Newspapers / West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, … / Feb. 9, 1989, edition 1 / Page 6
Part of West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
PAGE 6 — WEST CRAVEN HIGHLIGHTS — FEBRUARY ». 1 State Scientists Collects Foreign Corn To Save For Rainy Day For four yean a cramped office on the North Carolina State Uni- venity campus has been the un likely headquarten for an inter national “rescue” operation, with tentacles stretching to Peru, Columbia, Mexico. Heading the operation is a soft- spoken, self-effacing scientist: Dr. Major M. Goodman. The ob ject of Goodman’s attention, the reason the scientist travels to Latin America once or twice a year, where he has the authority to dote out thousands of dollars, is com. Since 198S Goodman has directed a U.S. Department of Agriculture program aimed at collecting and preserving what plant briers call maize germ- plasm, essentially seeds of diffe rent varieties, or races, of com found in Latin America. The success Goodman has en joyed in this effort is part of the reason the North Carolina Agri cultural Research Service scien- Bassin* tist was awarded the prestigious O. Max Gardner Award in 1987 and named a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Profes sor last year. The Gardner award, which goes to faculty members Judged to have made "the greatest contribution to the wel fare of the human race,” is the only statewide honor given by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Why should anyone go to the trouble, much less expense, of collecting Latin American com? Surely the high-yielding hybrid varieties of com grown in the Un ited States are vastly superior to Latin American varieties. "Basically, it’s an insurance policy,” says Goodman of Latin American corn. "If you have good luck, you don’t need it.” But when a farmer's luck turns bad — when, say, a new insect or new disease suddenly decimates existing corn varieties — varieties of com like those found in Latin America can be priceless to crop breeders. The Latin American varieties contain tremendous genetic di versity, Goodman explains. Re sistance to insects or diseases never encountered by com grow ers may be locked within Latin American com. If a new disease were to suddenly sweep through the cornfields of the United States, a variety of Latin Amer ican corn might well hold the genetic antidote. Indeed, Goodman points out that endless tropical summers expose plants endlessly to in sects and disease. As a result, Latin American corn varieties tend to develop greater resist ance to insects and disease. The North American winter gives plants something of a respite ftom insects and disease, lessen ing the need for plants to develop resistance. ”It’s very important to have re serve genetic materials available and ready for use," says Goodman. But those materials, at least from Latin American corn varieties, weren’t available in 19A5. Hist's when Goodman — reluctantly, as he tells it—set out to rectify the situation. Goodman first became in terested in the availability of Latin American com races in the late 1960s, when he tried to obtain some of the varieties for a collection and to study. He assumed they would readily available. They weren’t. The problem was poverty. Latin American countries didn’t have the resources to devote to the upkeep of germplasm collec tions. Collections throughout Latin America were "dying of poverty," according to Goodman. “They hadn’t shipped any seed in years, because they couldn’t afford the postage,” he add^. Goodman wasn’t the only North American scientist to dis cover the poor condition of Latin American germplasm collec tions. Other scientists also were becoming concerned, although it was a decade later before that concern mounted to the point aiwone did anything about it In 1980 a USDA committee was appointed. Goodman served first as co-chairman then as chairman of the Maize Crop Advisory Committee. The com mittee detailed a plan to assure the survival of the varieties in the Latin American collections by including samples of these varieties in U.S. germplasm col lections. The plan was presented to and approved by'USDA’s National Plant Genetic Resources Board at what Goodman recalls as "an exceedingly boring committee meeting.” "I trotted back to Raleigh thinking USDA was going to take care of it. I forgot it. It was a USDA plan,” says Goodman. No thing happened at first, but over a year later Goodman was con tacted by USDA officials. Money was available to implement the plan, but there was no one avail able to do it. Would Goodman take on the assignment? “It was put up or shut up,” he says. He put up. Goodman has arranged con tracts with germplasm collec tions in Peru, Colombia and Mexico under which seed for va rious com varieties is produced and sent to USDA germplasm banks in Ames, Iowa and IT. Col lins, Colo. Thus far seed for over 2,300 varieties has been received. Goodman estimates the major portion of the program will last three more years, at which point, “we'U have most everything they have.” He describes his role in the program as “mostly paper shuf fling, balancing budgets. Red Fire Ants Annoy with the pros Farmers In County ASCS Notes Contrary to what many anglers believe, not all largemouth bass hibernate in un-catchable depths during the winter. On some lakes, the fish actual ly stay shallow - or perhaps move shallow at certain times - during the coldest temperatures. “There are several shallow wa ter winter patterns anglers should investigate before giving up and heading to deeper depths,” explains David Whar ton, a member of the Johnson Outboards Pro Stafl and long time guide on Sam Rayburn Re servoir in Texas. “Tributary creeks, vegetation, and riprap often hold fish in shal low water, if not throughout the winter, at least during part of it. Much, of course, depends on what else is available for the bass, but I strongly recommend flsher- men look for these first if they want to stay in shallow water.” Winter vegetation is more com mon on Sun Belt lakes, says Wharton, and even though the cold weather kills the greenery on the surface, the grass con tinues to grow underwater. Anglers can find it by studying a depthflnder and concentrating along deeper flats, in sheltered bays and coves, and wherever the vegetation may have been present earlier in the year. "Water with vegetation is usually slightly warmer,” ex plains the well-known Johnson Outboards pro, “so the fish are a little more active and chase a lure better. Grass also provides shel ter for baitfish, which always attract larger predators like bass.” Effective grass lures include crankbaits. Jigs, and possibly even topwater plugs if the water is shallow and the greenery, such A priest announced, “Everyb^ in this parish wili one day die.” A man iaughed, and the priest asked, “What’s so funny?” “I’m a Protestant," he replied, "and I'm not from your parish." But Catholics and Protestants, all must die. If you’re not ready to die, don’t stay at home. Twenty-six percent of all accidenfs happen there. Don’t walk, sail, ride or fly; that results in forty percent of all accidents. Don’t indulge In sports, they cause twenty percent of all accidents. Don’t do anything or go anywhere, for miscellaneous ac cidents will get you. But you can "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” BUY UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS For the current rate call 1-800- US-BONDSJ as moss, is thick and does grow to the surface. In most instances, the lures do need to be worked slower and more deliberately. Stop-and-go retrieves are among the best to use. “Another option for shallow water wrinter fishing is to work tributary creeks,” adds Wharton. “What you’re doing when you fish a creek is simply eliminate the deep water option for bass. Some bass will live their entire lives in the same tributary and never leave, regardless of the conditions.” Wharton believes the best win ter creeks are those that have good spawning areas in them, and which have abundant cover. He always chooses one on the lower end of a lake where the wa ter will probably be slightly deeper, and one on the north shoreline of the lake because it receives the most sunlight each day. “Start at the back of this creek and work your way out. Ashing crankbaits or a jig with a pork chunk attached. Keep your boat in the middle of the creek chan nel and fish both edges, but re member to cast directly ahead of you into the channel itself, too” says Wharton. “With these lures you can effectively cover a variety of depths, and once you do estab lish a depth pattern, you can generally go to other creeks and catch bass in them at that same depth.” Riprap, as well as large rocks and boulders, may also hold bass shallow in winter, according to the Johnson Outboards pro. The rocks absorb heat from sunlight and firequently have algae grow ing on them. This attracts bait, which in turn, brings in bass. On windy days, riprap also collects wind-blown algae, which also draws both bait and bass. “You can fish riprap and rocks with a deep crankbait, casting at an angle so your lure comes down and across them. A big spinnerbait will also generate strikes. Look for little breaks in the rocks, places where logs or debris may have lodged, or cor ners in the riprap, and work them thoroughly.” Red imported fire ants current ly inhabit 14 southeastern coun ties in North Carolina, from Robeson County in the west to Beaufort County in the north. The pest is annoying to house holders because it often inter feres with outdoor activities. fTre ants construct ugly mounds in lawns and respond to disturb ances with painfiil stings. The stings leave a postule for a week and often a scar for several months. Also, some people are allergic to the stings and require immediate medical attention when stung. The pest is also a nuisance to farmers since it may annoy lives tock and farm workers, and the ant mounds present a hazard to harvesting machinery. Although young animals and plants are occasionally attacked, damage to livestock and crops appear to be minimal. Red imported fire ants are red dish to dark brown and from a to '4 inch long. A mound which contains a large ant colony mea sures about 2 feet across, 18 in ches high and contains about 100,000 ants. Satisfactory control depends upon killing the queen ant in each mound. This is often diffi cult because she is well protected within the mound. Five pesticides — Dursban, Orthene, Diazinon, Amdro and Affirm — are available for home and landowner control of im ported fire ants. These pesticides should be used according to any control directions on the pack age label. When using Dursban, Orthene, or Diazinon, best control will re sult if each mound is completely saturated with spray mixture. About two quarts of liquid per six inches of mound diameter are required. Apply the liquid slowly Extension Newsletter to an undisturbed mound, allow ing it to run into the mound in terior through the tunnels that appear when the mound surface is washed away. An area of one to two feet around the mound should also be thoroughly treated. Retreatment may be required if new mounds appear or if living ants are found in the treated mound three weeks after the treatment. Best control can be obtained on warm days in spring or fall when ants are active. Control is difficult to obtain during very hot summer months since the ants remain deep within their mounds and are harder to reach with pesti cides. An ant bait, Amdro, or Affirm can be applied directly to fire andt mounds or broadcast over infested lawns, pastures or other non-croplands according to directions on the package label. Because Amdro and Affirm rapidly breaks down in fiill sun light, applications of the bait should be made when possible in early evening. To help keep the bait fresh, the bag containing un used bait should be tightly sealed. Affirm and Amdro are slow- acting. A visible reduction in the number of ants inhabiting tre ated mounds will not occur until three or four weeks after the ap plication of bait. Complete kill of treated mounds may t^e several months. When immediate kill of fire ants is needed in play grounds, residential lawn areas and other human high-rise areas, a mound drench should be used. ASCS Stair The eighth signup for the Con servation Reserve Program will take place through Feb. 24. Those who have highly erodl- ble land may qualify for the Con servation Reserve Program if the land meets the qualifications necessary for eligibility. Just recently, the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture aimounced that some cropped wetlands and cropland subject to scour erosion will now be eligible for the program. These lands will only be eligi ble for the program if the they were cropped in two of the five crop years from 1981 to 1985. To be eligible, the land must be scoured with erosion caused by out-of-bonds water flows which can be expected to flood at least once every 10 years. The migority of the land is lo cated in the north central states or in the Mississippi flood plain. However, there are areas of Craven County which have been eligible for the program in the past. If a person believes he has highly erodible land and wishes to submit a bid for participation, he may do so. The Soil Conservation Service will determine whether the land in question will be eligible for the 10-year program. If eligible, the land cem be en tered into the program for 10 years. Trees or permanent cover must be established and main tained for that period of time. The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service will pay cost-share assistance to establish the applicable cover. Also, the government will pay the landowner rent for the 10 years the program is out of pro duction. The rent is based on the bid submitted by the applicant. Other practices in which ASCS helps with cost-share assistance are; water control structures, wa ter reservoirs, animal waste con trol facilities, sod waterways, cropland protective cover, diver sions, no-till, shallow water areas for wildlife and tree planting. Landowners may apply for any of the above-mentioned prac tices, and if deemed eligible, may receive cost share assistance. Cover crop eligibility is open to ali tobacco and peanut produc ers. Signup periods end March 15 for the no-till and Sept. 13 for the cover crop. ^ Reminder The signup period for the 10 to 25 percent soybean-sunflower provision of the wheat and feed grain programs ends tomorrow. ' Don t miss it! Only 99 cents buys you a first week's rent. Come in today and take advantage of the 99 CENTS RENTS SPECIAL on major brand Appliances, Stereos, VCRs, TVs & Furniture. lillCETHEFICIS: HiUeSMHEftlKiUlEIID Partnersliip for a Drug-Free America. people read classified RENT - TO - OWN No Credit Check No Maintenance Cost Pree Deliver2,&Installation E N T A COMPANY Two Locations To Serve You! 1419 Tatum Drive Next to Piggly Wiggly New Bern 638-2437 Westbrooke Shopping Center Havelock 447-9400 SUnON’S CLOVER FARM VANCEBORO WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ERRORS 244-0733 - Wt WILCOMIWIO A FOOD STAMFS ■ WB RBSBRVB THB RHIHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIBS 42 OS. BOX WITH BLIACH TIDE DETERSENT SAUSASE .u.1.29 kltb LIVER ^49 IWBFACKBDI^d^ p- PUDDINR AH HAWAIIAN 4 ROLL ANOiL SOFT BATHROOM TISSUE liOX. JAR RITIR RAN KMUT BUTTER UiMRiliUlGE. 92 OX. JAR OUKBS mwarnr: .99 laamiir .99 uiiaiiinraii!r:^i.29 4/1) OIL 4aOZ.BOTTLB WISSON lOX FINB PMB SOS CAN DBL MONTI SOSCANSTOKBLVS WHOLE KERNEL BOLDEN CORN, CUT OREEN BEANS, CREAM STYLE 6DLDEN CORN 8LB.eAa noLLmeMAMnoN FLOUR 1.
West Craven Highlights (Vanceboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 9, 1989, edition 1
6
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75