Weed Management in Sorghum

This publication provides information on weed control options in sorghum. Written by J. A. Ferrell, G. E. MacDonald, B. J. Brecke, and P. Devkota, and published by the UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, revised January 2022.

Effect of Protracted Free-Choice Chlortetracycline-Medicated Mineral for Anaplasmosis Control on Escherichia coli Chlortetracycline Resistance Profile from Pastured Beef Cattle

Anaplasmosis is an economically-significant, hemolytic, tick-borne disease of cattle caused by Anaplasma marginale which can cause clinical anemia and death. Current control options are limited, and FDA-approved antimicrobial control options do not have a defined duration of use. A practical and routinely used anaplasmosis control method involves feeding free-choice chlortetracycline (CTC)-medicated mineral to pastured cattle for several months. Constant antimicrobial use poses the risk of expediting the development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in off-target commensal bacteria in the bovine gastrointestinal tract. The objective of this study was to determine the CTC-susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolated from anaplasmosis endemic beef cattle herds provided different FDA-approved free-choice CTC-medicated mineral formulations, all intended to provide cattle a dosage of 0.5 to 2.0 mg CTC/lb bodyweight per day. A closed-herd, comprised of Hereford-Angus cows, naturally endemic for anaplasmosis, were grazed in five different pastures with one herd serving as an untreated control group. The other cattle herds were randomly assigned one of four FDA-approved CTC-medicated mineral formulations (700, 5000, 6000, and 8000 g CTC/ton) labeled for “the control of active anaplasmosis” and provided their respective CTC-medicated mineral formulation for five consecutive months. Fecal samples were collected monthly from a subset of cows (n = 6 or 10) per pasture. Fecal samples were cultured for E. coli isolates and the minimal inhibitory concentration of CTC was determined. Baseline CTC-susceptibility of E. coli was variable among all treatment and control groups. The susceptibility of E. coli isolates was significantly different between study herds over the treatment period (p = 0.0037 across time and 0.009 at the final sampling time). The interaction between study herds and treatment period was not significant (p = 0.075).

Development of Inverter Circuits with Dual Control Subchannel Areas of Integral CMOS Sensor Element

The use of an integrated sensor element as an addition of inverter, which converts the resistance of a sensitive element into the level of the output pulse signal, is investigated. Inverter circuits with different control options for sub-channel areas of MOS transistors are modeled in the LTSpice program. Based on the simulation results, dependencies graphs of the output signal amplitude on the resistance of a sensitive element and sensor’s sensitivity are drawn, and the shapes of the output signals are shown.

Management of Needle-Eating Caterpillars Associated with Pinus massoniana and P. merkusii in Vietnam

Pine tussock moth (Dasychira axutha Collenette (Lymantriidae)) and masson pine caterpillar (Dendrolimus punctatus Walker (Lasiocampidae)) cause serious damage to Pinus massoniana and P. merkusii plantations in Vietnam. An integrated pest management (IPM) program is required to control these pests. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify damage thresholds and to evaluate control options for implementing IPM in the Northeast and North Central regions of Vietnam. Three damage thresholds were considered: <25%, 25–50% and >50% loss of leaf area. Control options were manual collection of eggs and pupae and the use of light traps and biological agents. An initial IPM model was developed for each pest and these gave control efficacies of 82.4% (Da. axutha on P. massoniana) and 77.8% (De. punctatus on P. merkusii). Six extended IPM models were undertaken by forest companies giving pest control efficacies of 79.2–85.9%. The collection of pine resin provides an important source of income to local communities and the resin yield in the IPM models increased by 20.9–22.7% compared to untreated control plots. The IPM protocols would help in developing policies that promote a more sustainable management of forest pests in Vietnam, thus reducing dependence on the use of insecticides of environmental and public health concerns.

Impact of sowing methods and weed control practices on yield and economics of wet direct seeded rice

Wet direct seeding is proved as a viable alternate to conventional transplanting method of rice. Maintenance of optimum population by adopting an appropriate sowing method followed by judicious weed control practices ensures profitability of wet direct seeded rice (W-DSR). A field experiment was carried out to find out a suitable sowing technique and weed control options for enhancing productivity and economics of W-DSR. The W-DSR was infested with twelve numbers of weed species comprising of eight families under different sowing methods. The composition of sedges, broadleaved (BLW) and grassy weeds was 83.07, 11.0 and 5.93%, respectively. Irrespective of sowing methods, weeds such as, Echinochloa glabrescens and Leptochloa chinensis among grasses, Cyperus difformis and Scirpus juncoides among sedges and Lindernia anagallis among BLW were dominant. Drum seeding recorded 6.9 and 12.7% higher gross and net return, respectively than broadcasting, but it was at par with spot seeding. Highest B: C ratio of 2.07 was recorded with drum seeding, whereas spot seeding recorded lowest B: C ratio (1.99). Crop-weed competition caused 31.7% reduction in grain yield with W-DSR. Application of early post-emergent herbicide bensulfuron-methyl + pretilachlor @ 60+600 g/ha at 10 DAS, azimsulfuron @ 35 g/ha at 20 DAS, and bispyribac sodium @ 30 g/ha at 20 DAS recorded increase in grain yield 40.3, 40.1 and 39.8%, respectively over the weedy check. Ready mix bensulfuron-methyl + pretilachlor @ 60+600 g/ha at 10 DAS registered highest B: C ratio (2.16) but it did not vary significantly with bispyribac sodium @ 30 g/ha and azimsulfuron @ 35 g/ha.