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The Ag Data Commons is migrating

The Ag Data Commons is migrating to a new institutional portal on Figshare. The current system is available for search and download only. The new platform is open for submission with assistance from Ag Data Commons curators. Please contact NAL-ADC-Curator@usda.gov, if you need to publish or update your datasets.

Data from: Honeydew associated with four common crop aphid species increases longevity of the parasitoid wasp, Bracon cephi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

    Abstract from published manuscript: The absence of sugar resources can be an important factor in limiting the success of parasitoids as biological control agents. Restoring vegetation complexity within agricultural landscapes has thus become a major focus of conservation biological control efforts, with a traditional emphasis on nectar resources. Aphid honeydew is also an important source of sugars that is infrequently considered. We carried out a laboratory experiment to examine the potential effects of honeydew from six different aphid species by crop species combinations on the longevity of Bracon cephi Gahan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), the most important biological control of the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), a major pest of wheat in the northern Great Plains of North America. The benefits of honeydew for parasitoid longevity varied significantly among different aphid and crop species, illustrating the complexity of these interactions. However, honeydew produced by four aphid species commonly found in wheat, pea, and canola crops significantly increased the longevity (by two- to threefold) of the parasitoid. The study suggests that honeydew provisioning could be an important mechanism underlying the benefits of crop diversification to support biological control that merits further research.

    Data from: Effect of cricket protein powders on dough functionality and bread quality

      Data collected from duplicate laboratory analysis of the functional properties of wheat flour dough mixed with cricket protein powders. Dough properties were evaluated for dough strength and elasticity. Breads were baked from all flour treatments and bread quality evaluated from image analysis of crumb structure, loaf volume, and texture analysis.

      Data from: Interseeded cover crop mixtures influence soil water storage during the corn phase of corn-soybean-wheat no-till cropping systems

        This study was initiated to evaluate, during the following corn (*Zea mays* L.) phase, the effects of interseeded cover crops on soil temperature, soil water balances, evapotranspiration, infiltration, and yield and water use efficiency of corn. The study was conducted at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD from 2017 through 2020. The cropping systems under study were primarily sequences of corn-soybean (*Glycine max* L.)-wheat (*Triticum aestivum* L.)-double crop soybean all planted with no-tillage management.

        Data from: Distance-based decision-making in oviposition by Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on low- and no-gluten flours

          Red flour beetles have been known to readily infest wheat flour but their likelihood to choose other types of flours is unknown. Red flour beetles will lay eggs in many types of flours but their choice to infest low- and no-gluten flours remains to be tested. Here we test a panel of 14 different commercially available flours in three different choice assays. We find that the beetles lay similar amounts of eggs in buckwheat, teff, millet, rice, and rye flours but that they show significant declines in preference for sorghum, potato, quinoa, cassava, oat, amaranth, garbanzo, spelt, and corn flours.

          Data from: Grain inoculated with different growth stages of the fungus, Aspergillus flavus, affect the close-range foraging behavior by a primary stored product pest, Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

            Our goals with this dataset were to 1) isolate, culture, and identify two fungal life stages of Aspergillus flavus, 2) characterize the volatile emissions from grain inoculated by each fungal morphotype, and 3) understand how microbially-produced volatile organic compounds (MVOCs) from each fungal morphotype affect foraging, attraction, and preference by S. oryzae. This dataset includes that derived from headspace collection coupled with GC-MS, where we found the sexual life stage of A. flavus had the most unique emissions of MVOCs compared to the other semiochemical treatments.

            Data from: Vegetation index-based partitioning of evapotranspiration is deficient in grazed systems

              The dataset includes 30 minutes values of partitioned evaporation (E) and transpiration (T), T:ET ratios, and other ancillary datasets for three ET partitioning methods viz. Flux Variance Similarity (FVS) method, Transpiration Estimation Algorithm (TEA), and Underlying Water Use Efficiency (uWUE) method for the three wheat sites. The dataset also contains remote sensing-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data for each site.

              Data from: Vegetation index-based partitioning of evapotranspiration is deficient in grazed systems

                The dataset includes 30 minutes values of partitioned evaporation (E) and transpiration (T), T:ET ratios, and other ancillary datasets for three ET partitioning methods viz. Flux Variance Similarity (FVS) method, Transpiration Estimation Algorithm (TEA), and Underlying Water Use Efficiency (uWUE) method for the three wheat sites. The dataset also contains remote sensing-derived Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data for each site.