Huskies will try to create “Mayhem”
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WED SEPT. 16, 2011 @iowastatedaily facebook.com/ iowastatedaily
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State:
Harkin to host 34th steak fry Sen. Tom Harkin will host his 34th Annual Harkin Steak Fry on Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The event is intended to help Iowans become engaged and learn about the political process while providing an opportunity for them to interact with one another. The fry will feature political commentator Paul Begala as the keynote speaker. Begala was also adviser to former President Bill Clinton and was the host of the political debate program “Crossfire” on CNN. Steak fry tickets are available for $30 per person or $35 at the gate. Student tickets are $15 with student ID and children’s tickets are $5 at gate. Children 5 and younger are free. There will also be a special reception with Harkin and Begala for Hosts and Sponsors preceding the Steak Fry in Des Moines. Daily staff
State:
The Mystical Arts of Tibet Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery will be in Ames starting Monday, for four days. All events, excluding the symbolism lecture, will be taking place in the Main Lounge in the Memorial Union. Monday Opening Ceremony: noon to 12:30 p.m. Drawing of the Lines: 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Mandala Construction: 3:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday Mandala Construction: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Community Sand Painting: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday Mandala Construction: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Community Sand Painting: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Symbolism of the Sand Mandala (Lecture) in the Sun Room of the MU: 8:15 pm Thursday Mandala Completion: 10 to 11 a.m. View Completed Mandala: 11 a.m. to noon Closing: noon to12:45 p.m. Dispersal of the Sand: 12:45 p.m.
Photo: Tessa Callender/Iowa State Daily
ARTS AND CRAFTS: Completing a class project Joy Owen, freshman in pre-interior design, works on a class project outside the Memorial Union on Wednesday.
Corn
Wilting hurts crops New disease could affect future yields By Amelia.Johnson @iowastatedaily.com As anyone who has ever been to Iowa should know, corn is one of Iowa’s staple crops. What they may not know, however, is there’s a fairly new disease in Iowa that may affect future yields called Goss’ wilt. More than 52,800 farms in Iowa grow corn. In 2009, Iowa produced an estimated amount of 2.2 billion bushels. And of the amount Iowa produces in corn, a good chunk of it is exported. Goss’ wilt was first recognized in Nebraska back in the 1960s. However, it has never been a real nuisance to Iowa until about five years ago. Since 2006, Goss’ wilt has slowly spread throughout the state and is now widespread
throughout Iowa. A bacterium that affects corn, Goss’ wilt can be devastating to corn yields. “If infected early, it can really be devastating,” said Daren Mueller, program manager in the department of plant pathology and microbiology. It comes in two phases. One phase is where the bacterium enters the vascular tissue of the plant, which causes it to wilt and then eventually die. The second, more common phase is the leaf blight phase. In this phase, the bacterium gets into the leaf tissue and kills off big sections of it. While it affects corn of all ages, a corn plant that has been severely infected usually dies young because it is more vulnerable to other plant diseases such as corn stalk rot. The bacterium in Goss’ wilt survive through soil and corn residue, which can be carried by the wind, thus spreading the bacterium to other places. In fact, it has been reported in Canada and even in India.
“Once you get it, there’s very few options,” said Jason Kolln, an account manager at Pioneer who also assists customers. “There are no pesticides that can be used to control Goss’ wilt,” said Alison Robertson, an associate professor/extension field crops pathologist in the department of plant pathology and microbiology. “We recommend planting a tolerant hybrid and rotating to a non-host crop such as soybean.” Why there are no pesticides that can be used against Goss’ wilt is due to its nature. A pesticide is used to fight fungi, so it would not affect Goss’ wilt, which is caused by a bacteria. “The most important thing to do is pick high resistant hybrids,” Kolln said when asked what farmers should do to help control Goss’ wilt. He also went on to say that taking care of corn residue would help to
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Research
Photo: Emily Harmon/Iowa State Daily Claire Hruby, graduate student in agricultural and biosystems engineering, spends a large portion of time in the lab. Hruby is doing research on bacteria transport into ground water.
Contributing to conditions Graduate student researches bacteria’s effect on water quality By Ted.Sics @iowastatedaily.com
An ISU graduate student is contributing research to a long-term study on different land-management practices and their impact on water conditions. Claire Hruby, Ph.D. student in agricultural and biosystems engineering, researches the ways in which the bacteria found in manure effects the quality of Iowa’s water. “Our problems are mostly related to the fact that we have lots of land used for growing crops, because that requires fertilizers and other chemicals,” Hruby said. Hruby’s work involves fertilizing plots of soil with poultry manure, growing corn on that soil and then collecting samples of the water that filters through. “In Iowa, we have this lovely system of drainage tiles,” Hruby said. “Most of Iowa would be a swamp if we didn’t artificially put a pipe down into the ground to drain the water out. Our field setup has these tiles underneath plots, and we can look at the water coming out.” In the lab, Hruby tests water samples for the presence of types of bacteria that can cause health problems.
Inside: News ........................................... 3 Opinion ......................................... 6 Sports ......................................... 8 Cystainability ............................... 7 Classifieds ................................. 10 Games ....................................... 11
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Volume 207 | Number 19 | 40 cents | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. | www.iowastatedaily.com
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