El6-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, February 16,1985
Cornell ag and life sciences
IDTHACA, N.Y. - What do the
following have in common?
The development of low-lactose
ice cream and opaque containers
to protect milk; techniques to
improve home lawns and predict
potholes; research to assess the
quality of Adirondack water
supplies, to bring back polluted
lakes, and to understand why most
Canada geese don’t migrate as far
as the Carolmas anymore; and
studies ranging from electric fish,
phosphorescent bacteria, and
annoying caddisflies to mites that
attack honey bees, and the
relationship of protein to cancer.
They are just a few of the wide
ranging research projects con
ducted last year in the New York
State College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences at Cornell Univer
sity. In addition to a focus on
agriculture and agricultural
economics, the College is devoted
to the life sciences, food
technology, nutrition, education,
and communication. Its research
reflects the scope and depth of
study that benefits consumers,
educators, and scientists in many
disciplines.
Cornell food scientists, for
example, have developed an ice
cream that is low in lactose, a milk
sugar that many people around the
globe cannot digest. The ice cream
has up to 75 percent less lactose
and 50 percent more protein than
normal.
Other Cornell food scientists
succeeded in developing an opaque
milk container that blocks the
penetration of light. The new
creamy-yellow plastic container
minimizes flavor and nutrient
losses that are common with glass
and transluscent plastic con
tainers.
Potholes cost American
motorists an estimated $4O billion
annually. If roads are repaired at
the right time, however, potholes
will not crop up on streets and
highways. In a Cornell highway
engineering study, a road test
device - the “Falling Weight
Deflectomter” (FWD) - was
proven effective in pinpointing
where, when, and how roads
should be repaired. Widespread
use of the device could result in
better quality roads and sub
stantially reduced maintenance
costs.
Two-thirds of the public and one
half of the private community
water systems in New York State’s
Adirondack Park have been
contaiminated by animal wastes in
recent years, a Cornell study
drevealed. Furthermore, many of
the community water systems are
seriously understaffed and soon
will be in need of major repairs. A
Cornell rural sociologist also found
that nearly half of the public and
two-thirds of the private water
systems are not tested for con
tamination at the required in
tervals.
As part of a larger Adirondack
Park study, a Cornell agricultural
economist determined that the
natural resources in the park are
critical to the survival of the
inhabitants of communities in
these majestic New York moun
tains. After wages and. social
security checks, the people of the
area rely on the natural resources
for food, fuel, and, in some cases, a
basic livelihood.
In a project aimed at alleviating
the problem of millions of moth
hke insects called “caddisflies”
that invade communities each
summer along the Niagara River
between Buffalo and Niagara
Falls, Cornell entomologists are
exploring several biological
control measures. Possible
solutions include the use of: “black
light” traps to lure.the critters and
research wide-ranging
kill them en masse; fish that prey
on the larvae dwelling on the rocky
river bottom; and a certain fungal
species that causes a disease
deadly to the bugs.
On other fronts, Cornell
researchers found a way to keep a
new kind of colorful flower - the
“Alstroemena” - blooming at any
time of the year. This paves the
way for year-round production of
this flower for consumers. Other
good news for home gardeners and
growers is an increase in pepper
yields - up to 2,000 bushels an
acre; that’s seven to ten tunes the
average yield in the northern parts
of the United States. A package of
cultural practices to boost the
pepper yield was perfected by a
Cornell scientist.
Some plants and
microorganisms enjoy peaceful
coexistence, a phenomenon known
as symbiosis. A Cornell scientist
discovered that a group of fungi
called VA mycorrhiza takes up
residence in the roots of many
types of lawn grasses, boosting the
growth of grasses even when soil is
poor in phosphorus and moisture.
Just how the fungus helps grass
grow remains a scientific puzzle,
but it may help home owners keep
their lawns greener and healthier
under low-maintenance conditions.
In another lawn study, Cornell
researchers successfully tracked
down the real culprit of Fusarium
blight, a major lawn disease that
creates ugly patches of dead
grasses in home lawns and golf
courses in summer. At least two
types of little known fungi turned
out to be the offenders. The finding
will enable scientists to devise
more effective control steps
against the disease.
While some animals use colors,
chemicals, chants, dances, and
displays of light to entice mates,
others, particularly certain fish,
literally “turn on” their
prospective sexual partners by
using electrical cues. These
electrical signals in fish are used
for more than courtship, though.
Some fish use electrical “songs” to
communicate aggression, sub
missiveness, species recognition,
and even for navigation, according
to discoveries by a Cornell
biologist.
Many fish shine an eerie blue
light in the black deep of the seas,
but some, unable to produce their
own light, rely on bacteria that
serve as living lanterns. An
organism called Photobactenm
fischen, for example, lights up the
sacs under the chins of Japanese
pinecone fish.
Other types of bacteria
illuminate areas on squids,
tunicates, flashlight fish, and
angler fish. The host fish use the
beacons of light to attract prey,
repel enemies, and communicate
with one another. In exchange for
the light, the fish provide free
“room and board” for the bac
teria.
Don’t drive heavy
equipment in wet fields
CHAMBERSBURG - Don't
drive heavy equipment in fields
that are wet Soil compaction
destroys soil structure and reduces
crop yields, states John Akers,
district conservationist with the
Chambersburg office of the USDA
Soil Conservation Service
One Franklin County farmer
reported a 20 percent reduction in
corn yield on a field where he had
spread manure during the winter
over a field where he did not
spread manure before
Depending on the type of soil and
Fifteen years ago, most sport
fish species in Lake Ontario were
on the verge of extinction due to
pollution, lamprey predation, and
over-exploitation by commercial
fishing. Today, the Great Lake is
one of the nation’s hot spots for
sportsfishing. To bolster this in
dustry, scientists from Cornell, the
New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
conducted one of the most com
prehensive studies ever un
dertaken to estimate angler use,
catch, and demographics in New
York’s water including Lake
Ontario, Lake Erie, the Niagara
River, and 25 tributaries.
Management recommendations
will be made this year.
Even though black and poor
children are overrepresented m
the lower tracks in schools, this
overrepresentation is not a result
of teacher bias, according to four
studies conducted by Cornell
educators. Results showed that the
ability of the children consistently
correlated with academic
grouping rather than with parental
socioeconomic status or race.
Also in the field of education, it
was found that the timing of a
student’s absence can have a
greater effect on his or her lear
ning than how often that student is
absent from school.
In the nutrition field, it was
found that eating one major meal a
day, rather than several smaller
ones, may play a role in promoting
certain kinds of cancer, par
ticularly cancer of the colon. A
Cornell nutritional biochemist also
linked low-protein diets with
cancer of the colon while the same
diet may protect against cancer of
the liver.
The more spouses talk to each
other as individuals and not as they
do to other people of the opposite
sex, the more successful the
marriage is likely to be, according
to a Cornell study on com
munication. theory. One of the
most important factors influencing
the quality of marital relation
ships, though, is the ability of
spouses to adapt to each other,
their relationships, and evolving
domestic contingencies.
For generations, tens of
thousands of Canada geese have
used the so-called Atlantic flyway
to migrate annually between
Canada and the Carolmas. For
reasons not well understood, the
geese now migrate shorter
distances and winter north of the
Carolmas. To find out why, a
Cornell wildlife biologist and
scientists from eight eastern states
are studying the migratory pattern
of these birds by marking more
than 30,000 Canada geese with
yellow neck collars and leg bands.
Bird watchers and hunters are
urged to report their sightings.
During 1984, more than 2,000
sightings were reported from as
far away as Quebec and Ontario
tillage done to the soil, it may take
up to seven years for nature to
return the soil to its uncompacted
condition Also letting crop
residues or planting cover crops
help to add organic matter to the
soil and improve soil structure to
minimize the problem of soil
compaction.
Anyone desiring information
about soil management techniques
to minimize soil compaction should
contact the SCS office at 550
Cleveland Avenue, Chambersburg,
phone 264-7013
See your nearest
HOLLAND
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and Dependable
Service:
Alexandria, PA
Clapper Farm
Equipment
Star Route
814-669-4465
Annville, PA
BHM Farm
Equipment, Inc
R D 1
717-867-2211
Beavertown, PA
B&R Farm
Equipment, Inc
RD 1, 80x217A
717-658-7024
Belleville, Pa.
IvanJ Zook
Farm Equipment
Belleville, Pa
717-935-2948
Carlisle, PA
Paul Shovers, Inc
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Chambersburg, PA
Clugston (
Implement, Inc
RD 1
717-263-4103
Davidsburg, PA
George N Gross, Inc
R D 2, Dover, PA
717-292-1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc
Rt 283 Rheem's Exit
717 367 1319
Everett, PA
C Paul Ford& Son
RD 1
814 652 2051
Gettysburg, PA
Ymgling Implements
R D 9
717 359 4848
Greencastle, PA
Meyers
Implement's Inc
400 N Antrim Way
PO Box 97
717 597-2176
Grove City, PA
McDowell Farm
Implement Co
Rt 173 North
814 786 7955
Halifax, PA
Sweigard Bros
R D 3, Box 13
717 896 3414
Hamburg, PA
Shartlesville
Farm Service
RD 1 80x1392
215 488 1025
Honey Brook, PA
Dependable Motor Co
East Main Street
215 273 3131
215 273 3737
Honey Grove, PA
Norman D Clark
& Son, Inc
Honey Grove, PA
717 734 3682
Hughesville, PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies, Inc
103 Cemetery Street
717 584 2106
Lancaster, PA
L H Brubaker, Inc
350 Strasburg Pike
717 397 5179
Lebanon, PA
Keller Bros
T ractor Co
RD 7, Box 405
717 949 6501
Lititz, PA
Roy A Brubaker
700 Woodcrest Av
717-626-7766
Loysville, PA
Paul Shovers, Inc
Loysville, PA
717-789-3117
Lynnport, PA
Kermit K Kistler, Inc
Lynnport, PA
215 298-2011
Martinsburg, PA
Forshey's, Inc
HOForshey St*
814-793-3791
Mill Hall, PA
Paul A Dotterer
RD 1
717 726-3471
New Holland, PA
ABC Groff, Inc
110 South Railroad
717 354-4191
New Park, PA
MSR Equipment Inc
P O Box 16
717 993-2511
Oley, PA
C J Wonsidler Bros
R D 2
215-987-6257
Pitman. PA
Marlin W Schreffler
Pitman, PA
717 648-1120
Quakertown, PA
CJ Wonsidler Bros
RD 1
215 536 1935
Quarryville, PA
C E WileyS Son, Inc
101 South Lime Street
717 786 2895
Ringtown, PA
Rmgtown Farm
Equipment
Ringtown, PA
717 889 3184
Silverdale, PA
I G Sales
Box 149
215 257 5135
Tamaqua, PA
Charles S Snyder Inc
R D 3
717 386 5945
Troy, PA
Warner Tractor
& Equipment Inc
Troy PA
717 297 2141
West Chester, PA
M S Yearsley & Son
114 116 East
Market Street
215 696 2990
West Grove, PA
SG Lewis & Son, Inc
R D 2, Box 66
215 869-2214
Churchville, MD
Walter G Coale, Inc
2849 53
Churchville Rd
301 734 7722
Rising Sun, MD
Ag Ind
Equipment Co . Inc
1207 Telegraph Rd
301-398-6132
301 658-5568
215 869 3542
Washington, NJ
Frank Rymon & Sons
201 689 1464
Woodstown, NJ
Owen Supply Co
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609-769 0308