Agronomy and Soils (AGRN)
Joe Touchton, Head
334-844-4100
www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn
Graduate Student Wins Poster Award
Vijay Loganathan, a graduate student working under the direction of agronomy and soils Associate Professor Yucheng Feng, won third place in the Minority Students Poster Contest of the 2005 American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America annual meetings. The title of his poster was "Effect of char on sorption and description characteristics of atrazine in soils."
The yearly meetings of these three organizations bring together 4,000-plus people from 40 countries representing academia, government and private industry, including a large contingent of undergraduate and graduate students.
Former AU Soils Judging Coach Honored
Ben Hajek, professor emeritus of agronomy and soils and former coach for the AU Soils Judging Team, was honored recently by his former soil judging team members who dedicated a commemorative brick in his name at Ag Heritage Park.
Hajek (pictured fourth from right) retired in 1995 but has remained active on the AGR faculty. Pictured with Hajek are his sons and wife, Rosalee, as well as Steve Musser (far left), a former judging team member who helped organize the brick dedication, and AU College of Ag Dean Richard Guthire (third from right).
Poultry Science (POUL)
Don Conner, Head
334-844-4133
www.ag.auburn.edu/poul
Macklin Hired as Extension Poultry Health Specialist and Assistant Professor
Ken Macklin has been appointed Extension poultry health specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Poultry Science.
Macklin's primary responsibility will be assisting in protecting the health status of poultry flocks throughout the state. To accomplish that goal he will develop and deliver educational programs to all responsible parties; consult in the areas of biosecurity, disease diagnosis, disease surveillance, feed additive selection, quality control measures, immunization, integrated health management, microbiological monitoring and quality control measures; and present information dealing with infectious disease surveillance, etiology, epidemiology and control.
Macklin has been a research associate/research fellow in the department since 1996 and held a temporary Extension poultry health assignment from 2004 to 2005. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Northern Illinois University in zoology and avian immunogenetics, respectively. In 2003, Macklin received his Ph.D. in avian diseases from Auburn University. Over the last nine years, he has worked with the Alabama poultry industry and State Diagnostic Lab System on issues ranging from cellulitis and gangrenous dermatitis control to ways in improving litter quality. Additionally, he taught sections of courses dealing with immunology and molecular techniques.
Horticulture (HORT)
Dave Williams, Chair
334-844-4862
www.ag.auburn.edu/hort
Students Claim Top Honors
Two AU Department of Horticulture graduate students who graduated in December 2005 claimed top honors in student research competition held during the International Plant Propagators' Society-Southern Region's annual meeting in Gainesville, Fla., last fall.
Adam Newby earned first place and $1,000 for his presentation on his research evaluating quinoclamine and diuron for postemergence control of liverwort, and Ben Richardson won second place and $500 for his work on a non-chemical alternative for weed control in nursery crops grown in large containers. Both Newby and Richardson worked under the direction of HF Professor Charles Gilliam.
For the competition, students from universities across the South submitted papers on their research, and IPPS-Southern Region selected the top two—Newby and Richardson—to give oral presentations.
Williams New Department Head
David Williams
J. David Williams, an AU HORT alumnus and a 15-year veteran of the faculty, has been named horticulture department head.
Williams succeeds Charles Gilliam, who had served for five years as de-partmentchair. Gilliam has returned to his faculty position, where he focuses on ornamental production research. Williams' appointment marks the department's transition from a chair to a head system of leadership.
Williams earned his bachelor's degree in landscape and ornamental horticulture and his master's in horticulture from Auburn in 1980 and 1985, respectively, and his Ph.D. in horticulture from The Ohio State University in 1991. He joined the AU faculty that same year.
While at Auburn, Williams' re-sponsibilities have been divided between Extension and the classroom. He won the College of Agriculture Dean's Awards for Teaching Excellence in 2000 and advising excellence in 2005, and he received the alumni undergraduate teaching excellence award from the AU Alumni Association in 2002.
Williams said that in his new role, one of his priorities will be to ensure that the department continues to meet the growing needs of the state's booming, $1.9 billion green industry, providing the research, the extended learning opportunities and the qualified workforce that it demands.
"We also have strong ties with Alabama's fruit and vegetable producers, and I look forward to being part of the future of these critical segments of horticulture," he said.
Biosystems Engineering (BSEN)
Steve Taylor, Head
334-844-4180
www.eng.auburn.edu/programs/bsen
BSEN Exploring Energy Alternatives for Agriculture
Tim McDonald gives an interview to
Channel 9 news from Columbus, Ga.
Is it possible to generate electrical power using recycled cooking oil? Well, at a recent Extension field day in Geneva County, Auburn University faculty showed that you can with relative ease.
Tim McDonald, BSEN associate professor; Shannon Vinyard, owner of Vinyard Technologies and an affiliate faculty member in BSEN; Mark Hall, regional Alabama Cooperative Extension System agent; and Mary Baltikauski, Geneva County Extension coordinator, showcased alternative energy technologies to agricultural producers on Nov. 10 in Hartford.
The event demonstrated how an induction generator powered by a diesel engine can provide electricity to poultry houses. The diesel engines were fueled by recycled vegetable oil collected from restaurants. Several local farmers and students from Geneva County High School attended the event. The group also observed how methane can be produced from fish waste collected in a recirculating aquaculture system.
BSEN Professor Jim Donald, AEC Professor Gene Simpson and BSEN Program Assistant Jess Campbell installed a PELCO boiler on the Michael Mosley broiler farm near Ramer in Montgomery County. The Mosleys grow broilers for Sylvest Farms and have eight broiler houses. The engineers estimate that the boiler, which will be burning a mixture of coal and broiler litter, will reduce the Mosley's energy bills by more than 50 percent. This project is being conducted as part of the 2005-2006 poultry waste special funding initiative.
Similar uses of waste oil and biomass energy will be employed in an innovative combination of aquaculture and horticulture systems. A project funded by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs will show how high-value fish can be grown year-round in a greenhouse heated by these alternate energy sources. Waste water from the aquaculture system will then be used in a companion greenhouse producing high-value horticultural crops. This multidisciplinary project is being led by Jesse Chappell, assistant professor of fisheries and allied aquacultures; Joe Kemble, professor of horticulture; and Oladiran Fasina, assistant professor of BSEN.
Solar energy is the key to another horticulture project being conducted by Regional Extension Agent Stan Roark and Fasina. This demonstration project is using solar energy to heat water that will then be used to provide space heat for a greenhouse producing tomatoes. All of these energy-related projects are helping develop and refine technologies so Alabama farmers can stay competitive by finding new markets for their products and by reducing energy costs in their operations.
BSEN Faculty Working on Water and Environmental Issues
Shannon Vinyard discusses fuel
system components needed to burn
recycled vegetable oil in a diesel engine.
Several BSEN research and extension efforts are under way to help protect and preserve our environment. BSEN professor Ted Tyson recently attended the CSREES Southern Region Water Quality Conference in Lexington, Ky., and presented a paper titled "A WebCT-based Certified Animal Waste Vendor Training and Education Verification Program." BSEN assistant professor Mark Dougherty is working with Charlene LeBleu, assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction; Agronomy and soils program assistant Eve Brantley; and Christy Francis, curator of AU's Donald E. Davis Arboretum, on a project entitled "Evaluating Bioretention Nutrient Removal in a Rain Garden with an Internal Water Storage Layer."
This project will design and construct two bioretention areas at the arboretum. The bioretention areas (or rain gardens) will be used to trap stormwater runoff from the surrounding urban area for later use as irrigation water. The research team will monitor the bioretention areas to document how efficiently they remove pollutants from the water. Information from this study is critical for communities that are working to meet state and federal water quality regulations. The research is funded by the Auburn University Environmental Institute.
The fate and transport of antibiotics in the environment is the subject of another project funded by the Environmental Institute. BSEN assistant professor Puneet Srivastava and agronomy and soils professors Jacob Dane and Yucheng Feng are investigating what happens to veterinary antimicrobials when they come in contact with the soil. The project is entitled "The Fate, Transport, and Effects of Veterinary Antimicrobial Mixtures in the Environment."
BSEN professor Kyung Yoo visited Kangwon National University in South Korea for one month in the fall 2005. During his visit, he taught an intensive short course in water conservation engineering to graduate students and he presented a paper on water and disasters at the 2005 Choonchun Water Forum in the city of Choonchun, Korea. Choonchun is the capital of Kangwon province in northeastern South Korea.
BSEN associate professor Tim McDonald was one of the speakers at a recent continuing education meeting for loggers sponsored by the Southern Forest Engineering Center. McDonald and Emily Carter, who is with the USDA Forest Service and is an affiliate assistant professor in BSEN, discussed reducing environmental impacts in logging using cut-to-length harvesting systems.
New Value-Added Uses for Agricultural Products Focus of Project
A large team of researchers is taking a new look at making poultry litter into a valuable product. The project is entitled “A Systems Approach to Sustain and Stimulate the Agricultural Economy of Alabama: Optimal On- and Off-farm Management of Poultry Litter.” The research team, led by BSEN assistant professor John Fulton, includes animal sciences professors Frank Owsley and Russ Muntifering, BSEN assistant professors Puneet Srivastava and Oladiran Fasina, entomology and plant pathology professor Henry Fadamiro, agronomy and soils professors Wes Wood, Yucheng Feng, Joey Shaw and Edzard van Santen and regional Alabama Cooperative Extension Agent Mike Davis.
Two other research efforts are developing new value-added products for the catfish industry. BSEN assistant professor Yifen Wang is developing new food products using smoked catfish. The goal is to create safe and nutritious smoked fish products that can be prepared quickly and even be consumed as snack foods or party fare. Another project by Wang is creating new techniques to utilize catfish skins as a gelatin source. Currently, most gelatin for food and pharmaceutical use is derived from beef or pork sources. However, there are various food safety and cultural reasons to create an alternate source of gelatin. All of these engineering projects are adding value to our abundant supply of agricultural commodities.
Student News
BSEN students and faculty members of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers have been busy in recent months. In December, faculty and students toured the new Hyundai automotive complex in Montgomery. At the same meeting, AU student members of ASABE presented their recent activities to the professional members. The students showcased their participation in the 2005 International ASABE meeting, their recent social activities on campus, and the design and development activities of the ¼-scale tractor design team.
BSEN students also hosted a joint student-faculty bowling night in October where 25 students and faculty shared in a great evening of fellowship. The ASABE Student Branch is gearing up for a busy spring to include their annual lawnmower clinic, travel to the southeast regional ASABE student rally and participation in the ASABE ¼-scale tractor design competition. The usual sounds of students and faculty in the Tom Corley Building are being complemented by hammers and saws as spring semester progresses. Construction is under way on a renovated computer laboratory for BSEN students.
The laboratory will get updated furniture, electrical and data lines, heating and air conditioning systems and multimedia equipment. This laboratory is used extensively by BSEN students and by students from across the AU campus who enroll in courses such as the BSEN geospatial technologies (GPS and GIS) course or the turf irrigation design course. Other funding has been received to upgrade existing study area space and create a student design studio. Improved furniture and work spaces will be created to allow students in design teams to have dedicated space where they can work together on their design projects.
Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTM)
Art Appel, Chair
334-844-5006
www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl
Mullen Chosen as Draughon Lecturer for Arts and Humanities
Gary Mullen displays prints of native
insects that were illustrated by Phillip br />Henry Gosse when he lived in Alabama.
Entomology and plant pathology professor Gary Mullen has been selected by the Auburn University Center for the Arts and Humanities as its 2006 Draughon lecturer. The Draughon Seminars in State and Local History series is an annual Center offering that brings new research in Alabama history to public audiences.
Mullen’s topic is the Alabama chapter in the life and work of 19th-century naturalist and artist Phillip Henry Gosse. While a young man, Gosse, a native of England, spent a brief but very formative time in the Black Belt region of Dallas County in the 1830s. There he studied and beautifully illustrated native insects and flora. As an entomologist with a keen interest in Alabama history, Mullen brings a unique perspective and expertise to his subject, which will be the topic of lectures at libraries, schools and other public venues throughout the year.
The Draughon Seminar series is funded by the Kelly Mosley Endowment in honor of Ralph B. Draughon, president of AU from 1947 to 1965. Draughon was a historian with a deep commitment to both state history and public education. The seminars are offered free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis. To book a program or for more information, call 334-844-4946 or visit the center’s Web site at www.auburn.edu/cah.
Student and Faculty Accomplishments
Konasale Anilkumar, a graduate student under the direction of ENTPLP professor Bill Moar, recently won first place as the outstanding oral presenter in the Gary A. Herzog Ph.D. student competition, in the Cotton Insect Research and Control Conference at the 2006 Beltwide Cotton Conference held Jan. 3-6. Anilkumar’s presentation title was “Differential rate of resistance development to Bt Cry1Ac in cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) when selected using MVPII and activated toxin.”
Qiang Xu, a graduate student working with ENTPLP associate professor Nannan Liu, won first place in the poster section of the 2005 Entomological Society of America annual meeting last December in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The title of the poster was: “Transcriptional Regulation: A Novel Mechanism of kdr-Mediated Pyrethroid Resistance in the Mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus.”
William (Bill) Gazaway, emeritus professor of plant pathology, was recently elected to the first Farm Press Researchers Hall of Fame. In the Farm Press writeup, Gazaway is described as having “... the respect of everyone in the cotton industry for his extensive field research and tireless efforts on behalf of farmers.”
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology (AGEC)
Curtis Jolly, Interim Head
334-844-4800
www.ag.auburn.edu/agec
Faculty Accomplishments
Valentina Hartarska
Henry Kinnucan, an AEC professor, presented an invited paper at the international Globalization and Chinese Agriculture Conference held in September in Beijing, China. The conference was cosponsored by the College of Economics and Management and Center for Rural Development Policy, China Agricultural University. In October 2005 he also taught a short course in Applied Demand Analysis at the University of Tromso, Norway.
Valentina Hartarska, assistant professor of AEC, received a competitive fellowship from the Center for Financial Researchatthe FederalDeposit InsuranceCor-poration to study CommunityDe-velopment Finan-cial Institutions. Nationwide, eight projectswere awardedthis fellowshipin 2005. Hartarska’s research focuses on how governance structures affect CDFIs’ performance. In September 2005 she presented her preliminary findings at a seminar at the headquarters of the FDIC in Washington, D.C.
AEC professor Conner Bailey and forestry and wildlife science professor Mark Dubois will present an exhibit in February during the 2006 Agricultural Science and Education Exhibition/Reception on Capitol Hill on “Forestry and Community: Creating Local Markets for Local Resources.”
Animal Sciences
Wayne Greene, Head
334-844-4160
www.ag.auburn.edu/ansc
Patenting Porchetta
Auburn University has applied for a provisional patent on the porchetta production process. The process was developed by retired AS professor Bill Jones, who is working with the College and department on the porchetta project, and his associates at the AU Meats Lab, including Susan Dale, Carla Shoemaker-Hopkins and Alessandro Fratarcangeli.
Porchetta is a gourmet Italian pork product that, up until AU began producing it in 2004, for centuries had been available only in the city of Ariccia, Italy. It is a completely deboned whole pig or loin and belly that’s seasoned with a secret blend of herbs and spices, then rolled and tied by hand and roasted at high temperatures in a specially designed oven for several hours, until the skin is crisp and the meat is moist and tender. The patent is on the tying, cooking and chill-down processes involved in producing porchetta.
Meanwhile, national sales of Porchetta Originale, as the AU product is marketed, are progressing well. Porchetta Originale has been or is being sold to high-end restaurants in Florida, California, New York and 23 other states and soon will enter the Canadian market. It also can be purchased at the AU Meats Lab.
Jones, who perfected the porchetta production process at Auburn, says plans are to continue marketing porchetta through 2006 and then to evaluate the product’s status and opportunities for growth to determine whether production should expand.
Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture (FISH)
David Rouse, Interim Head
334-844-4786
www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/faa/
Rouse Named FAA Head
David Rouse
CoAg Dean Richard Guthrie has announced the appointment of David Rouse as head of the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures. Rouse, who had served as interim department head for the past three years, has been on the Auburn faculty for 24 years. He is an alumnus of FAA, earning his bachelor’s degree in marine biology and his master’s in fisheries in 1971 and 1973, respectively. After working several years for the State of Alabama as a water pollution control biologist, he moved to College Station, Texas, where he received his doctorate in aquaculture from Texas A&M in 1981, and then returned to Auburn to a faculty position.
He was selected permanent department head following a national search. As a professor, Rouse currently teaches a graduate-level aquaculture course and directs graduate and post-graduate student research. His own research efforts as an Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station scientist focus on crustacean and molluscan aquaculture.
In his role as permanent department head, Rouse said his priorities will include upgrading outdated facilities, boosting the department’s focus on water quality issues and recruiting top-quality faculty to fill the voids left by numerous key faculty members who are retiring.
First Adaptive Management Implemented in Southeast on Tallapoosa River
Mickett and Irwin
Kathryn Mickett, a research associate with the Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Elise Irwin, associate professor and assistant unit leader for the U. S. Geological Survey, Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit—both of whom are affiliated with the CoAg Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures—have helped to develop an adaptive management plan for the Tallapoosa River in Alabama. Alabama’s rivers have a huge impact on the state as sources of revenue, recreation and environmental diversity. Managing these rivers is no easy task because there are so many competing demands and interest groups involved in making decisions about the state’s river systems.
Adaptive management is a relatively new approach to river management. Its goal is to restore river systems to an optimal state by taking into consideration the needs of the many stakeholders who lay claim to the rivers’ resources. Adaptive management strives to resolve conflicts among competing uses of water while also dealing with uncertainty about how river ecosystems respond to alternative management actions, and it has the potential to alleviate management gridlock and provide lasting solutions to management of river systems by building consensus among the stakeholders.
Mickett and Irwin have helped to develop a decision support model for adaptive management of the Tallapoosa River, which is a highly managed river with many dams along its route, to help stakeholders determine a flow strategy for the river below R.L. Harris Dam. They looked at multiple scenarios for flow management at the dam that included such information as spawning windows, recreational flows, impact to power production, number of boatable days and fish spawning success. The first flow strategy was implemented in spring 2005 and monitoring and adjusting of the model’s parameters is underway.
More information on the project can be found at www.rivermanagement.org.
Water Watch Reports Activities
Alabama citizen volunteers learn water
analysis methods from bill Deutsch,
director of Alabama Water Watch
Bill Deutsch, a research fellow in FAA and director of the Alabama Water Watch program, has been directing or codirecting a wide range of projects in recent months.
Alabama Water Watch, a citizen volunteer water monitoring program coordinated by FAA, is in its 14th year, with primary funding from ADEM and EPA. As of late 2005, AWW had about 70 active citizen groups statewide that have monitored water quality. Cumulatively, AWW has worked with about 250 groups that have tested water on 1,800 sites on 600 waterbodies and submitted more than 40,000 data records. For more information on AWW, call 334-844-4785 or visit http://www.alabamawaterwatch.org/.
The Tallapoosa Watershed Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, is in its third year of studying how nutrients and sediments are reaching and affecting the Tallapoosa River and lakes Wedowee and Martin.
A middle school and high school curriculum called Living Streams was designed through the TWP to enhance aquatic science education and is being piloted in several schools in partnership with the AU and Troy University departments of curriculum and teaching. Teacher workshops, an annual State of Our Watershed Conference and other outreach activities are coordinated with Alabama Cooperative Extension System partners and AWW citizen groups. A presentation of the project will be made at the CSREES National Water Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Deutsch and FAA Professor David Bayne are directing this project in conjunction with Luoheng Han of the University of Alabama’s Department of Geography, John Glasier of Lake Watch of Lake Martin and Sallye Longshore of the Alabama Department of Education.
The Saugahatchee Watershed Management Plan has been developed over the last two years by a group of stakeholders representing FAA, the cities of Auburn and Opelika,Westpoint Home Corporation, Mead Westvaco Corporation, Alabama Water Watch, Save Our Saugahatchee Inc. and others. A booklet called “Saugahatchee Creek Watershed…Past, Present and Future” describes the watershed and plan and is available at no charge through the AWW office.
Deutsch is directing this project along with FAA Program Assistant Ron Estridge.
Deutsch and FAA Program Assistant Sergio Ruiz-Córdova also are involved on the international level through Global Water Watch, a voluntary network of community-based water monitoring groups coordinated through the AU International Center for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments.
For more information about GWW, visit www.globalwaterwatch.org.
Duncan Retires from FAA
Bryan Duncan, former head of the AU International Center for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments and the Office of International Agriculture, retired in September 2005 after some 30 years on Auburn’s FAA faculty.
Duncan came to Auburn in 1975 and spent his first six years as a team leader for an AU/USAID project in Indonesia on brackishwater aquaculture development. When he returned to campus, he taught courses in pond design and construction and aquacultural facilities.
In 1989, he was asked to serve as director of the International Center for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments. In this role he has provided supervision for research and development programs, contract administration, proposal preparation, program/project design, planning and management. In 2003 his duties were expanded and he became director of the Office of International Agriculture in the College of Agriculture.
In addition to his long-term assignment in Indonesia, he has worked in 44 countries on short-term assignments for a total of almost 1,000 days.