U.S. farmers plant corn much earlier today
than ever before and it seems to be paying off in northern states,
according to a study by a UW-Madison scientist.
Midwest corn-growers produce three times more
corn than they did a half-century ago and they plant about two
weeks earlier than 30 years ago.
Chris Kucharik, a scientist with the UW
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, reported in the study
published online in the Agronomy Journal that earlier planting
could help explain 20 to 50 percent of the yield gains in the
northern Corn Belt states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota,
Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan since 1979. He found the number to be
22 percent in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, the other major factor he
considered, climate, seems to have had little impact. His study
reveals that farmers aren't necessarily planting their crops sooner
because of warmer springtime temperatures brought on by global
warming. Instead, seeds engineered to endure the colder and wetter
soils of early spring have likely allowed northern farmers to adopt
longer-season -- and higher-yield -- hybrids.
"What I found was that while climate probably
has contributed in a small way to the yield trend, the overwhelming
contribution has been from this land management change," Kucharik
said.
UW-Madison events celebrate
nanotechnology
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it's
a challenge Greta Zenner faces every day. On campus, Zenner is in
charge of outreach for the National Science Foundation-funded
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured
Interfaces. She and her students devise ways to share
nanotechnology -- an emerging scientific area that deals in
dimensions too small to see -- with the world.
There will be a coloring contest during the
week with the coloring page available for download at www.mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/coloring.
On April 3 at 7 p.m., Kimberly Duncan and
Katie Cadwell present a hands-on seminar "Exploring the Nanoworld"
in Room 1111 of the Genetics-Biotechnology Building, 425 Henry
Mall.
On April 5 from noon-5 p.m. there will be a
public science expo at the UW-Madison engineering campus.
A UW-Madison and University of Maryland team
reports that it has developed a new nanotechnology-driven chemical
catalyst that paves the way for more efficient hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles.
Writing in the Advance Online Publication of
Nature Materials, UW-Madison chemical and biological engineering
Professor Manos Mavrikakis and University of Maryland chemistry and
biochemistry Professor Bryan Eichhorn describe a new type of
catalyst created by surrounding a nanoparticle of ruthenium (Ru)
with one to two layers of platinum (Pt) atoms.
The result is a robust room-temperature
catalyst that dramatically improves a key hydrogen purification
reaction and leaves more hydrogen available to make energy in the
fuel cell.
The team also includes graduate students
Anand Nilekar of UW-Madison and Selim Alayoglu of Maryland.
BRIEFLY
Aggo Akyea has been appointed director of the bureau of
minority business development at the state Department of
Commerce.
Veterinarians certified to do tuberculosis testing on cattle
must attend one of eight free seminars scheduled throughout
Wisconsin April 26 through May 4 in order to continue official TB
testing. The seminar in Madison will be April 27 from 2-5 p.m. at
the State Agriculture Building, 2811 Agriculture Drive.
