Check out research in new Center Progress Report

By Mary Adams, Editor

The Leopold Center is now distributing copies of its 2001 Center Progress Report. The 80-page volume features summaries of research efforts supported by the Center's competitive research and education grants programs. The tenth in an annual series of reports, it describes 24 projects that ended in 2000.

Highlights of this year's completed efforts involved research and education on forages, legumes, oats and alfalfa. Other researchers explored biological controls for apples, strawberries, and corn borers; botanicals to feed pigs in lieu of growth promotants; and swine manure management decisions. Two special projects sought to help farmers stressed by economic uncertainty in rural communities. Restoration of farmland woods was one of three ecology projects completed.

For those with questions about the projects, the principal investigator's name, phone number, e-mail, and regular addresses appear at the end of each summary. The Center also can provide copies of the entire final project report.

In the course of preparing the project summaries, director Fred Kirschenmann asked researchers to summarize their work. Here are a few of their responses.

Botanicals as part of an integrated value-added pork production system
Some consumers are interested in purchasing livestock products from animals not fed antibiotics. These studies evaluated four botanicals with various claims to enhance human health or immunity as potential replacements for antibiotics. Based on these trials, Echinacea (purple coneflower) at various levels may offer an alternative to the feed additive, Mecadox. -- Palmer Holden, ISU Animal Science.

Manipulation of predatory insects for enhanced biological control of pests
The central questions were to identify the chemicals used by predatory lacewings and lady beetles to locate insect prey and to use these compounds to attract these predators to specific locations. The attractants identified in this project are the basis for a new commercially available lure for these predatory insects. Growers now have a method to attract predators to their gardens or fields. -- John Obrycki and Tom Baker, ISU Entomology

Community regeneration through strengthening the local food economy
The central goal was to work with institutional food buyers to explore and implement ways that would help them purchase a greater portion of their food supply from local/regional farmers and processors. What we found is that it is possible and practical to expand local markets for local agricultural products through institutional markets. More than $110,000 per year was invested in local farms and processors by the three institutions we worked with. And that is only in one metro area, with many other institutional buyers. The farmers who participated in this project reported small to significant increases in their gross income. -- Kamyar Enshyan, University of Northern Iowa

Biologically intensive pest management and Iowa apple growers
Is biologically intensive management of apple scab, codling moth, and sooty blotch/flyspeck complex a viable option for Iowa apple growers? Several scab-resistant apple varieties showed good yields and scored well in consumer preference tests. Two new management tactics--a weather-based disease-warning system and post-harvest dips in chlorine solutions--can significantly reduce reliance on fungicides for control of sooty blotch and flyspeck. Due to low populations of codling moth during our tests, the jury is still out on the suitability of biologically intensive methods to manage this pest in Iowa. -- Mark Gleason, ISU Plant Pathology

A simple method to increase alfalfa yield in the establishment year
Our question was: Can we increase the yield of alfalfa in the year of planting and not adversely affect subsequent production by adding some proportion of non-dormant (non-winter hardy) alfalfa to the seeding mix? We do not recommend this practice. Although non-dormant alfalfa slightly boosted first-year yields by allowing a late fall harvest, even 10 percent of non-dormant seed depressed yield in the second year. -- Charlie Brummer, ISU Agronomy