Week 13: Trip to USDA/ARS and flour mill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week we visited a working flour mill at the KSU International Grains Program complex.  For your final blog posting, please address the following questions:

1) What is the major difference between managing pests at preharvest (i.e., in the field) versus post harvest (i.e., stored or processed materials)?

2) It was mentioned many time during the tour that proper sanitation is key to preventing pest outbreaks.  What are some of the main challenges in keeping a clean flour mill?  Why are older mills harder to keep clean?  If you were building a mill of your own, what things should you keep in mind as you think about sanitation?  (I've included some photos to help "inspire" you.)

 

3) Phosphine is a great fumigant for controlling many grain insect pests.  However, should you use something like this in a flour mill?  Why or why not?  Keep in mind, your answer could end up saving or costing you thousands of dollars!  

4) In the picture below, Dr. Campbell was discussing multiple tactics used to reduced or eliminate insects from attacking stored grain before it makes its way to the mill.  You've just harvested your first load of corn and you're about to auger it into the bin.  What did you do insure that your summer-long investment will be well-protected until the time it's sold?  (I'm looking for as many preventative control strategies as possible here.)

Week 12: Trip to Insect Zoo.

One of K-State’s fundamental missions is the “application of research, teaching, and outreach for the betterment of the quality of life for the citizens of Kansas”.   One strategy is to build upon currently working models for public engagement.  The Insect Zoo is definitely one of these resources!  Its mission is “to foster a better understanding and increased awareness of our microcosmic, natural world and of the important roles that insects and their relatives play in it” (http://www.k-state.edu/butterfly/mission_statement.htm).  This assignment is your opportunity to “give back” to the greater Kansas community by sharing your knowledge of insect pests that are relevant to Kansans.  Select posters will be displayed in the Insect Zoo based on the accuracy and creativity of the finished product.  Based on your visit to the zoo, please address the following:

1)  In thinking about your upcoming project or assignment (rough draft due 11/18/09), how do you plan to incorporate  insights/observations/conversations/experiences/current exhibits/etc. into your poster?  Feel free to use examples.

2)  What will be the biggest challenge in getting zoo visitors "excited" about your subject or insect of choice?  Conversely, what is something (information, image, fact, etc.)  that will definitely get their attention?

3) Include or imbed  your two best pictures or "wow photos" on your blog posting for this week that you plan to use in your poster rough draft.

4)  Based on our conversations with Kiffnie Holt, how much text should be used on a poster designed for the general audience?  With that said, how do you plan to address this requirement in your project?

Be creative, have fun with it!

Week 10: Overwintering Dectes.

The results from the class experiment are in!  It's now up to you to figure out just what happened. First a little background on the experimental design.

Experimental design:
 As you recall, we discussed many possible factors that may limit the successful overwintering of Dectes in soybean.  I've included a copy of the whiteboard scribble-session to spark your memory.  Based on a class consensus, you decided to test the effects of stem size using different host plants (soybean versus sunflower).  In addition, you agreed that the temperature thermocouples should be placed near the base of the plant and a clump of soil was to be used to insulate the base of the plant.  In short, the goal was to simulate field conditions as much as possible and only alter stem size.  On Friday, we (my student worker and I) collected "fresh" sunflower and soybean plants from the Agronomy North Farm and weighed out an equal amount of soil for each of the test plants using an electric balance (~1700 g/plant).  Note, it rained heavily on Thursday and all the samples (stalks and stems) were quite wet.

After samples were collected from the field, we immediately drilled them with a cordless drill at the base off the plant and placed thermocouples down into the base of each stalk or stem.  We then used a small piece (same size for each experimental unit) of duct tape to secure the wire to the stalk.

The temperature inside the plants were measured for 5 min prior to placing them inside the freezer.  The experiment was stopped after 145 minutes or when the rate of cooling decreased considerably.

Results are posted below.  Note, "xsun", "xsoy", and "control" are the mean temperatures for the 3 replicates.  I included a "control" treatment where a set of thermocouples were placed on the outside of the plant stalks and stems; this was done to measure the changes in external temperature.  Since each line is made up of >12,000 points, I excluded error bars for simplicity.  However, the variability between points was very small (standard errors around all points were never greater than plus or minus 0.5 degree C).

Discussion.

For the experimental design, feel free to include details that I may have missed.  What was the class hypothesis?  What were the other hypotheses discussed?  What happened in your experiment?  Does this "prove" or "disprove" your hypothesis?  Could you draw these conclusions without the "control" data points?  What effect, if any, would cold temperatures (below 0 degrees C) have on Dectes larvae that would be overwintering in these different host plants?  Recall, the two supercooling points that we obtained in class were -15.4 and -17.6 degrees C.  Did the rain have any effect on your results?  If so, how could you test for such an effect?  Where there any other possible sources of experimental error that you didn't account for in the current experiment?

Week 6: The results are in!

Here's a sneak peak at the results from lab last week. So, who won the prize?  How do you know this from the regressions on the left?  What was the general trend for all samplers in this exercise?  More specifically, did the class over or underestimate percent leaflet damage?  We'll go over these questions and more in lab on Wednesday. Remember, you have a lecture/lab quiz at the beginning of class (20 points total, 5 lecture + 15 lab); don't worry, this graph will not be on it!

Week 6: Soybean pests and estimating % damage.

Part I.  Recall, you were asked to select a single soybean plant from the late and early-planted soybean and examine it.  Based on what you observed and what others were reporting, would you spend more time sampling these particular fields?  If so, which fields (early vs late) and why?  What types of feeding did you observe on these plants?  Based on the lecture, what insects could have caused some of these feeding patterns?  Was damage the same between early and late planted?  Assuming you sampled 29 more plants and all samples showed the exact same damage (not always the case), what treatment (if any) would you recommend? Add photos (your own or ones you find on the web) of defoliation, pod damage, stem damage, etc. that you observed. (Also, a point to anyone who can identify the insect in the picture above.)

Part II.  The second objective from last week's lab was to estimate the amount of damage caused by various defoliating pests found in soybean.   It is nearly impossible to quantify the damage using absolute methods for management applications.  In stead, qualitative methods are often deployed to reduce time spent sampling.  However, there are issues with using such techniques and you were asked to explore some of those in this lab.  Recall, you were asked to estimate the percent damage for each leaflet that was collected from a field at Ashland Bottoms Research Farm.  Record your estimate for each leaflet in the table below.  There were a total of 60 samples.   We're still in the process of calculating the total damage per leaf; this is not a quick process.  To accomplish this, we first scan the leaf as a grayscale image:

 

We then convert this image into a black/white TIFF, which allows us to analyze it using ScionImage, which is a freeware program that allows us to calculate areas based on pixel ratios.  

Once the image is in black and white, we can estimate the total damage by inverting the image (black now becomes white) and highlighting the damaged areas and calculate the area using the software.  Next, we use the eraser tool and delete the damaged areas in the image.  This allows us to select the area of the whole leaf, which is then used to calculate the percent damage (area damaged/total area*100).  So, you can see why we're still working on this!  Remember, most of you finished estimating all leaves within 5-10 minutes!  This is why we estimate damage in the field, but for research purposes this is not appropriate.  There is too much variability between sampler, etc., to rely on subjective estimates.  Don't worry, you'll be asked to talk about  the results from this part of the lab in next week's blogbook.  

For this week and this part of the lab only, you're off the hook!  However, you still need to answer the questions from Part I above to get all 5 points.  Also, upload images of soybean damage, either your own or ones you find on the internet. 

Soybean aphid found on buckthorn.

Soybean aphids were found in high numbers on buckthorn a couple of days ago in central Illinois. Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is the primary host for soybean aphid. Aphids go through a sexual phase of reproduction and deposit eggs nears the buds, which is how this pest overwinters. Even though it's not attacking soybean at this point in the season, is it still relevant to soybean aphid management? How could we use this information for the upcoming field season? Two points to anyone who can tell me how many aphids are on this ONE leaf! According to Dr. Dave Voegtlin, the researcher who took the above image, all the buckthorn leaves at this particular field site were covered with winged soybean aphids. For another extreme example of a dispersal flight, search Google images for "Aphids in Toronto".

Week 4: Sampling green stink bug.

Here are some videos and photos from today. Videos were posted to YouTube, so you can use or share these as you need them. Again, if you wish not to have these posted, please let me know. Also, feel free to use any of the content for your own blogs! I apologize if I didn't get to you this time (or you're welcome depending on your perspective!).

Week 3: getting to know your webtools.

Considering all the questions you had regarding the webtools last week (which also saved you from counting thousands of aphids!) and the time we spent in lab going over these programs, you should all be familiar with how these programs work. If not, then you're in luck! As you recall, your blogbook for this week was to familiarize yourself with these tools. To help you with this, below is a list of activities that I would like you to complete within each of the programs:

1) Twitter: Post something about the reading for this week. Examples would be a term defined in your own words or other limitations or factors influencing the adoption of IPM in field crops.

2) Diigo: The lecture reading was short for this week. However, I would like you to bookmark an additional web resource to the entom612 group using Diigo. In addition to just posting the page, I want you to comment on it. Why did you find this page useful? Or not useful? Was the content organized in a logical way? How could the page be improved? Was it written in terms that were easy to understand or did you need to look up additional items?

3) Wetpaint: Even though we didn't discuss this tool in class, I still want you to explore the site. One way is to update your profile information within wetpaint. Add a photo, your major, why you're taking the class, what you hope to get out of the class by the end of the semester, etc.

4) YouTube: Find a video and post it to the entom612 working group which can be found at www.youtube.com/group/entom612. If you're not a member, then join the group! Recall from last week that I've sent out my "final" invites. It's up to you to accept my invite or request to be part of the group. You can also add this link to your blogbook for this week.

5) Blogspot: Note, you're not creating a new address for this week. You're simply posting a new entry to an existing blog. If you're not exactly sure how to do this, please let me know. However, we did go over this in lab last week so hopefully this info is still somewhere in your memory bank. The intro for your blog entry this week should be self-explanatory, but I do want you to put it into your own words. The results and discussion section can simply be your experience with the programs listed above. Issues you found? How valuable the "help" sections were or things that could be added or improved? Other things you liked or disliked the tools?

Assuming the weather cooperates this week, we'll be heading to the field.

Thanks!

Extra credit: What order does the insect in the top photo belong to? First one to Tweet the order gets a point towards their blogbooks (or two points if you can get it to family!). Note, only general postings to Twitter will qualify; no direct messages please.

Week 2: insect structures, what's in the bag?

There have been a few questions and concerns regarding the Blogbook assignment for this week. I've decided to post an example blog for today's activities, which was heavily focused on the sweep net samples from the alfalfa and soybean fields. Note, most of the items that should be addressed are located on the outline for the lab, which was handed out at the beginning of class. I will also post all handouts from today under the course content section of K-State Online. For this posting or any other posting for that matter, you're not restricted to the criteria that I give you. The idea here is to make these entries as "dynamic" as possible. Therefore, if you find supportive websites that help you understand key insect structures and/or function, then feel free to include it. Also remember to write most of your text in another word-editing program before pasting it into your blog posting. This will ensure that you don't lose your work as you compile your postings.

If you're not sure how to setup your blogbook, you can choose a more traditional route, which is to you have a brief introduction followed by materials and methods and a brief discussion (see below). This will be relevant or applicable for some lab exercises, but not all.

-----------------------EXAMPLE---------------------

Clever and/or identifiable title.

Results.

The number of feeding types found in each crop evaluated. The number of unique individuals or species found within each feeding group observed. Scanned image of insect selected for drawing (or turn it in if not comfortable with publishing your prized artwork!), images from your phone (assuming you took them), etc.

Insect from alfalfa field:

Discussion.

The purpose of the lab in your own words, your accomplishments, your experience with the exercise that you were given, challenges with the materials or concepts presented, etc.

What does this tell you about the type of damage you would expect to see in the fields sampled? Discuss the most challenging aspects of sorting specimens or this lab in general. Based on your experience, what are some potential limitations associated with sorting and identifying insects or other arthropods in the field? Other points you care to discuss.

Supplemental information.

Video or two of insect feeding, preferably of the ones you observed today. Diagrams or images of other insects with similar structures (mouth parts, antennae, legs, wings, etc.) that support your findings or observations from today. In short, use this posting as an opportunity to use the tools associated with your blogbook.

Filiform antennae examples that were similar to my drawings:

Images can be found at www.insectimages.org

Other cool images of insects that I found, including this luna moth that has plumose antennae:


Image can be found at www.insectimages.org

I found this great site that covers the topics and structure that we discussed in lab. It has some great antenna examples as well as mouth parts, both drawings and actual insect images. Here's the link.

Upload content from mobile device.

Insert images and add hyperlinks (www.netvibes.com/bmccornack).

Example "Blogbook" Entry.

Welcome to Insect Pest Diagnostics, ENTOM 612!

In general, we will be using this social-networking tool to keep track of lab activities. Specifically, you will be responsible for discussing experimental outcomes, findings from field trips, interactions with other students, progress on group and individual projects, and anything in between. Be creative. Use multiple, digitally-based resources.

Examples include:

Hyperlinks
(www.netvibes.com/bmccornack or class website)

Images

















Video