Second Year Performance of Honeycrisp on 31 Dwarfing Rootstocks in the Iowa Planting of the NC-140 2010 Regional Apple Rootstock Trial

To evaluate the adaptability and performance of new and promising apple rootstocks in the dwarfing size-control category, a NC-140 regional rootstock trial was established in 2010 at 12 sites in the United States (CO, IA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, OH, UT, WI), two sites in Canada (BC, NS), and one site in Mexico (CHIH) with Honeycrisp serving as the test cultivar. The Iowa planting, located at the ISU Horticulture Research Station, includes 31 rootstocks with new selections from the Cornell-Geneva breeding program (G, CG.), Russia (Bud), Germany (PiAu), and Japan (Supp), with M.26, M.9 Pajam 2, and M.9 T337 serving as industry standards. Tissue cultured propagated (TC) rootstocks of G.41, G.202, and G.935 were included for comparison with normal (N) stool bed propagated rootstocks. This report summarizes the tree-growth characteristics of the Iowa planting during the 2011 growing season.

Integration of Pasturing Systems for Cattle Finishing Programs: A Progress Report

In this study, 84 fall-born and 28 spring-born calves of similar genetic background were used to evaluate the incorporation of rotational pasturing systems into cattle finishing programs. Because the second-year trial is not complete, this report will include only the first year of the five-year study. Seven treatments were imposed: 1) fall-born calves put directly into the feedlot on May 7, 1996; 2) fall-born calves put on pasture and receiving an ionophore and moved to the feedlot on July 30, 3) fall born calves put on pasture on May 7 and not receiving an ionophore and moved to the feedlot on July 30; 4) fall-born calves put on pasture on May 7 and receiving an ionophore and moved to the feedlot on October 22; 5) fall-born calves put on pasture on May 7 and not receiving an ionophore and moved to the feedlot on October 22; 6) spring-born calves put on pasture on October 1 and receiving an ionophore and moved to the feedlot on October 22; and 7) spring-born calves put on pasture on October 1 and not receiving an ionophore and moved to feedlot on October 22. Performance data showed that cattle on pasture receiving an ionophore had higher gains than those not receiving an ionophore on pasture. This trend was reversed in the feedlot period. Yield grades were not greatly influenced by treatment, although quality grades tended to be higher for older cattle and those cattle that were in drylot for a longer period of time.