Potential biological control inoculants, Pseudomonas fluorescens 2-79 and microbial communities derived from market sprouts or laboratory-grown alfalfa sprouts, were introduced into alfalfa seeds with and without a Salmonella inoculum. We examined their ability to inhibit the growth of this foodborne pathogen and assess the relative effects of the inoculants on the alfalfa microbial community s...

Replication of cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) is associated with small membranous vesicles that are induced upon infection. The effect of CPMV replication on the morphology and distribution of the endomembrane system in living plant cells was studied by expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi membranes. CPMV infection was found to induce a...

Alfalfa was labeled in the field with 99 atom % 13CO2 and cut either the same day (C1) or 30 d after labeling (C30). The C1 alfalfa contained 84% of the 13C label in cell contents, whereas C30 alfalfa contained 47% of the 13C label in cell contents. In two separate trials, C1 and C30 alfalfa were dosed to two or four Suffolk ewes fed natural abundance alfalfa diets. Carbon isotope ratios (13C/1...

The nutrient contents of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) are reasonably similar. Despite similarities, the lactation performance of dairy cows fed perennial ryegrass has not been compared with the lactation performance of dairy cows fed alfalfa. The present study was implemented to compare the performance of lactating cows fed alfalfa or perennial ryegras...

This article summarizes the knowledge to date on biology of the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), including its distribution, development, migration, agricultural host plants, and mechanics of injury to host plants. Damage to alfalfa, potatoes, soybeans, and snap beans, and treatment guidelines, are summarized. Particular attention is given to integrated pest management options in alf...

Shoot meristem tissues of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., were found by high performance liquid chromatography analyses to contain the uncommon polyamines, norspermidine and norspermine. The chemical structures of norspermidine and norspermine, purified from alfalfa, were confirmed by comparison of mass spectra with those from authentic standards. The discovery of norspermidine and norspermine in ...

Effects of plant-bound condensed tannin (CT)-containing sainfoin vs. CT-free alfalfa (or low-CT alfalfa-sainfoin mixture), plant stage of maturity, and their interaction on enteric methane (CH4) emissions, diet digestibility, and N excretion were studied, using 8 ruminally cannulated beef heifers in 2 sequential short-term experiments (Exp. 1 and 2). In Exp. 1, first growth legumes were harvest...

Sufficient codominant genetic markers are needed for various genetic investigations in alfalfa since the species is an outcrossing autotetraploid. With the newly developed next generation sequencing technology, a large amount of transcribed sequences of alfalfa have been generated and are available for identifying SSR markers by data mining. A total of 54,278 alfalfa non-redundant unigenes were...

Cytokinin is required for the initiation of leguminous nitrogen fixation nodules elicited by rhizobia and the delay of the leaf senescence induced by drought stress. A few free-living rhizobia have been found to produce cytokinin. However, the effects of engineered rhizobia capable of synthesizing cytokinin on host tolerance to abiotic stresses have not yet been described. In this study, two en...