Alan F. J. Gash
Article: Wheat Nitrogen Fertilisation Effects on the Performance of the Cereal Aphid Metopolophium dirhodum
Agronomy 2012, 2(1), 1-13; doi:10.3390/agronomy2010001 - published online 9 February 2012
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: The effects of five rates of nitrogen fertiliser applications on the performance of the cereal aphid Metopolophium dirhodum on winter wheat, within the range of rates recommended for UK crops, were investigated over two seasons in field-grown crops and also on plants grown in the glasshouse. Longevity was unaffected by the level of fertilisation, but aphid intrinsic rate of increase and fecundity increased with each level applied. In the second field season, when a higher upper limit was used, many of these increases were significant. A previously unreported finding for this species was that there was a significant decrease in fecundity for the highest rate of fertilisation. Results for the glasshouse-reared aphids followed a similar pattern to those in the field, and overall they underline recent reports in the literature of the negative effects of high nutrient concentrations on the performance of herbivorous insects. The underlying reasons for these are discussed.

C. Corley Holbrook , Peggy Ozias-Akins , Ye Chu and Baozhu Guo
Article: Impact of Molecular Genetic Research on Peanut Cultivar Development
Agronomy 2011, 1(1), 3-17; doi:10.3390/agronomy1010003 - published online 20 December 2011
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) has lagged other crops on use of molecular genetic technology for cultivar development in part due to lack of investment, but also because of low levels of molecular polymorphism among cultivated varieties. Recent advances in molecular genetic technology have allowed researchers to more precisely measure genetic polymorphism and enabled the development of low density genetic maps for A. hypogaea and the identification of molecular marker or QTL’s for several economically significant traits. Genomic research has also been used to enhance the amount of genetic diversity available for use in conventional breeding through the development of transgenic peanut, and the creation of TILLING populations and synthetic allotetraploids. Marker assisted selection (MAS) is becoming more common in peanut cultivar development programs, and several cultivar releases are anticipated in the near future. There are also plans to sequence the peanut genome in the near future which should result in the development of additional molecular tools that will greatly advance peanut cultivar development.

Peter Langridge
Editorial: Agronomy—A Multidisciplinary and Open Access Journal
Agronomy 2011, 1(1), 1-2; doi:10.3390/agronomy1010001 - published online 21 January 2011
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Agronomy is a highly multidisciplinary area of science. It includes all aspects of science and technology related to the production and utilization of plants for food, feed, fuel, fiber and even land reclamation. In many respects, agronomy represents the integration of activities and disciplines ranging from genetics, chemistry and biotechnology to ecology, soil science and meteorology. [...]