Sow average daily feed intake from farrowing to weaning tended to increase (linear, P=0.093) as phytase increased. Although not significant (linear, P =0.226), farrowing duration decreased as phytase increased. Litter weaning weight increased (quadratic, P=0.039) and overall litter gain increased (quadratic, P=0.047) with 1,000 FYT of phytase. In summary, sow feed intake tended to increase linearly with increasing phytase; however, feeding 1,000 FYT/kg maximized overall litter gain and weaning weight. This small-scale study suggests sow and litter performance benefits due to high inclusions of dietary phytase; however, a commercial trial with more sows is warranted to confirm these results.

Virtual Fencing Technology Excludes Beef Cattle from an Environmentally Sensitive Area

The eShepherd® virtual fencing system being commercialized for cattle has the potential to exclude cattle from environmentally sensitive areas. Animals are given audio cues to indicate a fence line via a neckband device. An electrical pulse is administered if the animal continues moving forward following an audio cue. A commercial trial was conducted in South Australia to assess whether virtual fencing technology could exclude 20 cattle from an area of regenerating saplings; across 44 days; using a contoured fence line. The results showed that the cattle were able to rapidly learn the virtual fencing cues; responding appropriately to the audio cue for 74.5% of 4378 audio signals; and were excluded from the regenerating area for 99.8% of the trial period with the more complex fence line (contoured; not straight) in place. IceQube R’s® measuring lying time and bouts showed no consistent increasing or decreasing pattern of change. At the trial conclusion; the feed available in the protected zone was double the quantity and quality of the grazed zone. Technical issues occurred with some of the pre-commercial prototype devices; but those versions are now obsolete. This study observed a single group of cattle in one paddock; further testing of the virtual technology is warranted.

Semi-commercial hot water treatments for control of bull’s eye rot of apples

Bull’s eye rot (BER) of apples is caused by a postharvest fungal pathogen (Phlyctema vagabunda syn. Neofabraea alba). Previous laboratory experiments found hot water treatments (HWT) resulted in a significant reduction of BER incidence for artificially inoculated fruit so the feasibility of HWT to control naturally infected fruit in a semi-commercial trial was tested. One bin (1934 fruit) of naturally infected ‘Scired’ apples was harvested from a Hawke’s Bay orchard with a known high incidence of BER, then placed in a coolstore for 1 week until treated. All fruit were passed through a high-pressure water blaster then air dried. Approximately half the contents of the bin (1034 fruit) were packed into Friday trays in apple boxes with a plastic polyliner. The other half (900 fruit) were treated for 2 min with hot water at 51°C in a semi-commercial hot water bath before packing. All fruit were then coolstored for 20 weeks before assessment for BER. This HWT resulted in a 6-fold reduction of BER incidence so was an effective treatment for BER in a semi-commercial test.

Challenges of Breeding Rose Rosette–resistant Roses

Rose rosette disease (RRD) whose causal agent, the Emaravirus Rose rosette virus (RRV), was only recently identified has caused widespread death of roses in the midwestern and eastern sections of the United States. A national research team is working on the detection and best management practices for this highly damaging disease. Unfortunately, little is known about the host plant resistance to either the causal viral agent or its vector, the eriophyid mite Phyllocoptes fructiphilus. Thus far, the only confirmed resistance is among Rosa species. Of the over 600 rose cultivars observed, only 7% have not exhibited symptoms of RRD. Replicated trials are in progress to confirm resistance and/or susceptibility of ≈300 rose accessions in Tennessee and Delaware. Rose is a multispecies cultivated complex that consists of diploid, triploid, and tetraploid cultivars. The basic breeding cycle is 4 years with a 3-year commercial trial coupled with mass propagation before release. Thus, if only one breeding cycle is needed, a new cultivar could be produced in 7 years. Unfortunately, for the introgression of a new trait such as disease resistance from a related species into the commercial rose germplasm, multiple generations are required which can easily take two decades from the first cross to cultivar release. Research is ongoing to develop a rapid selection procedure for resistance to RRD with the aid of molecular markers associated with the resistance. Such an approach has the potential of reducing the breeding cycle time by 50% and increasing the efficiency of seedling and parental selection manifold, leading to commercially acceptable rose cultivars with high RRD resistance in less time and with less expense.

Part IV The Role of Arbitrators in the Development of Shipping Law, 13 Lex Maritima: Vanishing Commercial Trial—​Fading Domestic Law?

This chapter presents empirical data on the vanishing commercial trial and the flight to arbitration in general, and more specifically in the maritime industry. It discusses the consequences of the trend towards the privatization of dispute resolution for the maintenance of law in more detail. In response to the fading of domestic law, which results from a lack of litigation, it considers whether or not arbitral precedent might fill in the gap. It analyses London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) and Society of Maritime Arbitrators (SMA) awards published in 2014 for their potential as precedent. It shows that it is quite difficult to infer any ratio decidendi from them. Thus, the viewpoint expressed here is sceptical about the privatization of the maintenance of maritime law, be that domestic shipping law or a transnational lex maritima. Finally, the chapter considers options for private and public actors to secure the continued development of shipping law.

Transformation of an Ancient Crop: Preparing California ‘Manzanillo’ Table Olives for Mechanical Harvesting

As one of the oldest continuously produced tree crops in the world, it is ironic that table olive (Olea europaea) production has benefitted from few technological innovations, including harvesting. Two harvesting technologies, trunk shaking and canopy contact, have been identified. In a 2013 trial, a prototype canopy contact harvester successfully harvested 92% of a 5.3-ton/acre mechanically pruned crop, vs. 81% for a 12.8-ton/acre hand-pruned control crop in a 19-year-old, 13 × 26-ft grove, spaced at 139 trees/acre and adapted for mechanical harvesting with 6 years of mechanical topping and hedging. About 85% of the hand-pruned olives were cannable vs. 86% of the mechanically pruned olives. Over the 6 years of mechanical pruning, the mechanically pruned trees averaged an annual 4.2 tons/acre vs. 5.3 tons/acre with hand-pruned trees. Again in 2013, this same canopy contact harvester achieved 81% final harvester efficiency with a 5.8-ton/acre crop in a 12-year-old, 12 × 18-ft, 202-tree/acre, mechanically pruned hedgerow grove vs. 80% efficiency for a 5.17-ton/acre crop with hand-pruned hedgerow trees. Similarly, no significant differences in the percentage of cannable olives, fruit size distribution, or value per ton was produced by the pruning treatments. In this trial in which both hand and mechanical pruning were used to produce a hedgerow, the hand-pruned trees averaged 3.7 tons/acre vs. 4.3 tons/acre for mechanically pruned trees. In a commercial trial in 2012, the trunk-shaking harvester achieved 77% average harvester efficiency in a 40-acre, 180-tree/acre grove, with a 4-ton/acre crop prepared with both hand and mechanical pruning. These ongoing trials indicate that adapting groves with mechanical pruning does not decrease average annual yields and can produce table olive groves that can be mechanically harvested at a cost and speed that is competitive with hand harvesting.