Hard Winter Research Articles

Association Study of Resistance to Soilborne wheat mosaic virus in U.S. Winter Wheat

Soilborne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) is one of the most important winter wheat pathogens worldwide. To identify genes for resistance to the virus in U.S. winter wheat, association study was conducted using a selected panel of 205 elite experimental lines and cultivars from U.S. hard and soft winter wheat breeding programs. Virus symptoms were evaluated twice in virus-infected fields for the panel at Manhattan, KS in spring 2010 and 2011 and for a subpanel of 137 hard winter wheat accessions at Stillwater, OK in spring 2008. At the two locations, 69.8 and 79.5% of cultivars were resistant or moderately resistant to the disease, respectively. After 282 simple-sequence repeat markers covering all wheat chromosome arms were scanned for association in the panel, marker Xgwm469 on the long arm of chromosome 5D (5DL) showed a significant association with the disease rating. Three alleles (Xgwm469-165bp, -167bp, and -169bp) were associated with resistance and the null allele was associated with susceptibility. Correlations between the marker and the disease rating were highly significant (0.80 in Manhattan at P < 0.0001 and 0.63 in Stillwater at P < 0.0001). The alleles Xgwm469-165bp and Xgwm469-169bp were present mainly in the hard winter wheat group, whereas allele Xgwm469-167bp was predominant in the soft winter wheat. The 169 bp allele can be traced back to 'Newton', and the 165 bp allele to Aegilops tauschii. In addition, a novel locus on the short arm of chromosome 4D (4DS) was also identified to associate with the disease rating. Marker Xgwm469-5DL is closely linked to SBWMV resistance and highly polymorphic across the winter wheat accessions sampled in the study and, thus, should be useful in marker-assisted selection in U.S. winter wheat.

Impact of Triticum mosaic virus infection on hard winter wheat milling and bread baking quality

Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) is a newly discovered wheat virus. Information regarding the effect of wheat viruses on milling and baking quality is limited. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of TriMV infection on the kernel characteristics, milling yield and bread baking quality of wheat. Commercial hard winter varieties evaluated included RonL, Danby and Jagalene. The TriMV resistance of RonL is low, while that of Danby and Jagalene is unknown. KS96HW10-3, a germplasm with high TriMV resistance, was included as a control. Plots of each variety were inoculated with TriMV at the two- to three-leaf stage. Trials were conducted at two locations in two crop years. TriMV infection had no effect on the kernel characteristics, flour yield or baking properties of KS96HW10-3. The effect of TriMV on the kernel characteristics of RonL, Danby and Jagalene was not consistent between crop years and presumably an environmental effect. The flour milling and bread baking properties of these three varieties were not significantly affected by TriMV infection. TriMV infection of wheat plants did not affect harvested wheat kernel characteristics, flour milling properties or white pan bread baking quality.

Registration of ‘Anton’ Hard White Winter Wheat

Low levels of the grain enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) are a necessary attribute of any newly developed hard white wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) adapted to the Great Plains. Low PPO correlates with enhanced end‐use quality, including the final product color in noodle applications. Few wheats with this necessary characteristic presently are available. The objective of this study was to develop a hard winter wheat adapted to the region that possesses both low levels of grain PPO and quality characteristics that would allow its utilization in domestic bread‐making applications. This goal was achieved via the development and release in December 2007 of ‘Anton’ (Reg. No. CV‐1057, PI 651044) hard white winter wheat by the USDA‐ARS and the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. Anton was released primarily for its low levels of PPO. Flour‐PPO levels of Anton (tested under the experimental designation NW98S097) were significantly lower than all other entries in the 2003 and 2004 USDA‐ARS coordinated Northern Regional Performance nursery. Polyphenol oxidase levels of Anton in grain from the 2005 University of Nebraska cultivar performance trials were not significantly different from those of the low‐PPO cultivar ‘Platte’ and were significantly lower than those of several additional current hard white winter wheat cultivars and breeding lines. Anton was selected from the cross WA691213‐27/N86L177//Platte.

Registration of ‘Vision 40’ Wheat

The potential exists to develop and market hard winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the eastern United States, where a majority of the mills, bakeries, and consumers reside. The primary objective of this study was to develop adapted and competitive hard winter wheat cultivars possessing high‐value traits that offer the potential for new and expanded markets and greater profitability to wheat producers in the eastern United States. ‘Vision 40’ (Reg. No. CV‐1063, PI 661154) hard red winter (HRW) wheat was derived from the cross 92PIN#109/92PAN1#33 and released by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station in March 2010. Vision 40 was developed with a modified bulk‐breeding method and was tested as VA06HRW‐66 in replicated yield trials in Virginia (2007–2009) and in the eastern region (2008– 2009). Vision 40 is a high‐yielding, winter hardy, awned, semidwarf (Rht2) having mid‐ to late‐season spike emergence and moderate resistance to diseases prevalent in the mid‐Atlantic area with the exception of Fusarium head blight [caused by Fusarium graminearum (Schwabe)]. Vision 40 was the fourth highest yielding HRW wheat entry when averaged over 2 yr of the Uniform Bread Wheat Nursery grown at 11 test sites in 10 states in 2008 and 12 test sites in 9 states in 2009. In comparison with the hard wheat cultivar ‘Lakin’ (PI 617032), Vision 40 has acceptable end‐use quality on the basis of flour yield (70.2 versus 70.3 g 100 g−1), flour protein (9.5 versus 9.5 g 100 g−1), flour water absorption (58.5 versus 59.1 g 100 g−1), dough mixing tolerance (1.7 versus 2.3), pup‐loaf volume (823 versus 803 cm3), and crumb grain scores (3.6 versus 3.7).

Impact of Dual‐Purpose Management on Wheat Grain Yield

Farmers in the southern Great Plains utilize wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as a forage and grain crop (dual purpose). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of dual‐purpose management on wheat grain yield using two multiyear data sets that included a diverse group of commercially released hard winter wheat cultivars and a limited number of advanced experimental breeding lines. Paired experiments were conducted from 1991 to 2010 at the Wheat Pasture Research Unit near Marshall, OK. Averaged across environments and years, grazing reduced wheat grain yield by 7% when both grazed and nongrazed plots were sown early to encourage lush forage growth. Regression analysis predicted an increase in wheat grain yield as a result of grazing in lower‐yielding (&lt;1100 kg ha−1) environments but a decrease when nongrazed yield potential exceeded this value. When planting was manipulated to allow comparison of dual‐purpose and grain‐only systems, dual‐purpose management reduced grain yield by 14% as compared to grain‐only management. Grazing increased grain volume weight in both experiments by approximately 1%. Our results indicate that yield reductions in dual‐purpose wheat relative to grain‐only wheat arise due to the combination of grazing and earlier‐than‐optimal planting date.

Employment and winter construction: a comparative analysis of Denmark and western European countries with a similar climate

Reduced seasonal building activity in the construction sector is often assumed to be related to hard winter conditions for building activities and poor working conditions for construction workers, resulting in higher costs and poor quality of building products, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Can climatic conditions alone explain the sizeable difference in reduction in building activity in the construction sector in European countries in the winter months, or are other factors such as technology, economic cycles and schemes for financial compensation influential as well? What possibilities exist for reducing seasonal variation in employment? In addition to a literature review related to winter construction, European and national employment and meteorological data were studied. Finally, ministerial acts, ministerial orders or other public policy documents related to winter construction were scrutinized in order to identify and compare economic incentives and compensation schemes intended to increase winter working in construction in Denmark and other western European countries. Overall, economic development in the construction sector and the level of compensation or the duration of contracts for workers is more likely to explain differences in seasonal activity than climatic or technological factors.

Color of Whole‐Wheat Foods Prepared from a Bright‐White Hard Winter Wheat and the Phenolic Acids in Its Coarse Bran

The color of wheat kernels often impacts the color and thereby the value of wheat-based foods. A line of hard white winter wheat (B-W HW) with bright appearing kernels has been developed at the Kansas State Agricultural Research Center. The objective of this study was to compare the color of several foods made from the B-W HW wheat with those of 2 hard white wheat cultivars, Trego and Lakin. The B-W HW kernels showed higher lightness (L*, 57.6) than Trego (55.5) and Lakin (56.8), and the increased lightness was carried over to its bran and whole-wheat flour. Alkaline noodle and bread crumb made from the B-W HW whole-wheat flour showed slightly higher lightness (L*) than those made from Trego and Lakin. The sum of soluble and bound phenolics extracted from the 3 wheat brans, which had not been preextracted to remove lipids, was found to be 17.22 to 18.98 mg/g. The soluble phenolic acids in the brans were principally vanillic, ferulic, and syringic. The bound phenolic acids in the brans were dominated by ferulic, which accounted for 50.1% to 82.2% of total identified bound phenolic acids. Other bound phenolic acids were protocatechuic, caffeic, syringic, trans-cinnamic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric, and vanillic. The lightness (L*) values of coarse wheat brans correlated positively with their levels of bound protocatechuic (r = 0.72, P < 0.01) and p-hydroxybenzoic acids (r = 0.75, P < 0.01).

Starch Waxiness in Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by NIR Reflectance Spectroscopy

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs are currently developing varieties that are free of amylose (waxy wheat), as well as genetically intermediate (partial waxy) types. Successful introduction of waxy wheat varieties into commerce is predicated on a rapid methodology at the commodity point of sale that can test for the waxy condition. Near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy, one such technology, was applied to a diverse set of hard winter (hexaploid) wheat breeders' lines representing all eight genotypic combinations of alleles at the wx-A1, wx-B1, and wx-D1 loci. These loci encode granule-bound starch synthase, the enzyme responsible for amylose synthesis. Linear discriminant analysis of principal components scores 1-4 was successful in identifying the fully waxy samples at typically greater than 90% accuracy; however, accuracy was reduced for partial and wild-type genotypes. It is suggested that the spectral sensitivity to waxiness is due to (1) the lipid-amylose complex which diminishes with waxiness, (2) physical differences in endosperm that affect light scatter, or (3) changes in starch crystallinity.

Optimization of extraction of antioxidants from wheat bran (Triticum spp.) using response surface methodology

In this study, the optimal conditions for the extraction of antioxidants from hard winter wheat bran (WH711) were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). A central composite face centred design was used to investigate the effects of three independent variables, namely solvent composition (%v/v), extraction temperature (°C) and time (minutes) on the responses; free phenolic content (FPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), total antioxidant activity (TAA), ferric reducing power (FRP), hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (HPSA). Regression analysis showed that more than 90% of the variation was explained by the models of different responses. The optimal conditions for the antioxidantss extraction were found to be methanol concentration of 85%v/v, extraction temperature of 75°C, extraction time of 45min, for wheat bran. The experimental values of FPC, TFC, TAA, FRP and HPSA were 0.921mg GAE/g bran (B), 0.4588mg CE/g B, 0.01408mM AAE/g B, 2.532mM AAE/g B and 3.193mM TE/g B, respectively which agreed with those predicted, thus indicating suitability of the model employed and the suitability of RSM in optimizing the extraction conditions.

Registration of ‘Snowmass’ Wheat

‘Snowmass’ (Reg. No. CV‐1050, PI 658597) hard white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and released in July 2009 through a marketing agreement with the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. In addition to researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) and Kansas State University (KSU), USDA‐ARS researchers at Manhattan, KS, St. Paul, MN, and Pullman, WA, participated in its development. Snowmass was selected from the cross KS96HW94//‘Trego’/CO960293 made in 1999 at Fort Collins, CO, with the initial F1 between Trego and CO960293 made by KSU at Hays, KS. KS96HW94 is an unreleased experimental line from KSU with the pedigree ‘Arlin’ (PI 564246)/KS89H20. Trego is a hard white winter wheat cultivar released by KSU in 1999. CO960293 is an unreleased experimental line from CSU from which the germplasm release CO960293–2 was selected. Snowmass was selected as an F6:7 line in July 2006 and assigned experimental line number CO03W054–2. Snowmass was released because of its superior grain yield under nonirrigated production conditions in eastern Colorado; its resistance to Wheat streak mosaic virus, stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici), and stem rust (P. graminis f. sp. tritici); and its superior milling and bread‐baking quality.

Dryland Winter Wheat Yield, Grain Protein, and Soil Nitrogen Responses to Fertilizer and Biosolids Applications

Applications of biosolids were compared to inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer for two years at three locations in eastern Washington State, USA, with diverse rainfall and soft white, hard red, and hard white winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) cultivars. High rates of inorganic N tended to reduce yields, while grain protein responses to N rate were positive and linear for all wheat market classes. Biosolids produced 0 to 1400 kg ha−1(0 to 47%) higher grain yields than inorganic N. Wheat may have responded positively to nutrients other than N in the biosolids or to a metered N supply that limited vegetative growth and the potential for moisture stress-induced reductions in grain yield in these dryland production systems. Grain protein content with biosolids was either equal to or below grain protein with inorganic N, likely due to dilution of grain N from the higher yields achieved with biosolids. Results indicate the potential to improve dryland winter wheat yields with biosolids compared to inorganic N alone, but perhaps not to increase grain protein concentration of hard wheat when biosolids are applied immediately before planting.

Quality and Agronomic Effects of Three High‐Molecular‐Weight Glutenin Subunit Transgenic Events in Winter Wheat

ABSTRACTQuality and agronomic effects of three transgenic high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW‐GS) events were characterized in advanced‐generation breeding lines of hard winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in three Nebraska crop years. Two of the transgenic events studied, Dy10‐E and B52a‐6, overexpress HMW‐GS 1Dy10, while the third event, Dx5 +Dy10‐H, overexpresses HMW‐GS 1Dx5 and, to a much lesser extent, 1Dy10. In addition, novel proteins possessing solubility characteristics defined as HMW‐GS were present in Dx5+Dy10‐H and B52a‐6. Average grain yield of lines derived from the three transgenic events was statistically lower than that of a group of control cultivars and advanced breeding lines, but not lower than the mean values of respective nontransgenic siblings. Grain hardness was influenced by one of the events. Dx5+Dy10‐H produced harder kernels than controls, its nontransgenic siblings, and the two additional transgenic events. All three events produced doughs with unusual mixing properties, although not likely to be directly useful in commercial applications. As a consequence, loaf volumes were depressed to variable degrees by the three events. The results indicated that over‐expression of HMW‐GS could eventually lead to improved breadmaking quality by optimizing the level of overexpression or by development and characterization of additional events.

Multifractal analysis of China's agricultural commodity futures markets

Abstract We investigate the multifractal characteristics of the volatility time series from China's agricultural commodity futures markets, using Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis and multifractal spectrum analysis. We find that prominent multifractal features exit in China's major agricultural commodity futures markets, including the Hard Winter Wheat (HW) futures, the Strong Gluten Wheat (SG) futures, Soy Bean (SB) futures and corn futures. Furthermore, the multifractality strength and multifractal spectrum width of HW futures are both bigger than that of SG, SB and corn futures, implying that the market risk for HW futures might be the strongest among all the four futures contracts. Finally, comparing empirical results of shuffling and surrogate data, we also find that nonlinear temporal correlations instead of non-Gaussian distribution constitute the major contributions in the formation of multifractal features in these four agricultural commodity futures markets.

Protein and Quality Characterization of Complete and Partial Near‐Isogenic Lines of Waxy Wheat

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to evaluate protein composition and its effects on flour quality and physical dough test parameters using waxy wheat near‐isogenic lines. Partial waxy (single and double nulls) and waxy (null at all three waxy loci, Wx‐A1, Wx‐B1, and Wx‐D1) lines of N11 set (bread wheat) and Svevo (durum) were investigated. For protein composition, waxy wheats in this study had relatively lower albumins‐globulins than the hard winter wheat control. In the bread wheats (N11), dough strength as measured by mixograph peak dough development time (MDDT) (r = 0.75) and maximum resistance (Rmax) (r = 0.70) was significantly correlated with unextractable polymeric protein (UPP), whereas in durum wheats, moderate correlation was observed (r = 0.73 and 0.59, respectively). This may be due to the presence of high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW‐GS) Dx2+Dy12 at the Glu‐D1 locus instead of Dx5+Dy10, which are associated with dough strength. Significant correlation of initial loaf volume (ILV) to flour polymeric protein (FPP) (r = 0.75) and flour protein (FP) (r = 0.63) was found in bread wheats, whereas in durum wheats, a weak correlation of ILV was observed with FP (r = 0.09) and FPP (r =0.51). Significant correlation of ILV with FPP in bread wheats and with % polymeric protein (PPP) (r = 0.75) in durum lines indicates that this aspect of end‐use functionality is influenced by FPP and PPP, respectively, in these waxy wheat lines. High ILV was observed with 100% waxy wheat flour alone and was not affected by 50% blending with bread wheat flour. However, dark color and poor crumb structure was observed with 100% waxy flour, which was unacceptable to consumers. As the amylopectin content of the starch increases, loaf expansion increases but the crumb structure becomes increasingly unstable and collapses.

Ranching on the Right Side of History

Ike Blasingame had a good horse, a blood-bay gelding he called C Heart, under him that warm spring day of 1905 as he approached the east bank of the Missouri River. He considered the proposition of crossing the ice to get back to Matador headquarters on the west side, in the grazing lease on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The horse was shy of the honeycombed ice with pools of water on the surface, but Ike had liquored up in the cattle-shipping town of Evarts, and he spurred his mount across. He had stayed too long in town; he should have been back on the job. As things turned out, he was lucky he made it at all. The hardy horse clambered out of trouble again and again, at one point pulling himself out from a hip-deep immersion. “Both of us were thankful to get off that river,” recalled Ike, no stranger to dangerous scrapes. “By sundown, the ice burst apart, booming like a cannon as it split in a thousand directions.” Range memoirs, such as Ike Blasingame’s Dakota Cowboy,1 are fi lled with hair’s-breadth escapes from deadly peril and with second-guessing of decisions made at the time. Reading the broader history of the range cattle industry during its heyday on the northern plains likewise offers opportunity for second-guessing with benefi t of hindsight— always a dubious undertaking. Nevertheless, the chronicle fairly shouts a catalog of lessons for riders of the northern range in any generation of the livestock industry. The biggest lesson is this: do not let yourself get situated on the wrong side of things, like Ike did that day in 1905. The record of the livestock industry as to staying on the right side of history is checkered at best. Too often stockmen have been swamped by developments they ought to have foreseen and navigated. The fi rst problem in learning from the early experience of ranching on the northern plains is to overcome collective memory. Over time we, professional historians and the public together, have fashioned a grand narrative, a certain way of telling the story of the range, that does not necessarily refl ect what happened on the ground. Our grand narrative goes like this. The North American range cattle industry began in south Texas, being Hispanic in origin—its methods of handling cattle, its genetics both bovine and equine, and its very extensive nature. The Hispanic system of ranching, once co-opted by Anglos, became the Texas system. Following the Civil War the Texas system dispersed north with the long drive, whereby southern cattle were delivered to shipping points in Kansas and Nebraska. Longhorns not shipped east to packers or feeders were wintered or, once Indian confl icts had wound down, driven on north to mature and fatten as well as to establish breeding herds. These rangers, as the Texas longhorns were called, were the stock and trade of the Cattle Kingdom of the 1870s and 1880s. The Cattle Kingdom of Wyoming, Montana, and Dakota reached its pinnacle in the early 1880s. Prompted by such enthusiastic tracts as Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America (1885)2 by Walter Baron von Richthofen (uncle and godfather to the Red Baron, World War I fl ying ace), eastern and foreign investors poured capital into the cattle industry. The northern range became seriously overstocked. Then came the hard winter of 1886–1887. Following a droughty summer, cattle entered the winter in poor shape and with forage depleted. Winter arrived early, the blizzards came one after another, and temperatures were 40 below

Distribution of Rht Genes in Modern and Historic Winter Wheat Cultivars from the Eastern and Central USA

ABSTRACTOver 70% of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars grown worldwide have a semidwarf phenotype controlled by the major genes Rht‐B1, Rht‐D1, and Rht8c The objective of this study was to determine their frequency in a set of historic and modern soft and hard winter wheat cultivars grown in the central and eastern USA. Three hundred sixty‐two cultivars that were developed from 1808 to 2008 were evaluated with molecular markers for Rht‐B1, Rht‐D1, and Rht8c All cultivars released before 1964 (41 soft winter wheat and 6 hard winter wheat) had wild‐type (tall) alleles at all three loci. After introduction of the dwarfing genes, the percentage of tested lines carrying either Rht‐B1b or Rht‐D1b increased rapidly to greater than 90% of modern varieties. Among soft winter wheat cultivars, the Rht‐D1b dwarfing gene was the most frequent being present in 45% of all lines tested and Rht‐B1b was present in 28%, while in the hard winter wheat cultivars the Rht‐B1b allele is the most prevalent in 77% of lines. Only 8% of the hard cultivars tested had the Rht‐D1b allele. The presence of the 192‐base pair (bp) allele of the microsatellite marker Xgwm261 indicated that Rht8c was less frequently used as a source of dwarfing in U.S. winter wheat germplasm, being present in 8 and 3% of the soft winter wheat and the hard winter wheats, respectively. A number of modern cultivars were identified that did not carry any of the dwarfing genes assayed and may possess alternative reduced height genes.

Genetic Improvement in Winter Wheat Yields in the Great Plains of North America, 1959–2008

ABSTRACTData from USDA‐coordinated winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) regional performance nurseries collected over the time period 1959 to 2008 were used to estimate genetic gain (loss) in grain yield, grain volume weight, days to heading, and plant height in winter wheats adapted to the Great Plains of North America. In both the Southern Regional (SRPN) and Northern Regional Performance Nurseries (NRPN), linear regression revealed significant positive relationships between relative grain yields of advanced breeding lines and calendar year of the nursery trial. The estimated genetic gain in grain yield potential since 1959 was approximately 1.1% (of the control cultivar Kharkof) yr−1 for all entries in the SRPN, and 1.3% yr−1 if only the most productive entry was considered. For the NRPN, the estimates of genetic gain in grain yield were 0.79% yr−1 for all entries, and also 0.79% yr−1 for the most productive entry. Linear regressions of relative grain yields vs. year over the time period 1984 to 2008, however, showed no statistically significant trend in the SRPN. For the same time period in the NRPN, a statistically significant positive slope of 0.83 was observed, though the coefficient of determination (R2) was only 0.28. Relative grain yields of Great Plains hard winter wheats may have peaked in the early to mid‐1990s, and further improvement in the genetic potential for grain yield awaits some new technological or biological advance.

Do drastic weather effects on diet influence changes in chemical composition, mechanical properties and structure in deer antlers?

We attempted to determine why after an exceptionally hard winter deer antlers fractured more often than usual. We assessed mechanical properties, structural variables and mineral composition of deer antlers grown in a game estate (LM) after freezing temperatures (late winter frosts, LWF), which resulted in high incidence of antler fractures despite being grown later in the year, and those grown after a standard winter (SW). Within each year, specimens from broken and intact antlers were assessed. LWF was associated with reduced impact energy ( U) and somewhat reduced work to peak force ( W), Young's modulus ( E) and physical density, as well as cortical thickness. LWF was associated with considerably increased Si and reduced Na. In each year, broken antlers had lower Mn, P and physical density, and they had more Na and B than unbroken antlers. Because no such effect was found in farmed deer fed whole meal, and because freezing in plants usually produces an increase in Si content, which in turn reduces Mn, it is likely that LWF produced a diet rich in Si and low in Mn. Because antlers are grown transferring calcium phosphate from the own skeleton and Ca/P levels were slightly reduced, it seems likely that Mn reduction may have increased antler fractures. A comparison between farm deer and those in another game estate (LI) also shows a link between lower Mn content and lower W. Thus, small changes in minor bone minerals, probably induced by diet, may have marked effects in mechanical properties of bone.

“Old Indian Ways” of Predicting the Weather: Senator Robert S. Kerr and the Winter Predictions of 1950–51 and 1951–52

AbstractIn September 1950, U.S. Senator Robert S. Kerr (D-Oklahoma) wrote to Indian leaders across the United States in order to “make some determination with regard to whether or not we are going to have an early winter and whether or not we may expect a hard winter.” Even though he had access to U.S. Weather Bureau predictions and other scientific data, Kerr and his administrative assistant, Ben Dwight, a member of the Choctaw Nation and its onetime Principal Chief, wrote that they “would like to know what some of the Indians in the various sections of the nation think about our coming winter probabilities.” Kerr and Dwight indicated they had a “high regard for the old Indian ways of determining such things—because they are practical and have always been able to make some very accurate predictions.” From 33 letters sent to tribes in 1950 (including 9 to tribes in Oklahoma) 3 responses were known to have been received; a follow-up letter-writing campaign in October 1951 was more fruitful, producing 8 known responses. This paper examines the tribal responses and explores the life and possible motivations of Senator Kerr, an influential man on the U.S. political stage during 1949–63, in seeking this information. This research is part of a broader field investigation that seeks to understand how Native Americans in Oklahoma conceptualize weather and climate, including traditional ways, and how their knowledge is helping to inform new efforts to farm sustainably and create food sovereignty.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism that accounts for allelic variation in the Lr34 gene and leaf rust reaction in hard winter wheat

Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks, is one of the most common and persistent wheat diseases in the US Great Plains. We report that the Lr34 gene was mapped in the center of a QTL for leaf rust reaction and explained 18-35% of the total phenotypic variation in disease severity of adult plants in a Jagger x 2174 population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) field-tested for 3 years. The sequence of the complete Lr34 gene was determined for the susceptible Jagger allele and for the resistant 2174 allele. The two alleles had exactly the same sequence as the resistant allele reported previously in Chinese Spring at three polymorphic sites in intron 4, exon 11, and exon 12. A G/T polymorphism was found in exon 22, where a premature stop codon was found in the susceptible Jagger allele (Lr34E22s), confirming a previous report, due to a point mutation compared with the resistant 2174 allele (Lr34E22r). We have experimentally demonstrated a tight association between the point mutation at exon 22 of Lr34 and leaf rust susceptibility in a segregating biparental population. A PCR marker was developed to distinguish between the Lr34E22r and Lr34E22s alleles. A survey of 33 local hard winter wheat cultivars indicated that 7 cultivars carry the Lr34E22s allele and 26 cultivars carry the Lr34E22r allele. This study significantly improves our genetic understanding of allelic variation in the Lr34 gene and provides a functional molecular tool to improve leaf rust resistance in a major US wheat gene pool.