Soil management practices can alter the natural balance at the soil-plant-atmosphere ecosystem interface, which can significantly affect the environment. This study compared CO
2
fluxes in ...conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) corn (
Zea mays
L.) production systems receiving poultry litter (PL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizers on a Decatur silt loam soil in the Tennessee Valley region of North Alabama from Spring 2008 to Fall 2009. Soil CO
2
flux in CT plots (9.5 kg CO
2
ha
−1
day
−1
) was significantly greater than that in NT plots (4.9 kg CO
2
ha
−1
day
−1
in summer. Soil CO
2
fluxes were lowest in fall where CT plots had a mean soil CO
2
emission of 0.8 kg CO
2
ha
−1
day
−1
, while plots under NT and grass fallow system were sinks of CO
2
with fluxes −0.6 and −1.0 kg CO
2
ha
−1
day
−1
, respectively. Mean soil CO
2
flux averaged over seasons in NT plots was 36% lower than that in CT plots. Grass fallow plots were net sinks of CO
2
with a mean CO
2
flux of −0.4 kg CO
2
ha
−1
day
−1
. Our study showed that application of PL or AN fertilizer in NT systems can significantly reduce soil CO
2
emissions compared to CT systems in corn production.
Nonimmune pony foals 9 to 12 mo of age were vaccinated with third-stage Strongylus vulgaris larvae (L3) irradiated with 70, 100, or 130 Kr of gamma radiation. Ponies receiving per os inoculations of ...L3 irradiated with 70 or 100 Kr were protected from the clinical disease and lesions associated with challenge infections of 4,300 L3, when compared to nonvaccinated controls. Similarly, the numbers of worms from the challenging population recovered from successfully vaccinated animals were significantly lower than from nonvaccinated controls. The degree of resistance that develops in individuals can be semiquantitated based on clinical and pathological responses.
Ponies reared with minimal or no exposure to anthelmintics were surveyed for intestinal helminths in order to estimate prevalence and intensity of parasite populations unaltered by frequent exposure ...to anthelmintics. Thirty-seven mixed breed ponies of varying ages were examined. Thirty-four species of nematodes and 2 species of cestodes were found. Twenty-four of the nematode species (including 1 new species) were in the subfamily Cyathostominae (small strongyles). Eighty-seven percent of the total burden of adult small strongyles in the large intestine was composed of 10 species. By comparing the results of the present survey with those of recent surveys of horses from herds which had been subjected to treatments with anthelmintics, the effect of prolonged usage of anthelmintic treatment on the prevalence of individual species possibly can be estimated. The general ranking of the 10 most common cyathostome species was similar to those described in recent surveys of horses, suggesting that anthelmintic pressure does not affect the prevalence of most cyathostome species. The lack of anthelmintic treatment appeared not to affect prevalence rates for Anoplocephala perfoliata and Anoplocephala magna when compared to other studies. Conversely, prevalence rates for Strongylus spp., Triodontophorus spp., Craterostomum acuticaudatum, Oxyuris equi, and Parascaris equorum were higher than those reported for these species in recent studies of horses.
Transpiration is closely linked to plant nitrogen (N) content, indicating that global or other changes that alter plant N accumulation or the relative requirements of plants for water and N will ...affect transpiration. We studied effects of N availability and atmospheric CO2concentration, two components of global biogeochemistry that are changing, on relationships between whole‐plant transpiration and N in two perennial C3species,Pseudoroegneria spicata(a tussock grass) andGutierrezia microcephala(a half‐shrub). Two indices of plant N requirement were used: N accretion (N in live and dead tissues) and N loss in litter (N in dead tissues). Transpiration was analyzed as the product of N accretion or loss by plants and the ratio of transpiration to N accretion or loss. The two indices of plant N requirement led to different conclusions as to the effects of N availability on plant use of water relative to N. Transpiration scaled proportionally with N accretion, but transpiration per unit of N loss declined at high N. Carbon dioxide enrichment had little effect on the ratio of transpiration to N accretion and no effect on transpiration per unit of N loss. The two species accumulated similar amounts of N, but the half‐shrub used more than twice as much water as the grass. Nitrogen availability and CO2concentration influenced whole‐plant transpiration more by changing plant N accumulation than by altering the stoichiometry between transpiration and plant N. Species differences in total water use, by contrast, reflected differences in the scaling of transpiration to plant N. A better understanding of species differences in water and N dynamics may thus be required to predict transpiration reliably.
The controlled test method was used to evaluate the antiparasitic efficacy of IM inoculated 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1 (ivermectin) against gastrointestinal parasites of horses (ponies). Parasite ...infections were naturally acquired in southern Louisiana. Dose levels of the drug tested were 0.2 mg/kg, 0.3 mg/kg, and 0.5 mg/kg. Ivermectin at all dose levels tested had an efficacy greater than 97% (P less than 0.05) against Gasterophilus intestinalis larvae, Trichostrongylus axei, Oxyuris equi larvae, Strongylus vulgaris, S edentatus, 15 species of small strongyles, and small strongyle larvae. Ponies were less uniformly infected with Habronema sp larvae, G nasalis larvae, Parascaris equorum, O equi adults, Anoplocephala perfoliata, S equinus, and 11 small strongyle species, and statistical analysis was not possible to do. However, observations indicate that the drug was also highly effective against these species. There were no gross or clinical reactions observed in treated animals. Dissections of the injection sites revealed spindle-shaped lesions, 3 to 5 cm long, in a few ponies in all treatment groups, including those given the placebo injection.
A controlled test was used in ponies to compare the antiparasitic efficacy of ivermectin (22,23-dihydro-avermectin B1) in an injectable micelle solution administered IM with the efficacy of the same ...drug in an oral paste formulation. Parasite infections were naturally acquired in southern Louisiana. The drug was tested in both formulations at a dosage level of 0.2 mg/kg of body weight. Ivermectin in both formulations tested had an efficacy greater than 98% against Gasterophilus intestinalis and G nasalis larvae. Trichostrongylus axei, Habronema spp, Strongylus vulgaris, S. edentatus, and species of small strongyles present. Efficacy of ivermectin against Oxyuris equi larvae was 100% in the paste formulation and 93% in the injectable formulation. The ponies were less uniformly infected with S equinus, Draschia megastoma, Parascaris equorum, O equi adults, Anoplocephala perfoliata, and A magna. However, observations indicated that the drug in either formulation was also effective against these parasites, except Anoplocephala spp.
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