Cattle grazing tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceous) infected with wild-type endophytes (WE) leads to a syndrome commonly known as fescue toxicosis. Replacing WE tall fescue with a novel endophyte-infected (NE) tall fescue can mitigate this problem but adoption of this technology has been limited. This study measured and determined the physiological and behavioral responses of heifers that grazed either WE or NE tall fescue, utilizing relatively non-invasive techniques including hair cortisol, thermography (for extremity temperatures), small loggers for intravaginal temperature, and remote observation of in-field behavior. Heifers that grazed WE had greater (p < 0.0001) hair cortisol levels, lower extremity temperatures (p ≤ 0.0075), and 0.3-0.9 °C greater (p ≤ 0.02) intravaginal temperatures (particularly during the daytime) than heifers that grazed NE. From 1200 h-1700 h each day, heifers on WE pastures spent 1.5 more (p = 0.0003) hours standing up and 0.9 fewer (p = 0.0402) hours lying down than heifers on NE pastures. Differences (p = 0.0160) in ADG were small (0.1 kg d-1) and were only observed in the first year of these 8-week studies. However, even in the mild environment of the study site, grazing NE tall fescue provided clear welfare benefits as evidenced by heifer behavioral changes, temperature differentials, and hair cortisol levels. This study underscores the potential utility of non-invasive techniques, such as thermographic imaging and hair cortisol analysis, for evaluating animal responses to stress in extensive grazing systems.

This trial was conducted at the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Glade Spring, VA, to evaluate various insecticides applied as transplant drench (TD) and transplant water (TW) treatments for control of TFB on burley tobacco. Tobacco ‘Tennessee 90’ was transplanted into experimental plots on 1 Jun. Normal production practices were followed for fertilization and topping and weed and disease control. Nine treatments and an untreated check were established in an RCB design with four replications (Table 1). Plots, 8 x 30 ft (2 rows x 15 plants), were separated by single untreated guard rows. A measuring cup was used to apply the TW treatments in 4 fl oz (170 gpa) to the base of each plant in the plots being treated. A CO 2 -pressurized backpack sprayer with an 8003E tip and operated at 20 psi was used to apply Admire and Platinum TD treatments in 17 fl oz of water to plants in 288-cell float trays 1 d before transplanting. Additional water was used to wash the chemical residue off of the plants and into the media. TFB and TFB feeding holes were counted on 10 plants per plot for 4 wk after transplanting. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and significantly different means were separated by WD test ( P = 0.05). Data were transformed to Log 10 (x + 1) before analysis. Actual means are presented in the table. Transplant drench applications of Admire and Platinum gave very good to excellent control of the TFB and reduced TFB feeding holes on each of the four observation dates. The TD treatments were superior to the TW treatments for both Admire and Platinum. The Orthene 97 TW treatment was more effective than the Admire TW treatments. The combination of Admire TD + Orthene TW gave the greatest reduction in TFB feeding damage. The Platinum TW treatment gave better control of TFB than the Admire TW treatments, but the Admire TD treatments were more effective than the Platinum TD treatment. The growing season was mild with adequate rainfall.

ON BURLEY TOBACCO, 1999: This experiment was conducted at the Southern Piedmont AREC, Blackstone, VA, to evaluate various insecticides applied as transplant drench (TD), and transplant water (TW) treatments for control of TA and TFB on burley tobacco.Tobacco 'Tennessee 90' was transplanted into experimental plots on 13 May.Normal production practices were followed for fertilization and topping and weed, disease and nematode control.Eight treatments and an untreated check were established in a RCB design with 4 replications.Plots, 4 x 40 ft (1 row x 24 plants), were separated by single untreated guard rows.A CO 2 -pressurized backpack sprayer with an 8003E tip and operated at 20 psi was used to apply Admire and Platinum drench treatments in 34 fl oz of water to plants in 288-cell float trays 1 d before transplanting.Plants were watered to wash the chemical residue into the media.A measuring cup was used to apply the TW treatments at 4 fl oz (204 gpa) to the base of each plant in the plots being treated.TA on the upper 4 leaves, TFB and TFB feeding holes were counted on 10 plants per plot.Data were analyzed by ANOVA and significantly different means were separated by WD test (P=0.05).TA count data were transformed to log 10 (x+1) before analysis.Actual means are presented in the table.